Anybody interested in USC?

[LizardKing]

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Just wondering if you are interested in USC med and for what reasons...It seems like an underrated school, considering the location and the outstanding clinical experience it offers.

I know the admissions people pretty well at USC but I'm not applying there. If you want, I can tell you what they're looking for.

 

[Sabrina]

hey,

sc's my first choice. i've grown to love the place ever since i volunteered there. can you tell me what the admissions people at sc are looking for? i sent in my secondaries a couple of months ago but still have not heard from them.

thanks!

 

[SMW]

Do tell, please! 🙂 😉 😛

 

[kutastha]

I'm highly interested in USC. I've been here for almost five years, and the growth of the school in that time has been exponential. And the dedication to becoming a top ten school in the next ten years is readily apparent. The teaching is outstanding, and experience at County is incomparable. My top choice was UCSD, but the more I think about it, the more I feel USC's the place for me.

Andrew

 

[LizardKing]

USC has lots of money rolling in now with the $110 mil Keck grant, so their ranking will, no doubt, move up a few places within the next four years.

Anyway, because I know some of the USC adcom people, I can honestly say that they really do look for things other than numbers. Other schools might preach this philosophy, but USC is one of the few where it's apparent. I'd say you still need above a 29 MCAT and ~3.5 gpa to make the first cut...CA competition is just fierce like that.

However, past the first cut it's ALL about your community service and unique experiences. I mean, they drool over applicants who've studied abroad, that I know. Also, community service is a biggy. USC, both the undergrad and med school, thrives on its reputation of helping out the LA community, so if you have any community involvement, emphasize it and relate it to going to school in LA. Do some research on where you'd like to volunteer (certain urban clinics, shelters, etc.) if you were going to school there. Understanding the LA area is important to knowing the med school itself.

Don't be discouraged if you know you're up against the gunners with high stats...I know plenty of people who got rejected by USC and had amazing stats that got them into higher-ranked schools such as NYU. I know several people with low stats, some postbacc and others from mid-tier undergrad schools, and who had less than 3.5 gpa's and around 30 MCATs who got in, no prob...with their top notch interviewing skills. So even if you don't have the best extracurrics, believe me, they love good interviewees.

I hope this was helpful...I wish I could be more specific but I gotta go back to studying for finals! I'll post more soon on Wed.

 

[jimjones]

Why would you guys want to live in a place like that for 4 years?

 

[LizardKing]

jimjones, you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. 99% of USC med students live off campus in LA in much nicer areas. Even if you live next to the undergrad campus, it ain't that bad either. It's still not Westwood or Cambridge, but it certainly beats Hopkins (Baltimore, any way you put in, just plain sucks) and Columbia (not that much of a buffer zone).

Originally posted by jimjones:
•Why would you guys want to live in a place like that for 4 years?•••

 

[LizardKing]

oh yea, USC adcom is notorious for being one of the slowest. they also do thousands of apps for their bacc/md 8 year program so they get bogged down for several months. i think their interviews kick into high gear around Feb.-March.

Btw, the interviews aren't stress interviews but they do ask some probing questions. Maybe one or two ethical questions...like how would you deal with a kid dying due to your mishap, what to do about patients without insurance. Working in county is quite tough, so i guess they expect you to be able to handle strange dilemmas. Lots of strange stuff you see in their ER. Do you have any stories?

 

[Triangulation]

Super helpful comments Lizardking. Do a lot of the students complain about the tuition? It seems kind of extortionist, which I would find some way of paying for. Is there any effort to lower tuition? It seems like allocating a portion of the Keck grant towards tuition reduction would make sense.

How many 2dary completers get interviews?

Thanks.

 

[LizardKing]

Yea, tuition is one huge drawback to USC. I hear their financial aid packages aren't bad, though. One thing that bugs me about the school is they don't seem to be pushing for lower tuition.

Some of the funds I think should definitely go to lowering tuition and also to fixing up County hospital.

 

[Darwin]

Hey LizardKing...I responded to your private message. Thanks for all your help...I'm so excited about attending USC.

 

[Sabrina]

liz,

thanks so much for your input. like i said, sc is my first choice so any information about the school would really help me.

do you know what percentage of the secondaries get interviews? . .and then what percentage of the interviewees get accepted?

also. .are they rolling or not?

 

[Triangulation]

Sabrina's got great questions Lizardking. I anxiously await your responses. 🙂

 

[SMW]

According to the MSAR, Keck interviews about 5% of the out-of-state applicants and 12% of the in-state applicants. Of course, we don't know how many of the "applicants" actually completed secondaries. Of those interviewed approximately a third of in-state and a quarter of out-of-state matriculate. I'm not aware that any school publishes how many acceptances they send out, so it's difficult to say exactly what your chances are after an interview.

Btw, I'm interested because my boyfriend wants to be a rock star! 😉

 

[LizardKing]

Sabrina, it's hard to say the %'s of people interviewed, accepted, etc. I don't have access to that information...I'm only friends with the adcom people, I don't work for them.

But no one despair because USC is the slowest school when it comes to admissions! Yes, they are rolling admissions though.

 

[LizardKing]

Darwin, you wanted to know about cool places to live near USC med:

1. Glendale/Pasadena--if you can find an affordable place here, go for it. Lots of shops and restaurants and not a bad drive (20 min. with moderate traffic).

2. Los Feliz--Hip, trendy town with young folks. Cheaper than Pasadena, but a little dingier. Closer to USC med than Pasadena, but the drive is through some bad areas.

3. Alhambra/Monterey Park--Really close, but the 10 freeway connecting it to school gets INSANE amounts of traffic around 7am and 4-7pm. Lots of Chinese people live here, and really good Chinese restaurants are everywhere and they open till late.

4. Downtown High Rises--Some of them like the Medici are ridiculously expensive, but if you have the dough (>$1200/mo.) you'll live like a king. Except nobody really hangs out in downtown, so there aren't many shops and stuff.

5. Anywhere else?

 

[jimjones]

jimjones, you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. 99% of USC med students live off campus in LA in much nicer areas. Even if you live next to the undergrad campus, it ain't that bad either. It's still not Westwood or Cambridge, but it certainly beats Hopkins (Baltimore, any way you put in, just plain sucks) and Columbia (not that much of a buffer zone). ••

Actually my dad went to USC for med school. My mom and dad lived in Alhambra. My mom hated those 4 years, my dad got mugged a couple times.
I was driving through there couple months ago, I didn't like the smog very much. To each there own, personally I'd rather live someplace with a little cleaner air and places to go to for peace and quiet.
Respectfully,

Jimbo.

 

[kutastha]

Originally posted by LizardKing:
•Darwin, you wanted to know about cool places to live near USC med:

1. Glendale/Pasadena--if you can find an affordable place here, go for it. Lots of shops and restaurants and not a bad drive (20 min. with moderate traffic).

2. Los Feliz--Hip, trendy town with young folks. Cheaper than Pasadena, but a little dingier. Closer to USC med than Pasadena, but the drive is through some bad areas.

3. Alhambra/Monterey Park--Really close, but the 10 freeway connecting it to school gets INSANE amounts of traffic around 7am and 4-7pm. Lots of Chinese people live here, and really good Chinese restaurants are everywhere and they open till late.

4. Downtown High Rises--Some of them like the Medici are ridiculously expensive, but if you have the dough (>$1200/mo.) you'll live like a king. Except nobody really hangs out in downtown, so there aren't many shops and stuff.

5. Anywhere else?•••

Note on Alhambra/Monterey Park, and (South) Pasadena - the freeway may be hell, but the surface streets will get you to school in 20 mins or less. All the above places are outstanding places to live. Not that I'm partial to Alhambra or anything, but they're fixing up Main Street with a huge new theater, many different kinds of food (Cuban, Cajun, Chinese, Sushi, Mexican and more) and - my personal favorite - a cigar lounge. But hey, that's just me - and these are all within stumbling distance.

And I've gone here five years and never had a problem.

Andrew

 

[penelope]

Just wanted to add...LizardKing's right, USC looks for things beyond the numbers...committment to service, interest in the underserved a huge bonus, leadership, cool activities, ethics. It's been rumored that the student interview doesn't bear much weight; it does. It's an awesome place with cool students and was one of my favorities, though I ended up somewhere else. Good luck guys.
penelope