USC Alternate List

[CCHieb's]

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All right everyone, they finally got the "alternate list" out for USC, and I figure that if anyone has any extra info on the list, or questions, then they can post here. Then we don't craz the office assistants with the same questions over and over.

1) Is there only one list, and is it the unranked alternate list that my letter indicated?

2) How many people are on the list?

3) Is it really unranked, or is there a ranking that they just don't tell us what it is?

4) Do they take updates, or no? i.e extra LOR, evaluations, publications, ect...


If No one knows this info, I will call this afternoon. I will also ask any questions you want me to, so bring on the Q's!!

________________________________________________
Alternate List: (name, date received, date removed)

CCHieb's, 5/12, ??
________________________________________________

 

[deja-vu]

yeah i was put on this thing too.

i was curious if all the letters were the same.

in the first paragraph, there was a bit in there about having had good interviews with the faculty member and student, which resulted in strong recomendations.

im guessing that this is just a form letter, but ...
did you get this same nunance in the letter?

as for the stuff you wrote, im sure that it can only be sort of unranked. although they will never say it, they have to have some idea of people that they want from the waitlist, but they prob want to see how people respond to this action.

think of it as psychology experiment. if youre completely complacent, they might think youre not interested. if youre obsessively persistant, they'll think you are annoying, which is also a turn-off.

so im saying spaced-letters reminding them of your interest in their program are the probably the best. at that time include any updates also worth mentioning.

just a thought...

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by deja-vu
yeah i was put on this thing too.

i was curious if all the letters were the same.

in the first paragraph, there was a bit in there about having had good interviews with the faculty member and student, which resulted in strong recomendations.

im guessing that this is just a form letter, but ...
did you get this same nunance in the letter?

Everyone got the same letter...well.... at least you and I did. So that probably means everyone else did too. 🙂

 

[badgergirl]

i can't believe usc is actually telling anyone anything -- i thought we were just supposed to guess. 😉 not that it makes a difference for me anymore (i finally decided on my school on friday), but when did you receive these letters?

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by badgergirl
i can't believe usc is actually telling anyone anything -- i thought we were just supposed to guess. 😉 not that it makes a difference for me anymore (i finally decided on my school on friday), but when did you receive these letters?

got mine on saturday. i'm an hour and a half from campus.

 

[CCHieb's]

I know that I got that same letter. I guess they believe that we ALL had good interviews and recommendations!😀

Anyhow, I got my letter on Monday and i am in SF. Are you all going to accept the place on the WL? I am going to add it to my WL pile, and hope that eventually one comes through.

UCLAMAN...what do you think? Northwestern or USC??

deja-vu...I agree that it must be semi-ranked. I will probably include a short but sweet letter with my WL acceptance. Then if they don't get back to me in June, I will send more stuff. I guess all I can do is hope that they include it in my file. I already have most of my updates prepared from my other WL, so it won't be too hard.

June just can come soon enough!

Badgergirl...did you get the letter yet?

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by CCHieb's
All right everyone, they finally got the "alternate list" out for USC, and I figure that if anyone has any extra info on the list, or questions, then they can post here. Then we don't craz the office assistants with the same questions over and over.

1) Is there only one list, and is it the unranked alternate list that my letter indicated?

2) How many people are on the list?

3) Is it really unranked, or is there a ranking that they just don't tell us what it is?

4) Do they take updates, or no? i.e extra LOR, evaluations, publications, ect...


If No one knows this info, I will call this afternoon. I will also ask any questions you want me to, so bring on the Q's!!

________________________________________________
Alternate List: (name, date received, date removed)

CCHieb's, 5/12, ??
________________________________________________

Alrighty then. I found out the reason for all of the delays across the board. The admissions office was in charge of putting on some conference for the western medical schools so they were working on that almost nonstop for the last couple of weeks, so that is why there is such a delay in everything.

As for you questions:
1. I donno.

2. I'm guessing most people who didn't get in. I told you about the one guy rejected last time.

3. I'm not sure it's truly unranked (pure opinion here). I'm sure they have some method of putting some people over others. Last year, the people who got off the list first had personal notes from Dr. Quinn, but I doubt she had time to do that this year.

4. Definately write letters talking about how much you want to go here. I think everybody I know who was on the waitlist and really wanted to go got in. I helped Hero write his last time, and he was the very first person who got in. Don't worry to much. One person got in 3 days b4 orientation.


Ummm, I donno if there is anything else I have for you. I might be able to answer some questions if you have them. 110 people showed up to the second look thingy. More useless information.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by CCHieb's

UCLAMAN...what do you think? Northwestern or USC??

Well...personally I'm going with Northwestern for several reasons...

I really liked Chicago. Michigan Ave is right there, the museums are right there, in the winter theres a free ice rink at the park(I play a lot of hockey), I liked the idea of dorming for the first year(seemed like it made the class tighter knit), I have friends there, and I think it will be a new experience for me to live somehwere other than sunny southern california for a change.(I will probably be banging my head on the bathroom mirror once the novelty of snow finally wears off) I figure this is really gonna be the last chance in my life to go live somewhere else for a bit as I'd like to return to CA for residency. I liked the curriculum better. I think it will be fun getting to know people from places other than california(usc's classes are like 80% cali). I liked Northwestern Memorial better than County(However, thats not to say county is a bad place. I think the opportunity for great training at county is great because of the large patient population)

Northwestern just "felt right." The match list is just as good as USC's IMO. (I think so much is made about the fact that USC students pretty much all match into a cali residency. I'd argue that the reason for that is that practically everyone in the class is a cali resident and predominantly wants to stay in cali so they apply to cali programs. Of course NU will have less people match into cali, there aren't as many cali residents going to school there!) Tuition is pretty similar.

USC is a great school. I don't think one can go wrong either way. Northwestern just felt right for me. Its a gut feeling I'm going with here as well as the new and different experience for me. Of course, many people would say that I'm stupid and the experience part isn't worth giving up sunny cali. Hey, everyone is different, right?

But I actually did choose to remain on usc's waitlist. However, i only did so because my mom wanted to see if I would eventually get into usc. I figure she bankrolled my long and arduous application process; I can humor her by seeing what USC will do with my file.

I think the biggest question you should ask yourself when deciding over usc or northwestern is whether or not you are willing to trade in sunny california for the windy city. Their curriculums aren't too vastly different from each other and both schools will get you a good residency IMO.

 

[CCHieb's]

Glad to hear you know what you are doing in the fall UCLAMAN...it sounds like you have really thought it out.

If anyone is interested here is a thread of last years Waitlisters. I find it funny that their letter looks EXACTLY like our...down to the statistics. But anyhow, it is interesting to read.

http://65.54.246.250/cgi-bin/linkrd...et/showthread.php?threadid=68093&goto=newpost

If that doesn?t work...try "what's up with USC".

BTW, did anyone else find it kind-of cruel that USC decided to put our waitlist letter is large white envelopes that directly match the description of the acceptance packet??

I actually have a funny story about it...so I got home last night, and saw that there was a huge white envelope on my front stoop. From a distance I could read the words "admissions office? and "California". So I am thinking, this is it!! When I got up close, however, I saw that it was from the California State Bar Association, and was for my Boyfriend (recently joined, thus why the admissions office phase). So I had a good laugh at myself as I hastily grabbed the rest of mail and headed upstairs. In about 10 minutes I decide to go through the mail, and there is ANOTHER big white envelope, and this one IS from USC. So I'm all getting nervous and sweaty (just joking...girls never sweat). I am thinking, this is how everyone describes the acceptance letter, could it be?!?!? But after opening it, and getting past the first flatter paragraph (that I now know everyone received), I realized that is was another waitlist. OK, so it is kind-of sad, but funny too, and makes me laugh when nothing else in my life does.

🙄

🙄

 

[Jalby]

I think you made the right choice for yourself UCLAMAN. I think the curriculums are a bit different, but everything you said is why I would choose northwestern over USC (Which I wouldn't but those are the +'s of Northwestern). I actually thought about it for a while, but decided I couldn't leave Los Angeles, but the schools are very similar to each other. And I knew that USC gave me the best shot at the good Southern Cali residencies, mostly because schools like to take their own students.

 

[Jalby]

PS, if you want me to try and talk you out of it, I could.

 

[camstah]

hmmm...for those of us who haven't gotten a waitlist letter, does this mean that we've been rejected? or are they just slow with sending out some of them? or are some of us still in this weird uncategorized "you're not rejected but not waitlisted" thing....or maybe they forgot about me?

 

[Jalby]

One side of crack| camstah |other side of crack

 

[camstah]

what does that mean? basically what you're saying is i've fallen into an application oblivion.....
i don't wanna bother the admin office people...maybe i should just convert to some religion and start praying...in this alternative medicine class i'm taking, they say there have been studies that prove that people who have been prayed for have better health outcomes...random but interesting....

 

[Jalby]

I think you'll get it in your mail soon enough.

PS outside of accupuncture, almost no alternative medicine has been proven to have any positive effect in randomized clinical trials.

 

[camstah]

not true...well, i'll find the study and i'll send you the citation....the only reason you know about acupuncture is because it's gained a lot of mainstream acceptance now in conventional medicine...
btw, thanks for all the helpful info you've given us about usc...it really does help!

 

[Jalby]

I'll prolly retire after you guys get in. Sometimes, it's not real fun.

 

[weirdo700]

I too have not received any letter from USC and I live 30 minutes away. USC has been ignoring me post-interview since late October. That is pretty long, but I guess I'm used to it. USC is now my number one choice since Yale rejected me post-interview, and Stanford placed me on the waitlist (ultimately results in rejection). Hopefully USC will at least waitlist me. Good luck all.

 

[camstah]

maybe the mail is moving reaaaalllllyyyy slowly to some people....maybe the postman wanted to read it first....maybe a dog ate it.....maybe aliens came down and got curious about it....maybe usc is in the process of celebrating the ten thousandth letter sent, and is gold plating it....maybe it's being delivered by owl (for those harry potter fans).....maybe it got caught in a random split second black hole in my mailbox...maybe...it could happen....

 

[badgergirl]

hey - don't despair. i somehow slipped through the crack myself. it's been, oh, 5 months or so now since my interview, and i ain't heard a thing. fortunately, cosmo came yesterday, so i wasn't too upset. 😉

 

[CCHieb's]

mmmm....cosmo...


Anyhow, you all may still have a chance to get outright acceptance, so don't dispair.

 

[CCHieb's]

Anyone know if USC will really wait until June 1st to move their waitlist? Since I know that my letter accepting my waitlist spot will not get there until Friday, and I am sure others will not get there until later than that. Will they wait until the deadline?

 

[Jalby]

I doubt there is a June 1st deadline. Right now everybody is busy working on comencement, so I don't think they have much time to do stuff right now. Last year the first person to get off the list was June 8th.

PS a guy who just walked by (bling bling) said tell them it's not to hard to get off the alternate list.

 

[camstah]

hey, has anyone who didn't get either a waitlist letter or a rejection called the admin office? i emailed but haven't gotten a response 🙁

 

[cabruen]

I haven't received any kind of notice from USC. I am waiting in limbo.

 

[Davischick]

I have not received anything yet either!! I called about two days ago and they told me that "we sent all decisions last week."

That sounds like some stinky bs because it does not take that long for mail to get to Davis- unless my mailman is like camstah's...or maybe our letters were in the same bag that fell out of the truck!!

Anyways, if it is not in my mailbox by Friday, I am going to call again.

 

[CCHieb's]

Jalby
There is a June 1st deadline to get out waitlist acceptance paper in...that was all I was refering to. I was just wondering if they would wait until everyone got it in. I agree with you that I don't expect much movement until June.

 

[camstah]

maybe we should start our own little club...

 

[Davischick]

New story today from USC- they have sent more decisions this week (including today)...how did it go from all last week to this? Anyways, more days of waiting for us

 

[camstah]

what kind of decisions? accept, waitlist, reject? or just the first two (please please please...)

 

[CCHieb's]

ANy news yet on the people who haven't heard. I assume that some of you will get outright acceptances to fill the last minute spots that opened...keep us updated on any success!!

 

[camstah]

got my waitlist letter....it was printed on the 14th....has anyone been accepted off the waitlist yet? or gotten accepted in the last week w/o being on the waitlist?
and how are we supposed to make our applications stand out if USC doesn't accept update letters etc?

 

[Jalby]

USC does accept update letters and it does help a lot. I don't care what it says, you should send letters to USC. I think they don't want people who aren't interviewed and hasn't interviewed sending tons of stuff. But Dr. Quinn reads every single thing that gets sent in to her offic.e

 

[camstah]

m'kay...so now that i've sent one letter off to USC saying how much i loooove the program, the school etc....what else are you supposed to say in future letters? especially if you're sending them only a couple of weeks apart....jalby, you said you helped someone write one before, was there anything special that was in that letter? or maybe you could drop by the adm. office and tell them you think those of us waitlisted on this thread should be let in.....yeah, i think that's a GREAT idea...

 

[CCHieb's]

Camstah
Glad to hear that you got news...to bad it wasn't an acceptance, but thanks god it wasn't a rejection. A waitlist is certainly worth a couple claps!!

Anyone else hear who is waiting?

Wierd how they sent 2 batches of WL's, I had heard earlier that they send their WL all out at the same time...whatever, it's all the same, no matter what day they send it.

I don't think that they will starts movement on the list, however, till June. But I wouldn't object if movement started earlier😉

 

[Jalby]

It was basically a full page about everything that was great about USC and then why he is great for USC. Do a search for jalby and USC, and you will get more than enough information about what to write.

 

[Jalby]

More info for you. I showed this to Dr. Quinn, she didn't have time to read it though. Here is some things she wanted me to pass along.

Once you are on the waitlist, they want you to send update letters. They say don't send letters because they don't want non-interviewed people sending in TONS of stuff. Also, they are two weeks behind because of the conference they put on for aamc a couple of weeks ago. So update away.

 

[camstah]

thanks jalby....you're a great source of info...we're lucky you still offer advice on these message boards....

cchieb's.....i hope i see you at USC when we both get in...btw, i love your ralphy quote...makes me laugh everytime you post...

 

[AznTrojan]

good luck to those on the waitlists..

but hey.. it's "only" may.. i got off the waitlist in august (a week before class started).. so hang in there.. it really does move..

sigh.. back to this step 1 medical licensing thing.. 😀

 

[CCHieb's]

AZNTrojan...Thanks for the silver lining...I agree, it is ONLY May. But put into perspective, it was this time last year when I was finishing up my AMCAS! OMG I can't believe how time flies when your having fun!

Jalby...do you mean to say that you actually showed Dr. Quinn this web site! She must have gotten a kick out of us...

Camstah...it would be great to see you at USC! Are you accepted elsewhere to date, or you riding the WL train like myself? BTW, this ralphy quote was form my favorite episode, the one where they spoof on Lord of the flies....so funny!

In response to the update letter advise, I already sent one update letter with my WL acceptance sheet. I will also send an additional LOR, hopefully this does the trick! But does anyone recommend sending letters every couple weeks, or is this annoying. Hell, I don't really care about annoying as long as they accept me.

Keep me posted on any news!
CCHieb's

 

[camstah]

nope, no acceptances (as of yet....staying positive)...i'm a passenger on the waitlist train too....and still waiting to hear back from uci about whether i'll be waitlisted or not....still on "hold"....it's almost like we're dogs...they say "hold!" and we do...arf....
and yeah, i love that episode too! : )

 

[CCHieb's]

Well...I think we can get through this together then, as long as we stay positive. It is hard, though, when so many other wailists are moving to be patient. I called the office yesterday to check if they had recieved my letter, and got a little info. She told me there are around 100 people on the waitlist, and last year around 25 people got in from the list. She also told me the list wouldn't start moving till june1st. So, until then I will hope for your UCI hold camstah, (which I have heard it moving, but mabey i am confused) and my UCLA Waitlist. Tick tock.....

 

[badgergirl]

i finally got my waitlist letter this week, but i'm not going to stay on it -- other people want it a lot more than me, i think. hopefully you guys will get in -- i'll keep rooting for you!

 

[CCHieb's]

Well...at least the wait is over badgergirl.
Where will you be heading in the fall?
CCHieb's

PS: Thanks for leaving more space on the list for the rest of us who really love USC😉

 

[badgergirl]

hey CC - yeah, i'm glad i finally heard. i'll be at loyola, which makes a lot more sense for me, seeing as how my parents live in the area. i was really psyched for USC back when i interviewed, but i realize socal is just not me - i like my sweaters too much to abandon them for the warmth. 😉 i wish you all the best, and i hope each and every one of you who truly wants it gets in!

good luck!

 

[CCHieb's]

Badger
Loyola is a great school, and it will be nice to have the good support system of your parents. I understand the sweater thing...SF is probably the coldest city in california. LA will be a difficult change, but worth it I guess. I'm more concerned about the traffic that the weather though!! Man, i thought my commute across the bridge was bad. Anyhow, good luck and thanks for the good vibes!
CC

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by CCHieb's
I'm more concerned about the traffic that the weather though!!

Never heard of people being scared of SoCal Weather before. As for traffic, I doubt you will really ever get a chance to experience it. The drives to and from County are not bad at all. It's mostly through Hollywood and the westside that there is a ton of traffic.

 

[CCHieb's]

Yea...but living in LA, you are bound to leave the "county" area. Plus, my Boyfriend would actually have to get a job, and that would include some driving.

Any word...anyone?? June is almost here!

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by CCHieb's
Yea...but living in LA, you are bound to leave the "county" area. Plus, my Boyfriend would actually have to get a job, and that would include some driving.

Any word...anyone?? June is almost here!

If your boyfriend gets a job in Pasadena, you can live in Mont Hills without a problem. If he gets a job anywhere else, you could live in Medici or one of the condo complexes downtown. (Where I want to live 3rd or 4th year.

 

[CCHieb's]

We were thinking about Los Feliz or Silver Lake...fun, and kind-of like SF in the way that you can walk places on the weekend to have a good time. I love SF, and will be sad to leave it if I get in. It would be nice to live in a neighborhood that reminds me of home.