USC vs. UCSF

[JerkfaCe21]

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HI. Does anyone know what is the main difference between USC and UCSF (besides one being a private and the other being a public institution). What does USC have that UCSF doesnt? Thanks

 

[ZpackSux]

USC has Warm sunny southern cal weather.
USC has a great tradition in football
USC has beautiful Song Girls
USC is so good, a condom company named their brand after us.
USC has a cool alum like Zpacksux
USC was the first school to issue PharmD

Both great institutions. UCSF may get more competitive students...
I chose SC over SF to be near my GF, now Mrs. Zpacksux...and the football.

I'm simple like that.

 

[sdn1977]

UCSF is in one of the most wonderful cities on the planet - SF!
UCSF is in a city with some of best restaurants & bars ever!
UCSF has absolutely no intercollegiate athletics at all! 😀
UCSF is one of the most highly regarded & respected medical centers!
UCSF is an absolutely energetic place to learn & work!
UCSF has an incredible history of research & leadership in pharmacy!
UCSF has been & continues to be a leader in interactive pharmacy in hospital, community, industry & research!
UCSF has great alumni like sdn1977!
UCSF is a leader in expanding biological & medical informatics programs!
UCSF responsive to the economic, social & political processes which shape the evolution of pharmacy!

oh...and...like Zpak....I met Dr sdn1977....except he is Dr sdn1977, DDS - the dentists & pharmacists have a VERY close relationship😉 !!!!!

so....wanna go to LA or SF??????

I'll buy you an Irish coffee!!😀

 

[sdn1977]

Yeah....I guess SC has trojans....but, I'm a pharmacist - I never needed that😉 😳 !

(better living thru chemistry😀 )!

 

[Caverject]

USC has Warm sunny southern cal weather.
USC has a great tradition in football
USC has beautiful Song Girls
USC is so good, a condom company named their brand after us.
USC has a cool alum like Zpacksux
USC was the first school to issue PharmD

Both great institutions. UCSF may get more competitive students...
I chose SC over SF to be near my GF, now Mrs. Zpacksux...and the football.

I'm simple like that.

UCSF is in one of the most wonderful cities on the planet - SF!
UCSF is in a city with some of best restaurants & bars ever!
UCSF has absolutely no intercollegiate athletics at all! 😀
UCSF is one of the most highly regarded & respected medical centers!
UCSF is an absolutely energetic place to learn & work!
UCSF has an incredible history of research & leadership in pharmacy!
UCSF has been & continues to be a leader in interactive pharmacy in hospital, community, industry & research!
UCSF has great alumni like sdn1977!
UCSF is a leader in expanding biological & medical informatics programs!
UCSF responsive to the economic, social & political processes which shape the evolution of pharmacy!

oh...and...like Zpak....I met Dr sdn1977....except he is Dr sdn1977, DDS - the dentists & pharmacists have a VERY close relationship😉 !!!!!

so....wanna go to LA or SF??????

I'll buy you an Irish coffee!!😀

so in otherwords, UCSF is for dorks and USC is for cool people. That about sums it up

 

[JerkfaCe21]

Besides the location and the football team, and the condoms..........what i was really asking was what can USC offer that UCSF cannot? --like certain classes, clinical experiences, volunteering services, etc. that kind of stuff. Thanks. Can you guys be more specific too b/c I dont really see any differences when looking at their websites. thanks

 

[sdn1977]

so in otherwords, UCSF is for dorks and USC is for cool people. That about sums it up

ok....so you don't get a free Irish! 😡 👎

 

[sdn1977]

Besides the location and the football team, and the condoms..........what i was really asking was what can USC offer that UCSF cannot? --like certain classes, clinical experiences, volunteering services, etc. that kind of stuff. Thanks. Can you guys be more specific too b/c I dont really see any differences when looking at their websites. thanks

OK - seriously. I think (hope???🙂 ) Zpak will agree with me. The two schools are comparable academically & clinically.

They are both very old & established schools which have stayed current & in a leadership position in pharmacy both in our state & in the country.

The faculty is well respected, varied & both are associated with large & well respected medical research facilities. We could each address our specific clinical areas of expertise...but you asked if there were any dissimilarities & I don't believe there are.

Obviously, I'm a UCSF alumni & I've worked with many SC graduates I've been proud to work with & would trust their judgement on my own or my families prescription needs - whether its an outpt rx or hospital work.

You won't go wrong at either school......you just won't get good Irish in LA & you won't get football in SF - but you can buy Trojans in both places (ooops.....now you've made me get humerous again....🙄 )

What do you say Zpak - do you agree???

 

[PolarBear21]

If you're in state, I believe UCSF is a whole lot cheaper than USC.

USC is 3 yr while UCSF is four year though and its so expensive to live in SF, so who knows maybe it balances out.

I couldn't imagine going to school and living in SF though.. one can dream I guess 😍

 

[rxforlife2004]

If you're in state, I believe UCSF is a whole lot cheaper than USC.

USC is 3 yr while UCSF is four year though and its so expensive to live in SF, so who knows maybe it balances out.

I couldn't imagine going to school and living in SF though.. one can dream I guess 😍

USC is 3 yr???I thought i was a 4 yr program.

 

[JerkfaCe21]

usc is four years. not 3

 

[ZpackSux]

OK - seriously. I think (hope???🙂 ) Zpak will agree with me. The two schools are comparable academically & clinically.

They are both very old & established schools which have stayed current & in a leadership position in pharmacy both in our state & in the country.

The faculty is well respected, varied & both are associated with large & well respected medical research facilities. We could each address our specific clinical areas of expertise...but you asked if there were any dissimilarities & I don't believe there are.

Obviously, I'm a UCSF alumni & I've worked with many SC graduates I've been proud to work with & would trust their judgement on my own or my families prescription needs - whether its an outpt rx or hospital work.

You won't go wrong at either school......you just won't get good Irish in LA & you won't get football in SF - but you can buy Trojans in both places (ooops.....now you've made me get humerous again....🙄 )

What do you say Zpak - do you agree???

couldn't have said it better.

 

[ZpackSux]

If you're in state, I believe UCSF is a whole lot cheaper than USC.

USC is 3 yr while UCSF is four year though and its so expensive to live in SF, so who knows maybe it balances out.

I couldn't imagine going to school and living in SF though.. one can dream I guess 😍

USC is 4 years. UOP is 3.

 

[dreaminofpharmd]

UCSF is in one of the most wonderful cities on the planet - SF!
UCSF is in a city with some of best restaurants & bars ever!
UCSF has absolutely no intercollegiate athletics at all! 😀
UCSF is one of the most highly regarded & respected medical centers!
UCSF is an absolutely energetic place to learn & work!
UCSF has an incredible history of research & leadership in pharmacy!
UCSF has been & continues to be a leader in interactive pharmacy in hospital, community, industry & research!
UCSF has great alumni like sdn1977!
UCSF is a leader in expanding biological & medical informatics programs!
UCSF responsive to the economic, social & political processes which shape the evolution of pharmacy!

oh...and...like Zpak....I met Dr sdn1977....except he is Dr sdn1977, DDS - the dentists & pharmacists have a VERY close relationship😉 !!!!!

so....wanna go to LA or SF??????

I'll buy you an Irish coffee!!😀

sdn1977, i actually have a question about that. what is the relationship like with pharm students and dental/med/nursing/ etc? is there opportunity to meet students outside of pharmacy? by what means.. classes? clubs? or just bumping into someone?

i heard at usc the med and pharm students are pretty segregated? true at ucsf too?

 

[PolarBear21]

really!? LOL.. all this time I was applying to USC thinking it was 3 yrs.. good thing i didn't write that in my essay anywhere... 😳

 

[AngelEyes82]

sdn1977, i actually have a question about that. what is the relationship like with pharm students and dental/med/nursing/ etc? is there opportunity to meet students outside of pharmacy? by what means.. classes? clubs? or just bumping into someone?

i heard at usc the med and pharm students are pretty segregated? true at ucsf too?

Sure, there are definitely opportunities to meet people from the other programs, especially if you'd be interested in participating in the different inter-school clubs or in ASUCSF, which is the student government board for the whole school (as an aside, participating in ASUCSF stuff also gives you a chance to meet people who are graduate rather than professional students 🙂 ).

Sometimes, there are also electives or big projects (fundraiser shows, "________" Awareness Week...that sort of thing...) that are held that students from the different programs have the chance to participate in, so that's one opportunity to kind of mingle with everyone else (if you are so inclined).

But yes, it is also highly possible that your "exposure" to people from the other programs might be relegated to kind of just seeing each other around school. It all depends on what you make of the whole student experience, I guess.

But bottom line, I think the students from all the different programs get along pretty well. I think there are some people who are trying to foster more interactions between the different programs, so we'll see how that goes. 😀

 

[sdn1977]

sdn1977, i actually have a question about that. what is the relationship like with pharm students and dental/med/nursing/ etc? is there opportunity to meet students outside of pharmacy? by what means.. classes? clubs? or just bumping into someone?

i heard at usc the med and pharm students are pretty segregated? true at ucsf too?

Well...honestly, I think its different now. But...when I was there, I took most of my first 2 years of classes with the medical & dental students. I took biochem with both, histology with medicine, physiology with dentistry, etc....when they went off to do their own thing....we were doing ours...pharm chem, etc...

Also...when I was there, the school had not purchased the extra site "off campus" which is were a lot of pharmacy is now located. So....I went to school right at the medical center.....nursing had its own building, but pharmacy offices & labs were on the 9th floor, the dental clinics & labs were on the 6th & 7th floors, we all had our own anatomy labs & those were all on one floor. But...our lecture halls were all in one area with the common area between them occupied with vending machines. You couldn't help but meet people while you stood in line to buy coffee.

We also all ate together - either in the hospital cafeteria, in a small "burger grill" which is gone now or across the street in the student union. During down times, we played pool or watched the Watergate hearings (yeah...now you know how old I am😛 ). The guys, mostly, at night would play basketball downstairs in the gym. We all rounded together during rotations & in the clinics - even if we were at the VA or SF general (well....not the dentists...)

Now, however, there is a separate dental building & lots of pharmacy labs are off campus. I lived in the dorm for 1 year where people came & went during all hours of the day & night....everyone was on a different rotation or service so our hours were completely out of whack. So....you could always find someone to talk to (we all talked about Nixon back then!).

So....we saw each other a LOT during the first 2 years. The people you came in contact with, you kept up with. I was never in a "club" per se...but if you weren't "working" at night....we'd end up going down Judah to one of the bars about midnight after we had finished studying. There was usually a bunch of us - medicine, pharmacy & dentistry....some nurses & rarely dental hygiene (that program is no longer there).

It is a very SMALL campus - the school is the length of about 2 city blocks - the hospitals & classrooms on one side of the street & goes up the hill then the dorm,clinics, new library, garage on the other side of the street & goes down the hill toward Golden Gate Park. So its hard not to run into someone you know.

In my class, we had 4 students marry dental students & 2 marry medical students. There were, however, many, many "relationships" which did not get to that stage......😀

 

[akaykay]

whichever one will take me. also i knew a girl that got into USC with a full-ride scholarship, but chose UCSF instead for the prestige.

 

[sdn1977]

..........therrrre you go......

Zpak'g got money, but I've got class!😉 😎

 

[dreaminofpharmd]

whichever one will take me. also i knew a girl that got into USC with a full-ride scholarship, but chose UCSF instead for the prestige.

USC gives out scholarships? Do you know if you have to apply for them? Or do they come with the offer letters? Is it really rare to get a scholarship?

 

[tanyas]

USC gives out scholarships? Do you know if you have to apply for them? Or do they come with the offer letters? Is it really rare to get a scholarship?

in all honesty, i have not heard of ANYONE getting a full ride for usc pharm school, there's just absolutely noooo way it's true. We do have scholarships, but they are more in 5000 dollar range than the 30000 some tuition... maybe the girl was in undergrad? I had an undergrad full ride, that's pretty common

 

[MrIntricate]

in all honesty, i have not heard of ANYONE getting a full ride for usc pharm school, there's just absolutely noooo way it's true. We do have scholarships, but they are more in 5000 dollar range than the 30000 some tuition... maybe the girl was in undergrad? I had an undergrad full ride, that's pretty common

To my knowledge, there is no full-ride scholarship. I am aware of a 10K scholarship that is annually renewable (given that you maintain a certain GPA-level), but only one or two of these are offered to the incoming class.

 

[KephaloPanther]

I just got an invite from the UCSF's secondary. Any suggestions as to what kind of items they are looking for in their "statement of intent" section? They are not extremely explicit about that section.

UCSF is my absolute #1 choice, so I want to make sure that the whole application kicks ARRRS (the Irish style body part 😉 )

Any other suggestions/advice regarding UCSF admissions are OH so appreciated!!! 😛

UCSF is in one of the most wonderful cities on the planet - SF!
UCSF is in a city with some of best restaurants & bars ever!
UCSF has absolutely no intercollegiate athletics at all! 😀
UCSF is one of the most highly regarded & respected medical centers!
UCSF is an absolutely energetic place to learn & work!
UCSF has an incredible history of research & leadership in pharmacy!
UCSF has been & continues to be a leader in interactive pharmacy in hospital, community, industry & research!
UCSF has great alumni like sdn1977!
UCSF is a leader in expanding biological & medical informatics programs!
UCSF responsive to the economic, social & political processes which shape the evolution of pharmacy!

oh...and...like Zpak....I met Dr sdn1977....except he is Dr sdn1977, DDS - the dentists & pharmacists have a VERY close relationship😉 !!!!!

so....wanna go to LA or SF??????

I'll buy you an Irish coffee!!😀

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Which one is cheaper?

Go to that one.

 

[senzabee]

I just got an invite from the UCSF's secondary. Any suggestions as to what kind of items they are looking for in their "statement of intent" section? They are not extremely explicit about that section.

UCSF is my absolute #1 choice, so I want to make sure that the whole application kicks ARRRS (the Irish style body part 😉 )

Any other suggestions/advice regarding UCSF admissions are OH so appreciated!!! 😛

You got an invite for the UCSF secondary? Sounds like a pre-med, because you don't get an "invite" to do the pharmacy supplemental application, which btw was already due. Go to the pre-med section for that.

 

[sdn1977]

I just got an invite from the UCSF's secondary. Any suggestions as to what kind of items they are looking for in their "statement of intent" section? They are not extremely explicit about that section.

UCSF is my absolute #1 choice, so I want to make sure that the whole application kicks ARRRS (the Irish style body part 😉 )

Any other suggestions/advice regarding UCSF admissions are OH so appreciated!!! 😛

Specifically....what did they ask? I'll try to help you if I can.

pm me if you want.

Good luck!

 

[ZpackSux]

Specifically....what did they ask? I'll try to help you if I can.

pm me if you want.

Good luck!

I would think if an interviewee replies..."I know SDN1977".. that would be an automatic acceptance.

Now..if a USC intervewee replies.."I know Zpacksux".. that's a kiss of death.

 

[T1ar1a]

I'm a researcher and an academic. So I have to tell you that UCSF is probably one of the best places to work if you're going to go into academics....however the pay sux. Research wise, UCSF gets the most grants. We're talking about R1 and R23 grants.... that's right... NIH style. USC gets their share, but not as much as UCSF. What does that mean? It means that if you are pursuing a life in research, then you'll have the best mentors in the country at UCSF teaching you have to write grants and get publications.

As a student, it really doesn't matter where you go, imo. Both offer great educations and have extension rotation sites. UCS county is one of the best institutions to work as a student and as a resident. Even though MRSA is practically walking around the place. Oh, and the metal detectors are something you would see from the movies =P

 

[sdn1977]

Grant writing - an art in itself😀 !

You do not have an easy route if you have to do this always! What phase of clinical grants are you writing for - just out of curiosity? I know some are easier than others....but you've got a tough job!

 

[WVUPharm2007]

Even though MRSA is practically walking around the place.

MRSA, Scientologists...I'm never going to California, ever...

 

[sdn1977]

MRSA, Scientologists...I'm never going to California, ever...

WVU....you really do need to get out more!!!

Do you know - the US does now own the property west of the Mississippi?

Even Zpak lives in the west (kind of...altho I think Texans think they have their own country😱 ) but even he was able to suffer thru CA for a bit.

We have the beautiful Pacific Ocean - altho Banana shares that as well...

We have Yosemite, wine (who doesn't like wine I ask you???) oh..well, yeah - there's Hollywood - but thats a stones throw from Disneyland - its all fantasy.

Come on....I'll go to WV if you'll bring your beautiful bride here for a visit! Deal??😛

 

[KephaloPanther]

Specifically....what did they ask? I'll try to help you if I can.

pm me if you want.

Good luck!

Hi-hi 🙂

Thanks for the kind words!

I got snowed in.... and finally semi-dug myself out. Just got an interview from Ann Arbor and cried over my first trip cost (it's in Jan, but planning early to get there a day in advance to chat with some researchers, hopefully).

Submitted my UCSF statement of the tune "you are my first choice, I'm the one for you, you are the one for me. Let's dance!" I didn't say THAT, of course, but the content of the 2 requested pages of free-form snap-shot of my HEH! multifaceted nature was about like that. Well, I also mentioned my plentiful research experience and, specifically, the interest in the Brain Tumor Research Center. I've always wanted to do research on GBMs, and always ended up in doing some sort of animal surgery (neuro, mainly) to experiment on these tumors, so the fact that they had that facility made me crazy.

I even sent them samples of my art and quoted my sports activities to top off the profile. I figured, they might as well see the whole thing - I've got nothing to hide from my one and only...😍

I'd like to go there to talk to some scientists who do brain tumor research - any suggestions? One random way is to go through the papers coming out of their BTRCenter and try to make aptments with the most interesting-sounding labs... Another is to listen to suggestions of who to visit there. Got any?

Is there anything-anything extra that I can do for these guys to notice my existence and take me in?

 

[KephaloPanther]

I would think if an interviewee replies..."I know SDN1977".. that would be an automatic acceptance.

Now..if a USC intervewee replies.."I know Zpacksux".. that's a kiss of death.

What did you do?????😕 Ok, I won't mention you 🙂

But now I'm actually curious....

 

[ZpackSux]

What did you do?????😕 Ok, I won't mention you 🙂

But now I'm actually curious....

My roomie and I did some damage to the dorm while living on campus...

 

[WVUPharm2007]

WVU....you really do need to get out more!!!

Do you know - the US does now own the property west of the Mississippi?

Get a globe, the French own that territory!

 

[OTFuturePharmD]

I thought I would revive this thread since there are many who are choosing USC over UCSF. For anyone who turned down UCSF and accepted USC, why did you choose USC over UCSF. I am really curious since USC is more expensive.

For me the pros of UCSF are the prestige, diverse age and race of classmates, research, faculty, rotations and pathways, cost, networking.
The cons of UCSF are no pharmacy building, oversatuation of pharmacists and pharm students in San Francisco, poor use of modern classroom technology, costs of living in San Francisco.

 

[chibipinkbunny]

I thought I would revive this thread since there are many who are choosing USC over UCSF. For anyone who turned down UCSF and accepted USC, why did you choose USC over UCSF. I am really curious since USC is more expensive.

For me the pros of UCSF are the prestige, diverse age and race of classmates, research, faculty, rotations and pathways, cost, networking.
The cons of UCSF are no pharmacy building, oversatuation of pharmacists and pharm students in San Francisco, poor use of modern classroom technology, costs of living in San Francisco.

I guess we don't have our own building, but we mostly take classes with pharm students. The only class that we were with other students was physiology, and we were combined with the physical therapy students. I guess that's changed over the years. San Francisco is saturated with pharmacy interns, you have that part right 😛 I don't know about pharmacists, maybe. . . Ha, ha, I guess you were looking for answers about USC. Hmmm, well I can try to answer questions about UCSF if you have any.

 

[OTFuturePharmD]

I guess we don't have our own building, but we mostly take classes with pharm students. The only class that we were with other students was physiology, and we were combined with the physical therapy students. I guess that's changed over the years. San Francisco is saturated with pharmacy interns, you have that part right 😛 I don't know about pharmacists, maybe. . . Ha, ha, I guess you were looking for answers about USC. Hmmm, well I can try to answer questions about UCSF if you have any.

LOL I was wondering why people were picking USC over UCSF. I love UCSF and will be going there this fall. I was wondering though what teaching technology they have there. When I visited current students told me there wasn't much technology that they use. Other schools I visited with had all these bells and whistles in the classroom and labs.

 

[eatkabab]

UCSF is #1 in NIH funding and runs one of the most highly regarded dental programs in the world

USC has Problem Based Learning (PBL) that involves a lot of writing and thinking. Looks good on paper, but apparently they almost lost their accreditation because of how poor of a program it is in current times. Sad to see a great school drop down so far.

Both are still great schools and have a very good atmosphere...

 

[eatkabab]

LOL I was wondering why people were picking USC over UCSF. I love UCSF and will be going there this fall. I was wondering though what teaching technology they have there. When I visited current students told me there wasn't much technology that they use. Other schools I visited with had all these bells and whistles in the classroom and labs.

the technology they use is the BRAIN. some of the best professors in the world and careful planning of the curriculum. most of that tech is just a gimmick. our pathology professor is a regular comedian. he also knows EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE!! everything short of the meaning of life. and has got an incredible "story" behind it all

 

[koercive]

Look into USC's wide array of dual degree programs.