Who (and why) doesn't like USC?

[PeripateticMD]

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I was looking on the interview feedback page - and it seems USC has a really low ranking compared to the rest (by interviewees), is there a reason for this? It's "below average" - which according to USNews, it's not that bad... anyone interview there or go there and feel like it's below average?? I really enjoyed my interview day there...

 

[YupGypsy]

UCLA people

 

[DropkickMurphy]

*raises hand* Because it's in southern California.

 

[airshad8]

*raises hand* Because it's in California.

I concur. Hahah. **** Cali yo.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I concur. Hahah. **** Cali yo.

Word. *flashes lame white boy attempt at gang signs*

 

[notdeadyet]

I was looking on the interview feedback page - and it seems USC has a really low ranking compared to the rest (by interviewees), is there a reason for this?

What did the interview feedback pages say?

 

[PeripateticMD]

the sdn interviewees ranking of USC is "below average" as a school. I think most people just speak about the facilities being below average, but I didn't notice that either... I was wondering whether other SDN interviewees there hadn't liked it and why... was there something hidden in a closet I didn't see? I mean, they run the county hospital, LA County Hospital, I figure they get incredible clinical experience, and the students seemed great...

 

[PeripateticMD]

the sdn interviewees ranking of USC is "below average" as a school. I think most people just speak about the facilities being below average, but I didn't notice that either... I was wondering whether other SDN interviewees there hadn't liked it and why... was there something hidden in a closet I didn't see? I mean, they run the county hospital, LA County Hospital, I figure they get incredible clinical experience, and the students seemed great...

 

[lunaire]

A friend said that there's a drive by shooting in the vicinity almost every day. Not sure if it's verifiable, since he's from UCLA, but I also hear that there's a prison-standard fence around the teaching facilities or something.

 

[maestro1625]

A friend said that there's a drive by shooting in the vicinity almost every day. Not sure if it's verifiable, since he's from UCLA, but I also hear that there's a prison-standard fence around the teaching facilities or something.

poor suburban kids...

 

[DropkickMurphy]

A friend said that there's a drive by shooting in the vicinity almost every day. Not sure if it's verifiable, since he's from UCLA, but I also hear that there's a prison-standard fence around the teaching facilities or something.

 

[notdeadyet]

poor suburban kids...

I get your meaning. There's definitely an element of suburban kids not used to city living who get freaked out about it.

But not in this case. USC is in a bad part of town.

 

[airshad8]

I get your meaning. There's definitely an element of suburban kids not used to city living who get freaked out about it.

But not in this case. USC is in a bad part of town.

While it is true it is in a bad part of town (Right by watts isn't it?) that part of town isn't that much worse than P&S (Wash Heights) or Mount Sinai (Harlem) or AECOM (Bronx). The 'bad' reputation has a lot to do with the fact that many people who end up going there (UG as well as Med School) are just not used to that sort of environment, so it's blown out of proportion considerably.

 

[microgal]

Hmmm I hope its not that bad. I have an interview there in February! I'm from Norcal (not so used to LA) but I've lived in NYC for 6 years so I don't think the "scary" city life will bother me too much. Then again, Manhattan is no Watts.

 

[Wannabemed]

I concur. Hahah. **** Cali yo.

Yeah, as if you trash know anything about California.

 

[maestro1625]

While it is true it is in a bad part of town (Right by watts isn't it?) that part of town isn't that much worse than P&S (Wash Heights) or Mount Sinai (Harlem) or AECOM (Bronx). The 'bad' reputation has a lot to do with the fact that many people who end up going there (UG as well as Med School) are just not used to that sort of environment, so it's blown out of proportion considerably.

well it's not called the University of Spoiled Children for nothing...

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Yeah, as if you trash know anything about California.

I happen to like part of California.....the northern part..... 🙂 I just don't like LA.

 

[etf]

I happen to like part of California.....the northern part..... 🙂 I just don't like LA.

same here. usc was my first choice, but they strung me along. i'm still reapplying though.

 

[Wannabemed]

well it's not called the University of Spoiled Children for nothing...

http://www.chicanas.com/doctors.html

 

[airshad8]

Yeah, as if you trash know anything about California.

Lived in SoCal when I was younger...It's garbage. Suppose it's personal preference, but really not sure why people swear it's the ****.

 

[maestro1625]

http://www.chicanas.com/doctors.html

kind of irrelevant to my post, but a good read none the less...

 

[Wannabemed]

kind of irrelevant to my post, but a good read none the less...

haha, I know....i'm just pointing out the obvious: not all of USC is composed of Spoiled Children. I just found this article randomly and found this thread to be a good excuse to post it.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

OK, so they let a few non-spoiled kids in......otherwise they would probably find the ACLU camped out on their front lawn.

 

[maestro1625]

haha, true enough...

 

[maestro1625]

OK, so they let a few non-spoiled kids in......otherwise they would probably find the ACLU camped out on their front lawn.

well they're private... they could let in 100% blonde haired, blue eyed kids and there really can't be an objection.

 

[gotmeds?]

well they're private... they could let in 100% blonde haired, blue eyed kids and there really can't be an objection.

USC (UG) has more international students than any other college in the US.

 

[maestro1625]

USC (UG) has more international students than any other college in the US.

no need to jump on my back here, I'm not the one who created the stereotype...

(and given the students I know who go there, it's easy to see why 😉 )

 

[USCMed08]

The area surrounding USC med is not as crime-ridden as that surrounding the undergrad campus. It's more of a low-income immigrant community. Since USC med is a commuter school, the surrounding area hardly affects the student body. You drive to school and then you drive home (to nice suburbs like Pasadena, South Pasadena, etc).

Another reason why someone would get a bad impression of USC on interview day is if he didn't like the County atmosphere in the first place. The patients are poor, County's facilities are poor, and the ancilliary staff are poor. If you want a nice, clean environment with nurses who smile, County ain't it.

We do have our fair share of students who whine about everything, so if you ran into them, that would also give you a negative impression of USC.

As for the positives of SoCal: weather, beaches, best ethnic food, 4 hours to Vegas, and 5.5 hours to Mammoth. The latter two are important because you'll want to take mini trips over the weekend during school.

 

[EndSong]

I've worked at County and have friends who've attended the medical school. There are some good things about it but there are also plenty of awful things about it too.

Pros:

- understaffed = great clinical experiences
- indigent populations = great clinical experiences + interesting zebras
- very, very good for residency if you plan on matching into a field like ER
- high board scores, people there seem to match well
- student research project required (not necessarily a pro for everyone)
- also a great place to learn Spanish

Cons:

- they seem to emphasize less on outpatient care than some of the other schools I've interviewed at

- you have to commute to class

- staff, hospital administration, and, in some respects, school are less than supportive, esp. the hospital administration (this is less so at other schools since other schools also have huge, HUGE, private care patients and state-of-the-art facilities that keep people happy, like Stanford)

- Relatively small hospital in an area that already has many, many great teaching hospitals (i.e. you may miss out on a cool onco, ER, radio, opthal, derm and/or plastic surgery experiences because those patients are stopping by UCLA's many, many Hospitals, UCI, UCSD, Kaiser, and King/Drew)

- Private, living in LA is expensive, and traffic in LA is a b***h

- okay in research, trying to get more grants, but school comes off as being "hungry"

- You will probably have to learn Spanish if you don't already know it

 

[trying]

they do not have a set class size - they will take as many people who can afford to pay. i would never go to usc med

 

[riceman04]

While it is true it is in a bad part of town (Right by watts isn't it?) that part of town isn't that much worse than P&S (Wash Heights) or Mount Sinai (Harlem) or AECOM (Bronx). The 'bad' reputation has a lot to do with the fact that many people who end up going there (UG as well as Med School) are just not used to that sort of environment, so it's blown out of proportion considerably.

No it is not that close to Watts...Watts is off the 105

The Medical Campus is in East LA...where several major Mexican gangs roam and the very corrupt Rampart division of the LAPD "patrols."

East LA is no joke!!!! Those fools are crazy over there

Dont wear black and white b/c 18th street gang is over there😱 😱 😱 😱

 

[riceman04]

18th street gang = second largest gang after the Mexican Mafia😱 😱 😱

 

[riceman04]

The area surrounding USC med is not as crime-ridden as that surrounding the undergrad campus. It's more of a low-income immigrant community. Since USC med is a commuter school, the surrounding area hardly affects the student body. You drive to school and then you drive home (to nice suburbs like Pasadena, South Pasadena, etc).

Another reason why someone would get a bad impression of USC on interview day is if he didn't like the County atmosphere in the first place. The patients are poor, County's facilities are poor, and the ancilliary staff are poor. If you want a nice, clean environment with nurses who smile, County ain't it.

We do have our fair share of students who whine about everything, so if you ran into them, that would also give you a negative impression of USC.

As for the positives of SoCal: weather, beaches, best ethnic food, 4 hours to Vegas, and 5.5 hours to Mammoth. The latter two are important because you'll want to take mini trips over the weekend during school.

They don't have on campus housing anymore?

Oh yeah...and you people should all know that there is local skiing just in case you dont want to travel that far (Big Bear, Mt. High, Snow Summit, Mt. Baldy, Snow Valley, etc...)...a little over 1.75 hrs to these resorts

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

I don't like USC because they didn't take me, and I had pretty good stats and (I think) a good overall app. I'm sure it had something to do with being over 40... but they may still be mad at me because I won a National Merit Scholarship to USC in 1979 and wound up going somewhere else in my home state. I'm a legacy at USC - my dad graduated in 1951 - but, I suspect they may have pulled his file and said, "Oh. GI-Bill trash. Who cares?" Of course, legacy status means nothing at all in med school but I still remember touring the USC campus with my dad and his telling me about what Dr. VonKleinSmid was like in person.

I'll like USC better when they have a new hospital finished. I think it would be fascinating and challenging to train at "General Hospital", but there was a seismology study a while back that said, with one good earthquake, the beautiful 1928 LAC+USC is going to come down like a house of cards!!

 

[i'm the map]

seems to me from talking to socal doctors that usc has a definitive up and down - exposure.

up: you definitely get to see a ton.
down: there's not a lot of structure to this "seeing."

leads me to think that lac/usc is a bit of a free-for-all.

 

[EndSong]

County is an interesting hospital. It's been under code for a very long time. There are entire wards in the hospital that are just closed off and not functioning (no lights, used as a giant stock room).

 

[searun]

They don't have on campus housing anymore?

Oh yeah...and you people should all know that there is local skiing just in case you dont want to travel that far (Big Bear, Mt. High, Snow Summit, Mt. Baldy, Snow Valley, etc...)...a little over 1.75 hrs to these resorts

I have an interview at USC next month. I didn't realize that I could go to med school in So Cal and still feed my addiction to snow! Wow, this gives me a whole new perspective. Thanks. Which of those resorts you mentioned is the best. Big Bear?