2025-2026 USC Keck

Started by wysdoc
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Doc_Daneeka said:
Hi, also have a couple questions related to housing! Would it be feasible to live ~15-20 miles away from the Keck campus, and if so, what year(s) would that be the most challenging for? How much of the curriculum is mandatory in-person vs. recorded? Thanks!
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and also @Drill_doc
I would say most M1s currently live in Currie Hall, which is a third party on campus living option! It's been a great experience so far getting to know other people in the class since most of us live on campus. There are parties hosted, pool days, study sessions in the study lounge/on campus. It's a 10-15 min walk to where the required sessions are but the walk is entirely on the Keck campus. It is a bit more expensive than off campus options, but I personally would recommend M1s to live on campus if possible, just to make friends and get acquainted with things going on campus (i.e. shadowing, volunteering)
A lot of people also live around the area, like Echo Park, Pasadena, Silverlake, Alhambra, but Lincoln Heights/El Sereno the neighborhood right near campus is also great (and cheap!)
I would say that is very feasible, but you definitely have to think about traffic, especially as you cross the downtown area which can get pretty congested during rush hour. Thankfully we don't have mandatory in-person lectures, but M1 year there is a decent amount of required sessions that vary by week. Some weeks we are 5 days in person (usually max 2-3 hours, but some days can get longer), some days we don't have in person classes all week! I would say average is around 3 days of in-person class, mostly in the mornings.
 
omnitrix10 said:
also will I need to bring a car?
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Financial aid is only loans and merit based scholarships, which I assume has pretty much ended if you are accepted after this point. But Keck does consistently advertise other scholarship options later on (M3/M4 years) that are substantial and have very few applicants.
As for the car, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend having a car. The surrounding area is a food desert, but you can use Amazon Fresh/delivery apps/your friends. There are also clinical and volunteering opportunities that would require a car. In terms of required things, they generally tend to be flexible with finding options for those without a car, but you would definitely need a car to commute to your clerkship sites if you are placed away from LA General/Keck.
 
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wakeupaurora said:
and also @Drill_doc
I would say most M1s currently live in Currie Hall, which is a third party on campus living option! It's been a great experience so far getting to know other people in the class since most of us live on campus. There are parties hosted, pool days, study sessions in the study lounge/on campus. It's a 10-15 min walk to where the required sessions are but the walk is entirely on the Keck campus. It is a bit more expensive than off campus options, but I personally would recommend M1s to live on campus if possible, just to make friends and get acquainted with things going on campus (i.e. shadowing, volunteering)
A lot of people also live around the area, like Echo Park, Pasadena, Silverlake, Alhambra, but Lincoln Heights/El Sereno the neighborhood right near campus is also great (and cheap!)
I would say that is very feasible, but you definitely have to think about traffic, especially as you cross the downtown area which can get pretty congested during rush hour. Thankfully we don't have mandatory in-person lectures, but M1 year there is a decent amount of required sessions that vary by week. Some weeks we are 5 days in person (usually max 2-3 hours, but some days can get longer), some days we don't have in person classes all week! I would say average is around 3 days of in-person class, mostly in the mornings.
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HI! Thanks for taking the time to answer questions! I've looked into Currie Hall and, despite the cost, it seems like where I'd want to live for at least M1 year. I'm majorly leaning towards Keck for a lot of reasons but, if I am accepted at this other school, I'd ideally wait to secure housing until I have a chance to attend admitted students day. I noticed that they don't accept deposits to hold a unit at Currie Hall, and you have to commit to a full year's rent and sign the lease agreement upfront. Did you secure a unit this early, or were there still units available later? Thank you!
 
Skyline345 said:
HI! Thanks for taking the time to answer questions! I've looked into Currie Hall and, despite the cost, it seems like where I'd want to live for at least M1 year. I'm majorly leaning towards Keck for a lot of reasons but, if I am accepted at this other school, I'd ideally wait to secure housing until I have a chance to attend admitted students day. I noticed that they don't accept deposits to hold a unit at Currie Hall, and you have to commit to a full year's rent and sign the lease agreement upfront. Did you secure a unit this early, or were there still units available later? Thank you!
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I committed early June and was totally fine! Also knew people who got off the waitlist even later and are now living in Currie.
 
Hey folks, the Facebook group that was sent to us upon acceptance is very dead lol

Someone made a GroupMe chat for accepted applicants, so DM me for invite
 
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Now idc that they didnt let me in after
wakeupaurora said:
Financial aid is only loans and merit based scholarships, which I assume has pretty much ended if you are accepted after this point. But Keck does consistently advertise other scholarship options later on (M3/M4 years) that are substantial and have very few applicants.
As for the car, I would HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend having a car. The surrounding area is a food desert, but you can use Amazon Fresh/delivery apps/your friends. There are also clinical and volunteering opportunities that would require a car. In terms of required things, they generally tend to be flexible with finding options for those without a car, but you would definitely need a car to commute to your clerkship sites if you are placed away from LA General/Keck.
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This makes me not want to go here as someone who grew up in a city with public transportation and no need for a car. Like yea no I'm not relying on a car or bad public transportation and everything being far too spread out to where there are food deserts impossible to access without a car. I guess they WL me for a reason!
 
letmeinyouknowwhoyouare said:
Now idc that they didnt let me in after

This makes me not want to go here as someone who grew up in a city with public transportation and no need for a car. Like yea no I'm not relying on a car or bad public transportation and everything being far too spread out to where there are food deserts impossible to access without a car. I guess they WL me for a reason!
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I've lived in LA for 5 years now w/no car, relying on public transit. it's definitely possible, but it is annoying at times. there are very few cities in the US with better public transit options, and the majority of people who complain about LA's system are people who would be driving anyway even if the transit was amazing.

just wanted to put this out there in case someone considering it - if you can afford a car yeah it's better, but if you can't (like me), I wouldn't rule out USC based on that alone. if anyone has questions abt this feel free to message me 🙂
 
for those who have been accepted, there hasn't been any email about submissions to be made right? (except for the "plan to enroll" through AMCAS)
 
qp2937 said:
for those who have been accepted, there hasn't been any email about submissions to be made right? (except for the "plan to enroll" through AMCAS)
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nope! just had to accept the offer. i also submitted my FAFSA to them last month then emailed them asking abt anything else needed for fin aid and they said just fafsa at this point.
 
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+1 email to fill out financial aid supplement. Header had my old student ID number from undergrad so I guess I get to keep that. They asked for expected graduation date, which program we're enrolled in (Medicine --> MD), what type of aid we're applying for, ("private only" or "all types"), and enrollment status/housing status for the upcoming fall, spring, and summer. If anyone's planning on living in Currie Hall, that's non-USC-owned housing. No parental information required whatsoever. Hoping this is it and we don't have to fill out the CSS profile or something.
 
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SilentCavalier said:
+1 email to fill out financial aid supplement. Header had my old student ID number from undergrad so I guess I get to keep that. They asked for expected graduation date, which program we're enrolled in (Medicine --> MD), what type of aid we're applying for, ("private only" or "all types"), and enrollment status/housing status for the upcoming fall, spring, and summer. If anyone's planning on living in Currie Hall, that's non-USC-owned housing. No parental information required whatsoever. Hoping this is it and we don't have to fill out the CSS profile or something.
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I was hoping they'd have need-based aid, but it doesn't look like it
 
SilentCavalier said:
+1 email to fill out financial aid supplement. Header had my old student ID number from undergrad so I guess I get to keep that. They asked for expected graduation date, which program we're enrolled in (Medicine --> MD), what type of aid we're applying for, ("private only" or "all types"), and enrollment status/housing status for the upcoming fall, spring, and summer. If anyone's planning on living in Currie Hall, that's non-USC-owned housing. No parental information required whatsoever. Hoping this is it and we don't have to fill out the CSS profile or something.
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Did anyone else not receive this email?
 
SilentCavalier said:
+1 email to fill out financial aid supplement. Header had my old student ID number from undergrad so I guess I get to keep that. They asked for expected graduation date, which program we're enrolled in (Medicine --> MD), what type of aid we're applying for, ("private only" or "all types"), and enrollment status/housing status for the upcoming fall, spring, and summer. If anyone's planning on living in Currie Hall, that's non-USC-owned housing. No parental information required whatsoever. Hoping this is it and we don't have to fill out the CSS profile or something.
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we put "non-enrolling" for summer 2027 right?
 
How many accepted students in the Facebook group or GroupMe right now? Want to compare it to last year's numbers and see if I still have a shot 😢
 
+1 IS waitlist. Interviewed last week of January. Put on the "Priority Wait List".

I'm curious whether this is essentially a tier-1 waitlist position and whether USC typically sees any significant waitlist movement.
 
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Micas01 said:
+1 IS waitlist. Interviewed last week of January. Put on the "Priority Wait List".

I'm curious whether this is essentially a tier-1 waitlist position and whether USC typically sees any significant waitlist movement.
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For what it’s worth, I am struggling to justify the hefty COA that USC has and will likely be withdrawing my A.
 
does anyone know when keck releases merit scholarship decisions? in the cost of attendance email they said they were in the process of reviewing but not sure when they were released in past years.
 
Going to apply this upcoming cycle, was there anyone in this platform that got a secondary with an mcat below 506
 
ThThT said:
Do you think the priority wait list would have movement before the alternate list? Wonder how long each list is?
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Unfortunately it’s probably the “priority” first. As we approach April 30th though, are you guys going to treat the “intent to stay on waitlist” as something that doubles as an update letter or mentions mission fit etc or just keep it briefly 1-2 sentences asking to remain on the waitlist. More like checking a box than anything else?
 
ArthurFleckMD said:
Unfortunately it’s probably the “priority” first. As we approach April 30th though, are you guys going to treat the “intent to stay on waitlist” as something that doubles as an update letter or mentions mission fit etc or just keep it briefly 1-2 sentences asking to remain on the waitlist. More like checking a box than anything else?
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I was wondering the same thing... they don't seem to like superfluous communication but I also don't want to send a half-baked letter
 
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doesn't look like anyone has broken the bad news on here yet so i'll do it - for anyone curious, there will most likely be no waitlist movement for MD this year. they over-admitted and messed up so bad that they're offering a semester of free tuition and a 25k 10 month research program/stipend to anyone who will agree to defer their admission to next year...

which seems to mean most of the previously mentioned "scholarship" money is going to the people that can afford to take an extra gap year and have their parents pay their bills while they do research for less than minimum wage. so the wealthy students who don't even need the money are the ones getting it, basically punishing the rest of us who have to take out the full $115k/year in loans all because they couldn't add up the amount of students they were admitting.

can you tell i'm pissed about this lol. it's so exhausting trying to survive in this system that is specifically designed to push people like me out.
 
premedbarista said:
doesn't look like anyone has broken the bad news on here yet so i'll do it - for anyone curious, there will most likely be no waitlist movement for MD this year. they over-admitted and messed up so bad that they're offering a semester of free tuition and a 25k 10 month research program/stipend to anyone who will agree to defer their admission to next year...

which seems to mean most of the previously mentioned "scholarship" money is going to the people that can afford to take an extra gap year and have their parents pay their bills while they do research for less than minimum wage. so the wealthy students who don't even need the money are the ones getting it, basically punishing the rest of us who have to take out the full $115k/year in loans all because they couldn't add up the amount of students they were admitting.

can you tell i'm pissed about this lol. it's so exhausting trying to survive in this system that is specifically designed to push people like me out.
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Wow
 
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