Keck-USC Class of 2008!!!

[zer0el]

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I'm really stuck trying to make the usc vs. uci decision. i apologize - because I know I'm not the first to post this dilemma on SDN.

- Seems like UCI does great on the boards and matches to some pretty competitive residency programs.
- Felt like UCI was pitched as a 'good life' with a supportive community while USC may have focused more on its curriculum and clinical experience.

A few questions:
- I got the impression that UCI teaches more toward Step I. Does USC help students out in deciphering what to focus on or not, or are they on their own for sorting that out?
- Testing. I'm wondering if academic performance in years 1 and 2 at USC is based on just 'a few big exams' that come at the end or if students are tested regularly along the way.
- Advantage. I'm thinking of doing emergency medicine or specializing in other fields. How much more of an advantage does one have coming from USC than a place like UCI? There is a lot of crossover in the match lists.

I had a great time at both re-visit days. I'm torn.

It may not seem like it to you now, but in the grand scheme of things, you're sorta splitting hairs between USC and UCI. The truth is that both will match you into EM, both will allow you to do well on the boards provided you prepare for it (you can go to Podunk Med and still crush the boards), and both have good match lists. If I were you, I'd base my decision on location (LA vs. OC), campus set-up (UCI med is right next to the undergrad campus, while USC med is not), class size (<100 at UCI vs. >150 at USC), impression of the student body, clinical training, and cost.

By the way, USC is organized by systems, which last anywhere from a couple of weeks to 2 months. There is an exam(s) after the end of each system. There also comprehensive exams after the end of Year 1 and Year 2.

Good luck with your decision. I know quite a few people in my class who had to make the exact same decision, and they're definitely happy with choosing USC (as I'm sure the ones who chose UCI over USC are too). They told me USC's location, curriculum, clinical training, and student body appealed to them more.

 

[SoCalOrBust]

Have you checked out the UCI med center yet? One thing that sorta bothered me was that the campus was separated from the main teaching hospital. Some of the students I met hadn't even seen the place where they would do their rotations.

On the other hand, the on-campus housing sounds like a sweet deal.

 

[SoCalOrBust]

Just thought I'd throw this quote out there for those of you looking for housing. Thanks Josh!

There arn't many three or four bedroom places that I know of. I'd guess you can get a three bedroom for 1500 or so. But put these questions in the USC thread so everybody can get answers next time.

Josh

Hey Jalby- I'm hearing alot of people getting 2 bedroom apartments and paying 600-700 a month, but are there plenty of 3 or 4 bedroom places in monterrey hills? How much does that drop the rent by?

 

[docmemi]

besides keck being separate from usc undergrad, it is also kind of away from the county hospital...well across the street. thats kind of a big difference with ucla for example, where your classes, researchers and patiens are all in the same place. since uci seemed kind of desolate, does it really matter that its next to its undergrad?

 

[Alexander99]

besides keck being separate from usc undergrad, it is also kind of away from the county hospital...well across the street. thats kind of a big difference with ucla for example, where your classes, researchers and patiens are all in the same place. since uci seemed kind of desolate, does it really matter that its next to its undergrad?

My friend's going to be disappointed because his whole point in applying to USC med was so he could hit on all the undergrad girls. I guess it's not all that far away. 👍

 

[docmemi]

My friend's going to be disappointed because his whole point in applying to USC med was so he could hit on all the undergrad girls. I guess it's not all that far away. 👍

im not sure if youre being sarcastic. but if you are, go up it (in a totally funny way, im not mad).

 

[snowbear]

besides keck being separate from usc undergrad, it is also kind of away from the county hospital...well across the street. thats kind of a big difference with ucla for example, where your classes, researchers and patiens are all in the same place. since uci seemed kind of desolate, does it really matter that its next to its undergrad?

From what I have seen there isn't a big difference in length from each med school to the associated hospital. I have only been to the USC health sciences campus twice, but both times it took a total of 5 min.s to walk from the school to LAC. I don't really think 5 min.s is something to make a big deal out of, in fact I think a little outdoors walk is nice. If walking across the street is a big deal to you, maybe you should realize that the new UCLA hospital and the medical plazas are across the street from the medical school. And on top of that, the UCLA-affiliated County hospitals are a lot further than across the street.

 

[Jalby]

And besides, one of our students got hit on a bike on that street. (or it would be better to say he hit a car with his bike) Maybe Trojan2004 has a point and it's better to go to a school where there are no streets to cross.

 

[docmemi]

wait wait. let me clear it up cause everyone is gettting mad at me. i was making the point that uci and much more so uci campuses are much less busy than ucla is. some people may like that and some people may not. i was just giving u guys something to think aout. i never said one school is better than the other.

second, snowbear you kicked my butt.

i hope you get me now.

 

[exmike]

My friend's going to be disappointed because his whole point in applying to USC med was so he could hit on all the undergrad girls. I guess it's not all that far away. 👍

ooh uci med students get to hit on the undergrads? SWEET! oh wait, im not going there. 😡

 

[rdy4ths2Bovr]

Made my final decision this morning. I'm excited to join Keck Class of 2008. 🙂

 

[Trekkie963]

Made my final decision this morning. I'm excited to join Keck Class of 2008. 🙂

Congratulations on your decision and welcome to our class.

😀 😀

 

[dara678]

Yay ... is there a list of people going to USC? Maybe we should all sign our names .... below ... this ... post ...

 

[Trekkie963]

We definitely should all sign up on the "Official" Matriculation thread. There sure seem to be a lot of future USC-Keck students on SDN!

 

[BoomerDoctor]

HI guys,

So I've been accepted to USC and waitlisted at Virginia Commonwealth University...I got an email from VCU requesting that I either withdraw from the waitlist, or should they decide to offer me an acceptance, I must accept it. That means I really have to make a decision now, which is kinda sucky.

I really like USC! I feel like I really want to go there...but I also have this tug...I know it's more expensive to live in California, and my parents think LA is very dangerous...they are afraid of me getting attacked or something. Of course, Richmond is not exactly the most wonderful place to live either. I was looking at cost comparison...the out of state tuition for VA is the exact same as the tuition for usc....and according to their budget, cost of living + tuition for VCU is around 50,000 per year...and for USC is around 55,000 per year. Does that make sense to you all? I would think there would be a bigger discrepancy than this.

At this point, I probably could be happy at any school...but I'm really leaning towards USC...

So I'm torn...and everyone's like "you're going to make big bucks when you get out of medical school so you'll pay it off in no time" but I don't believe this...I think my loans will take FOREVER to pay off. And that worries me.

Can anyone help me out with this?? Thanks

Laura

 

[baya]

It sounds like you know what you want.

And really, the difference between $50,000 and $55,000 ain't much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[patzan]

Laura,
I'm choosing USC over a state school (cheap tuition) with a very low cost of living. The differences for me were the programs at USC, LAC hospital, family in LA (in-laws), and a better chance for a good job for my wife. I was given a lot of advice along the lines of "don't worry about the cost (especially if it is negligible), just go where you will be the most happy." I don't know which one that is for you, but I wouldn't take the $5000 into consideration.

 

[camstah]

HI guys,

So I've been accepted to USC and waitlisted at Virginia Commonwealth University...I got an email from VCU requesting that I either withdraw from the waitlist, or should they decide to offer me an acceptance, I must accept it. That means I really have to make a decision now, which is kinda sucky.

I really like USC! I feel like I really want to go there...but I also have this tug...I know it's more expensive to live in California, and my parents think LA is very dangerous...they are afraid of me getting attacked or something. Of course, Richmond is not exactly the most wonderful place to live either. I was looking at cost comparison...the out of state tuition for VA is the exact same as the tuition for usc....and according to their budget, cost of living + tuition for VCU is around 50,000 per year...and for USC is around 55,000 per year. Does that make sense to you all? I would think there would be a bigger discrepancy than this.

At this point, I probably could be happy at any school...but I'm really leaning towards USC...

So I'm torn...and everyone's like "you're going to make big bucks when you get out of medical school so you'll pay it off in no time" but I don't believe this...I think my loans will take FOREVER to pay off. And that worries me.

Can anyone help me out with this?? Thanks

Laura

well, what kind of financial aid will vcu offer you? have they given you any idea what sorts of grants/scholarships they offer?

 

[BoomerDoctor]

Thanks Baya and patzan...


Yeah, well camstah actually, neither school has given me ANY financial aid info, and i don't know what kind of grants/scholarships I would have...I have heard though that USC is not too good about financial aid. It really would be helpful to have this kind of information...maybe I'll email both schools and ask.

I just don't believe that there is so little difference in budgets between VCU and USC.

 

[camstah]

Thanks Baya and patzan...


Yeah, well camstah actually, neither school has given me ANY financial aid info, and i don't know what kind of grants/scholarships I would have...I have heard though that USC is not too good about financial aid. It really would be helpful to have this kind of information...maybe I'll email both schools and ask.

I just don't believe that there is so little difference in budgets between VCU and USC.

well, what it usually comes down to is what kind of aid they're willing to give that isn't in the form of loans.....yeah, i think it'd be a good idea to email them both and see how the financial aid packages play out....because if it does come down to something like $5000, then that's nothing.....i totally understand how you feel about taking on debt though.....but yeah, what they offer you is usually what the difference is between schools......
good luck! 🙂

 

[Jalby]

I just don't believe that there is so little difference in budgets between VCU and USC.

They esitmate 50K the first, 55K the second and third, and 50 K again for the fourth. I know I spend about 488-50K a year, so I think it is very accurate. But I don't think 10K-20K is to much to pay to go somewhere where you would be happy and the people around you would be happy. (just look at this thread)

 

[Jalby]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=119714

 

[SoCalOrBust]

Wouldn't USC give better opportunities for residencies being in Cali?

 

[Jalby]

Wouldn't USC give better opportunities for residencies being in Cali?

Where you go to school is far and away the place you are most likely to end up for resiedncy. Their are people in my class who already have gaurunteed residency spots if they just score at the avg for the USMLE in great programs.

 

[camstah]

Where you go to school is far and away the place you are most likely to end up for resiedncy. Their are people in my class who already have gaurunteed residency spots if they just score at the avg for the USMLE in great programs.

is usc a good place for residency? i was reading in some thread in the allo forum that it's a sweatshop...with a lot of fmg's etc.....i'm gonna go find that thread....but yeah, a good place or no?

 

[docmemi]

Where you go to school is far and away the place you are most likely to end up for resiedncy. Their are people in my class who already have gaurunteed residency spots if they just score at the avg for the USMLE in great programs.

ummm, how are they guaranteed? at usc? how???

 

[emily69]

Where you go to school is far and away the place you are most likely to end up for resiedncy. Their are people in my class who already have gaurunteed residency spots if they just score at the avg for the USMLE in great programs.

That's great. It totally fits my general plan to stay in SoCal 🙂

 

[Jalby]

well i think med students most places are going to be the same sort of mix of gunners and nice people....
i think what it really comes down to is: what are the most important things you're looking for in a school? cost? location? residency placement? board scores? what's most important?

People tend to choose the same schools for the same reasons. i.e. Some people would choose a certain school because of research. Some people choose a school based on location. It tends to perpetuate.

For example, a lot of people chose USC/Keck because they thought the students were happy. This brings the type of people who likes to go out, have fun, go to foriegn countries over summer to learn a language, etc, etc. A better example is County. People choose county because they want to be able to make a difference in an underserved pop. Some people are scared of county and don't come.

Other schools could get chosen because of research. These students are more likely to spend their summers in research, etc, etc, etc.

I don't believe schools recieve the same mix of gunners, etc, etc. People might choose UCSD (my favorite whipping school) because they want the prestige and that is important to them. Most likely those same students would want the prestige of being in a competative specialty and work a lot harder to get the best grades so they can get that residency. You can see how this would impact the student body at the different schools.


As for people getting residency spots gaurunteed, they happen to meet the people in charge of the programs, those people like them, etc, etc, etc.

 

[zer0el]

Hey Jalby, do you know the specific depts that made these promises? I'm hoping one of them is ortho or gen surg.

 

[camstah]

I don't believe schools recieve the same mix of gunners, etc, etc. People might choose UCSD (my favorite whipping school) because they want the prestige and that is important to them. Most likely those same students would want the prestige of being in a competative specialty and work a lot harder to get the best grades so they can get that residency. You can see how this would impact the student body at the different schools.

so you're saying that people at usc don't study as hard?
nope, i still maintain that most schools will get a similar mix of gunner types etc....at some schools the gunner effect may not be as pronounced because they don't feel there's as much competition...but they're still there, being gunnerish....and of course there will be nice people at every school...unless you're saying nice people don't like to be ambitious or achieve....as if they're mutually exclusive....which they're not IMHO.....for instance, i plan to work hard in med school to get a great residency, but i'd never do it if it meant not sharing notes with classmates etc....but i'll be able to share notes and be friendly and still do well....then again, my thinking goes if my class does well and places well, then that makes me look all the better.....since i'd have graduated from that med school too.....
oh, and leave ucsd alone....it's a good school, my bro went there and he's really nice and v. cool, and yes, ambitious and yes, he placed very well.....but he's not a gunner, and has helped many people along the way...so no poop-ing on ucsd.... 👍

 

[Jalby]

Hey Jalby, do you know the specific depts that made these promises? I'm hoping one of them is ortho or gen surg.

Seriously, this is something that I can't be talking about for obvious reasons.

 

[Jalby]

Or somewhere else?? Where might that be😉????

Just be sure people like you and stuff like that would happen.



Oh, I still believe certain schools attract certain types of people.

 

[Jalby]

Dammit Trojan2004. Quit deleting your posts.

 

[docmemi]

Dammit Trojan2004. Quit deleting your posts.

haha. fine. all i said was that i hope to find contacts like that too for residency. but first i have to decide what i want to be...

good q...i know this has been asked before, but jalbs you say, do you think there is time during M1 to shadow or do research...or should i just wait till summer cause my boards are much more important?

yeahh. i remember helping a FMG..she came to do research with us at county and i told her to go and work with one of the faculty/residency directors in the dept that she wanted to go into. i helped her leave us, which my PI got very mad at (but didnt know i helped her to leave). a couple months later she told me the faculty promised her a spot for next year. it made me feel good that i helped her. but yeah, i cant say which dept either.

and i almost have a 1000 posts. i shouldnt delete. in fact i should split up what i write. haha.

 

[patzan]

So what is everyone doing for the summer?

As for me, I'm playing all summer: Hawaii, Havasupai, etc.

 

[patzan]

2 days until graduation!!

Wish me luck on my Adv. Anatomy final today, I'll need it. I should be studying, but instead, I'm pleading for well-wishers' good luck charms.

 

[baya]

So what is everyone doing for the summer?

As for me, I'm playing all summer: Hawaii, Havasupai, etc.

I'm going to teach a class in Sweden in June, climb a few Norweigan mountains in early July, then move to LA in late July.

 

[BoomerDoctor]

hey everyone

Just wanted to thank you for your input about my issue between VCU and USC...I actually got a areply to my email from VCU today and the lady explained that VCU typically cannot offer grants and scholarships and that usually USC is better able to give out this type of aid.

Every time I ask around and get advice about what to do, I'm always led back to the obvious choice, which is really where I wanted to go in the first place...USC of course! I think I'm definitely headed there this fall 🙂 It's really cool to hear people say "Wow, you're going to be a Trojan!"

Laura

 

[camstah]

hey everyone

Just wanted to thank you for your input about my issue between VCU and USC...I actually got a areply to my email from VCU today and the lady explained that VCU typically cannot offer grants and scholarships and that usually USC is better able to give out this type of aid.

Every time I ask around and get advice about what to do, I'm always led back to the obvious choice, which is really where I wanted to go in the first place...USC of course! I think I'm definitely headed there this fall 🙂 It's really cool to hear people say "Wow, you're going to be a Trojan!"

Laura

congrats on making your decision! sounds like you made the right one 😉

 

[Jalby]

Congrats. I think there is quite a streak going of people who post on here choosing USC over others schools.

 

[emily69]

2 days until graduation!!

Wish me luck on my Adv. Anatomy final today, I'll need it. I should be studying, but instead, I'm pleading for well-wishers' good luck charms.

Good luck on the Anatomy final, Patzan. I took head and neck anatomy once - and I got destroyed, though. 🙁 It's all them itty bitty cranial nerves that seem to sprout out of nowhere. PLUS, for the final they gave us this decrepid old head which was mostly dried up - yet they managed to pin a couple of shriveled up noodles, asking us what they were... I'm not looking forward to taking that again...At leats you'll have a head start on gross anatomy! 🙂

I'm going to Japan next month to visit my grandma who is recovering from stomach cancer. She's much better now 🙂 And for the rest of the summer, I'll be cleaning out my parents' garage and put on a garage sale.

 

[patzan]

I think your well-wishing did me some good. I am pretty sure I came close to acing it (which usually means ~80%). One more final at 8 am and I AM DONE!!!

Emily69 (not really Emily, though, with that added "random" number),
I know what you mean with the CNs and srhiveled noodles. My practicum was last week and I got destroyed. They had the stapedius probed (yes, you can actually probe it!), but I got that one right. It was when they asked "what type of fibers (visceral motor, somatic sensory, etc.) go through this nerve", I got pummeled.

Oh yeah, this summer, I also get to build a deck for my in-laws.

 

[snowbear]

So what is everyone doing for the summer?

As for me, I'm playing all summer: Hawaii, Havasupai, etc.

I am glad your anatomy final went well 🙂 Good luck on your last one and congrats on being done!

Well, I am going to be working through the second week in July 🙁 But I am going to Miami for Memorial Day weekend to party it up with one of my close friends. And, my boyfriend and I just booked some days in Cabo San Lucas at a tight resort. Yeah! I love Mexico and I love resorts!

I

 

[patzan]

DONE DONE DONE!!! My ecology final was 95% identical to the practice test he gave us. Piece of cake.
Good luck to anyone else graduating.

Will someone please remind me to get parking on the 15th? I have a feeling I'm going to forget.

 

[BoomerDoctor]

DONE DONE DONE!!! My ecology final was 95% identical to the practice test he gave us. Piece of cake.
Good luck to anyone else graduating.

Will someone please remind me to get parking on the 15th? I have a feeling I'm going to forget.

Congrats patzan! It's kinda weird to be done isn't it? I too, need reminding about parking...

 

[Jalby]

Congrats patzan! It's kinda weird to be done isn't it? I too, need reminding about parking...

Don't worry. I'll remind you guys.

 

[jay16942]

Only two papers left to write! I can't wait to be done, although I know I'm going to miss it as soon as it ends.

Anyway, I'm going to Wash U this weekend for 2nd look, so I should know whether I'm gonna be there or with you guys at USC by the beginning of next week. Ugh, decisions, decisions...

My parents have been nagging me about it so much that I told them they aren't going to find out where I'm going until graduation (May 14th). I'm gonna write the name on my cap in white tape. It's fun to make your parents anxious... hehe. 😀

 

[snowbear]

My parents have been nagging me about it so much that I told them they aren't going to find out where I'm going until graduation (May 14th). I'm gonna write the name on my cap in white tape. It's fun to make your parents anxious... hehe. 😀

That's hella funny! They are going to be trying super hard to see your hat. I bet the anticipation is going to kill them.

Let us know when you decide.

 

[emily69]

My parents have been nagging me about it so much that I told them they aren't going to find out where I'm going until graduation (May 14th). I'm gonna write the name on my cap in white tape. It's fun to make your parents anxious... hehe. 😀

That's hilarious! What a clever way to let them know of your decision. Your parents will be proud whichever school you choose 🙂 Are you going to do the same for medschool graduation? Can you hold out after Match Day for three more months w/o telling them?! 😉

 

[patzan]

"USC" will be easier to write than "Washington University in St. Louis"
You'll definitely have to take that into consideration when making your decision.