University of Southern California Application Thread

[mollykatheryn]

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Thanks!

 

[ladnar]

Yeah, I got the ac e-mail too, sucks. I'm searching my brain to think of anything I did wrong...

Absolutely terrible to receive the e-mail on the second day, got my hopes up.

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

Stupid question, should I just use the envelope they gave me in the application packet or my own to mail in the deposit and acceptance stuff? I am wondering since I can't really put my return address on the envelope they gave me (it has the admissions office info in the top left corner).

 

[ladnar]

Also, I heard of some people e-mailing the admissions office asking why they didn't get in. Do you think that's a good idea? I'm thinking about it, just because I'd really like some feedback for future interviews.

 

[PharmD in 2015]

Stupid question, should I just use the envelope they gave me in the application packet or my own to mail in the deposit and acceptance stuff? I am wondering since I can't really put my return address on the envelope they gave me (it has the admissions office info in the top left corner).

I used the envelope enclosed to mail my deposit and forms.

The upside of using that envelope is that it will be returned to USC as well if it needs to be returned to sender 🙂.

Also, for me, there are 4 forms that I filled out instead of the 3 mentioned in the "action required" note.

The 3 that require actions are:

1. Notice of possible background check, drug testing and/or fingerprinting form
2.Acknowledgment of clinical rotation background check and release form
3. Enrollment commitment deposit form.

However, according to the admission office, if your packet contains another form called the "scheduling form", it needs to be sent along with the 3 required forms as well.

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

I used the envelope enclosed to mail my deposit and forms.

The upside of using that envelope is that it will be returned to USC as well if it needs to be returned to sender 🙂.

Haha I was thinking that too. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[LightRx3]

AC Stands for Active Consideration.

USC does not reject, hold, or put people on the wait list. So all applicants who have been interviewed are actively considered until the class is full.

Hi guys,

Does anyone know if the AC's for this interview will be considered/compete for acceptance with the next group of applicants (i.e. the Jan 22 interviews)? Or will the AC's from all interviews are reconsidered again at the end when all interviews are over?

Thank you guys and sorry if this question was asked already!

 

[PharmD in 2015]

Haha I was thinking that too. Thanks for the feedback!

You're welcome 🙂

Hi guys,

Does anyone know if the AC's for this interview will be considered/compete for acceptance with the next group of applicants (i.e. the Jan 22 interviews)? Or will the AC's from all interviews are reconsidered again at the end when all interviews are over?

Thank you guys and sorry if this question was asked already!

Yes, people on the AC will be reconsidered at every interview cycle.

Basically, people who have interviewed will be scored (i don't know how). Each cycle, they have a cut off point of the lowest score to accept students. Therefore, if someone on the AC list from the previous cycle has a score above the cut off, he/she will be accepted.

 

[LightRx3]

You're welcome 🙂



Yes, people on the AC will be reconsidered at every interview cycle.

Basically, people who have interviewed will be scored (i don't know how). Each cycle, they have a cut off point of the lowest score to accept students. Therefore, if someone on the AC list from the previous cycle has a score above the cut off, he/she will be accepted.

Cool, Thanks! Good luck to all!

 

[Infern0]

You're welcome 🙂



Yes, people on the AC will be reconsidered at every interview cycle.

Basically, people who have interviewed will be scored (i don't know how). Each cycle, they have a cut off point of the lowest score to accept students. Therefore, if someone on the AC list from the previous cycle has a score above the cut off, he/she will be accepted.

So that means the 40/100 people they accept in each subsequent interview session will also potentially include people who are on active consideration?

 

[desler]

No, the 40/100 is not including people from Nov. Last year it was 40 accepted from the 100 interviewed, plus two people pulled from the November AC. The chances of being pulled from AC are extremely slim, and it bothers me that they string everyone along giving false hopes. They should honestly just reject the people who have really low scores, I mean they have a good idea of the competition every year...

 

[Infern0]

No, the 40/100 is not including people from Nov. Last year it was 40 accepted from the 100 interviewed, plus two people pulled from the November AC. The chances of being pulled from AC are extremely slim, and it bothers me that they string everyone along giving false hopes. They should honestly just reject the people who have really low scores, I mean they have a good idea of the competition every year...

I see.. so really, the benefit of being interviewed first is not that great. You have 33% chance of being chosen (vs 40% from later interviews) and the "active consideration" list is essentially unused because only a very small handful of people are pulled from it... 🙁

 

[dnguyen401]

I wonder whats the benefit of applying early then?? 😕

 

[desler]

I believe the logic is that applying early gives you the greatest chance of an interview. I may be wrong though.

 

[caligal408]

Congrats to everyone who got in!

Would you mind sharing some logistics about the interview as to what to expect.
How many hours did it last?

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

Congrats to everyone who got in!

Would you mind sharing some logistics about the interview as to what to expect.
How many hours did it last?

The entire interview day lasted about 2 hours. Current students will be around to talk to you before the interview.

First Jim G. (super nice btw) talks to you about how the interview day will go and talks about the program a little. The interview, which lasts 20 min, is after that and is in a 2on1 format (1 student and 1 faculty interviewer). Following that is the writing sample, I forget how long it took. And lastly, current students came in to answer questions (~20min).

Oh and there are a couple of interview groups on the same day each separated by about 30min.

Don't stress out and be yourself, Good luck.

 

[hmjung]

Congrats to everyone who got in!

Would you mind sharing some logistics about the interview as to what to expect.
How many hours did it last?

The interview itself goes by so fast.. my interviewer just told me to relax and that he just wants to get to know me.. try not to be concerned with them writing stuff down (because that really freaked me out when the student kept writing down stuff i was saying).
-i know someone who used to interview for USC a few years back and she told me they grade us on a scale i.e. appearance (did we look professional), morals (a BIG thing to USC) did we sound honest, and so on.. the scale is 1-10 and they circle numbers after we leave.. then at the bottom she said there were choices like admit right away, AC, and no and they circle one..

the writing portion, you get 5mins to read the whatever they give you and then you summarize it.. i think it was like 15mins for the latter?

then students come in to answer questions and stuff..

if you want more detailed info about the interview message me and i'll try to help as much as i can 🙂

 

[hmjung]

I believe the logic is that applying early gives you the greatest chance of an interview. I may be wrong though.

jim said 50/150 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd interviews, and then i think they round out the 185 total by the end of the 4th interview if i'm not mistaken..

but i wouldn't worry because i was talking to couple of the pharm students and they were saying how they were on the AC and got in around march or april.

 

[Ayuka001]

What type of questions did u guys get asked at the interview?
( if you don't mind sharing)

 

[PharmD in 2015]

No, the 40/100 is not including people from Nov. Last year it was 40 accepted from the 100 interviewed, plus two people pulled from the November AC. The chances of being pulled from AC are extremely slim, and it bothers me that they string everyone along giving false hopes. They should honestly just reject the people who have really low scores, I mean they have a good idea of the competition every year...

I don't think that the chance of being accepted from the AC list is slim at all. Although after each interview cycle only a few numbers of seats are given to the people on the AC list, at the end of the application cycle a lot of AC people are accepted.

From the data on pharmaCAS, last year USC accepted approximately 247 people total. Only 190 people were initially accepted. However, out of the 190 people, some would prefer to choose other program over USC. That was when the majority of the people from the AC list were accepted.

I wonder whats the benefit of applying early then?? 😕

I spoke to someone at the open house when I went last year. They said that the perk of applying early was that you would be considered more times than those who applied later. But now that you mentioned it, I think that only the people who interview on the last interview day would be at a disadvantage because of the restricted number of available seats.
But I also think that those who are interviewed and accepted on the first interview day also have an advantage in the case that the application pool gets stronger at later interview cycles.

The entire interview day lasted about 2 hours. Current students will be around to talk to you before the interview.

First Jim G. (super nice btw) talks to you about how the interview day will go and talks about the program a little. The interview, which lasts 20 min, is after that and is in a 2on1 format (1 student and 1 faculty interviewer). Following that is the writing sample, I forget how long it took. And lastly, current students came in to answer questions (~20min).

Oh and there are a couple of interview groups on the same day each separated by about 30min.

Don't stress out and be yourself, Good luck.

The writing sample portion is 20 minutes long. You have 5 minutes to read and take note. After that 5 minutes, the article is taken away from you. You then have 15 minutes to write a summary.

 

[PharmD in 2015]

What type of questions did u guys get asked at the interview?
( if you don't mind sharing)

Go to the interview feedback and try to answer all of the possible questions there. I think that's the best way to prepare for any school interview.

I don't believe that the interviewers have a set list of questions to be asked like some other school. Or at least that's how I felt about my interviewers. They kind of based their questions on what I mentioned in my answers.

http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview-feedback/

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

What type of questions did u guys get asked at the interview?
( if you don't mind sharing)

It was pretty much like the questions in the interview feedback question.

Luckily I did not get any weird questions that threw me off. Some that I can remember were related to topics such as problems in pharmacy and leadership roles.

Like PharmD in 2015 said, it felt like the direction of the interview was based on how I answered previous questions.

 

[peartiser]

Also, I heard of some people e-mailing the admissions office asking why they didn't get in. Do you think that's a good idea? I'm thinking about it, just because I'd really like some feedback for future interviews.

I'd also like to know if this is a good idea. Would the admissions office find this pesky? Is it okay that we e-mail them about why we didn't get in or at least to get some interview feedback??

Thanks in advance!

 

[hmjung]

What type of questions did u guys get asked at the interview?
( if you don't mind sharing)

for my interview he started with why pharmacy, why USC.. but then he asked me weird questions like do you know about our economic crises, who has the answer to solve our problems, are you going to work to live or live to work.. lol

the student is the one that asked me more education/pharmacy questions like what else have you done, about my research and so on..

 

[PharmD in 2015]

I'd also like to know if this is a good idea. Would the admissions office find this pesky? Is it okay that we e-mail them about why we didn't get in or at least to get some interview feedback??

Thanks in advance!

I remember reading somewhere about someone emailing the ad com to ask what they did wrong on the interview day. Yet, I don't know if they did it right away or after all the interviews were over. Also, the answer that the person got was something about him doing bad on the summary. I don't know if they will go on to specific details about what you did during the interview.

for my interview he started with why pharmacy, why USC.. but then he asked me weird questions like do you know about our economic crises, who has the answer to solve our problems, are you going to work to live or live to work.. lol

the student is the one that asked me more education/pharmacy questions like what else have you done, about my research and so on..

Fortunately, like pharmasaurus88, I did not get any difficult questions. So it all depends on who your interviewer is. I would just go in prepared and be yourself.

 

[caligal408]

The interview itself goes by so fast.. my interviewer just told me to relax and that he just wants to get to know me.. try not to be concerned with them writing stuff down (because that really freaked me out when the student kept writing down stuff i was saying).
-i know someone who used to interview for USC a few years back and she told me they grade us on a scale i.e. appearance (did we look professional), morals (a BIG thing to USC) did we sound honest, and so on.. the scale is 1-10 and they circle numbers after we leave.. then at the bottom she said there were choices like admit right away, AC, and no and they circle one..

the writing portion, you get 5mins to read the whatever they give you and then you summarize it.. i think it was like 15mins for the latter?

then students come in to answer questions and stuff..

if you want more detailed info about the interview message me and i'll try to help as much as i can 🙂

Thanks!! what kind of article do they give you? Science related or something random?

 

[fid3lity]

is there still anyone who hasn't yet received neither an acceptance envelope or an AC e-mail?

 

[hmjung]

Thanks!! what kind of article do they give you? Science related or something random?

science related.. um i think it was on statins

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

Thanks!! what kind of article do they give you? Science related or something random?

It was sort of science related, but I'm guessing the articles they give you would tend to be random. Just need to be able to understand whatever they give you and give a summary of it. I would put a lot more emphasis on the interview part of the day as the written section is pretty straight-forward.

 

[student20]

is there anyone who Has a REALLY HIGH GPA and was still placed on the AC list?
I have 3.9 and two years of pharmacy experience! and i still got placed on AC.
I kept thinking what i did wrong but i can't figure it out 🙁

 

[dnguyen401]

is there anyone who Has a REALLY HIGH GPA and was still placed on the AC list?
I have 3.9 and two years of pharmacy experience! and i still got placed on AC.
I kept thinking what i did wrong but i can't figure it out 🙁

I have a 3.94 but was also placed on AC. Don't know what went wrong either 😕 I think it could be my writing portion of the interview.

 

[student20]

h?

 

[hitornado]

is there still anyone who hasn't yet received neither an acceptance envelope or an AC e-mail?

I haven't. I live in NCal, I'm going to call the admissions office tomorrow, as it seems like it shouldn't have taken this long for mail or email to come!

 

[deleted289008]

I have a 3.94 but was also placed on AC. Don't know what went wrong either 😕 I think it could be my writing portion of the interview.

They take into account which schools you took classes as well. A high GPA at a community college would look different than a student at a UC, and even then there are different rankings in the UC system. Also, remember that GPA isn't everything! Maybe it was the interview or the writing portion =\. Lastly, perhaps they just didn't think that USC's mission statement would help you achieve your goals, meaning that the program wouldn't benefit what you want to achieve. There could be many reasons, so don't base it only on GPA and pharmacy experience 😀.

I would ask them for details after the process!

 

[Ayuka001]

I remember hearing awhile back that this is how they go about choosing students:
20% prepharm gpa, 25% cumulative gpa, 10% LOR's, and the rest divided between interview and writing portion ( with the interview weighted more heavily of course). So basically gpa isn't everything.

Gosh I need to stop going on sdn and study for my finals lol.

 

[hitornado]

Just called the Admissions Office because I hadn't heard anything.

I'm ACCEPTED! WOO!

They were really confused as to why I hadn't received anything...

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

Just called the Admissions Office because I hadn't heard anything.

I'm ACCEPTED! WOO!

They were really confused as to why I hadn't received anything...

CONGRATS!!

I would've gone crazy if the same thing happened to me

 

[hitornado]

CONGRATS!!

I would've gone crazy if the same thing happened to me

Yeah I was absolutely going crazy. Now I can finally sleep at night.

 

[shinystar]

I used the envelope enclosed to mail my deposit and forms.

The upside of using that envelope is that it will be returned to USC as well if it needs to be returned to sender 🙂.

Also, for me, there are 4 forms that I filled out instead of the 3 mentioned in the "action required" note.

The 3 that require actions are:

1. Notice of possible background check, drug testing and/or fingerprinting form
2.Acknowledgment of clinical rotation background check and release form
3. Enrollment commitment deposit form.

However, according to the admission office, if your packet contains another form called the "scheduling form", it needs to be sent along with the 3 required forms as well.

uh this is really stupid question, but for the "scheduling form" you should answer "NO" right? just making sure..i always get paranoid on these yes and no questions because they are worded from one standpoint.

 

[PharmD in 2015]

Yeah I was absolutely going crazy. Now I can finally sleep at night.

Congratulations 😀

uh this is really stupid question, but for the "scheduling form" you should answer "NO" right? just making sure..i always get paranoid on these yes and no questions because they are worded from one standpoint.

You check "NO" if you answer NO to all the questions on page 2 and 3. If you are paranoid, I would suggest you read the questions on page 2 and 3 and put X's over stuff that do not apply to you for each question 😛

 

[PharmD in 2015]

I remember hearing awhile back that this is how they go about choosing students:
20% prepharm gpa, 25% cumulative gpa, 10% LOR's, and the rest divided between interview and writing portion ( with the interview weighted more heavily of course). So basically gpa isn't everything.

Gosh I need to stop going on sdn and study for my finals lol.

Umm... This is interesting.

I remember one of the speakers at the open house said that a good GPA would get you an interview.

However, I strongly believe that our extracurricular activities (research, health care experience, teaching experience, pharmacy experience...) are also taken into consideration too since they ask us to upload a resume. The interviewers do not get to have our resume, so those experiences should be scored separately. Thus, if GPA counts for 45%, LOR counts for 10%. Then the last 45% should include the interview, the writing portion as well as the experience (remember Mr. Granderson said that our file will be reviewed again by blind reviewers after the interview lol).

 

[peartiser]

Thanks PharmD in 2015. I'll try looking into it on previous threads.

 

[PharmD in 2015]

Thanks PharmD in 2015. I'll try looking into it on previous threads.

no problem. please let us know if you find anything 🙂

 

[PharmD in 2015]

FYI, for those who are sending in the deposit and the forms, you will receive a confirmation email once they are received.

 

[Infern0]

OMG!! I went to get mail today and I see a big yellow envelope!! I received the AC email on Tuesday so you can imagine my surprise. I called admissions and they said that I was placed on a review list, and after some consideration, they decided to accept me!!!!

 

[Pharmasaurus88]

OMG!! I went to get mail today and I see a big yellow envelope!! I received the AC email on Monday so you can imagine my surprise. I called admissions and they said that I was placed on a review list, and after some consideration, they decided to accept me!!!!

Damn, that is GREAT! CONGRATS!!! Less stress now haha 👍

 

[desler]

wow infern0, must've felt amazing! congrats!

 

[PharmD in 2015]

Congrats Infern0 😀. The admission committee is full of surprises 🙂

OMG!! I went to get mail today and I see a big yellow envelope!! I received the AC email on Monday so you can imagine my surprise. I called admissions and they said that I was placed on a review list, and after some consideration, they decided to accept me!!!!

 

[Infern0]

Thanks everyone!

Congrats Infern0 😀. The admission committee is full of surprises 🙂

They sure are! I got the email on Tuesday and this letter is dated on Wednesday! Not even a week had passed before they changed their mind! I'm sending all my stuff in pronto (the four sheets + the cashier's check in the provided envelope right?)! No more surprises for me please!! hahah

 

[HermJ]

the same thing happened to me!!! I the AC email on Monday and I got the yellow envelope today!! So weird but so happy!!! 😀