USC students - what do you think?

Started by AllisonAsh
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AllisonAsh

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hi,

i am really interested in getting feedback from med students at usc.

what is the story with the 'new' curriculum? did you feel prepared for the boards?

what was it like to work in la county hospital? a good learning experience? too intense?

how much teaching vs. scut work goes on during rotations?

is there a strong student community even though everyone lives spread out all over la?

i'd really appreciate any info - thanks so much.

A.
 
[Originally posted by AllisonAsh
hi,

i am really interested in getting feedback from med students at usc.

what is the story with the 'new' curriculum? did you feel prepared for the boards?

The second years are the first people to go through the new curric, so we won't know their boards scores until about Sept. But the people I'm talking to feel very well prepared. The great thing about the curric is that you get lots of stuff that is board tested first and second year, while most schools only have the big board stuff (Path and Pharm) in the second year. Since there is an end of year one cumalative test, people relearned the material for the second time then, and for these boards, they are relearning it for the third time, which makes it really easy.

Also, right now the second years are in the middle of integrated cases, which lasts 11 weeks. They have class three half days a week and ICM on Tuesday, plus they need to put in about 6 hours work for the three half days. It is integrated cases, which they try to make as much like what we will see on the boards as possible. Then in June, they have another comprehensive test, for which they would have a week to study for it. So a lot of people are taking the boards right after that, due to the fact that they really will have ~12 weeks to study for it, and they will actually have a second year summer.


what was it like to work in la county hospital? a good learning experience? too intense?


Tu Hables Es Spanol??? I really couldn't tell you this since I am only a first year. But I know the training is great.

how much teaching vs. scut work goes on during rotations?

See above answer


is there a strong student community even though everyone lives spread out all over la?

We are not spread out all over LA. I would say 80% of the student body lives within 5 miles of each other (In monterrey hills, Pasadena, South Pasadena) The student community in my class is absolutely amazing. Just last week, ~80 of us went to Saddleranch on Sunset and had a blast. Frequently we go to bars and clubs and take the place over, with the manager giving us free drinks if we come back. Two weeks ago, we had a class picnic with 40 people, and proceeded to get thrown out of 6 apartment complexes pools in monterrey hills. Tons of fun.



i'd really appreciate any info - thanks so much.

A.

Hope that helps. go to the second look day and I'm sure you'll find out more then
 
As a current Year 2 student at USC, I feel that Jalby has misrepresented my point of view. This is going to be a long diatribe because I?m more than frustrated by what I?ve been put through.

In a single sentence, if I had it to do all over again, I would have chosen a different school.

The blatant fact is that of the Class of 2005 have been guinea pigs for the ?New Curriculum? and have gone through all the hardships only to improve things for classes following us. So as an incoming first year, you?re in pretty good shape now that the administration has the experience of 2 years of the new curriculum.

First, I don?t think there is anyway we would know if we are ?more prepared? for the boards than any other class. No one can make that claim if they haven?t been through both the old and new curriculum. What I can tell you is that I think I would have preferred to have a traditional curriculum. It seems more beneficial to learn normal physiology first, then come around a year later to learn pathology and pharmacology. It forces you to look at the same material twice from different points of view. An organ-system curriculum does nothing like this. I had all hematology over a year ago, and like most of my classmates, I?ve everything about it. If I would have had at least the pathology and pharmacology of it earlier this year, I would have probably retained as least some of it.

Second, the work behind our Integrated Cases System is much, much more than described above. It?s more like 6 hours of preparation for each half-day session, not 6 hours for the whole week. (Maybe not that much, but definitely more than 2 hours per session.) The people who say otherwise fall into these categories: (1) they are very intelligent and have excellent recall, (2) they have been studying for boards for quite a while already, (3) they don?t care if they don?t learn the material as well as they should. We have to give short presentations during each half-day session, and it is painfully obvious who doesn?t give a damn compared to who spent the time to prepare.

Third, since Integrated Cases is taking so much time for preparation, time for studying for boards is severely limited. The idea is supposed to be that Integrated Cases *is* your board prep, but that?s a fallacy. Integrated Cases doesn?t touch on everything you have to know. My biggest complaint is that everyone doesn?t learn the same way. To force me to sit in class 12 hours a week listening to unprepared classmates ramble on about topics they obviously don?t understand is absolutely worthless.

Fourth, it is true that *some* people are taking boards right after our cumulative exam at the end of Year 2. That is not that case for the majority of people. I know of many people who have actually pushed *back* their Step 1 test date because they realized they were getting screwed by the lack of free time we have during Integrated Cases to study. Of course, it?s probably not going to affect board scores because we are all paranoid and find a way to study enough to pass. The point being, it probably doesn?t have to be that way.

Fifth, you can?t judge a school based class unity because every class is different, even within the same school. My class does nothing together. I don?t think we?ve had a single event solely for the Year 2 class all year. No wine and cheese tasting, or picnics, or bar hopping, like the first year class always seems to have. If you happen to have people in your class who are willing to put in the effort to promote class events, then you?ll have a good community. Again, something like that isn?t intrinsic to the school, but instead to the individuals who happen to comprise your class.

Sixth, it might not be true for subsequent classes, but the administration has been very stubborn about changing how things work, irregardless of feedback. Exhibit A: Mentored Cohort Group. Exhibit B: Reproduction System. Exhibit C: Integrated Cases System. I could go on and on... For each of these components of our curriculum, as a class we asked for simple changes as they were happening, but got appeasement rather than true action. A lot of that is because the administration has been planning the curriculum change for years, and when we say it isn?t going well, they take it as a personal insult.

Don?t even get me started on the parking situation or lack of financial assistance for one of the highest tuitions in the nation.

There are some positive aspects to go with the negative. The professors and administrative people individually are very nice and do care about our education. The school is in Southern California. The training at County will bring you in contact with pathology you won?t see anywhere else. Compared to UCLA, for example, residency directors have said that USC students are better prepared at practical patient care than our cross-town counterparts.

I don?t mean to create a negative impression of my school, but I?ve been reading these boards for a long time and I?ve noticed that the USC posts have been nothing but sugar-coated and complimentary. You can disregard this as a post from one disgruntled student out of 160, but I know there are many more like me---just as there are plenty who are in love with the school. You?ll see that any where you go.
 
Wow, your screen name sure does fit your mood. I guess me and some others have done super + posts, but granted, I'm not in the guinee pig class (And very glad for that, too) You guys went through a lot, and for the most part it has been fixed with our class. Outside of putting up a wrong answer key, I don't think our class has been to mad at the administration. We also have half the Gross anatomy than you guys did, so that helps.

Yeah, you guys did get screwed in a lot of ways, but of the three things you've listed, 2 of them they havn't had the second class with (Repro and int cases) As for Mentor group, yeah, it does get boring at times.

As for your points:

1. I disagree, but that might be me. I like having important stuff over two years rather than stuff twice. And part of the reason we switched (And most schools are switching) is because they felt it would prepare us better.

2. My survey is from about 4 different scond years, and they don't really like it. It reminds me of what someone who would go to a PBL school would go through. But I havn't done Int cases, so I can't really comment.

3. 2 people I know are taking it right after, and one person is taking it 4 weeks, maybe 3, after the cum test. Besides, you have to learn everything for the second year cum, so you wouldn't expect to have to learn a lot more after that test.

4. see 3. But you do have a lto of good points, and I'm hoping they will change it for us.

5. 100% true. I think that Los angeles would make the people who come here a lot more fun than others, but I think my class might be lucky in that matter.

6. They did cut Gross anatomy in half for us compared to you guys. They made Neuro easier than what you had. They added more topics for mentored groups that are interesting. They have done a lot to change from your class to mine. Maybe they wern't as immidiately responsive, but they have been responsive.


Parking. It does suck first year, having to walk 15 minutes from the free lot. But second year you shouldn't have had a problem getting parking at all. I even picked up parking in January.
 
Just spoke to a second year, and concerning the admin responding to your class, they just reduced the amount of the work you guys have to do now DRASTICALLY. He said that he now has to put in about 30 minutes per session, when he was doing 2 hours, and the most he has to do is an hour per session. That's three per week.
 
Hey Jalby,
How do you respond to Jaded's comment about the financial aid situation? I'm supposed to be receiving my award letter sometime this month and after reading that post, I'm not expecting much help.
 
Originally posted by ylan11
Hey Jalby,
How do you respond to Jaded's comment about the financial aid situation? I'm supposed to be receiving my award letter sometime this month and after reading that post, I'm not expecting much help.
Click to expand...

I donno much about financial aid at USC (Been lucky) But I wouldn't expect a scholarship unless you are one of the top students. As for loans and stuff, I donno anything really. Sorry
 
Well I had written another long rant to add to this thread, but the BBS gods must not have liked it because I got an error when I tried to submit it. So now, the abbreviated version.

Integrated Cases is still a lot of work. There was no unilateral decision to cut back on the amount of work assigned. It's completely up to the instructor. I just got off the lightest week where prep was probably 30 minutes per session. Now I'm going back to an instructor who expects a presentations plus preparation of about 40 questions for each session.

Financial aid help from the school is scares. Unless you are extremely smart, extremely poor, or an underrepresented minority, the chances of getting significant scholarship from the school are almost nil. Yes, there are quite a few people who get a couple of thousand from the school, but that's nothing when you think of the $36K plus living expenses per year. Like a pretty good percentage of my classmates, I will be $200K in debt when I graduate. That number is so huge I can't even comprehend it. It actually makes me care less about saving money. Living frugally now to save like $25K over four years won't have all that big an effect in repayment when you think about it.
 
Commentary from a 3rd year:

1) Can't add anything to the discussion of the new curriculum, since we are the last class with the old curriculum. We all feared for the current 2nd years due to transition and all of the issues which Jaded Soul decries.

2) Financial aid: You are hosed. It's a private school... Lot's of loans. Yes, I will be $200k in debt when I graduate. If I wanted to do FP, this would be a significant issue (it's still a big issue, but you'd be amazed how well you can learn to ignore that elephant hanging over your head). Loans, loans, loans. Some scholarship money here and there, $2-10k / year not uncommon. I also am married and choose not to live too frugally, so I almost always max out my loans.

3) Clinical training: I chose USC over my roughly equivalently "ranked" state school after walking into the County ER. Very few things like it. As someone who likes urgent care infinitely better than chronic care, I would always choose a "county" hospital over a VA (a trade-off many med schools make). If you have a good work ethic, like dealing with the underserved, and love emergent situations, this is the place for you. Lots of hands-on practice, amazing opportunities. Yes you run scut, but you also get a chance to be a useful member of a team. Clinical rotations are amazing.

4) You will/should pick up at least rudimentery Spanish. I took 1 year of it my freshman year in college (and was really bad at it too), yet if you make an effort you can develop a functional level to do an interview. Also, the patient population is generally VERY understanding, tries to meet you half-way, and really are appreciative of the help.

5) Our class is somewhat social, although more oriented into cliques. And, yes we are spread out through LA. But the fact is, most people who live in the spread out locales are Cali natives who are far less reluctant to drive 30 min for a social event than people who haven't grown up in a car culture. Agreeing with Jaded Soul, this appears to be a "class thang"

6) Matching: We'll see. A lot of people in the current 4th year class chose to stay at County and a lot of people chose to stay in California at other programs. I don't know how much of this is selection bias by people who really want to stay in desirable California. USC is regionally known and can help you if this is your goal. Again, don't know too much more yet.

Hope that helps.
 
Thanks for the extra insight RedBlanket. Its very much appreciated!
 
thanks for all your input - i'm wondering if someone, a 2nd year, could give me a basic timeline -

approximately when do you finish learning new material 2nd year?

when do you finish integrated cases?

and when does 3rd year start?

i'm trying to gage how much actual study time you have for boards.

also, i'd like to get more info about integrated cases - are they helpful for boards prep or more of a time suck away from boards studying?

thanks,
A.
 
What Jaded Soul said applies to many med schools around the country. Just be sure to choose your med school based on location and financial aid, then let the rest fall into place. Worrying too much about class atmosphere and curriculum sometimes does not matter too much (can you predict whether your 3rd year attending will be an jerk? no.). Don't believe that med school is all happy and dandy. Be in for a surprise. 🙂
 
I think you are focusing too much on our discussion regarding Integrated Cases. At most other medical schools, you're going to be learning new material up until the end of the year. The fact that we finish learning new material by Spring break (March) is a luxury. The problem that I (and many of my classmates) have is that our administration made it sound like Integrated Cases would be 2 months with minimal time comittment. That was supposed to give us a lot of free time to study for boards. I suspect if they were up front about it and made it clear that that much extra work outside of classroom time was expected of us, we would have responded better. At least we would have known what we were up against. I have no doubt that Integrated Cases will improve next year, just as most everything else my class as suffered through has.

I'm going to answer your questions now...

approximately when do you finish learning new material 2nd year?

Spring break (March)

when do you finish integrated cases?

May 9th. OSCE (clinical skills exam) is the following week, comprehensive exam the week after that.

and when does 3rd year start?

July 7th.

The free time for board studying hasn't been reduced. IC is not taking away from any studying time that classes ahead of us had. The issue is that many of us feel misled, which made it seem like we were cheated out of study time that we expected to have during IC.

You have to take more into consideration than just Integrated Cases to make your decision. Just from reading your message, I get the feeling that you're letting it be a big factor in your decision when it really shouldn't be.
 
okay, thanks to the last reply, i think i have a better understanding of what integrated cases are about - i was just afraid that usc students didn't have enough free time to study for boards, but it looks like you have about 5 weeks between years, just like most other schools.

my other main concern with usc is working in la county hospital - i know that its supposed to be a fabulous clinical experience but i am worried about the language barrier and that perhaps i am not proactive enough to figure everything out on my own - plus, my friends at other schools who are 3rd years tell me that having to do lots of scut is a bad bad thing and that its really frustrating cause you want to be learning or studying instead - i guess i am somewhat intimidated and am concerned that residents and attendings are going to be too busy and stressed to teach.

one other thing is that although i am from california, i don't really know anyone in LA - i've moved to new cities before and always made friends, but i wonder if this is going to be tough because i will be so busy - i'm a very social person (even though i know i am going to have to tone down my going out in med school) so i definately want a life outside of medicine.

well, those are some of the other things i have been thinking about - hopefully some of you can shed some light for me. thanks 🙂

AllisonAsh
 
ps.

what is this - OSCE (clinical skills exam)? it seems like usc has a lot of exams!

also, i know grading 1st and 2nd year is P/F right? are students ranked during these years? or just on the comprehensive exams? (yikes)

thanks,
A.
 
You need to relax. I can understand your stress in trying to figure out which school to go to, but seriously, don't worry so much. My vote would definitely be for USC. Don't pay so much attention to what everybody complains about - you will learn that med students like to complain about many things. That is just our nature, especially when stressed. If you truly want to stay in California for residency, you will definitely have an advantage if you go to USC. Certainly, you would still have a shot at a good residency spot coming from Einstein, but do not understimate the advantage that proximity and regionalism give you in residency admissions. There is definitely a bit of a schism between the East and the West coasts. If you even think you may be considering a competitive field like ortho, rads, ENT or urology, being on the West coast will be a huge advantage if you want to stay there for residency - I've been through the process and know this first hand. I'm sure you may not know what you want to do now as far as residency, and througout med school your decisions will change about once every 6 months (if not more frequently), but you must keep your options open for any field. Don't be so concerned about the differences in curricula between different schools. Basically, you will need to learn a lot in the two years before your USMLE Step 1. That is the same regardless of where you go to school. True, USC students may study hard, but historically they have also done well on the boards. Regarding scut - it just comes with the territory when you are at the bottom of the totem pole, and the amount of scut you do on rotations, no matter where you are or what rotation you are on, will be very team dependent. As far as social life...Los Angeles is awesome. There is a lot to do there as far as clubbing, or whatever your scene may be. The weather is great and there are many opportunities for outdoor activities; you can go surfing in the morning in Malibu and then skiing in the afternoon in Big Bear. Hope you are able to make your decision soon. Best of luck.
 
I really think that a lot of Jaded's complaints stem from the fact she was teh guinea pig for the new curriculum. A lot of things that they went through last year, my class didn't have. I can honestly say, that outside of one time putting up the wrong key on a test, the setup of classes and all administrative things had been absolutely great for my class. I think whenever the second years complained, the administration would listen, then change it for us.
 
Just wanted to post something that Jaded put in another thread, for all of you reading this.

Originally posted by Jaded Soul

In all, USC wouldn't be as bad a choice as I probably made it sound in the other thread. Most of the bad experiences come from being part of the guinea pig class. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have picked USC. If faced with the decision now, knowing that it a lot of the problems have been worked out, I would probably choose to come here.
Click to expand...

Something to consider if you are considering another school that is starting a new curriculum.
 
A few annotations to Jalby's post...

Originally posted by Jalby
Es Spanol: You will have to learn enough spanish to get by. Most people take Spanish in a foriegn country after first year.

It is so not true that "most people" go to a foreign country to learn Spanish after Year 1. There is no organized Spanish-language program for USC students (something we want to see changed). There is, however, a program in which SOME students participate. They go to Mexico for a few weeks in the summer with the specific intent of a crash-course in learning medical Spanish. I think tuition was around $1000-1500 for that program.

One thing about County is that you arn't doing as much scut work as other places (or maybe the same, but....) Due to the fact that there is a high ratio of patients to doctors at County, you have a lot more responsibilities than you would have at other schools. You interview the patients and decide the mode of action, with residents telling you that everything you decided is wrong. But we also have ~5 other hospitals, 2 private, that you can do training in, if you want a break from county.

For the most part, this is true. There are options to do rotations away from County in the 3rd year. In know we have choices for Family Med, Psychiatry, and Medicine. Not sure how the other required clerkships work just yet. 4th year is almost completely flexible.

And as for integrated cases (which will be better when you would get it, if it really is that bad now), there is 11 weeks of it, then 2 weeks off for OSCE (Which requires a day of studying) and year end cum (Practice board exam).

A little inaccurate. You do not get 2 weeks off for the OSCE. There's a 3-5 day break depending on when you get scheduled. Then, there's about 10 days off until the cumulative exam. The cumulative exam is not meant to be a practice board exam--we've been told this specifically. The nature of the exam questions here differ from USMLE questions frequently in focus and style. You can think of it as a practice board exam, but that's not its intent.

Even if Jaded's estimate of 6 hours studying per day (Which is the highest estimate of 6 people I've polled), it's 30 hours a week in class plus preparing (PS, these are meant to be board review stuff, so part of the preparing would be board studying.

Another thing we've been specifically told is that Step 1 preparation isn't the primary goal of Integrated Cases. It is more focused on clinical reasoning and thought process rather than learning and recalling amount of information. Of course it's going to help with Step 1, but there's A LOT of information that hasn't been reviewed in Integrated Cases. I'd guess around 30-40%. The idea is that we're seeing the most common clinical cases, not the esoteric ones that Step 1 likes.
 
Originally posted by AllisonAsh
ps.

what is this - OSCE (clinical skills exam)? it seems like usc has a lot of exams!

also, i know grading 1st and 2nd year is P/F right? are students ranked during these years? or just on the comprehensive exams? (yikes)

thanks,
A.
Click to expand...

OSCE is "objective structured clinical examination." Every school has them. You do a history and physical on a standardized patient (an actor) in a timed setting. No emphasis on diagnosis in the first 2 years. There are 3 throughout the 1st year (each with 1 patient) and 1 at the end of the the second year (2 patients back-to-back).

We are P/F in the first 2 years. You have to pass every exam. I suspect we are internally ranked, but this information isn't told to us. There's a carrot on the end of a stick called "Dean's Recognition" which honours the best and brightest (top 10% or so) by scores, leadership, and participation in the community.
 
Originally posted by tunica
Don't pay so much attention to what everybody complains about - you will learn that med students like to complain about many things. That is just our nature, especially when stressed.
Click to expand...

I really don't think that it is med student's nature to complain. instead, I think that it is the fact that med students carry too much myth with them coming into med schoo, then they are hit with the reality of medicine and medical education.

Medical education is NOT what med school admissions brochure depict by far!

Most basic science faculties at most med schools are PhD's and no MD's (MD's are too busy in the hospital so they don't have to teach you). And PhD's often don't have a sense of what is clinically relevant! Med school curriculum also changes very slowly because it is expensive and honestly, people have more important things to do (patients dying, getting grant proposals out of the door, etc.) than listening to med students and revise your basic science curriculum. I mean, curriculum can definitely get changed a WHOLE LOT faster at many places but, give me a break, they just don't have the resources (or willingness to place lots of "spare" time) into getting the changes done.

Lastly, once you get onto the ward or even shadow docs, you will quickly find out that med students are often the last people they care about. I mean, there is the patients, then their families, then the insurance companies (if you follow a family doc), the dictations they need to do to keep malpractice off their hands, communcation with the nurses/labs/anxillary service people, etc. to keep the floor run well. Then of course, the residents need to get some sleep!!

As a result, so much of the learning is done independently by med students and often times, when people don't have enough time or sleep, they are rude to you. But the problem is that most people come into med school, having an idealized image of "medical education," and are disappointed when these are simply not true (you think that your undergrad profs want to hide in their labs to do research? wait until you see those hot-shot med school profs doing the same).

How can you do less scut work at a county hospital than elsewhere? What comes with more responsibility (i.e. less supervision), is more scut work because having more responsibility means that hosptial is not well staffed..... I don't think that it is possible to have the best of both worlds.
 
I just finished my 3rd year rotations (woohoo 4th year) and have this to say about LA County:

*Don't let the language barrier get you. There are lots of spanish-speaking patients, but also lots of bilingual and english-speakers. There are residents and attendings who only know "burrito" and still practice. Just ask for the english-speakers, and learn what spanish or any other language that you can.

*As a medical student, you don't spend all that much time at County. Theoretically, if you play your cards right, you can get almost all of your rotations in non-County facilities. Minimum of 3 weeks in Surgery, 6 weeks in Ob/Gyn, a week or so of Pediatrics, 4 weeks of Neurology, 3-4 weeks of Medicine. Most people end up with more, but oh well.

*County hospitals are regular hospitals, just dirtier, and less efficient. Which means you get lots of opportunities to actually do stuff and learn.

*County hospitals: The nurses and doctors whine and complain.
*Non-County: The patients whine and complain.

Take your pick!

-Todd USC
 
thanks todd -

i'm really interested in finding out more about what its like to work in la county.

in your experience, was there more scut work and hours in county versus the private hospitals? what about over night call? teaching? time spent with attendings and residents?

i hope that you get a chance to respond, thanks,
allisonash
 
one more thing -

i've heard that in la county you have more "responsibility" and more "independence" - what does this mean exactly?

thanks
 
AllisonAsh:

First off, have you picked USC vs. Einstein?

Scut work: Yes, there tends to be more. Things that could be computerized are not, such as X-rays and patient charts, so you end up scrambling to get them. Nurses don't always have the time and/or motivation to draw blood, order tests, which means you should draw the blood yourself. This is "more responsibility." You're really not required to do this, and the nurses will do it eventually (once they put down their People magazines); however, you have a true impact on patient care.

Hours/night call/teaching: These don't really vary from County vs. Private so much as one department vs. another dept. For example, our surgery rotation has the longest hours and the worst night calls, but the teaching is mind-blowingly phenomenal, and the attendings + residents are always teaching you. So there is no advantage vs. disadvantage for County vs. Private. Some attendings just smile and nod, others will grill you with information. Nothing to do with County vs. Private.

However, Private patients are snobbier and aren't as welcome to medical students as county patients are ("Don't touch me...I want my DOCTOR, not a STUDENT.") Therefore, your level of participation but not necessarily your level of learning will be lower at Private. Of course, less scut, because everything is well organized and you don't have to do too much secretarial stuff.

"Responsibility" and "Independence": County patients are usually welcome to medical students, therefore, you must take a good history and perform the appropriate physical exam, usually by yourself (except for the genital exams, which require chaperones). The resident will go over the history and physical with you and assist you if you want, but they don't stand over and guide you step by step. That is to say, you can do as much patient care by yourself as much as you feel comfortable. Help is ALWAYS available and should be sought if needed, and their signature is required for everything you do. Because you do so much patient care, part of the responsibility to get the x-rays, labs, inform the patients, fill out forms, goes to you. But the benefit is that, although ultimately the resident/attending has the patient, you are in the driver's seat, much more so than in other programs. Over time, there is an expectation of what you should be doing in their care.

If you can imagine in Private settings, more things are done by nurses, and residents/attendings will do more without your presence. There is less of an active role for you.

I hope that helps. If there is any other questions, feel free to repost or just contact me.

-Todd
 
thanks, what you wrote makes a lot of sense - no, i haven't decided between USC and Einstein yet - i'm still feeling torn, but will have to make up my mind very soon.
 
(sorry to hijake this thread)
to current usc students, would/did you guys choose usc over a uc school. i am mulling between usc and ucdavis (possibly uci). i really did like usc but the staggering debt is a real issue for me. could i please get some insight. thanks
 
Originally posted by kiping
(sorry to hijake this thread)
to current usc students, would/did you guys choose usc over a uc school. i am mulling between usc and ucdavis (possibly uci). i really did like usc but the staggering debt is a real issue for me. could i please get some insight. thanks
Click to expand...

Easy. The UCs didn't want me.

Go for the cheaper school.
 
Originally posted by Jaded Soul
Easy. The UCs didn't want me.

Go for the cheaper school.
Click to expand...
Realize, this person is spending 6 hours a day doing what the rest of her class is doing in a max of 2 hours a day. I don't think she would have been happy at any medical school
 
Originally posted by Jalby
Realize, this person is spending 6 hours a day doing what the rest of her class is doing in a max of 2 hours a day. I don't think she would have been happy at any medical school
Click to expand...

Watch your step, Jalby. Now you're crossing into the area of personal attacks. I haven't done anything to you or made any comments about you on these boards. Furthermore, you haven't been paying attention if you think I spent 6 hours a day, everyday for Integrated Cases.

Don't get upset just because everyone doesn't share your love for this school.
 
This is probably too late a response, but I chose USC over UCI who had earlier put me on a wait-list, then called re: acceptance. Family in Los Angeles was a biggie. That and USC is such a clinical school, so you'll be rough around the edges on obscure medical knowledge, but you'll get your hands dirty often. UCI is more academic, lecture-lecture-lecture and not quite as clinical (talking to patients, physical exams, jabbing needles in them).

For me, I didn't have college loans so getting into debt with USC wasn't as big a deal as others. The biggest reason to pick a UC school over USC is price, hands down. If my family was in Irvine, I would've been in UCI praising its academia and all the extra money I get to spend.

-Todd USC
 
Originally posted by Tazmaniac
This is probably too late a response, but I chose USC over UCI who had earlier put me on a wait-list, then called re: acceptance. Family in Los Angeles was a biggie. That and USC is such a clinical school, so you'll be rough around the edges on obscure medical knowledge, but you'll get your hands dirty often. UCI is more academic, lecture-lecture-lecture and not quite as clinical (talking to patients, physical exams, jabbing needles in them).

For me, I didn't have college loans so getting into debt with USC wasn't as big a deal as others. The biggest reason to pick a UC school over USC is price, hands down. If my family was in Irvine, I would've been in UCI praising its academia and all the extra money I get to spend.

-Todd USC
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Thanks for your helpful words Todd! I feel the same way about USC and UCI and I was wondering if you have ever felt like you should have picked the UC because of cost? I don't think i'll regret my decision to go to USC over UCI but damn thats a lot of money!
 
You people who pick USC over a UC are a perfect example of someone who is book smart and yet has no common sense. I could understand if you choose a top 10 over UCI or Davis, but not USC. Have you guys ever had 200k to play w/before in your life, so why would you play around with thay much money so lightly now.
 
Originally posted by What the pho
You people who pick USC over a UC are a perfect example of someone who is book smart and yet has no common sense. I could understand if you choose a top 10 over UCI or Davis, but not USC. Have you guys ever had 200k to play w/before in your life, so why would you play around with thay much money so lightly now.
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I'd have to disagree with you. Common sense doesn't necessarily equal lower debt. It's all about what's important to you. Money may be less of in an issue with other people, even if they aren't rich. They're not just going off of book smarts when they prefer a school that's a better fit, paying the price later, but avoiding any "what ifs" and discontent from studying at a school that doesn't give them entirely what they'd prefer. 200k is a lot, but people DO pay it off without going into bankruptcy, killing themselves, etc. We will have an income in 15 years, and while we won't be throwing around 200k like monopoly money, it's not like we'll be living on food stamps or squatting somewhere.

I'd say that people who generalize THEIR priorities and opinions are the ones who are book smart and yet have no common sense.
 
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