As a USC student, I will tell you, go to Pitt. I didn't realize how much cheaper the school was for out of staters. I am just trying to defend USC from the point that, yes, things have been horrible at this school in the past, but the new administration has made changes that are making USC the great clinical university it once was.
I do think USC can hold its own with the other expensive, private schools in the US. I think the quality of clinical instruction can compete with that at Penn, Columbia, NYU, Temple, Case, UOP, Nova, UDM, Creighton, Tufts, and BU. Yes, PBL is not run very effectively here, but let me tell you, nobody seems to care that the majority of med schools use PBL, or that Case and Harvard have PBL in their curriculums. I mean, come on, the boards are P/F now, and USC students do not have trouble passing the boards. If you want to do OS or ortho, you can study for those specialty tests on your own time, which PBL gives you plenty. I personally would rather spend my time at school in the SIM lab or clinic and study about biochemistry on my own. We still have plenty of lectures on dentistry related material.
The price at USC is ridiculous but comparable to the schools mentioned above except for in state residents at Temple (and maybe Harvard or Columbia because they have great aid). We do get a small break on tuition our last year while most schools spread it out evenly over all 4 years. Nobody seems to get angry at UOP for charging close to the same amount as USC and giving you almost a year less of education.
