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zinzin2323

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Hey I applied this year to dental school and my first choice is USC..I interviewed really early in the cycle and have not heard back from USC..I am on the waitlist/alternate as I know everyone is after they interview. If anyone knows anything about how many students are already admitted and have accepted the offer and pretty much how full the class is as of now and when the next acceptance will probably be..If you guys are really not thinking of going to USC please decline your offers because there is a lot of people who would love to go to USC.
 
Ive been emailing, calling and dropping in from time to time..Im just trying to stay positive..I love USC and really want to attend
 
Sounds to me like someones enamored with the USC name a little too much....
 
Sounds like no one cares what you think. You just do you.
 
zinzin2323 said:
Ive been emailing, calling and dropping in from time to time..Im just trying to stay positive..I love USC and really want to attend
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Apparently pestering them has not made them budge yet.
 
May have met him at my USC and nova interview, but you got it
 
You must not have stood out in their circus of an interview. I bet they passed over another great applicant (you) because they were WOW'd by the applicants that did backflips while overly contributing during the PBL case.
 
timwatley said:
You must not have stood out in their circus of an interview. I bet they passed over another great applicant (you) because they were WOW'd by the applicants that did backflips while overly contributing during the PBL case.
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I thought they didn't like applicants who talked too much during the PBL case?

And to the OP, I called last week and they said approximately 50% of the seats are filled and next round should be in mid Feb. I too really want to get into USC:xf:
 
When would be the latest time they would offer someone an interview?
 
sumoberrylu said:
I thought they didn't like applicants who talked too much during the PBL case?

And to the OP, I called last week and they said approximately 50% of the seats are filled and next round should be in mid Feb. I too really want to get into USC:xf:
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I heard that too but the 'over the top' one in my group was complimented at the end. It's honestly just a random, messed up process.
 
AwesomeTeeth said:
👍

Here's an important question everyone should ask themselves. If USC wasn't in LA, would you still go to the school?
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So what's the deal with you and USC? If you don't go here why constantly rag on the school? I'm a student here and I know USC needs a lot of work but it couldn't be much different then a lot of expensive private dental schools. At least USC has a pretty large patient pool.

Trust m, I'm not totally in love with the school when I see my financial aid statements but I do like the direction the school is headed clinically.
 
Thanks for the question, not in a million years. I got my Masters in Marine Environmental Biology from USC and our department was amazingly horrible. So, be careful of what you wish for because I don't think their dental program is that good either.
 
Timpson said:
So what's the deal with you and USC? If you don't go here why constantly rag on the school? I'm a student here and I know USC needs a lot of work but it couldn't be much different then a lot of expensive private dental schools. At least USC has a pretty large patient pool.
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The worst dentist I ever saw went to USC. How they managed to pass him along, I have no idea. Sorry, I have a grudge. And I also think a lot of people want to go to USC because its in LA/sunny California aand USC has a nice name. They should think twice about what they're jumping into.
 
just because you have a grudge from ONE dentist that went there (how many dentists are there in this country?), you really shouldn't keep trying to damage their reputation just because it's fun for you. I mean come on, you can't honestly believe you have a basis for so much hate on a school you don't go to. I really don't think anyone has the justification to have such strong feelings for a school unless they're a student there. I'm just so sick of hearing, "Oh, USC, yeah that's not a good school." Current students lately seem to genuinely enjoy what USC is giving them, easily on par with almost any other school. No school is perfect.
 
letsdoitbama said:
just because you have a grudge from ONE dentist that went there (how many dentists are there in this country?), you really shouldn't keep trying to damage their reputation just because it's fun for you. I mean come on, you can't honestly believe you have a basis for so much hate on a school you don't go to. I really don't think anyone has the justification to have such strong feelings for a school unless they're a student there. I'm just so sick of hearing, "Oh, USC, yeah that's not a good school." Current students lately seem to genuinely enjoy what USC is giving them, easily on par with almost any other school. No school is perfect.
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How would you know it's on par with another dental school if you were never a student anywhere else?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=593963

That's all I needed to know that everything about USC is relatively true. Written by a USC student and confirmed by others. I doubt things have changed that much in 2 years. Until there are multiple D4's and D3's saying that USC is actually decent, I'm not really going to change my mind. Many D1's seem to love USC and PBL. But then it goes downhill after that.
 
The only positive things you really hear about USC are from the students that have no other options but to go there and are doing everything possible to justify their decision (and a few USC dental students). Everything about the interview rubbed me the wrong way. From the fake presenter to the moderator that fell asleep during the ridiculous PBL case. Joke of a school.
 
AwesomeTeeth said:
How would you know it's on par with another dental school if you were never a student anywhere else?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=593963

That's all I needed to know that everything about USC is relatively true. Written by a USC student and confirmed by others. I doubt things have changed that much in 2 years. Until there are multiple D4's and D3's saying that USC is actually decent, I'm not really going to change my mind. Many D1's seem to love USC and PBL. But then it goes downhill after that.
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3 years. And a lot has changed in that time.
 
Vigilante said:
3 years. And a lot has changed in that time.
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Seems like you're full of contradictions :laugh:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11398041&postcount=280

"I have a love/hate relationship with them...well, maybe more like/hate. As far as PBL goes, I'd say it's "ok." You can get something out of it, but it requires a huge amount of personal motivation and is a very inefficient use of time, considering how much else you're juggling during D1 and D2. Now that I'm studying for boards, i don't feel completely unprepared, so I guess I got something out of it. In terms of clinic, I've barely gotten my toe in the door and have already run into multiple issues. It's looking like I'll probably have a crappy couple of years ahead, but then again, everyone seems to complain about clinic, no matter what school you go to.

Overall, I'd say it's not worth the money, but if it's your only option (as seems to have been the situation for most in my class), you can suck it up and get the degree. If I could've done it again though, no, I would not have gone to USC."
 
Anybody reading this forum and thinking about attending USC, I encourage you to investigate the school during your interview and ask a lot of questions to students you find in the hallways, particularly juniors and seniors who are in clinic. The link to the old thread is from students in 2009. There were a lot of problems before this with the school and much of the complaints in the thread are valid, albeit a little overexaggerated. A lot of these problems were from students who had gone through when Harold Slavkin was dean. USC is a lot different today with new leadership (and more money due to a large donation).

I remember my pre dental advisor telling me not to go to Temple because of things he had heard in the past. When I went to Temple for my interview I was surprised by how little he thought of their school. Temple has a huge patient pool and they graduate some of the most experienced dentists in the country. So don't believe everything you hear about a school until you actually visit it, if you are invited for an interview.
 
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Wow Awesome Teeth, looking at some of your previous posts I can see that you are quite the dental school critic. If US News decides to start ranking dental schools again I'll be sure to let them know that there is a real life expert, right here on SDN!
 
Timpson said:
Anybody reading this forum and thinking about attending USC, I encourage you to investigate the school during your interview and ask a lot of questions to students you find in the hallways, particularly juniors and seniors who are in clinic. The link to the old thread is from students in 2009. There were a lot of problems before this with the school and much of the complaints in the thread are valid, albeit a little overexaggerated. A lot of these problems were from students who had gone through when Harold Slavkin was dean. USC is a lot different today with new leadership (and more money due to a large donation).

I remember my pre dental advisor telling me not to go to Temple because of things he had heard in the past. When I went to Temple for my interview I was surprised by how little he thought of their school. Temple has a huge patient pool and they graduate some of the most experienced dentists in the country. So don't believe everything you hear about a school until you actually visit it, if you are invited for an interview.
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agreed. I did my homework, and most people I talked to like USC. D1, 2, 3. there seems to be lots of improvement made over the past couple of years. none of the people I talked to hates the school even if there are still things that can be done better. but every school has their strength and weaknesses. i will choose a school based on where i want to go and what's important to me. what other people think is to themselves i don't let it affect me.
 
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Timpson said:
Anybody reading this forum and thinking about attending USC, I encourage you to investigate the school during your interview and ask a lot of questions to students you find in the hallways, particularly juniors and seniors who are in clinic.
Click to expand...

ginaych said:
i will choose a school based on where i want to go and what's important to me. what other people think is to themselves i don't let it affect me.
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i'll agree to that.

Timpson said:
Wow Awesome Teeth, looking at some of your previous posts I can see that you are quite the dental school critic. If US News decides to start ranking dental schools again I'll be sure to let them know that there is a real life expert, right here on SDN!
Click to expand...

Sign me up 😀
 
AwesomeTeeth said:
Seems like you're full of contradictions :laugh:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=11398041&postcount=280

"I have a love/hate relationship with them...well, maybe more like/hate. As far as PBL goes, I'd say it's "ok." You can get something out of it, but it requires a huge amount of personal motivation and is a very inefficient use of time, considering how much else you're juggling during D1 and D2. Now that I'm studying for boards, i don't feel completely unprepared, so I guess I got something out of it. In terms of clinic, I've barely gotten my toe in the door and have already run into multiple issues. It's looking like I'll probably have a crappy couple of years ahead, but then again, everyone seems to complain about clinic, no matter what school you go to.

Overall, I'd say it's not worth the money, but if it's your only option (as seems to have been the situation for most in my class), you can suck it up and get the degree. If I could've done it again though, no, I would not have gone to USC."
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I don't think I've contradicted anything. I've always hated PBL and have said so to anyone who asks me about it. That doesn't mean that the school hasn't changed quite a bit for the better over the past 3 years (changes that include halving the time spent in PBL).

As for the clinic stuff, I spoke (or posted) too soon. I wasn't even really in the clinic at that point (end of 2nd year) and had an issue with one faculty member that was pissing me off. Thankfully, now that I'm in clinic full-time I haven't had to deal with that faculty anymore and I'm much happier with the school. Anyway, USC isn't perfect (nor is any school) but since the new dean came along it has been shaping up quite a bit; board scores have gone up and students spend more time with a drill in their hand. The sad thing that hasn't changed... the frickin' price tag!
 
Vigilante said:
I don't think I've contradicted anything. I've always hated PBL and have said so to anyone who asks me about it. That doesn't mean that the school hasn't changed quite a bit for the better over the past 3 years (changes that include halving the time spent in PBL).

As for the clinic stuff, I spoke (or posted) too soon. I wasn't even really in the clinic at that point (end of 2nd year) and had an issue with one faculty member that was pissing me off. Thankfully, now that I'm in clinic full-time I haven't had to deal with that faculty anymore and I'm much happier with the school. Anyway, USC isn't perfect (nor is any school) but since the new dean came along it has been shaping up quite a bit; board scores have gone up and students spend more time with a drill in their hand. The sad thing that hasn't changed... the frickin' price tag!
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If the PBL was HALVED..why does their interview still revolve around the concept? The only real shot at leaving an impression at the interview is during the mock PBL case. For something that's being halved, you would think they'd choose applicants based on other criteria. Instead, everybody is cut throat and completely fake and the school makes evaluations off of this...as if any of it has anything to do with becoming a dentist. When they say they think traditional interviews are silly and uneccessary (because if we came this far we obviously want to be a dentist), the same can be said (more so) about their interview format. We've all spent 20 years in school and know how to solve problems together. For a school that claims to be elite (the 45 minute presentation that reaked of arrogance) its funny how it's actually a last resort for most. Glad you like it though.
 
USC has the easiest, most laid back interview. If that upset you, you will be in a world of hurt in dental school, regardless of where you go. I liked USC's interview because it was well organized when I had mine, and you get to interact with alot of students. Also, USC gives the best, most sobering analysis of financial aid I have ever seen.

As for PBL, it gives you lots of free time, with the drawback that you have to teach yourself a lot of material from textbooks. If you never paid attention in lecture, you will probably like PBL. Grades don't matter much here and it is easy to pass, so you have to look out for yourself. I personally miss having good lectures, but the ones we do have are pretty good. I do feel like USC's experiment has failed with PBL and that the program will be further deemphasized and replaced with lectures. It is really the fault of lazy and incompetent administrators who failed to adequately organize the material and make it relevant to the boards. I still have faith in the PBL concept, just not with how it is run at USC.
 
I went to the USC interview already knowing the rep it had here on SDN. But as always, I went to all my interviews with an emptied mind as if I knew nothing about the school. I will give my most truthful observations here without being biased... Yelp style.

The presentation with the director about the school was good. But I would say half of the presentation was focused on LA, things to do in LA, and how awesome the location is. The rest of the presentation was about the school and nothing stood out from other schools except PBL. The director said PBL is a small group setting. Very hard to skip class and everyone will know if you have not been catching up with your work. (1 star)

The financial aid presentation was pretty good, but nothing new that we should not already know. They did a good job of explaining loans and stuff which is not like other schools. When it came time for Q&A however, the presenter could not answer a couple of the questions including mine. The presenter was a sub for someone who normally does the presentations, but were not able to on my interview day... Take what you want from that. (1/2 star)

The school tour was led by the office people and not students. They said all the students were taking tests. During the tour, they threw around names of famous dentists and stuff. I think they said one of them worked on NFL players and celebs. I liked the facilities. They had a small library inside the dental school with computers and the place is pretty big, but not brand new. Two personal preferences I will go into are windows and lighting. Again, this is my personal taste. There were not enough windows in the facility. There were windows in the labs, but to me the labs had insufficient lighting. This place was dimmer than the schools I have visited. I like brightly lit facilities. (1/2 star)

During lunch with the students, there were probably about 8-9 interviewees to 1 dental student to ask questions. This was the only time the interviewees got a chance to talk to the students because like they said, everyone was taking tests. Besides this one student, I was not able to speak to anyone other students. From what the student said... PBL is annoying at first, but you get used to it. When asked about the boards, the student said that they have no doubt USC has helped them prepare for it. This student was from some other state and said she came to USC because she didn't get in anywhere else. I would have liked to have talked to many more students. (1 star even though this should be a 1/2 star because we didn't get to talk to many students, but it's not their fault they were in exams)

PBL was very fun. But before that, we drew 2 questions out of a hat and answered personal questions. They'll tell you that they don't judge you on these 2 questions, but really be reasonable with your answers because they it is human nature to judge and first impressions are everything. If they initially think you're lame because you said something weird, they can't help themselves except judge you for the rest of the time being.

I will give you an example of one that happened in my group. The question was something like describe yourself. The person answered... Yea I'm very honest. One time my I was taking a test with my friend and I saw my friend cheating. After the test I went up to him and told him he needs to turn himself in to the teacher or I will. Any my friend turned himself in.

Another person was asked how would your best friend describe you. She answered... ummm well.. i don't know.. hmm.. i don't really have a best friend... maybe nice and funny.. yea i don't know.

The actual mock PBL was really fun because you get to go through a whole thought process. I'm not admin so I don't know how they judge you, but I was accepted so I must have done something right. There was one person in my group who said absolutely nothing. There were a few that said something that was obvious that they basically read off of the paper. There were a few that contributed ideas that required some thinking that not everyone would have thought of right away. I belonged to the last group. Oh and there was also a few people that didn't contributed anything, but said "Ohh yea that's a good point and I agree," after someone else has come up with an idea. These people were scrambling to get their voice heard (which we all heard), but they had nothing useful to say. I'm sure they didn't earn any points there. I seen a lot of SDN people giving advice to USC interviewees to not over or under talk. But my advice is that the amount you talk doesn't matter, but to make the time you do talk, count. (1 star)

The essay wasn't that hard for me at all. I won't say what it was, but it was very easy to fill up a page. However some people say theirs was hard for them like... what would you do with the president if you had one day with him. Not hard at all but for some it was

Overall, without any bias, prior knowledge about the school or cost, I believe USC is a good school just from the interview experience. Would I be happy to attend USC if it was my only offer? Yes, and not because it is my only offer, but because it seems like a decent school and PBL doesn't seem bad. Definitely dooable with practice. The downside to PBL in my opinion, however, is that you are stuck with the same group of people throughout, and you have to rely on other people's work ethics as well. The upside is if you love working in groups. If you only wanted to attend USC because it's LA, it's not worth it in my opinion, however I do like this school better than Western. I won't go into that here.

I know this belongs in the interview feedback and I'll put this there later, but since the topic is USC this is appropriate. All I'm saying is... Don't bash on USC before you visit the school. You can do it after if you still feel that way. Keep an open mind. For some people, this is their dream school. I have my own dream school and it no feel good when you es speak mean things.
 
Timpson said:
USC has the easiest, most laid back interview. If that upset you, you will be in a world of hurt in dental school, regardless of where you go. I liked USC's interview because it was well organized when I had mine, and you get to interact with alot of students. Also, USC gives the best, most sobering analysis of financial aid I have ever seen.

As for PBL, it gives you lots of free time, with the drawback that you have to teach yourself a lot of material from textbooks. If you never paid attention in lecture, you will probably like PBL. Grades don't matter much here and it is easy to pass, so you have to look out for yourself. I personally miss having good lectures, but the ones we do have are pretty good. I do feel like USC's experiment has failed with PBL and that the program will be further deemphasized and replaced with lectures. It is really the fault of lazy and incompetent administrators who failed to adequately organize the material and make it relevant to the boards. I still have faith in the PBL concept, just not with how it is run at USC.
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...whether it upset me or not has nothing to do with how well I'll do in dental school. What kind of reasoning is that? Yikes.
 
Out of curiosity, what are your guys opinions on which other dental schools are "lower tier" besides USC?
 
I was very lucky enough to get accepted to four dental schools on DEC. 1st. I am deciding between USC and Tufts at this point. However, I wouldn't call USC as a low tier school. Do you even know what you are talking about?

I don't even know whether you were invited to their interview lol looks like you are accepted somewhere? Where lol? I do understand many people are scared of USC'S PBL program, but I personally enjoyed PBL. Actually, many people who talk s*it about USC dental school was not even accepted to the school. lol Some times, people do want to attend USC, but they just can't afford. There are other schools who use PBL, but I feel like they don't get hated on, bc many people don't even care about those schools.

I have one more interview at Maryland soon, but I wouldn't regret if I decide to go to USC.
 
Double Bonded said:
Out of curiosity, what are your guys opinions on which other dental schools are "lower tier" besides USC?
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USC is not lower tier. USC's hospital provides more medical services for America's 2nd largest city then any other entity. We have a huge, diverse patient pool with mobile clinics around southern California. USC has advanced specialties, world famous clinicians and researchers, and has a history of innovation in dentistry. USC has a larger endowment than any other university with a dental school except Columbia, Penn, and Harvard and is not going anywhere. I'm not going to talk down other established schools (I mean come on, I go to USC!) but I would be very cautious about attending some of the new, for-profit institutions that have opened (LECOM, Roseman). Admittidly, I know very little about these schools but you have very little to go off of, they have no alumni to network with or speak to about the school, and their for-profit status is troubling. If the federal government decides to tighten up lending requirements, these schools will be in a lot of trouble.


If I had to rank dental schools by where I would attend, it would go like this (Only my opinion):

1. Any state school where you are a resident
2. USC, NYU, Tufts, Penn, Columbia, Harvard, (based on personal preference and how much competition you like)
3. Nova, BU, Midwestern, ASDOH, UDM, Case Western, Temple
4. Roseman, Western, LECOM

UOP and Loma Linda are special because UOP is unique for its 3 year program and Loma Linda for its religious nature so these schools appeal to a certain type of applicant.
Also Howard and Meharry are unique and require a certain type of applicant. They are also very cheap.
 
Double Bonded said:
Out of curiosity, what are your guys opinions on which other dental schools are "lower tier" besides USC?
Click to expand...

I would definitely say Roseman and Lecom. They aren't established and Lecom's entering class might not even be able to take out federal loans due to some kind of accreditation issues. I've heard really negative things about BU. I'm big on established, old programs that don't have astronomical price tags, luckily I was fortunate to get into one.
 
I see dental schools coming in two main flavors.

1. Cheap in-state schools (most people have about one shot at this)

2. Expensive private schools. I don't personally believe there's a whole lot of difference in these, some are a little cheaper than others, but at the end of the day they're all dental schools.

Some people say the new schools are lower-tiered or whatever, but realistically anyone who goes there will end up fine and in just as much debt as any private school, not to mention with sweet facilities. I would say the most questionable factor at new schools is faculty, but they have to do so much to get these schools accredited that I really wouldn't mind going to one.
 
Call them and talk to them you would be amazed at how much they want to help you!
 
Anyone know when USC is accepting again and how much of their class is full already?
 
they will accept more people around 19th of this month. Just relax and wait. it will come to you .

good luck
 
It's kind of sad IMO that the OP was just looking for some encouragement or kind words since he/she is all stressed out waiting for an acceptance, and some folks find it prudent to reduce the thread to a USC bashfest. What a joke. If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say it at all, especially not in this case.

Zinzin, I hope good news finds you soon.
 
Thank you..i am really stressed and would love to attend USC..I hope the same for you if your applying this year!
 
hey kentuckylover, how do you know USC is going to accept more people around 19th of this month?
 
prayer power said:
hey kentuckylover, how do you know USC is going to accept more people around 19th of this month?
Click to expand...
It could be a little earlier than that. I know people were accepted on Jan 13th and they have a month to put a deposit. So people should hear back around 19th.

If you get accepted in Feb, then you have two weeks to put down your deposit.

But the thing is though, USC interviews until March, so if you interviewed a long time ago and haven't heard back, then your chance of getting accepted will def. decrease...

hope this helps. Good luck
 
i was there yesterday the class is only 1/4 full, they will be half full march1, then 3/4 april1 and then full by july/aug
 
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