Who's been accepted to USC?

[Triangulation]

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Hey all. I just want to find out who's been accepted there and who's planning on attending there (please state if you're planning on attending if you get in elsewhere that you're waiting to hear from, I have a feeling a lot of people are waiting to hear from UCSF). I, in all likelihood, will be heading to SC regardless if I get in to SF or not. Thanks.

 

[Triangulation]

Oh yeah, and if you've been waitlisted, but it's your first choice post on this thread as well please. I have a feeling that a lot of waitlisted people will get off it as the summer progresses.

 

[BMBiology]

Hey Future Classmate,

I mailed my deposit more than a week ago. I will see you at the orientation~!!

 

[riskhk]

shrug waitlist... hopefully i can mail another letter of recomendation by next week

 

[Triangulation]

Hey Future Classmate,


I mailed my deposit more than a week ago. I will see you at the orientation~!!

BMBiology,

Are you going to the April thing?

 

[BMBiology]

Originally posted by Triangulation
BMBiology,

Are you going to the April thing?

There is a good chance I will go. How about you?

 

[Triangulation]

I have to go to a wedding down there at another part of the month, so I'm not sure. I think I found a place in monterey park. It'll be hella nice to get away from Norcal housing prices!!

If I go, I'll track you down😉

 

[BMBiology]

do you already have roommates? Are you looking for any?

 

[Triangulation]

shrug waitlist... hopefully i can mail another letter of recomendation by next week

Hey Risk, Write an extensive letter and send some more letters of rec.

 

[Triangulation]

BMB,

I think the house was full. Where are you now?

 

[BMBiology]

Originally posted by Triangulation
BMB,

I think the house was full. Where are you now?

Actually I live about 10 minutes from the USC health science campus but I am planning to move out with a roommate or 2.

 

[BMBiology]

are u planning to live with ppl u already know?

 

[Triangulation]

No. It's from the list i was forwarded from the school. Monterey Park.

 

[keiki]

hey BMBiology.. don't get too cozy with triangulation.. i heard he's kinda crazy. so i don't think you wanna live with him.
😉

 

[BMBiology]

Originally posted by keiki
hey BMBiology.. don't get too cozy with triangulation.. i heard he's kinda crazy. so i don't think you wanna live with him.
😉

Thank you for the warning, but I am not too sane myself.

 

[Triangulation]

Hey BMB,

Don't listen to Keiki. She's frustrated because she couldn't join me in my o-chem lab section😉

 

[Triangulation]

UCSD--interviewed 1/11: waiting
USC--interviewed 1/25: accepted on 2/14
Western--interviewed 1/28: waiting
UCSF--interviewed 1/31: waiting
UOP---interview set on 3/7: withdraw

BMB,

I'm curious how come you're not waiting to hear from SD? That was my first choice, then SC, then SF.

You want to stay in So Cal, but how come you're not opting for cheap tuition at SD? That was my logic.

 

[BMBiology]

I am confident UCSD will be one of the best pharmacy schools in the nation, however I feel that since UCSD is still new, it has not been tested yet and I do not want to take that risk. In addition, I believe the reason why UCSD pharmacy students are taking classes with the medical students is not because the program is designed to foster strong relationship between pharmacy and medical students, but because UCSD does not have enough professors to teach all of the necessary pharmacy courses. As a result, I feel the program is not specifically taitored for pharmacy students.

USC pharmacy students tend to do better than students from other pharmacy schools on the California Pharmacy Board Exam. It also seems USC has already established strong relationship with companies around Southern California.

The tuition at USC is rather high as compared to UCSD and UCSF; but I am confident that once I become a pharmacist, I will not have a problem paying back my loans. I am also planning to work every saturday and during the summer as a pharmacy intern. As a result, I am not planning to borrow too much, probably 20 k a year.

 

[Triangulation]

I'll definitely try and tech as well as long as it doesn't compromise my disbursement. If I can work during the year, I'm gonna try that as well. I'm actually not that worried about the first year coursework (class from 8-12!!!!) NICE

Oh yeah and I don't know what you're smoking, the tuition is more than "rather high" it's effin extortionist!! ($27, 184/yr tuition) Ah well......

 

[BMBiology]

Hey, did you take a tour of the USC Health Campus. If you did, how did you like it? Anything worth mentioning?

 

[Triangulation]

I actually didn't take any tours. That was a really rough day. The person i was staying with was having her wedding pics taken and at the last minute i realized that I had lost my keys, so I had to borrow her car (making her effin' late for her pics, sorry Becca) and then getting lost as sh#$ on the way over. I just wanted to get to iv over with and go back to find my keys and switch cars. it seemd alright though. Not wonderful, but good enough. SC is funny. They even have their own gas stations!! I saw that when looking at the parking permit applicatioon website.

 

[tryinghard]

Hi everyone..well. i just wnated to get everyone's opinion on the intensity of usc pharmacy school. we all know its hard,and very intense. does anyone know the drop out rate? the 1st year repeat rate, or any repeat rate in general.

what are teh weed out classes from what you've been hearing?

what about the student happiness or common consensus. is everyone very happy? do they have time for significant others, extra curicular, etc??

 

[tryinghard]

ucsf vs. usc.

well, a lot of people here got into both.. what are your decisions.
any particular reasons.

for those cali residents..hwo much will you be paying if you went to ucsf??

what 's the studnet happiness or welllness issue?

 

[Triangulation]

Hey Tryinghard,

The desire to leave nor cal is the main reason SC is my top choice over UCSF. If UCSF was in So Cal, I'd be there. That's why I wanted UCSD so bad (alas they hated on my sh#$). They're both good programs, my honest opinion is UCSF's is indeed better as it's ranking would lead you to believe, but not 'better enough' that I can't make up for it w/a little extra effort.
UCSF also has the very cool pathway system.

You should check the other threads on this (me and BMBiology talked about the pros and cons)

In short, alumni support and private school mentality is in the corner of USC. The fact that it was the only pharm school in So Cal for a long time also greatly enhances its cache.

Cost:

SC tuition: $27,184/yr

USCF in state tuition: $8,474/yr
out-state : $19,606/yr

Bottom line: After four years you're gonna be in more debt if you go to SC. I'm willing to accept that.

 

[tryinghard]

hey..triangulation...i thought you went to univ. of washington for udnergrad? is this true.. were you a washington resident, but came down to ucsf post grad. waht have you been doing since graduating college at univ washington? when did you graduate college?

hey, i'm glad you got into usc. hey..what's the deal with campus houseing...where do people live? does anyone dorm? where do people live off campus?

btw, what is the drop out rate for lst years, or the repeat lst year rate. just wondering how the rigor and intensity is at usc? what about the student happiness and satisfaction rate? do you know what the weeder classes for pharm schools are? what about what usc students do during the summers...do they just work at pharm tech. another big thing..do most usc people go into research retail pahramcy , or hospital pahramcy. is there a gerneatlization that can be made. i heard everyone from ucsf go into research..is this the case.

btw, when going to usc, don't you get some kind of cali scholarship for being a resident..??? so that cali resident get an advantage in tuition.??

 

[BMBiology]

Shameless plug for USC (this is written by USC):

(1) School of history and tradition of FIRSTS
----Established in 1905: USC School of Phramacy has a history of 98 years
----The first Pharmacy School in the nation to offer Doctor of Pharmacy Degree
----The first to initiate the Clinical Pharmacy in the nation
----The first to offer clinical clerkship (where you can practice your book knowledge)
----The first to offer Pharm.D./MBA duel degrees program

(2) "Trojan Family"--exceptional network of support
----More than 50% of the pharmacists in Southern California are graduates of our school
----Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of major pharmaceutical manufacturers serve on the school's Board of Councilors.
----Exceptional base of alumni and community supporters ensures continue growth of the school and the "Trojan Family"
----We are affiliated with 96 hospitals and 185 community pharmacies

(3) Reputation of outstanding faculty and the quality of education
---In 2001 USC School of Pharmacy ranked #1 in California with 92.6%% passing rate on the Board License Exam compared to 73%-77.8% for other pharmacy schools in California.
---In 2000 USC School of Pharmacy ranked #1 among all California Pharmacy Schools in Board License
---Faculty members are consistently ranked at the top of their fields through research and publications
---Many faculty members received local and national teaching awards for their outstanding teaching abilities.
---Exchange programs exist with prestigious universities in Japan, Korea, China, France, Denmark, Australia and Argentina.

(4) Active accomplished student body
---Many students actively participate in student governments, boards, professional fraternities, student honor and professional pharmacy organizations (many long lasting friendships and career network start here!)
---Win prestigious awards from APhA, including the first place chapter award and the region 8 operation immunization award.
---Consistently receive prestigious outside grants and scholarships in addition to competitive grants and scholorships offered through the School of Pharmacy and University of Southern California.

(5) Community Involvement
---"Kid Day": Bring pre-teens to campus to learn about pharmacy and health sciences
---Bravo-Star Program: scientific research opportunity for community youth.
---Continuing Education programs to promote education in up-to-date pharmacy practice to local pharmacists.

(6) Located in LA

 

[BMBiology]

Of course, a Plug for UCSF as well:

(1) Founded in 1872 as the first pharmacy school in the West.
As the oldest school of pharmacy in the West, it has a long history of accomplishment in science, patient care, and in training tomorrow's PhD researchers and PharmD clinicians.

(2) Affiliated with the University of California in 1873.

(3) First to train pharmacists as drug therapy specialists.

(4) Recipient of more National Institutes of Health research funding than any other pharmacy school in the US

(5) As the nation's top-ranked pharmacy school: when evaluated by perception, funding for science, and scientific publication rates, the UCSF School of Pharmacy ranked number one in all criteria according to a September 2002 survey reported in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy.

(6) As pioneers on the frontiers of everything from the biology of drug dosing to the application of computers in drug design, the School's faculty members are used to leading the way.

(7) Innovators today of a three-pathway Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum that gives students, who are all clinically trained, the opportunity to further explore pharmaceutical care, pharmaceutical science, and pharmaceutical health policy and management in more detail.

(8) Tuition is exceptionally low

(9) Located in SF

(10) An awesome LIBRARY (this is my personal plug for the school)

(UCSF students: Please feel free to contribute to this list!!)

 

[Triangulation]

major disadvantage to ucsf:

It's hella expensive here. Housing is close to double what you can expect in LA. I'm currently paying close to $800/mo for a room in a house. Granted my rent agreement started before the economy tanked, but it remains, i would argue inaccessible to many working class people. For pharm students at ucsf this only means that you can expect some sticker shock when you look for housing.


Traffic sucks, not as bad as LA, but what is worse than LA is trying to park when you get there. There is no parking in SF, and the lots are insanely priced. The transit system is pretty good though (light rail system and bus system is extensive and fairly reliable.)

Fortunately, ucsf is nestled in a cool area with a lot of cool shops and student friendly cafes and restaurants and it's a direct stop on the light rail line.

USC isn't even close in terms of aesthetically pleasing buildings or location.

 

[tryinghard]

Grading in USC.

ok, what is the grading system here? is it pass/fail/ high pass?

or is it graded?

does anyone have any clue what the grading is like? Student happiness? drop out rate?

 

[tryinghard]

hey does anyone know pharm students taht are in usc at this point..just to be able to answer some of our questions?

 

[Triangulation]

bump

 

[Triangulation]

I sent my $500 to SC yesterday. That felt really interesting. It kinda seemed like a "momentous moment" for lack of a more fun phrase, but I was definitely asking myself if it was the best decision.

 

[BMBiology]

I EXACTLY know what you mean. Before I mailed my deposit, I wished my letter the best of luck, and I took a few seconds to reflect on my accomplishments and how this will change not only my life, but future generations as well.

 

[tryinghard]

Congratulations everyone!!! 🙂

 

[BMBiology]

Thank you.

 

[tryinghard]

hey, did all of you get the housing fliers? are all of you going to become roomies? pharmd club.

 

[tryinghard]

hey..are any of you usc people going to try for a combined degree. i.e mba, mph.

what do you think of those programs. they cut everything down by a year.

 

[Triangulation]

If I wasn't 27, I'd seriously consider a dual degree program, but that's not something I can will myself out of, so I'm content to get my PharmD and pursue my goals with that alone.

 

[Triangulation]

BMB,

You'll have to tell me how the April welcome thing goes. I don't think I can afford to fly down there (I have to be down there two wks later for something else) It says they're gonna go over fin aid

 

[riskhk]

Sigh still waiting for USC. They accepted less than 1/2 from the Febuary interview. 1/2 on waitlist. and 22/148 were rejected. 1 was accepted from the waitlist in October.

Does anyone have a guess how much of the waitlist will they let in.

 

[Triangulation]

Risk,

did you send them more materials (LOR, more letters telling them how they're the perfect program for you, etc)?

 

[riskhk]

I've been lagging. I got another letter of recomendation from USC alumni. Haven't written my letter yet.

 

[Triangulation]

Don't mess around with it. Just get it done. Honestly, my essays were by far the strongest component of my application in my opinion. It'll make a difference.

Never, never, never give up. ---Winston Churchill

 

[lyzziebeth]

Originally posted by tryinghard
Grading in USC.

ok, what is the grading system here? is it pass/fail/ high pass?

or is it graded?

does anyone have any clue what the grading is like? Student happiness? drop out rate?

When I was at my interview, I was informed grading is on an A-F scale, not P/NP.

 

[Triangulation]

Hey Lizzie. Where do you plan on going for fall?

 

[Triangulation]

bump

 

[lyzziebeth]

Originally posted by Triangulation
Hey Lizzie. Where do you plan on going for fall?

I'm not sure yet. Hopefully I will be receiving some good news from USC soon....cross your fingers for me!😀

 

[Triangulation]

THEY'RE CROSSED😉

 

[Triangulation]

lyzzie,

did you apply/get accepted to Western?

 

[lyzziebeth]

Originally posted by Triangulation
lyzzie,

did you apply/get accepted to Western?

Yup, that's my backup school