*** - USC School of Dentistry - Class of 2012 - ***

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It seems as though the class is starting to take shape and I think it's about time for this. We can use the thread to get in touch, and discuss upcoming matters for life as a D1!

There also seems to be quite a bit of people still trying to make the cut with plenty of questions regarding the interview and admissions in general. Feel free to ask away here. :D

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I will be attending an interview in March, any ideas about the writing sample and what to expect out of the PBL?
#1 don't stress -- it is not a high stress thing
#2 don't be overbearing
#3 don't be a church mouse either
#4 while you are doing it really think about if you'd like this style to learn dentistry
#5 enjoy it, it really is fun

you can't prepare for it, so just enjoy the experience.

Fight on!!
 
I will be attending an interview in March, any ideas about the writing sample and what to expect out of the PBL?

I just posted this on the other USC thread, but here it is again:

Both of these are very simple, straightforward topics with no real previous knowledge required.

For the writing sample think along the lines of "what is your favorite color?" or "what is the last movie you saw?" (not actual topics I encountered). I believe they just want to make sure you can write down thoughts in a coherent manner since you will be making summarized packets for the rest of your group every other day.

Also a middle school student would have enough knowledge to participate in the mock PBL case. They don't want to make this hard in order to just see how you interact in a group environment.



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Thanx a lot Hysteria 24, you are always helpful. Do you know by any chance how much it will cost to rent a small room by USC, I live in San Diego and my husband's job is here, and I was wondering if I can rent a room very close to campus and just commute by Amtrak,and stay there maybe 2-3 nights a week.. any ideas?! thanx

Here’s a good place to start:

http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper679/documents/23839kia.pdf

It’s the Daily Trojan classifieds, which has a lot of websites and numbers to get some quotes. The one thing I know is that housing is filling up fast in the neighborhood on the north side of school.
 
heyllo. congrats on the usc acceptance. do any of you guys know which DAT scores they look at if u took it more than once? the better overall/better of each section/latest?? thank uuu
 
Let me welcome all of you to the Trojan family. I am a first year dental student at SC and it has been a good experience so far. let me know if I can answer any questions that you may have, just PM me. I look forward to seeing you in the fall.
 
Anyone know how many slots are left at USC. Have my interview March 21st.
 
I am also going to be joining you this fall. I am from South County, so if anybody has any questions or concerns about the areas, let me know.

Anybody else graduate from either BYU or ASU?
 
I am also going to be joining you this fall. I am from South County, so if anybody has any questions or concerns about the areas, let me know.

Anybody else graduate from either BYU or ASU?
BYU, here. I am finishing up now.
 
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So does anybody have an idea of what goes on during the New Student Orientation Week and the Academic Induction Week? Are they pretty relaxed or full weeks? Perhaps a current student could enlighten us incoming students.
 
BYU, here. I am finishing up now.
Just wondering if BYU is still doing committee letters or if Don Bloxham still has any influence in the process. Also, are the trips to the Galapagos for pre-dents still going on? Thanks
 
Just wondering if BYU is still doing committee letters or if Don Bloxham still has any influence in the process. Also, are the trips to the Galapagos for pre-dents still going on? Thanks
the committee has been dissolved, Bloxham retired. They are no longer doing any committee stuff. I haven't heard of any Galapagos trips.
 
So does anybody have an idea of what goes on during the New Student Orientation Week and the Academic Induction Week? Are they pretty relaxed or full weeks? Perhaps a current student could enlighten us incoming students.

Good question…

Also does anyone know the exact date everything starts?
 
The orientation week is a full week you will go from 8-5 nearly eveyday for two weeks. They go over everything that you need to know to succed at USC and some stuff that you don't need. It is a long two weeks but you will get free lunches for the two weeks. :D I heard that the class is full now so congrats to those of you coming this way in the fall. I know that there will be people that drop their spot so the class will change before August.

There are generally a lot of BYU students in each class we have 8 I think and two more from UVSC (UVU).
 
I just got the Email, IM IN :) :D
 
LA is huge as you know, Pasadena and Glendale are both far from USC with Traffic it could take as much as 1:30 hour :), but it also depends on the time of day no traffic (which is unlikely) 30 min, in my opinion it would be a pain. I don't know about your budget but Santa Monica is close enough and the prices are somewhat better than most places around USC (Beverly Hills, westwood, ...) , Valley is a little farther but the prices are much better than West LA (where USC is). USC is in Downtown LA so I don't think you want to live too close to the school either (not too safe:D) so the 5 min walk thing I am not sure about, Downtown LA is not the best place, not horrible, after all it's like 10 min from Beverly Hills, but still with someone who is married and has a child is better not to live next to the school. I have a lot of friends who commute from Valley to USC daily and they are ok with it, Valley has good prices compare to other places around LA.

Hey Guys! Hows it going - congratulations to you all!

Where is this Valley you are referring to? I am accepted to USCSD, and we have one child. Any advice on how to make it on loans and we are not sure if my wife will be able to work.

Currently we are looking for places to live and they all are so expensive! Plus, it seems most people live either on campus (but university housing is not an option for us as we have a dog) or far away and commute.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
 
The orientation week is a full week you will go from 8-5 nearly eveyday for two weeks. They go over everything that you need to know to succed at USC and some stuff that you don't need. It is a long two weeks but you will get free lunches for the two weeks. :D I heard that the class is full now so congrats to those of you coming this way in the fall. I know that there will be people that drop their spot so the class will change before August.

There are generally a lot of BYU students in each class we have 8 I think and two more from UVSC (UVU).

i just got off the phone with USC admissions office, yes the class is FULL.
i got invited to the interview on march and spent about $700 for the whole trip.
i hope i didn't just waste $700 when there isn't really a chance :(
 
I just got the Email, IM IN :) :D

congrats big guy. I met you briefly at our UNLV interview. I know you've been waiting for this acceptance for a while. Congrats, once again!
 
Hey Guys! Hows it going - congratulations to you all!

Where is this Valley you are referring to? I am accepted to USCSD, and we have one child. Any advice on how to make it on loans and we are not sure if my wife will be able to work.

Currently we are looking for places to live and they all are so expensive! Plus, it seems most people live either on campus (but university housing is not an option for us as we have a dog) or far away and commute.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
The Valley is too far for commuting, since you have a kiddo like I do, your best bet is SOUTH pasadena (not as far as described) or Culver city, or practically any where in West LA. I am going down there at the end of June to stay with my mom and I am going go house hunting the rest of the summer. If I had to pick a place tomorrow it'd be Culver city.
 
congrats big guy. I met you briefly at our UNLV interview. I know you've been waiting for this acceptance for a while. Congrats, once again!
BYU huh, I am there now. PM when you get a chance.
 
The Valley is too far for commuting, since you have a kiddo like I do, your best bet is SOUTH pasadena (not as far as described) or Culver city, or practically any where in West LA. I am going down there at the end of June to stay with my mom and I am going go house hunting the rest of the summer. If I had to pick a place tomorrow it'd be Culver city.

Ok.. awesome! Thanks for the tip! What do you like especially about South Pasadena and Culver City?

Anybody want to share what they are paying in rent? I am hoping to get an idea of costs for our budget.
 
Ok.. awesome! Thanks for the tip! What do you like especially about South Pasadena and Culver City?

Anybody want to share what they are paying in rent? I am hoping to get an idea of costs for our budget.
South pasadena and culver city are NOT in the ghetto, which is alway a plus. South Pasadena is a bit cheaper, but about 12-15 miles (20-40minute commute vs 10-20 minute commute Culver city) further away from campus and Culver city is WAY closer to the beach.
 
Hi guys, I am going to USC next year and I was wondering if anyone wanted a roommate, or how we even go about finding a roommate, especially since I am from Kansas City. If you are interested let me know.
 
I am looking into buying a duplex in LA. It will be very close to school and I will be renting the other side, if anyone is interested. I am still in the process of looking but I WILL BE BUYING ONE. PM me if you may be interested and I will keep in contact with information pertaining to the property (Rooms, #baths, cost, …)
 
Congratulations’ to all aspiring USC dentists. My son graduated in the class of 2006 and lived at the Psi Omega dental fraternity house for his 4 years. Hardly elegant but cheap, dental students only. Walking distance to the school, tram service also available.

http://www.psiomegafraternity.org/upsilon/index.htm
 
I got My acceptence letter a week ago and I am way stoked to become a Trojan
 
Congrats to all of you that got accepted!
USCSD class of 2011.
 
Wow... all the upperclassmen are just now coming out of the woodwork.

Good to see more of ya on SDN (especially the ones not telling us to runaway). :D
 
You guys are super quiet! No questions?

As for living, there is no grad housing so most of us live around the school (very ghetto) or commute a bit. I live in Glendale and its not a bad commute. 15 mins with no traffic, usually about 40 or so though. I like it because its outside of L.A. It is a bit expensive. I would still suggest looking there and in Pasadena.
 
Ok... I got one.

Some have mentioned that the orientation spends a lot of time on teaching us how to do well with PBL but doesn’t give us much help with everything else (ie. how and when to start getting our assisting in clinic done).

Any tips for us D1’s that you wished you knew when you started? Any thing we should start doing early when we start in August?
 
Ok... I got one.

Some have mentioned that the orientation spends a lot of time on teaching us how to do well with PBL but doesn’t give us much help with everything else (ie. how and when to start getting our assisting in clinic done).

Any tips for us D1’s that you wished you knew when you started? Any thing we should start doing early when we start in August?

You guys are on the ball. My class (2011) was pretty good about getting some of the requirements (all or partially) completed during our first year.

Yes, orientation teaches you about case, how to find information, what you should be aware of when preparing learning needs, etc; however, orientation is also very long (2 wks) and for the most part boring.

Since your first year is fairly relaxing, I would go ahead and start doing your assists ASAP! I believe the requirement is 33 assists (I could be wrong) before they will let you out of this place. They require each student to do 3 assists in each dept (i.e. tx planning, data collection, operative, fixed, removable, endo, perio, and I believe OMFS). Tx planning, data collection, and operative are very easy assists to get out of the way... you could get these done within the first month!

My advice, spend as much of your free time in the clinic assisting, doing research or studying. Some people in your class will blow their 80k+ in tuition at the beach... I would not suggest doing this. You can have fun, but the first year affords you a lot of opportunities to get involved in the clinic, specialties and research--take advantage of it. :D

See you in the Fall!
 
I agree with getting some assisting done. Maybe not in the first month, as you arent much help if you can't even pour up an impression, but definitely within your first two trimesters. Not only will you get some of your requirements done (you need 33 total, only 9 to get into the clinic), you will also have a better understanding of what clinic is all about. And doing it is pretty easy, just go in when you have free time at either 9am or 2pm when patients come in and ask anyone if they need help. Most will be grateful for your assistance.
I wish I would have studied a bit more during my freshman year. It seems kind of pointless to start studying for boards, but if you're at least really going into what you're learning in case and dental anatomy for tooth morphology, you will be fine.
Also, if you haven't started, start collecting teeth now! Believe me, it sucks to have to ask people for teeth you don't have. And dentists/oral surgeons are pretty slow about getting teeth collected so definitely ask around in your home towns, so you can pick up jars during winter break. Also ask around when you move here. Many places already have jars collecting but you may find an office that doesn't.
 
Has anyone received any new mailings other than the intial packet when you first get accepted? I believe in that packet it said we would be receiving more information throughout April and May.
 
Has anyone received any new mailings other than the intial packet when you first get accepted? I believe in that packet it said we would be receiving more information throughout April and May.
We should be getting the financial aid packet, but I thought that was more around june. I could be wrong about the time, but it should be the financial aid stuff.
btw do any of you remember when we should hear about whether we will be getting a scholarship or not? I remember Brian saying there is nothing we can do to get one, but that everyone will be reviewed and awards will be given accordingly. I just cant remember when we would hear about it or not.
Also are any of you applying for the HPSP?
 
Thanks bbakers. I thought we were supposed to get some pre-matriculation documents as well. Oh well, no big deal.

A quick question to current students, how is parking on campus? Are spots usually available for everyone who has a parking permit or is it like my undergrad where certain times of the day it is next to impossible to find a spot?
 
Has anyone received any new mailings other than the intial packet when you first get accepted? I believe in that packet it said we would be receiving more information throughout April and May.

I haven’t received anything new. We should be getting stuff later (other paperwork and something about a physical if I remember correctly).

We should be getting the financial aid packet, but I thought that was more around june. I could be wrong about the time, but it should be the financial aid stuff.
btw do any of you remember when we should hear about whether we will be getting a scholarship or not?

I’m guessing we’ll get financial aid stuff sometime after the May 5th finaid deadline, after everything is submitted by all the students.

During a recent call to finaid, I did ask about the scholarships. They said decisions are all based on our initial applications and there is nothing we could do now. All decisions and announcements are to be made in August after all students have fully committed by showing up on day 1. This way they don’t award a scholarship to a student who bails for another school at the last second.
 
What a coincidence that we started talking about all of this today.

Anybody else get the email from Brian?
 
A quick question to current students, how is parking on campus? Are spots usually available for everyone who has a parking permit or is it like my undergrad where certain times of the day it is next to impossible to find a spot?

Parking is not too bad. If you get a permit for the Parking Center, there are plenty of spots, but its away from the dental school and you have to take a shuttle. I did that my first year but i really prefer Parking Structure B, which is close to the dental school. Yes, parking is a little worse there, especially at 9am and 1pm, but nothing a few circles around the 4th level can't help. Its a lot more expensive though, but definitely better for staying late nights when the shuttle won't run. If you want to save money your first year go with the Parking Center or Shrine.
 
I got the email too. I had a feeling we were supposed to be getting some new info, I may quit dentistry and become a psychic...
 
I don’t know what happened but I did not receive the first email from Bryan. I only received the second that said the last email did not have the attachment. Can someone forward it to me. If you PM me I can send you my email thanks.
 
For lilpoptart and Columbia-

The paperwork we received told us to store the teeth we collect in one part bleach and 10 parts water.

There have been a few threads on the pre-dental and dental forums with other schools informing their students to do things like change the ratio, add glycerin, or use formalin instead of bleach.

Have you two encountered any problems using teeth stored at the 1:10 bleach to water ratio suggested by USC?
 
What a coincidence that we started talking about all of this today.

Anybody else get the email from Brian?
yea, a lot of info.
I am a bit peeved about the laptop thing. When I was there they said we don't have to get a laptop, but if we did to get a laptop and get a small one. When they said that I assumed they wouldn't come up with specs for one... so I dropped $2800 on a Lenovo Tablet that is decked out, but has a tiny screen and does't have anywhere near 512 MB graphics card. They should just require whatever it is they want, why don't they just require one? Bottom line is that all of you will have huge laptops that have sweet graphics cards.... and I will have a tiny one that I can write on... oh, well right?
 
For lilpoptart and Columbia-

The paperwork we received told us to store the teeth we collect in one part bleach and 10 parts water.

There have been a few threads on the pre-dental and dental forums with other schools informing their students to do things like change the ratio, add glycerin, or use formalin instead of bleach.

Have you two encountered any problems using teeth stored at the 1:10 bleach to water ratio suggested by USC?

I've never had a tooth break on me while drilling into it. I think ive had some dental offices change the solution for me anyway, and i haven't seen a difference. I think as long as you don't keep them in just plain water you should be fine.

And for Hysteria,
people have all sorts of different laptops. I don't know why they would suggest a different graphics card...if its good enough to read documents on and watch videos you don't need anything else.
 
And for Hysteria,
people have all sorts of different laptops. I don't know why they would suggest a different graphics card...if its good enough to read documents on and watch videos you don't need anything else.

I think you're referring to bbakersc for this one. But anyways I think the reasons schools get weird computer suggestions has to do with specific software the school might have you use, and then pass the software recommendations onto the students. It's not to say the software won't work (as most times it will) but they just error on the side of caution incase a problem were to arise.

Also, this whole laptop thing is just a suggestion, as I don't believe they're required. So the video card you bought is better than anybody's without a computer.


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