I went to the open house and left with a better general feeling about the program than I had before attending. In regard to the large class size, they break it up into smaller groups by having 14 faculty members in each hands-on class divided among the 90 students, so you do get more interaction/guidance than I had previously thought. There was a "mixer" at the end of the day, and I talked to a lot of first year DPT students and faculty. Almost all the students had the same reply when I asked why they chose USC over other schools: the faculty. Because there are so many students, they have a large number of faculty, and each has their own area of expertise so I think each student can find at least one professor who can help them pursue his or her special interests.
I'm sure it's a great program, but it's also insanely expensive...I can't help but think you're paying mostly for the notoriety of the school...but if I do get accepted I will definitely at least consider going there. USC's program has around seven different clinical internships equaling almost a full year of experience upon graduation, which can help to fatten your resume and make you feel better prepared once you're done with school and job-hunting. That being said, graduating from any accredited PT program and passing the licensure exam will enable you to practice, all programs include internship experience, and I don't know if the additional cost for USC's program is justified.
