Calling all Keck students: are you happy?

[Canvas]

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I was just offered admission to Keck--I loved the school when I interviewed there and felt like it would be my first choice, but I do have a few questions now that its decision time:

1) it being a commuter school and LA a very sprawling city, is there any sense of community? What is the social life like?

2) Are there many nontraditional students? What is the general attitude at Keck towards nontraditional (i.e. slightly older) students?

3) Is it worth the cost?

4) What is the general attitude of the students about the school and city--are they happy with their choice?

I am currently slated to go to University of Pittsburgh, and I just want to be more sure about Keck before I give that up.

 

[njbmd]

Pre-med issue and now moved to Pre-allo. Allopathic medical students read and respond to threads in pre-allo and may follow and respond to this one if desired.

 

[wammabamma]

dont you hate it when you want your thread to be directed towards medical students (because they have first hand experience at the school you're asking about) and some sdn admin comes in on his/her high horse and decides to jus shove your thread away.

its pretty annoying. 👎 yes, its a freakin pre-allo issue, but asking in the ALLO thread can actually be a lot more insightful.

 

[LadyWolverine]

dont you hate it when you want your thread to be directed towards medical students (because they have first hand experience at the school you're asking about) and some sdn admin comes in on his/her high horse and decides to jus shove your thread away.

its pretty annoying. 👎 yes, its a freakin pre-allo issue, but asking in the ALLO thread can actually be a lot more insightful.

You know what's even more annoying? Pre-meds posting several of these SAME EXACT TYPES OF THREADS on a daily basis in the Allo forum. In case you didn't notice, Medical Students DO read and respond to threads in pre-allo. The admins on their "high horses" are trying to keep Allo clear of pre-med issues so that we have our own space to discuss our own issues.

 

[paradocs we are]

Please everyone, keep this civil.

I agree that it would be more useful to have current Keck students respond to this thread.

I also agree that it is a pre-allo issue.

Hmm, what would the compromise be? If the U.S. didn't have 125 med schools, I'd suggest creating a sub-forum for each school. That's how it is in the Canadian pre-med forums (on another site!).

 

[suwaifo]

You know what's even more annoying? Pre-meds posting several of these SAME EXACT TYPES OF THREADS on a daily basis in the Allo forum. In case you didn't notice, Medical Students DO read and respond to threads in pre-allo. The admins on their "high horses" are trying to keep Allo clear of pre-med issues so that we have our own space to discuss our own issues.

You know what's even MORE annoying? When a medical student doesn't help answer the OP's question and even suggests that it'd be better to move it into preallo.

 

[riceman04]

You know what's even MORE annoying? When a medical student doesn't help answer the OP's question and even suggests that it'd be better to move it into preallo.

you know whats even MORRRRRRRRRE annoying? when a pre-med does not realize that maybe that medical student CANNOT answer that question b/c he/she does not attend that particular school!

 

[suwaifo]

you know whats even MORRRRRRRRRE annoying? when a pre-med does not realize that maybe that medical student CANNOT answer that question b/c he/she does not attend that particular school!

You know what's even MOORRRRRRRRRRRRRREEE annoying? When a med student knows that he or she can not respond to a specific thread and chooses to do so anyways.

 

[riceman04]

You know what's even MOORRRRRRRRRRRRRREEE annoying? When a med student knows that he or she can not respond to a specific thread and chooses to do so anyways.

😆😆😆

 

[LadyWolverine]

lol

w/e dude. You'll be eating those words once you're on my side of the fence.

Actually, I almost went to Keck. It was one of my top choices. Decided on Maryland for the price tag. But I think I'd be much happier in LA than I am here in Baltimore. Every student I met there commuted, and most lived 20+ minutes away. I stayed with a student who lived halfway between Keck and Pasadena...I don't know if I could deal with that kind of commute every morning and night. But I would have loved to have lived in Malibu.

There, I contributed. Are you happy?

 

[paradocs we are]

lol

w/e dude. You'll be eating those words once you're on my side of the fence.

Actually, I almost went to Keck. It was one of my top choices. Decided on Maryland for the price tag. But I think I'd be much happier in LA than I am here in Baltimore. Every student I met there commuted, and most lived 20+ minutes away. I stayed with a student who lived halfway between Keck and Pasadena...I don't know if I could deal with that kind of commute every morning and night. But I would have loved to have lived in Malibu.

There, I contributed. Are you happy?

I'm happy that this thread is finally back on track. I was just about to complain that this thread is derailing. Staying on track makes things go smoother, don't you all agree? 😀

 

[sunnymed]

I would really love to hear the answer to this question too. 🙂 Any keck students want to pitch in their two cents?

 

[atisha]

I am not a keck student but I will be attending in the fall and I have a number of friends who go there (in addition to being the 5th person from my family to attend). The social life at Keck is very active. They do a lot to make sure the class is bonded- camping trip first weekend of school (which will be in malibu this year) etc

My uncle went to keck in his mid-thirties LOVED it- made some great friends, got an awesome residency (LA county emergency medicine- one of the most competitive in the country). He also told me when I was stressing about the $ that his student loan payments are taken out of his pay check every month and he doesn't even notice.

I am going to be living downtown in a complex where 12+ med students live. Right outside our door there is a shuttle that takes us to campus- you can be from your apt to sitting in class in 15 minutes. The other students I met in looking for housing lived within 10 minutes of campus. Some do live farther away- hollywood, santa monica etc

Also, I don't know about you but the weather would be a huge factor, not to mention the cultural differences between Pittsburg and Los Angeles. I haven't been to Pittsburg in awhile but from what I remember it was pretty drab. I don't know anything about the medical school and clearly I'm biased but I think a huge part of your decision needs to be "Where would I rather live?"

Hope this helps! Best of luck with you decision!!

 

[MeowMix]

One reason to go to Keck: newer curriculum with amazing Step 1 scores:
http://usmle.egmedicine.com/scores-give-usc-medical-students-reason-to-smile.html
Most schools would sacrifice their Dean to get these kinds of results.

One reason not to go to Keck: living in LA, commuting, sharing an apt: 😱
I turned down the interview for that reason.

Pitt: apparently has an awesome rep for supporting its students, and real diversity

And so on. You will get a good education and good clinical opportunities at both places. Only you can decide if you will be happy getting up in the cold northeast winter mornings for your surgery rotation in 3rd year, or if you will be thinking about the nice sunny mornings in CA.

The money is a really big factor, but how big is the difference, in your case?