2018-2019 University of Southern California (Keck)

BU Medical Sciences
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Dante Alighieri said:
how close to downtown or a fun area? or does it not matter because la in general is dope. when visiting orange county i drive by on the 5 things look kinda barren around it....
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If you've got a car, fun areas are all pretty close. Downtown is like a 10-20 min drive away from campus depending on traffic/where you actually want to go. The west side where Santa Monica and Venice Beach and all that boujee LA stuff is more like a 40 min drive. Right by the school itself, there isn't much tbh. Lots of good cheap Mexican food around tho!

The big thing though is you really need a car or wonderful generous friends that'll drive you around.
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For the charitable donations question, are you guys just talking about one charity in depth? I currently have it as talking about three different ones with a little reasoning about why I'd support it.
 
chemist13579 said:
For the charitable donations question, are you guys just talking about one charity in depth? I currently have it as talking about three different ones with a little reasoning about why I'd support it.
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How are you fitting 3 different ones in 3-5 sentences?

I’m focusing on one - explaining and giving a one sentence background.
 
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Beshwaji said:
How are you fitting 3 different ones in 3-5 sentences?

I’m focusing on one - explaining and giving a one sentence background.
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I did an intro sentence of the two I chose and two background sentences for each
 
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Perkinjeboy said:
Still says LORs not in and that the app is incomplete. Anyone else?
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Looking normal on my end... Mine was marked complete <24 hours after assigning letters to Keck on AMCAS (much faster than I thought).
 
So, regarding the prompt " If you had the power to change anything, what would it be? Please answer the question in 150 words or less "

I wanted to say society's view on mental health. Most people would seek help if they are physically sick but people who suffer from depression for example refrain from showing it or talking about it because of the way it is perceived in society especially nowadays with social media etc. This really means a lot to me b/c I had a friend whose life seemed absolutely perfect on the outside and she tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, she is better now and is seeking help but I feel like if society was more accepting of these types of issues then people would not constantly have to portray this perfect fake life.

Do you guys think that this is too much of a sensitive topic for USC's secondary? This is just how I would respond if I were to be honest.
 
ys2327 said:
So, regarding the prompt " If you had the power to change anything, what would it be? Please answer the question in 150 words or less "

I wanted to say society's view on mental health. Most people would seek help if they are physically sick but people who suffer from depression for example refrain from showing it or talking about it because of the way it is perceived in society especially nowadays with social media etc. This really means a lot to me b/c I had a friend whose life seemed absolutely perfect on the outside and she tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, she is better now and is seeking help but I feel like if society was more accepting of these types of issues then people would not constantly have to portray this perfect fake life.

Do you guys think that this is too much of a sensitive topic for USC's secondary? This is just how I would respond if I were to be honest.
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I think it would be a great topic. Their secondary is clearly geared towards your hobbies and passions so talking about something you really care about and come off as enthusiastic about is definitely a plus.
 
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ys2327 said:
So, regarding the prompt " If you had the power to change anything, what would it be? Please answer the question in 150 words or less "

I wanted to say society's view on mental health. Most people would seek help if they are physically sick but people who suffer from depression for example refrain from showing it or talking about it because of the way it is perceived in society especially nowadays with social media etc. This really means a lot to me b/c I had a friend whose life seemed absolutely perfect on the outside and she tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, she is better now and is seeking help but I feel like if society was more accepting of these types of issues then people would not constantly have to portray this perfect fake life.

Do you guys think that this is too much of a sensitive topic for USC's secondary? This is just how I would respond if I were to be honest.
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I think its a good angle.
 
Did anyone have trouble paying the application fee? I just went to pay and the transaction came back as invalid twice...even though it was posted to my card (Discover) twice...
 
Submitted my secondary 5 days ago and on the status it says complete, but I never got an email saying I'm complete. Anyone else have this issue?
 
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nontradesc said:
+1
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Just called them. They said they have been receiving a couple phone calls this week and last week from people with the same issue. After I called they sent me a confirmation email!
 
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TwinOne said:
Just called them. They said they have been receiving a couple phone calls this week and last week from people with the same issue. After I called they sent me a confirmation email!
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But as long as the portal shows that we are complete, we don't need an email confirmation right?
Or are they suggesting we call so that they can manually complete the application, which triggers the email?
 
nontradesc said:
But as long as the portal shows that we are complete, we don't need an email confirmation right?
Or are they suggesting we call so that they can manually complete the application, which triggers the email?
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Based on the call, it seemed like the confirmation email was not necessary and I was already confirmed prior to calling. So I would assume the email confirmation is not necessary, but I can't guarantee it lol.
 
If you had the power to change anything, what would it be?
Please answer the question in 150 words or less.


Do you think it would be bad if I wrote about Star Trek and how some inventions would solve problems today? I know it's so trite but I'm a big Trekkie and thought it would be different.
 
StarDancer said:
If you had the power to change anything, what would it be?
Please answer the question in 150 words or less.


Do you think it would be bad if I wrote about Star Trek and how some inventions would solve problems today? I know it's so trite but I'm a big Trekkie and thought it would be different.
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Go for it. The questions are so their adcoms get to know applicants. That's a great response to help learn more about you.
 
Anyone know if it's possible to be accepted into both the HST and MSTP program with Caltech? Is it wise to apply for both?
 
For those of you who got IIs, did you ever receive an email telling you your application was complete or under review? I submitted on the 4th and my portal says that my application is under review, but I never received any emails from them
 
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Kiwi95 said:
For those of you who got IIs, did you ever receive an email telling you your application was complete or under review? I submitted on the 4th and my portal says that my application is under review, but I never received any emails from them
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same I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Kiwi95 said:
For those of you who got IIs, did you ever receive an email telling you your application was complete or under review? I submitted on the 4th and my portal says that my application is under review, but I never received any emails from them
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No ‘app complete’ email for me. Just the secondary invite and the II emails. You’re good
 
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How many letters should be from professors? I have 6 letters, 3 of which are from more work experience and are significantly more personal than the letters from my professors. Would it be bad to submit only 1 science/nonsci with 1 nonclinical work and 1 clinical work/dr. letter?
 
What are you guys putting for the time when you didn't get something you felt you deserved. I don't want to talk about something that is a "first-world" problem
 
djsbaseball2014 said:
What are you guys putting for the time when you didn't get something you felt you deserved. I don't want to talk about something that is a "first-world" problem
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I talked about not making varsity in a sport. Not really sure if it was the best response to this question, but oh well haha. I just tried to explain the situation and how I learned from it. I feel like it is hard to not to do a first world problem.
 
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djsbaseball2014 said:
What are you guys putting for the time when you didn't get something you felt you deserved. I don't want to talk about something that is a "first-world" problem
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I put down not getting full scholarships b/c of my high school's administration messing up
 
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binuclearcopper said:
I talked about not making varsity in a sport. Not really sure if it was the best response to this question, but oh well haha. I just tried to explain the situation and how I learned from it. I feel like it is hard to not to do a first world problem.
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@tanbrucewayne The first thing that comes to mind for me is being rejected from our school's pre-med fraternity but that moment was pretty pivotal because after that I started my upward trend/ got involved in more meaningful things
 
djsbaseball2014 said:
What are you guys putting for the time when you didn't get something you felt you deserved. I don't want to talk about something that is a "first-world" problem
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binuclearcopper said:
I talked about not making varsity in a sport. Not really sure if it was the best response to this question, but oh well haha. I just tried to explain the situation and how I learned from it. I feel like it is hard to not to do a first world problem.
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I did the same thing. It's a very difficult question to answer humbly, but as long as you focus on the how you handled it/what you learned instead of the "this is why I deserved X" then it should be good.
 
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djsbaseball2014 said:
@tanbrucewayne The first thing that comes to mind for me is being rejected from our school's pre-med fraternity but that moment was pretty pivotal because after that I started my upward trend/ got involved in more meaningful things
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Pivotal sounds like a good quality for a secondary essay experience !!! Did you learn anything meaningful from the rejection?
 
theKingLT said:
I did the same thing. It's a very difficult question to answer humbly, but as long as you focus on the how you handled it/what you learned instead of the "this is why I deserved X" then it should be good.
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Agree! I focused on how I ended up at a school that gave me amazing opportunities b/c of the admin error
 
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Congrats to those with IIs! Maybe I'll see some of y'all on campus one day!

And just a quick tip for anyone who hasn't written the "didn't get something you deserved" prompt which I read either here on SDN or another part of the internet. You can think of it in terms of a good thing you received but you end up feeling guilty or feel bad for receiving it. Maybe this'll help some of you guys who are struggling with this prompt. :highfive:
 
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Damn I was complete 7/17 :( guessing i got passed over as OOS
 
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I used it to update them with what I'm doing right now. I don't think writing "Why USC" would hurt.
 
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