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random comment
Sorry, didn't mean to come off as hateful...I don't hate USC, I'll end up there if its my only california acceptance, but is that really all worth the extra money to you? Just doesn't make sense why you would waste so much money if you had other options....
steve, don't worry about it, you didn't come off as hateful at all. sometimes people do get defensive because it is that sort of "i'm here cause it's the only cali school i got into" school (i know people where this was the only school they got into period), and i think it tends to be that way because of the cost, not because of the quality of education. i do know one person who picked usc over a uc, because of the clinical experience, and just feeling "right" there. this is definitely the exception though.
my student interviewer said she picked usc over ucla for the reasons stated above - peerless in the clinical experience. it's funny to hear that there are people that "ended up" at usc, considering it was my top choice. man, maybe i should retake the mcat and shoot for mid 40s instead of high 30s...
sometimes people do get defensive because it is that sort of "i'm here cause it's the only cali school i got into" school (i know people where this was the only school they got into period)
It's a good theory, but it's not the reason why I'm defending it. I've actually had very good luck with the UC schools during this application cycle. I agree with Steve that it is hard to justify spending all that extra money on USC, but if you need a reason, the clinical education is a good one.
Ok, I'll bite. You won't get better clinical education anywhere in socal. Of course, I don't actually mean you, Steve, because you obviously hate USC and won't be going there. But for anyone who's ever been to the LAC + USC Medical Center, they probably have some idea what I'm talking about.
As a side note they had, hands down, the best food I've had at any interview.
As a medical student, you do about 1 year of real rotations. Do you guys honestly think that USC's clinical experiences are going to be significantly superior to any UC's? And if so, is that one's years difference worth a ferrari's worth of debt?
The ones that really benefit from any superior clinical experience are residents, and they pay you to do that.
well, what my student interviewer told me, which i'm sure current students can confirm/deny is that you get hands on clinical experience pretty much starting from first year, since county is so busy and they can use all the help they can get. although i'm kind of wary as to what exactly a first year med student would be capable (and even comfortable) doing.
It's a good theory, but it's not the reason why I'm defending it. I've actually had very good luck with the UC schools during this application cycle. I agree with Steve that it is hard to justify spending all that extra money on USC, but if you need a reason, the clinical education is a good one.
well, what my student interviewer told me, which i'm sure current students can confirm/deny is that you get hands on clinical experience pretty much starting from first year, since county is so busy and they can use all the help they can get. although i'm kind of wary as to what exactly a first year med student would be capable (and even comfortable) doing.
Why are doctors so stupid about money. Cars are depreciating assets. Put your money into an investment that will fund your retirement, not some stupid so cal chick mobile...and have the stones to attract women based upon your abs and brains not your stupid car. This is exactly why the money people laugh in derision at financially dumb docs.
when you get to the level of a ferrari, the depreciation is negligible; in fact, they can often increase in value. retirement's great, but it's nice to look back on the fun you had before you started collecting social security.
Well I am choosing USC over UCSD... I have a ton of reasons (started a very detailed thread a while back about usc vs. ucsd, it explains all my motivations is detail)
basically, for reasons that encompass the specifics of each school (curriculum, attitude towards students, etc) as well as personal factors (a desire to get out of sd, my best friend matriculating to USC, among others) I honestly believe I will be a much happier person at USC (MUCH HAPPIER!) so much so that i think i will be a better doctor by going to USC...
there is a lot more to it, but i am not going to get into it all again after writing a ton in the other thread
oh - and I honestly could care less about the money difference (and I am not getting any help from parents, i am taking on all loans - my parents, and I, are far from rich, so i am hoping to get some need aid at least)... I am not becoming a doctor to buy a ferrari, if i was, i guess i would suck it up and pick ucsd... but i am not, so if i have to spend more money to be able to do what I know i will be happy doing, i guess its worth it to me 😀
why is everyone dodging the money issue here, people???
What makes USC worth 100K more than the other california schools to you???
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!
a straight answer...thank you..your one of the few people in the world who doesn't care about money (which is a good thing)
(a) USC is actually upwards of $280,000 (budget this year: $69,000!!!)
Great area for county hospital, crummy selection for personal living space
Great faculty interviewer but everyone else at USC has not been helpful/friendly/extending themselves, which I guess I would hope for when paying so much
Case in point, I asked for 4th year contact info and was not provided any
I was told that someone in admissions would talk to the dean & get back to me about a matter - she never did, I followed up, she still never returned my calls to this day
I was surprised to see no guests allowed at second look and when I asked if I could bring my spouse because we make all decisions together & I'd like my spouse to see USC, they responded with a flat out "no." WashU even said it was not usual but that they would welcome him & even take care of our accomodations. Now there's a private school with class!
Anyways, I guess I'm a little burned. Coming from a public undergrad, I have low expectations - I know I'm a number, and that's ok. But when you're paying that much, I'd like to at least be treated nicely - not have my calls ignored, my requests for contact info pushed aside, etc. Wow.... I sound bitter.... haha, sorry guys!
you can live anywhere a UCLA student would live, or you can live in south pasadena, pasadena, silverlake, etc. all really nice places
to be fair, fourth years were dealing with residency interviews and match during our interview season.
I'm a little surprised about this too, especially in the case of a spouse, however, I'm pretty sure it has to do with (a) the faculty shadowing and (b) clearance into County (they can't do a background check on your spouse)
I agree with you 100%, I guess I've just had the opposite experience. Coming from UCLA, a place with probably the most satanic finaid office on the planet, I was shocked out of mind at how easy USC's finaid office was to speak to, and how nice the admissions office people were both on interview day and over the phone. On interview day I must have been offered a bottle of water by 4 different people throughout the day!It's like they have minifridges under every desk!
80K is a ton of money....for most people in this country thats 2 years income.
I guess I care too much about money.
Not really... I mean, Santa Monica to USC? I know some people do it, but I just don't want that much car time. I used to live 8 miles from UCLA and it would take me ~45 minutes to get to/from school. It was a pain, and, when time is of the essence next year, I'd rather not be commuting that much....
Yes, I completely understand. My actual request was for 3rd, 4th or recent graduate contact information, and I received none. To contrast, the UC school gave me almost ten 4th years to contact and just asked that I wait a few weeks until the Match stuff calmed down to contact them.
I would completely understand if they said my spouse could come for part of the day or would have to sit out of certain activities or could join us for lunch or something. But the flat "no" was a little surprising. Especially since my spouse will be helping to pay for me to go! Just made me feel like USC wasn't too family/couple friendly....
See, I, too, did undergrad at UCLA, and I was just fine being a number. But I have had WAY more help from the UCs this application cycle then from USC... And no one offered me any bottled water!!! 👎 🙁 j/k 🙂
ya I forgot...doctors only make 40-50K during residency...which is at least 3 years
The average physician makes 150 K
so no...80 K isn't a lot of money.....physicians are big balling, bro!
Oh...I didn't even think about interest on 80K over all those years....well...guess I'm another SDN idiot!
I'm not sure exactly what you want out of this thread...
...don't go to USC if you don't want to pay for it, gee golly that was a tough one.
just wanted to know why people would be stupid enough to pay an extra 80 G's if they had options
A) they don't care about money
They want to desperately stay in LA (like me) and it's worth it to them (which it would be to me also) and they've deluded themselves that USC is the greatest school in so-cal, but in reality their just pissed that they didn't get into UCLA (which is cheaper and better)
Must have been something in the bottled water
and, just for the record, you know, between us guys, if you end up going to USC, I'll take extreme pleasure listening to your fiscal whining while I kick your third-time-applicant-charity-case-let-in-off-the-waitlist-ass up and down County.
See you next year, sweetheart. 😉
I will literally find you and beat the $hit out of you.
Wow...could have sworn you were making threats first