How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.27 | 182 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 158 |
| Negatively | 17 |
| No change | 8 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.60 | 180 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.13 | 132 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.70 | 117 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 0 |
| 20 minutes | 3 |
| 25 minutes | 2 |
| 30 minutes | 11 |
| 35 minutes | 8 |
| 40 minutes | 16 |
| 45 minutes | 45 |
| 50 minutes | 27 |
| 55 minutes | 2 |
| 60+ minutes | 68 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 175 |
| At a regional location | 2 |
| At another location | 5 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 183 |
| In a group | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 9 |
| Closed file | 174 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.27 | 182 |
"What do you think is the biggest issue in healthcare? (student and faculty)"
"What is one current issue you see in healthcare?"
"Tell us about an ethical issue you faced and what you did in that situation."
"What is one major challenge you faced on your journey to med school?"
"Why do you want to attend Keck School of Medicine of USC?"
"What is your opinion on healthcare in the US?"
"What are some of the problems you anticipate as a practicing physician?"
"Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and what you did to fix it."
"Tell me a little bit about yourself?"
"How would your friends describe you?"
"Tell me about youself"
"What are some ethical dilemmas you have experienced in your life?"
"What are the biggest problems in healthcare today?"
"What is one of the problems with our health care system you are concerned about?"
"Tell me about yourself..."
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years"
"Tell me about an ethical dilemma in your life"
"How well do you work in groups? (student)"
"If you could allow for-profit kidney transplants, would you do it? Why or why not?"
"Tell me about yourself (both asked this)"
"What single accomplishment are you most proud of?"
"How have you demonstrated the ability to resolve conflict in the past?"
"This is by far the chillest interview I have ever had. Both the faculty and student interviewers were the two sweetest people I've encountered during the 2011 cycle. I've talked to other applicants about their interview experience and everyone on our interview day had a positive experience, so those of you preparing for this interview, DO NOT stress out. I know it's easier to say than do, as I was in your position two weeks ago stressing about the interview. But trust me, this interview is really relaxed. They ask you very generic closed interview questions: Tell me about yourself, why do you want to be a doctor, questions pertaining to your family. All other questions stemmed from my responses to those three questions. Good luck to you all and my only advice to you is to be urself."
"Tell me about yourself (expect this, as the interview is completely closed file. They know nothing about you yet)."
"It was totally a conversation. Be ready to tell your story and then follow up with interesting details."
"What would someone else say your weaknesses are?"
"Tell me about yourself: literally the only direct question my faculty interviewer asked me. After that one question, all the questions from my faculty interviewer just naturally presented themselves (such as, tell me more about that). It was a great conversation, and basically the opposite of my student interviewer, who grilled me with many, many direct questions and hypothetical situations. My faculty interviewer closed up with: Anything else you want the admissions committee to know?"
"Tell me about yourself, very open."
"Faculty: What is a socio-ethical problem that concerns you?"
"interview one: I had to be there super early for this one, i am surprised i was able to make it. tell me about yourself? have you done any research? how have you been involved in your community? what do you feel about the healthcare bill? If you could give four suggestions to Obama what would you say? where do you see yourself in ten years, please be specific? what are you looking for in a medical school? how many schools have you applied to? how many schools have you interviewed in? how many have you got a response? which ones? "
"Both of my interviews were very conversational. I was lucky that neither tried to grill me. Student: Where are you from? Tell me about yourself? Why do you want to be a doctor? What experiences have shown you that you want to be a physician? What did you do for fun in college? Is there anything else you want me to know? A campus tour. "
"What are your strengths?"
"Tell me about yourself / why do you want to practice medicine?"
"What do you think is your greatest achievement during your lifetime?"
"Student Interview: Tell me about yourself. Why medicine? What do you do for fun? What books have you read recently? Why do you want to come to USC? Do you have any questions for me? Overall, the interview was very relaxed, conversational, and put me at ease for the rest of the day."
"Since it was closed file, both interviewers asked me my mcat, gpa, major, etc. Then the classic, "tell me about yourself" question."
"Discuss an ethical situation that you've given thought to. "
"What are your greatest strengths and weknesses?"
"Give me a topic, any topic, within the health care system and tell me what you think of it?"
"Tell me about yourself (The interviews are completely blind, so it makes sense to start out with this)"
"What did you have for lunch?"
"How did you come to choose medicine."
"Why USC?"
"How will you and your partner deal with the demands of medical school in terms of time it will take away from your relationship?"
"Tell me about yourself.........."
"What should I know about you that isn't in your application?"
"What are your motivations for becoming a physician?"
"what's an ethical issue doctors are faced with today?"
"Why Keck?"
"What area of medicine do you see yourself in?"
"So why medicine?"
"What was the last thing you read?"
"tell me about yourself?"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses regarding medical school or your future career?"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"What motivated you to pursue medicine?"
"How has your major influenced how you view medicine?"
"What qualities should a medical school look for in an applicant?"
"What qualities would you look for in an applicant if you were on the admissions committee?"
"why medicine?"
"Why did your family come to the united States"
"tell me about yourself (closed file)"
"All the general stuff: Tell me about yourself. Why medicine? Why USC?"
"What is your biggest strength/weakness?"
"What do you think about our healthcare system? Are you concerned about it?"
"I think you'll probably be bored during your first year here. (Not a question, but still one of the most confounding statements that's ever been put before me.)"
"What will you do if you dont get accepted to medical school? "
"tell me about any research experience you've had as an undergraduate."
"my faculty interviewer said she was going to have some harder questions, but she either didn't ask them or they weren't harder than engaging in normal conversation."
"Name one of your strengths and weaknesses. "
"Why would USC pick you over another, analogous student?"
"what do you do for fun"
"Why medicine? Why not other health care professions?"
"Who has most inspired you (two people)?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"if you were one ingredient of a big mac, what would you be?"
"how do you study?"
"What was your biggest leadership position?"
"What do you feel is a physician's responsibility in dealing with AIDS patients?"
"tell me about your work experience?"
"Why medicine? Why USC and not UCLA? What can you bring to USC? What can USC offer you?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"How would your friends describe you? How would your enemies describe you?"
"What has been your greatest accomplishment?"
"Tell me about any research that you have done."
"Why do you want to attend Keck?"
"why medicine? what would your friends say about you?"
"What do you do to relax, what do you value, superpower would you want, look for in friends"
"Where do I see myself in 10-15 years?"
"Why medicine/why USC/why should we choose you?"
"What element on the periodic table describes the way you are today? What element on the periodic table describes the way you want to be in the future?"
"What do you thing is the most controversial issue in medicine today? (i answered the huge uninsured population, but he was looking for smthing like stem cell, abortion..) So I talked about Abortions. "
"Pick a topic in health care that you are concerned with and talk about it for a couple of minutes."
"What do you think I should write for the admissions committee about you?"
"Tell me about yourself, anything you want."
"What is a major problem in health care (asked during faculty interview)?"
"What adjectives would friends use to describe you?"
"What do you want to tell me?"
"Tell me about your grandparents."
"How do you think the Admissions Committee evaluates applicants? What do you think they base their decisions on?"
"How was your trip here?"
"Have you had any leadership experiences? "
"name your strengths"
"How did you get to where you are today?"
"Describe a problem in your life and how you solved it"
"Talk about one of your experiences in which you took on a leadership role and how things went. "
"What else can I write about you that is distinctive? (or something similar to that)"
"Tell my about yourself. "
"Tell me about yourself. When did you decide that you wanted to be a doctor?"
"What do you have for me to tell the admissions committee?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"See above."
"Ethical question (see above)"
"What was an ethical or moral situation or decision that you have been faced with recently?"
"Tell me about some of the places you've been."
"If a patient started coding in front of you and there was no one else in the room, what would you do?"
"If you could meet anyone past or present, who would you meet?"
"pretty much the basics...i didn't even get the difficult ethics questions a lot of people have been talking about. i think they just want to get to know you and see if you are a normal person and how well you'd fit in at usc."
"Managed care problems. Alternative career choice if medical school doesn't come through. "
"What would you put on your epitaph?"
"I actually went through three ethical questions. One from the faculty interviewer and one from the medical student. I posed a third ethical question to the medical student. "
"How did I like my undergrad institution? <br> Do I know what area I want to work in? "
"What role do you play in a team?"
"What is one major issue you see in healthcare/ as being a doctor?"
"What accomplishment are your most proud of?"
"What is an ethical dilemma you have faced?"
"What do you know about Obamacare"
"What type of medicine are you interested in."
"Why do you want to be a doctor and not a nurse, PA, etc.?"
"How did your major influence your take on medicine?"
"They asked me to describe my current job, my responsibilities."
"How would you describe your communication skill?"
"What do you think about medicine?"
"What do you like to do in your free time?"
"What is your biggest/proudest achievement?"
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Tell me about your family."
"What is the greatest challenge you have overcome?"
"Strengths and weaknesses"
"What is an ethical dilemma you've faced"
"How do you handle stress?"
"What would your best friend say about you?"
"Name 2 strengths and weaknesses."
"What do you think about the current health care policy?"
"How will you cope with the stress of medical school?"
"Do you think that illegal immigrants should receive the same healthcare as US citizens?"
"Tell me a time when you worked with a group and had to overcome a problem by working together"
"What single thing are you least proud of?"
"What do you think will be a challenge you'll face as a physician?"
"why medicine"
"What is the hardest thing you've ever gone through? (expect this question)"
"Student interviewer: Why USC Keck? How do you stay informed about medicine? What do you think about helping the poor as a doctor? How will you help them? Although my student interviewer hit me with question after question, it was all done in very professional manner. I did not take it personally; my student interviewer just really wanted to verify IF I was TRULY interested in Keck and if I had THOROUGHLY explored medicine and all that comes with it (all questions I had already answered myself during my journaling)."
"did you stay with a student?"
"Faculty: What would you do if you did not get accepted to medical school this year? next year?"
"second interview was with a student and i felt that it was more of me getting to know more about the school than her grilling me. we started off with her asking... tell me about yourself? what do you do for fun? what do you think of healthcare reform? then pretty soon after she asked me if i have any questions for her so make sure you have questions and lots of them because the interview is supposed to last 45 minutes"
"Faculty: Where are you from? Tell me about yourself. Why medicine? What clinical expereince do you have? What specialty do you think you might be interested in. How would you deal with having to tell a parent bad news about thier child? Do you have any questions for me. (This went into a lengthy discussion about private vs. public school being worth the money)"
"What are your weaknesses?"
"How do you feel about abortion?"
"Why Keck?"
"Faculty Interview: Tell me about yourself. Why medicine? What do you do to relax? What books have you read recently? What are your views on health policy? What are your concerns about health care in this country? Why do you want to come to USC? The interview was my last event for the day, and although less conversational than the student interview, I still felt at ease the entire time."
"Faculty interviewer asked me to name the first 5 elements on the periodic table."
"What are the greatest challenges in the medical profession?"
"What do you do to destress?"
"Why do you think working with underserved groups is important as a physician?"
"Any concerns about USC?"
"Why do you want to go into medicine?"
"Tell me about your friends"
"What about you, tell me about yourself?"
"Tell me about an important ethical issue to you. Also, tell me your thoughts on the healthcare system."
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"What are you looking for in a medical school?"
"What kind of movies do you like? "
"What is your philosophy about teaching STD prevention -- do you believe in the harm reduction model, and why?"
"What are your weaknesses and how have you dealt with them?"
"What ethical issue is the medical community facing?"
"any mentoring experience?"
"What is an ethical problem medicine is facing?"
"What are your clinical experiences?"
"Tell me about your clinical internship."
"What would you do if you had a whole day free?"
"what is your research experience?"
"How did you come to the decision to pursue medicine?"
"Aside from work, school and research, what else do you do/are you interested in?"
"Why medicine? why SC?"
"Have you been published?"
"why usc?"
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"Why medicine? What type of medicine are you interested in?"
"Do you think USC matches with your goals in academic surgery? (I spoke about career plans, but apparently many USC grads go on to HMOs in primary care)"
"What kind of medicine do you want to practice."
"what do you think is the strongest part of your app?(this interview is closed file so just be ready to say what you want to say)"
"What is one big problem in medicine today? What will be a big problem in medicine in the future?"
"Do you speak enough Spanish to get by on the wards?"
"What about professionalism in medicine?"
"What is an ethical issue that you know about?"
"name a strength and a weakness"
"What is your motivation to be a doctor?"
"How is your day going? What have you done so far? What do you think?"
"Tell me about a medical ethics issue."
"tell me about your upbringing and how you came to choose your undergraduate school."
"What makes a good doctor?"
"Why USC? What school is your top choice right now?"
"What's hammer throwing?"
"wtha issue faces future of medicine"
"Tell me 3 strengths and a weakness that you have."
"Tell me about your research experience."
"If you could meet someone living or dead... who and why?"
"Do you have a problem working with HIV/AIDS patients?"
"What has been your most significant clinical experience?"
"what is is greatest achievement? what is your biggest failure?"
"tell me about yourself?"
"what do you think is the biggest problem with healthcare (student interviewer)"
"If you were starting college over again would you still do biomedical engineering?"
"Who has most inspired you?"
"what do you think about US health care?"
"What do you do during your free time? What are your three strengths and three weaknesses with respect to medical school?"
"What kind of politica/social issues of healthcare are there?"
"What are some of your experiences that have prepared you for medical school?"
"What was your greatest obstacle and how did you overcome it?"
"What did you get out of your musical experience?"
"What would you say is your biggest weakness?"
"greatest honor? greatest disappointment? "
"How would your best friend describe you?"
"What are your weaknesses, what type of medicine and why? Why not other fields? What unique qualities do you have?"
"Why medicine?"
"What is a majot healthcare problem today? (I think this is a standard interview question at USC)"
"What do you see yourself doing in 10-15 years? What kind of doctor do you see yourself being? "
"What do you do for fun? "
"What do you do in your spare time? "
"What do you know about Keck? Where did you learn your information?"
"What is your biggest, proudest accomplishment thus far?"
"Why did you choose medicine?"
"How will you combine medicine and research (faculty interview)?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"What is your biggest strength/weakness?"
"What will you enjoy about being in medicine?"
"Tell me about the last patient you remember seeing at ___ clinical experience. Why do you remember this patient so much?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"What kind of clinical experiences have you had?"
"what have you been up to since graduation?"
"If your best friend was here, what are 3 positive and 3 negative things they might say about you?"
"What's your biggest weakness/character flaw? (both interviewers)"
"Talk about your decision to take time off after college instead of applying right away. "
"What's a current issue in medicine?"
"How would you fix the health care system in this country? What do you think of Roe vs. Wade? "
"What's your greatest weakness? What's your biggest achievement? What's the greatest obstacle you've had to overcome?"
"What can I write on this evaluation sheet so you stand out to the admissions committee?"
"What do you know about the business side of healthcare?"
"What do you think about the current healthcare in the US?"
"Where else have you interviewed/been accepted at?"
"Is there anything specific that would keep you from coming to USC?"
"Tell me about some of your experiences as an EMT."
"If a doctor asked you to perform a procedure you were uncomfortable with, would you still do it?"
"What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"
"Why should we choose you over other applicants (in a nicer way)?"
"Do you attend church?"
"Describe your weaknesses."
"What do I do for fun? <br> Why USC?"
"What is your experience working with underserved communities"
"Tell me about a time where you failed at something?"
"What is one mistake you made, and what did you do to fix it?"
"You told me no one in your family works within the healthcare field. How did you find medicine?"
"What specialty do you want to go into, and why?"
"A question about working in a team."
"What clinical experience do you have?"
"What problems do you think medicine will face in the future and what are your ideas on fixing them?"
"Why USC/Keck?"
"How do you work in a team? What role do you play?"
"What would be a deal breaker for you when looking into a medical school?"
"What are the pros and cons of the healthcare reform bill?"
"What was your research about?"
"How would your friends describe you?"
"Asked a few questions regarding my current research."
"Expand on your story."
"Problem in US healthcare"
"Describe current issues in healthcare"
"What do you think will be the most challenging part of being a doctor?"
"proudest moment?"
"What field of medicine are you considering right now?"
"What has been the hardest time in your life and how did you deal with it?"
"What is your take on the current healthcare system and the general trend that it is moving?"
"Tell me about yourself:"
"what do you do to relieve stress"
"What will you bring to our student body?"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses? (expect this question)"
"What kind of clinical experience do you have?"
"Why medicine? Oh yeah just passingly, any research experience?"
"Why medicine, very basic question."
"Student: What are your strengths and weaknesses with regards to learning?"
"How can a strength become a weakness?"
"Other than the obvious (cost, availability to the poor) what do you feel is a major issue facing health care today."
"Both interviews were 1-on-1, closed file, and about an hour in length. I was not asked for any MCAT scores or grades. The interviews were explained as being an opportunity to assess if the interviewer felt comfortable with me as a doctor, potentially treating them or their children."
"Both asked me what type of medicine and why. They also asked about the healthcare crisis. "
"What are some of your activities?"
"Why USC? Why not UCLA or UCSF"
"So what do you want to do, and what field?"
"Describe a challenge that you have overcome in your life."
"You seem like a really upbeat person, is there sometime in your life where you had to overcome a great difficulty?"
"And what did your parents think of all of this, your deciding to travel all around Latin America?"
"How would you tell a patient that they just had a stroke as a result of you putting in an IV. (Do you admit to a mistake? How much do you tell them?)"
"Tell me about your most relevant volunteer or extra-curricular experience."
"Have you been involved in research?"
"What is an ethical issue facing medicine today?"
"What's the biggest challenge facing healthcare today?"
"Why Keck?"
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?"
"All the questions were pretty standard. Nothing that unique. Depends a lot who you are interviewing with. "
"do you have any questions for me about our programs?"
"Do you have any questions?"
"What makes for a good patient-doctor relationship."
"Tell me about your experience abroad."
"who serves as your support group?"
"What are your thoughts on assisted suicide?"
"What do you personally still have to work on (weaknesses?)?"
"What are your scores like (MCAT, GPA, etc)?"
"What are two biggest problems facing healthcare today?"
"Mostly a back forth discussion about me and my interviewer."
"Are you completely determined to have a career in medicine?"
"Tell be about stem cell research. "
"What do you do for fun? DO you have questions for me?"
"Do you plan on pursuing similar research here?"
"How are you going to decide which Medical school to attend"
"what do you think is a weak point of your app?(in case you didn't pick up on it, this is a closed file interview so don't expect them to know anything about you. don't expect them to lead the conversation to the main points, that's your job)"
"What do you think will be a challenge for you as a doctor?"
"Why medicine today?"
"What about diversity in medicine, do you think it's important?"
"What books are you reading?"
"Do you think diversity in a student body is important in medicine? how?"
"What do you expect Medical School to be like?"
"What do you do outside of medicine, what are your hobbies, what do you do for fun. What do you do with your friends?"
"What activities did you do in college?"
"what do you find appealing about the keck school of medicine?"
"What do you think of our current healthcare system?"
"What do you bring to USC?"
"why are you interested in medicine"
"What do you feel needs to be done about people who don't have medical insurance?"
"How do you integrate yourself into cultural diversity?"
"What is wrong with healthcare in America? (asked by my student interviewer who honestly thought there was only one right answer to this question. It made for an interesting debate.)"
"why did you decide to go into medicine and who influenced you the most in your decision?"
"what would you look for in a medical school candidate?"
"What's a big problem with emergency medicine today? (student interviewer) (that ERs are used for primary care) "
"would your religious beliefs affect the way you practice medicine?"
"Read any good books lately? Do you play any musical instruments? Speak any other languages (I answered C++ for all those other engineers out there)?"
"What are you most proud of?"
"tell me about your master's program?"
"What experiences have you had working as a group? What role do you play in a group setting?"
"Why did you decide to go to your undergraduate college?"
"Why do you want to come to USC?"
"Why do you want to go to Keck?"
"Why do you want to attend Keck?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"what is an ethical issue you'll have to deal with as a physician?"
"What community do you want to serve."
"It is hard to think of what questions were asked because it seemed more like a conversation than question and answer time. I did not feel grilled or pressured in any way. "
"What do I do for fun?"
"Tell me about your experience in _____________."
"Why do you want to go to medical school? Why do you want to become a doctor? Describe an important life-changing experience? "
"What is the difference between the health care system in the US and that of France (I was raised in France). "
"Tell me about your state's healthplan and do you think it's effective in providing patients with adequate care?"
"Why medicine?"
"What is your biggest weakness, and how do you handle it?"
"Would you feel comfortable treating HIV and Hep C patients during your clinical years (student interview)?"
"What would you have done if not medicine?"
"What other schools are you applying to?"
"Do you think healthcare is a right or a privilege?"
"how would your friends describe you? Weaknesses? Why medicine? Why XXX major? Why study ecology? Where will you be in ten years?"
"where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Tell me what you think of what's happening in medicine today."
"What would your best friend say about you? (both interviewers)"
"What was the last thing you did that was just for fun (so unrelated to work, school and community service)? "
"Tell me about your extra-curriculars."
"What would you do if a patient dying of cancer asked you to help end her life?"
"What book are you reading right now?"
"What will you do if you dont get accepted to medical school? (weird question at this time of year, i think)"
"What do you want to get out of a medical school?"
"Why come to USC?"
"What do you think about the stem cell/cloning debate?"
"Academic strengths/weaknesses (from the faculty interviewer)."
"A doctor asks another student to perform a procedure he/she was uncomfortable with, and that student makes a mistake. He/she begs you not to tell anyone and that he/she would never do it again. Would you tell?"
"What types of books do you like to read?"
"Is there anything else you would like me to know about you?"
"How will you balance your family life with medicine?"
"Why USC? "
"What's your motivation to come into medicine? <br> How did I select the other schools I applied to? "
"Straight forward questions in a conversational style, so the questions had a lot to do with the responses I gave!"
"What lasting changes have occurred in medicine due to COVID?"
"Asked about my favorite fast food place. I was living in the state (not Cali) that my student interviewer went to undergrad at and he was happy that someone could relate to the fast food out here."
"What do you think has been the most difficult part of the application cycle for you?"
"It was mostly a conversation. I can't remember a specific interesting question."
"In your experience working with doctors, nurses, etc., what characteristics did you see that you liked the most and liked the least?"
"How would your best friend describe you?"
"Questions were quite conversational so they might not apply to everyone. I got asked to describe my undergraduate education in detail"
"What's the biggest animal you think you can beat in a fight?"
"What ethical dilemmas have you encountered?"
"What are some of the challenges you forsee in your career?"
"If an alien were to land here on Earth and ask you to describe how our healthcare system currently works, what would you say?"
"What did your grandfather say about WWII?"
"What is your favorite movie of all time?"
"Describe your best friend"
"None - It was all straightforward, just getting to know me"
"Medicine is changing and it's inevitable can you handle that?"
"Where is health care going?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"What is the one thing that your parents would say that you will struggle with in medical school?"
"Don't worry about the ethical aspect, but how would you handle having to tell a pregnant woman that her baby could have down syndrome?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"what is a problem you see with medicine"
"Can you think of a time when you were struggling with something (e.g., research project, teaching a student, etc.), and how you dealt with that situation?"
"If you were a fruit, what would you be?"
"Tell me what you know about anemia. (the student has just been studying hematology)"
"Why not just go to UCLA? It's much cheaper, and they have better research, right?"
"The most interesting questions were in response to the topics we had been talking about, topics that either me or the faculty member brought up. (these questions made up most of the interview by the way)"
"How would you deal with telling the family of a child bad news?"
"Tell me everything you know about basketball."
"What do you think about the news story about the woman who just had the octuplets?"
"What do you think is your greatest achievement?"
"From the faculty interview: Explain a personal event that you consider to involve an ethical gray area, and how you processed it."
"Tell me your beliefs about paranormal physics in relation to medicine? Do you think Obama will accomplish all he has promised?"
"A specific clinical question about organ transplant (which I work in) because the interviewer legitimately wanted to know."
"None of them really."
"Student: Why do you think working with underserved groups is important as a physician? Why do you care? Faculty: What do you think will be your biggest challenge as a physician? "
"Why don't you go to UCLA instead?"
"In 20 years, there may be a cure for everything and doctors will not be needed anymore. What will you do?"
"What can you see being challenging in your future career?"
"What movies have you seen/books have you read recently?"
"If you could have lunch with anyone past or present who would it be? (from student interview)"
"Where do you normally sit in class. (what row)"
"none"
"How do you spend your free time?"
"How would you fix the problem of the uninsured?"
"Why did you apply to so few schools?"
"All medical students start out with great attitudes and then something happens to htem between third and fourth year -- they start making fun of patients and rushing to get out of the hospital. Why do you think this happens and what will you do to prevent it from happening to you."
"n/a"
"What does this painting make you think of?"
"To be totally honest, it sounds like you're definitely not from an underpriviledged background. What would make you want to work with indigent, underserved patients at a county hospital?"
"What do you think will be the biggest problem us, as physicians, will be facing? (student interview)"
"No interesting questions. This literally was a conversation. I had to lead discussion."
"Open ended discussion.. everything was pretty standard."
"Nothing too interesting, more like I had to walk around LA county hospital (a bit crazy to say in the least) and avoid getting in fights with security guards or family members"
"Tell me about a specific experience from your clinical internship."
"If you could be anyone, in any time, place, who would you be?"
"how do you feel about healthcare in the US today?"
"Would you prescribe a lethal dose of barbituates to a terminal cancer patient and why or why not?"
"You are the dean of the medical school and a student comes to you expressing discomfort having to treat an AIDS patient; student found a collegue to trade patients and wants your approval. "
"What will sustain you during medical school when you're stressed and busy?"
"How does USC suit your future career plans, and what are those career plans?"
"none."
"none were really interesting, i didn't feel like they really wanted to get to know me. "
"What would you do differently if you were a primary care doctor in a HMO system?"
"Since the interview was closed file, both interviews went more like conversations than anything else. There were the usual questions, like "why are you interested in medicine?" and "what experiences do you have that have reinforced your interest in medicine?" etc. "
"Which school is your top choice so far?"
"My student interviewer came prepared with a list of 40 questions and he wanted answers to them all!"
"Do you think it is possible for the student interviewer to be having a bad day and to give you a negative impression of the school? (this was asked by my faculty interviewer)"
"tell me a story about how you dealt with a challenge"
"How will you handle cultural barriers as a physician? (I had mentioned that cultural sensitivity in health care is a major issue)"
"Do you think illegal immigrants should be given free healthcare?"
"What do you think about having a family with the busy schedule of becoming a doctor?"
"If you were an interviewer, what would you you look for in a future doctor?"
"What would you do to change healthcare in America? (I was asked this twice)"
"how do you feel your social science background will be to your advantage/disadvantage in medical school?"
"What do you think about the HMO system."
"Are you aware we have very little funding? (from a student)"
"If your best friend were here with us, what would he/she say about you?"
"Asked if I had seen Million Dollar Baby and what I thought about the movie. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen it."
"What issue do you think faces the future of medicine."
"What do you think are the most pressing ethical issues in medicine today?"
"How would you solve the traffic problem in LA?"
"Cross cultural comparisons of emergency medicine between developing and developed countries."
"So, what's the most difficult question you've been asked so far?"
"Discuss a current ethical question in healthcare today"
"nothing particularly stands out"
"Where was your violin made? (my interview also played)"
"None - all were fairly standard"
"What do you see as today's biggest problem in US Healthcare?"
"If you could have a conversation with anyone, who would it be?"
"your patient is HIV positive. his partner doesn't know. what would you do? "
"What is an ethical health issue you've been following lately in the news? Not too interesting but compared to the rest it was."
"Nothing out of ordinary or particularly interesting"
"Can you explain Calvinist theology to me? (asked because I attend a Calvinist college)"
"Why do you think County would be a beneficial place for you to work while a medical student?"
"If you could have dinner with four people, living or dead, who would you pick? How do you think they would get along with each other?"
"How do you think your religious beliefs will affect your ability to practice medicine?"
"How would you treat AIDS/HIV patients? [To me it just seems like it would make sense that you treat all patients the same.]"
"Ethical issue about treating a patient with AIDs"
"Wat superpower I would have, and what I look for in friends"
""What was the most difficult interview question you were asked?" (Didn't ask for my response)"
"I was to have a dinner party at a nice restaurant. And I was allowed to invite any three women in the world. They could be dead or alive. Who would I invite?"
"What would you do if two patients came in the ER, one looks homeless and the other looks wealthy and clean? Who would you treat first and why? "
"How did I plan on making money/providing for my family if I wanted to work in a "county facility"?"
"Where do you see the future of medicine in ten years?"
"In a hypothetical situation with three different patients and only one ICU bed available, which patient would you choose for the bed and on what basis did you choose?"
"Who has had the biggest influence in your life?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Very conversational."
"A faculty interviewer and I had an interesting talk about the american obesity epidemic, and how fast food compares to the tobacco industry."
"By what adjectives would your closest friends describe you?"
"Have you ever hurt anyone?"
"Which of your parents do you emulate the most and why?"
"What do you think makes a great doctor?"
"What would your friends say about you?"
"What was a difficult time in your life, and how did you deal with it?"
"How did you get to where you are today?"
"What do you think leads to medical cynicism (when you enter med school it's about helping people, but by the time you graduate, most people are disillusioned to some extent, hard to see each patient as a unique human being, etc.) and how would you prevent this from happening to yourself?"
"Why did you major in economics?"
"What would you do if a patient refused treatment based on your gender?"
"Step into the shoes of your best friend and explain to me what is so great about you. "
"Would you feel confortable examining an AIDS patient?"
"What would you do if a patient dying of cancer asked you to help end her life?"
"Are there alot of mosquitos in Vietnam? =P"
"If you had an AIDS patient who would not use any protection or tell his partners about his AIDS, what would you say to his partner that he brings into the clinic? (after i answered) Well arent you worried about lawsuits?"
"What did you think of your pre-med program?"
"Ethical Questions like, "What would you do if it was against a patient's religion to receive a blood transfusion?""
"The faculty interviewer asked me where I had interviewed so far, and when I named a few that I had interviewed at and been accepted to, he asked, "Then why would you want to come here?" He was being serious- actually discouraging me from coming to USC becaue he felt the other schools were better. Way to sell your school!"
"What advice would you give to someone dealing with cancer for the first time? What is the one thing that they absolutely must know?"
"I was asked about some of the places I've traveled."
"What would you say to the admissions committee to convince them to accept you over someone else who has the exact same background and qualifications as you?"
"Nothing really. Both of my interviews were extremeley relaxed and conversational. "
"If you could be any element on the periodic table, what would it be and why."
"none really...it was my student interviewer's first time interviewing someone."
"If you could meet anyone from the past or present, who would it be and why?"
"No interesting questions"
"Are you a Giants Fan?"
"What book are you reading right now?"
"If there were 50 other applicants in this room, why should we choose you?"
"What's my motivation to go into medicine?"
"In your small groups and labs you will be placed in a group of six for an entire year. How do you feel about this? What would you do if tensions developed?"
"what do I think it would be like to work at LA County Hospital (my faculty interview was after the tour)"
"It was a conversational interview so none of the questions were difficult! :)"
"Most questions were very casual and stemmed from something within my previous answer. Relax, take a breath, and smile. Enjoy the conversation. It was fun!"
"None, it was very conversational and most questions revolved around what I had previously told them about myself (it was closed file so my interviewers made sure to emphasis that I could repeat my application to them because they had no idea who I was)."
"What do you think about the current state of healthcare in our country"
"What challenges do you see yourself facing as a physician and how will you address it"
"You’ve met patients who don’t speak English and have trouble accessing care. What do you think we should do about that?"
"Nothing really, straight forward. Although I heard from another interviewee that they asked her "What is a current difficult event taking place in the world of medicine, and how does that influence the future of medicine?""
"Tell me about a time when you failed and what you learned from it."
"none. All questions seemed reasonable."
"What do you foresee happening in the next 5 years in healthcare?"
"Ethical dilemma question, mostly because I don't have many in my life and they asked for a personal example."
"I was asked pretty detailed questions about the Affordable Care Act by both interviewers, but I think that was because I had a background in economics/finance."
"None - such a relaxed interview, just be yourself!"
"What do you see as the direction medicine will be taking in the next 10 years?"
"everything was real conversational"
"Besides your parents, who is one of your heroes and why?"
"What is your take on the current healthcare system and the general trend that it is moving? What would you like to fix, or what are possible problem areas?"
"What single thing are you least proud of?"
"what are your strengths"
"In your volunteering experience, can you think of an event that increased your interest in medicine?"
"What is the hardest thing you've ever gone through?"
"What do you think the strengths and weaknesses of our school are?"
""Any regrets? I mean, is there anything in your life you would change that you have done?" Freaking caught me off-guard. I mean, like most people fortunate enough to be applying to medical school, I've had a relatively nice life and I just couldn't think of anything to say. I also didn't want to not give an answer! I felt like going into the interview, I knew I had to TURN every question in a positive note, and explain why I wanted deeply to pursue medicine. But in the end, I had to let this one go. It left me feeling weird, as if I didn't know what my student interviewer wanted to hear. But in the end I got accepted!"
"No hard questions, really."
"Student: How will you cope with always having to be so selfless as a doctor?"
"If you had to convince a group of rich people to give money to your health project what would you say to convince them to care? how would your answer differ if you were talking to the president?"
"If you could have dinner with any one person, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you talk about?"
"All questions were easy"
"The classic strength/weakness question. I haven't had this question yet, so it was a little tough. "
"It is always tough to answer what your greatest weaknesses and strengths are."
"Who is your favorite ball player?"
"How did you handle a situation where in a group setting, certain individuals were not holding up their part of the bargain in workload?"
"I had so many questions about ethical issues, the current health care system's problems and possible solutions, presidential candidates' health care reform policies, etc. from both interviewers. BE PREPARED!"
"None. Everything was really conversational :-)"
"What do you think is the one greatest problem in health care today"
"What are you most excited for about being a doctor? What are you least excited for?"
"For some reason I couldn't answer how the french are so culturally different from us. the faculty interviewer asked this after i talked about living in france for a year."
"none"
"Is there anything else you would like the admissions committee to know about you? this was at the end of the interview and I just came up blank"
"Do you consider yourself to be Latina?"
"So tell me about yourself."
"None."
"Don't recall any difficult questions. My two interviews were both very very laid back"
"Tell me about the worst day of your adult life. Not hard to answer but difficult for the content of my answer."
"I was only really asked one question........ So tell me about yourself......"
"How do you think your best friend has influenced your life?"
"What is the biggest problem in healthcare today? (none were really hard)"
"Again, there really wern't any questions."
"Ethical questions: what is a ethical problem you think medicine is facing."
"NA"
"How do you feel about health care in this country?"
"none were difficult, very conversational"
"tell me about yourself. *closed-file"
"Why medicine? "
"Tell me about your involvement in high school (that was almost 10yrs ago; caught me off guard). "
"Nothing difficult"
"ethical question. i think everyone gets at least one, so be prepared for it."
"What made you decide to pursue medicine? "
"something about the healthcare system. do they really expect us to have a solution to a problem that has been there for so long where people haven't been able to figure out how to fix it? grrrr."
"How will it feel to you to be older than your peers (I am a nontraditional applicant)? Do you think you will be frustrated that you have so much more real-world experience than them?"
"Why USC?"
"Standard strengths/weaknesses questions. I never knew that people really asked those"
"none, all were standard questions"
"tell me something more personal"
"If you had built a relationship with a patient who had AIDS, and he came to his office with his partner who you know he hadn't told, what would you do?"
"Why medicine today when there are so many troubles that come along with it?"
"what do you think of professionalism in medicine?"
"How would feel about treating a smelly, dirty, diseased patient?"
"What is a health issue that sparks your interest?"
"What do you think about nationalized healthcare?- I wasn't sure if I should tell the majority view that I thought they wanted to hear or a more nuanced view with political and economic realities"
"If you had a group member who wanted to do things his/her way or not at all, how would you deal with that?"
"what are your thoughts on nationalized healthcare?"
"Why USC? Not UCSD or UCLA?"
"why do you want to do your research at Caltech and not here?"
"None really."
"Nothing difficult, very conversational interview."
"none. see most interesting question"
"None were really difficult. Both my faculty and student interviews felt very conversational. I think the student talked as much as I did in the interview."
"What do you know about ethical issues that are important to medicine today?"
"There were none."
"After having a comfortable relaxing interview with my faculty interviewer, I stood up and turned to leave when he called out "what should I tell the adcom about you?" (um... didn't we just speak for an hour about that?) I was ready to go (in fact I was late for the tour), and I blanked and stuttered for half a minute. His response: a smile part polite part pity. Not the most charming impression I wanted to leave him with!"
"Why not law? (I come from a family of lawyers)"
"If you could meet with anyone, live or dead, who would it be? (Hard because I hadn't previously thought about it)"
"nothing particularly hard"
"How do you bridge the divide between art and medicine?"
"None of the questions were too bad, both student and faculty interviews turned into friendly conversations about my past and my future plans."
"What is the one biggest disappointment that you have had?"
"what element of the periodic table are you - and which one do you aspire to be? "
"None were difficult, it seems like the interviewers have a list of questions they go through. The one that stumped me for a little bit was what was the biggest disappointment or failure you've encountered? "
"If you were going to develop a screening test for condition X, what would you do to create a good one?"
"How should emergency rooms handle uninsured patients?"
"What are you most proud of in your life?"
"Tell me why you think you should be admitted over other students."
"What is your biggest disappointment?"
"Above"
"what things do I value most in life?"
"What are some issues in health care today?"
""What does each peak on this EKG represent?" (It's been a while...)"
"The student asked me to talk about the most pressing issue in medicine today (Example: health insurances, abortions, confidentiality). The student also gave me an ethical scenario: A couple came into a hospital and one of them had the HIV virus. The person who was carrying the HIV virus has been known to give the virus to past partners. What do you do with him and his new partner?"
"What is one thing you regret the most/ one thing you are embarrassed about? Wish you hadn't done? "
"None of the questions were too difficult, however my student interviewer wasn't easy to talk to. He just fired off all of the questions he was supposed to ask and if we started going back and forth in a nice, conversational manner, he would stop it and go back to shooting off questions."
"Although it was supposedly a "blind" interview, my interviewer immediately interrogated me for all my stats anyways. Kind of defeats the purpose."
"Why should we treat patients that are illegaly here?"
"None. They were all very pleasant questions."
"Non l'hai sentito? Not really during an interview, but during dinner one of the faculty kind of shouted some italian at me (I lived in Italy for a while and wrote about it on my app) and I momentarily missed his roman accent."
"None were difficult"
"What are the ethics of stem cell research?"
"There were honestly no difficult questions. The interview was very conversational and laid back. I didn't even get ethical questions or questions about healthcare systems."
"Why not nationalize the healthcare system (like in Europe) here so that members of all levels of society would have equal access to available treatments?"
"What are your strengths that would make USC want to accept you?"
"none, interviews were very conversational"
"What do you think of what's happening in medicine right now?"
"see above"
"What is the most pressing healthcare problem in the US?"
"How would solve certain healthcare problems?--no definite answer to that one!"
"What is the difference between the US and other countries who have developed universal health care coverage?"
"How did you decide to become a doctor? (OOOOOOO I hate hate hate this question!)"
"How would you fix the health care system in this country?"
"How do you feel about the Iraq situation? What do you think about the women's rights movement?"
"What element on the periodic table are you? and what element would you like to be? (and the student interviewer who posed the question told me prior to asking that no one ever gets this question correct....um, i did not know that there was a correct answer to these types of questions!)"
"None really. The interviews were very conversational."
"Ethical questions, but the interviewer helped with the answers."
"I had a few ethical questions that were tough. One example: What would I do if a patient needed certain expensive medications to live but he had no insurance? Would I give him his meds and cover the cost myself? I said I would, then he challenged me as far as how long I could go on paying and losing money, where would I draw the line with other patients, etc. There were other ethical questions that I can't really remember."
"What do you think about the possibilty of war in the near future?"
"Nothing sticks out. Both interviews were very laid back. I got the impression that they just want to make certain that you're able to communicate well and that you're not a total freak."
"What would you say to the admissions committee to convince them to accept you over someone else who has the exact same background and qualifications as you?"
"Same. "
"If you had a patient with AIDS who would not practice safe sex despite what he knew, and he brought his new girfriend into the clinic with him, what would you do?"
"none really"
"If your best friend were to describe you, what would they say? How would they brag about you?"
"If you were a third year med student and had a cancer patient not responding to medication, what would be your next treatment?"
"Potentially difficult question if you're not prepared: describe the problems of managed care"
"What effect does Potassium from a transplanted liver have on the recipient body?"
"I got a difficult healthcare scenerio and was asked to identify the issues and asked what I would do if I was a doctor to solve the problem. "
"Nothing."
"none, really"
"Read SDN, review my app. The interview was VERY chill and casual. Very typical interview questions"
"Went over the big questions like tell me about yourself, why medicine, what kind of doctor I want to be, some interesting extra curricular anecdotes. Something that was really valuable for my interview was having 3-5 stories/experiences that showcased who I was and used them in various ways throughout the interview."
"Mock interviews, interview feedback"
"Mock interviews online and google doc with a list of possible questions and answers."
"Prepared questions and potential answers to difficult questions."
"I made a google doc with general ideas for common questions like why usc, why medicine, and an issue with medicine/healthcare. Very bare bones. Also, I watched short, unbiased YT videos on healthcare in the US because I knew that was an issue I would want to talk about if an interviewer asked what I think needs fixing (and this question was asked!)"
"Looked through SDN Interview feedback, mock interview"
"Read SDN interview feedback, reread my primary and secondary"
"Mock interview, reading up on my application and the school"
"Mock interview with a professor a month prior. Read up on healthcare."
"SDN, Youtube, Google, Mock interview, review application"
"website, mock interview, sdn, read nyt, kevinmd"
"SDN, interview feedback, relaxed."
"SDN feedback, Keck website, talking with student host prior to interview"
"SDN Interview Feedback, NY Times, NPR, Keck Website"
"USC website, SDN, reviewed my AMCAS & secondary"
"USC website, other interviews."
"SDN, USC website"
"Read up on healthcare, relaxed myself"
"Thought about possible questions, researched the school."
"SDN, practice questions"
"Reviewed primary app as well as looking over all the responses to the multitude of secondary responses. Also, had a mock interview and one interview under my belt."
"I went over questions that had tripped me up in previous interviews and I figured out what I wanted to say."
"SDN interview feedback, I was taken by surprise by some of the questions."
"Website"
"Went on their website (not very helpful), went on interview feedback, read my secondary"
"Mock interview at school (read the feedback!), and skimmed SDN for possible interview questions"
"I read the school's website and interview feedback. I have also been reading articles about health care issues whenever I see them."
"SDN interview questions from 2011-2009"
"reviewing old questions"
"Looked up a ton of sample interview questions. I spent a lot of time writing out answers to all of them, and thought out my opinions regarding a broad span of topics including healthcare reform, different compensation models, as well as ethical issues including euthanasia, abortion, stem-cell research, etc.."
"SDN"
"Reading over my app, ethics books, and SDN."
"SDN! Look over personal statement and secondary, school website."
"Mock interview with two medical students from other schools. Mock interview at campus career center (filmed). Spoke with current USC students about curriculum and current Keck student activism. Really search out specific things about the school. AND Journal. Start journaling the second you read this. Buy a nice, blank journal and WRITE topics: tell me about yourself, why medicine, why keck... knowing they will DEFINITELY ask you these questions write down all your thoughts that come to you in these topics as you go through the application process. before your interview, summarize the things you really want them to know about you and start practicing how to say them precisely and in a captivating way. it sounds hard, but journaling really helps."
"SDN, practice questions, practiced on my dad, friends."
"sdn, family/friend discussions of current topics"
"sdn, stayed with a student make sure you do that because i got a lot of questions answered and since my interview was so early in the morning i did not get to go on the tour before the interview. and also the list of student hosts was not up on the website but when i called they emailed it to me almost immediately. "
"For this interview, I took time to really get to know myself. I read over my secondary the most (because that is the whole reason the gave you an interview) along with my primary, and other secondaries that added to "my story." The biggest thing you can do is relax. Stay with a student host, get accustomed to the school and what its about. I have heard of some people (on SDN and current students) who were given ethical questions and questions about healthcare. Brush up on these topics. The most common questions I have ran across is "Come up with an ethical dilemma and tell me how you would deal with it/solve it." "
"SDN, Keck website & my supplemental application"
"Read SDN, reviewed "Understanding Health Policy" by Bodenheimer, read Obama's Health Policy"
"Read over my file but didn't go over things too much-- prevents the conversation from being natural."
"SDN Interview Feedback. USC Website. Primary and Secondary Applications."
"SDN, friends at Keck, read up on lac+usc"
"School website and this site."
"SDN, MSAR, Keck's website, talked with a retired Keck professor."
"This was my 5th interview, but I read SDN each time and research the school's website."
"I didn't prepare at all, I knew ahead of time that I didn't want to go to USC. I just went to for the sake of practice through interviews but ended up not getting any questions at all."
"MSAR, SDN, Read the school's website, Reviewed application materials, ethical issues, and current health system."
"Read about USC online, got opinions from close friends who are students there"
"reread AMCAS and secondary application, interview feedback, getting to know myself the past 23 years :)"
"SDN, talked to USC students, read over my applications, boned up on candidate healthcare plans"
"SDN, read my application and secondaries, looked at USC website, read up on the healthcare system (this usually gets asked at USC)"
"Used this website and went over my application."
"SDN, website, AMCAS, secondary"
"School website, reread secondaries."
"SDN, stayed at a student's house the night before and talked to her about her experiences, slept, relaxed..."
"Read a book on medical school interviews. Did a mock interview"
"Got my hair blown out :> Read my AMCAS, spent 35 years getting to know myself really well."
"read/re-read/re-read my file"
"Didn't prepare too much. I like to wing it. I sound like I'm acting when I prepare too much."
"SDN, read up on school website."
"Read over a bunch of practice questions, past research, AMCAS application stuff, current medical issues. I was way over prepared. "
"SDN. Looked up info about school on their site. 4th interview, so didn't prepare much. Remember your passport sized photo!"
"I don't think you can prepare for these med school interviews, maybe practice? I asked my previous two interviewers what I should say to get into med school."
"SDN, re-read, etc"
"SDN, self reflection, wrote out answers to all the common questions asked."
"interviewed elsewhere"
"sdn, school website, reviewed amcas and secondary, meditated on the beach with a cup of coffee"
"reviewed AMCAS and secondary"
"I didn't do much of anything! I don't recommend that strategy."
"SDN feedback; mock interview; school's website"
"SDN, mock interviews, hours upon hours of personal reflection"
"mock interview, SDN, read my secondary"
"SDN, School's website, read books/websites on healthcare (great resource kff.org), 2 mock interviews, and prepped previous questions I found online."
"previous interviews. knew it was closed-file so didn't prepare much."
"Read school's website, this website, and read some ethics and health care system books."
"sdn, re-read app."
"read sdn, interview websites"
"Read SDN....this was my 5th interview so I felt pretty ready. "
"SDN, website, previous interviews"
"re-read secondary answers, personal statments, "
"Read ethics book, looked at website, asked some other interviewees what they have read about the program before my interview started. "
"read a bit about the school"
"Read lots of interview feedback on this website, re-read my applications, read health pages of news websites for several weeks, web-searched for important topics--nationalized health care, abortion, etc."
"SDN, NY times, Health policy, ethics and other interviews"
"read over my AMCAS and secondary. Mock interviewed. Read this site. "
"normal stuff"
"SDN, applications, essays"
"read application, SDN, website"
"Read about the school, read my application."
"Read about the school, SDN, practice answering the common questions, reading up on different issues."
"Read USC website and brochures, SDN, propaganda mailed from school, stayed with student friend. "
"read up on ethics/other relevant medical issues, browsed the website, created bullet-points for commonly asked questions"
"looked over secondary, browsed student doctor feedbacks."
"Read Application/ website / ethics / issues."
"Studied website. "
"Read website, this site, looked over my application. "
"previous interviews, looking at faculty profiles, etc"
"Ate burritos and ceviche!"
"This site, Keck's site, MSAR."
"read sdn, interview feedback, school website, amcas app, secondary app, talked with current students"
"SDN, USC Website, Made bullet points for categories of questions, BUT DID NOT MEMORIZE ANSWERS. I heard from good sources that answers that sound rehersed are viewed very negatively."
"sdn, application"
"SDN, USC website, Princeton review website"
"School website, SDN, (since both faculty and student interviews are closed files, as long as you know yourself and can sell yourself you'll do fine)"
"Read application, SDN, USC website, spoke with doctors who attended there"
"re-read the gazillion essays i had to write for this school"
"Read up on the school. "
"Website -- curriculum, current events at the school, facilities, student's impressions. Also brainstormed potential interview questions for quite a while -- ONE of which I was asked (tell me about yourself)"
"Did my homework on the school and all of the future plans (new country hospital, 4 new buildings with Keck donation money). SDN, lots of newspaper reading."
"Read my AMCAS, secondary, know a bit about the school ahead of time"
"www.kff.org, website, SDN"
"SDN, primary/secondary, USC website"
"this site, keck website to learn about their curriculum, go to the career center at my university and read up on some current med/ethical events, kept up with some recent news"
"SDN, read my essays and personal statement, looked over the USC curriculum"
"SDN, websites, practice interviews"
"Read Keck's site, read the newspaper, looked over AMCAS."
"perused their website, read health-related newspaper articles"
"brochure, website, talking to current med student, SDN"
"Slept, read SDN, talked to my host"
"prayed, SDN, talked with friends"
"SDN, website, mock interviews."
"USC Website, SDN"
"Nothing, this was my 6th interview."
"SDN, read up about USC program, mock interviews"
"SDN, read up on the school, read newspapers"
"Read all material on the website. Reviewed my essays and app."
"Read this website, read over my applications and stayed informed on healthcare issues."
"Read SDN, talked with students at USC, read up on ethical issues, relaxed, made sur I had plenty of time to find the interviewer's office."
"USC website, internet"
"Read over papers out of my old labs again, read reviews in recent neuroscience journals, read current news magazines and website re: health issues."
"Read SDN, my AMCAS, and the Keck catalog"
"Re-read application, USC website"
"Made a list of typical questions and practiced my answers on friends, read SDN, had mock interviews with doctors, talked with med students about their interview experiences, and read the NYT Health section."
"Nothing; I know why i want to go into medicine and dont feel the need to reherse or anything. If you read casually read and keep up with topics you should be fine."
"read SDN"
"read their website, watched the news"
"listened to Thunderstruck, made boxing motions in mirror"
"SDN, browsed some ethical/healthcare websites"
"Read SDN."
"looked at USC's website & SDN "
"Reviewed the website, talked to people who have interviewed there in the past. "
"SDN, read paper, read about the school"
"studentdoctor.net, read USC/Keck web site, mock interview at UC Berkeley career center, wrote down questions."
"looked at guidebook, application materials, SDN website and interview feedback"
"Read USC website, but did not find much, this website. Looked over some ethical info that i had gathered for previous interviews"
"Interview feedback, website, Princeton Review school information, healthcare primers."
"Read up on current events, reread application, read up on USC."
"studentdoctor.net, MSAR, USC website"
"studentdoctor.net, hsc.usc.edu, looked up my faculty interviewer the day before. I was an EMT in LA before I went back to school and I've delivered to most of USC's affiliated hospitals, so I was pretty familiar with Keck."
"Read this site. Read over my application. Talked to students I knew at USC. "
"read over my AMCAS and secondary. Mock interviewed. Read this site."
"Read up on the school's curriculum, went over amcas and secondary responses."
"Read over my AMCAS and secondary applications, looked at this website, read the pamphlet that USC sent me, thought of answers to tough questions, and got a good nights rest."
"Looked at my essay and the schoool's philosophy."
"SDN/USC website"
"Read the school website, talked to student host to get a feel of the school, reviewed me."
"School web-page, reviewd my application essays"
"Read personal statement, did extensive research on the faculty interviewer (very useful and actually interesting), talked to physicians who worked at the USC county hospital, talked to some of my friends who attend school there, and read my USC application."
"read website, SDN feedback, my app"
"Read the website, nothing much - I go to USC as an undergrad so I am fairly familiar with the medical school."
"read over AMCAS, read USC website"
"Loved how chill the dean is and how casual the interview was. Everything was very streamlined and the interview didn't take long"
"The interviewers were awesome and just really down-to-earth. Dean Arias is funny and dislikes "try hard" premeds which I loved. Don't answer her questions trying hard to sound smart!"
"Dean Arias is awesome and gave us a great virtual welcome session before the 2 interviews. Obviously, Keck is a great school but it also seems to be filled with dope, down-to-earth students and faculty."
"Dean Arias was amazing. Keck clearly has some of the best clinical opportunities for medical students of any medical school in the nation."
"The curriculum, the hospital, the attitude of the students,"
"the medical students who eat lunch with you, give you a tour, and interview you are awesome. Additionally, Dean Arias' introductory talk was fantastic."
"Loved the school and the students."
"Dean Arias is really nice and funny, and make you feel at ease"
"Clinical experiences, of course. LA County Hospital, Keck's own medical center, Children's Hospital LA, and Norris Cancer Center are all near the school, and medical students are very active during clinical rotations."
"The low stress level of the interview and the student host process (super friendly, highly recommend)"
"Dr. Arias, dean of admission, is very friendly, funny, and intelligent! She did a lot to calm our nerves."
"The whole process was very relaxed. I felt quite comfortable and enjoyed interacting with everyone during my interview"
"Everyone was really, really friendly."
"LA County hospital seems like an amazing place to learn at! I loved how much they discussed their hands-on clinical training."
"A lot. The professionalism of the faculty and staff, the generally positive attitudes of the students (even on exam day...), the intelligence and thoughtfulness of the students. LA County Hospital seems like a great place to get clinical experience - you get your OWN patients as an MS3, not a level of responsibility given out at many other places I've been."
"The friendliness of the staff and students"
"As mentioned elsewhere, USC+LAC is insanely awesome and provides (in my opinion and that of local doctors) unparalleled clinical experience/preparation throughout the 4 years. The curriculum is systems based, grades are pass/fail and is geared towards Step 1. Above all of this, the vibe I got from the students was amazing. Everybody genuinely seemed happier and less stressed than any of the other students I met along the interview trail. Also, the lunch was the best I'd had at an interview. It's little things like this that show how much a school values their students."
"Students friendliness and happiness. The dean of admissions real-ness."
"LAC-USC, early clinical involvement"
"The students, the clinical affiliates/facilities"
"How friendly and relaxed my interviews were"
"the community feeling"
"Really stoked about the clinical opportunities/nice facilities/ webcasted lectures/ no required attendance."
"My physician interviewer was extremely affable, which was refreshing but caught be a little off guard. My student interviewer had very structured questions, all of which I was prepared to answer. My Physician interviewer was much more conversational, so I got the chance to ask him questions about his experience at USC."
"Very happy students and a great opportunity for any type of experience that you want."
"Facitiies, students, hospitals nearby"
"People are happy, heavy emphasis on clinical proficiency, multiple dual degree programs and certificate programs"
"The overwhelming friendliness of everyone I met - from admissions, to students, to random staff/students we ran into on the tour; also, they have programs to compensate for the fact that there are 180 students per class, making the school much more personable than even some 80-student classes"
"The collegial atmosphere and the support the students get from faculty and administration."
"the facilities"
"The school (including the deans, even) have a reputation of going out of its/their way to take care of their students. The students themselves seem like a really tight-knit class; there is a real sense of camaraderie here that makes it seem like a really fun place to learn medicine. Their academic excellence is proven by very high board scores, yet the medical students here have regular social events, making education here seem very welcoming for us applicants who loved the social aspect of college."
"All the students I met, including tour guides, people in classes, etc., really seem to love the school. They all remarked about how they feel very supported by the school. The county hospital is awesome. Students each get their own study desk where they store their books, coffee pots, macaroni, etc. Lunch in the faculty club is super swanky."
"Everything--the hospitals, the campus, the support, the facilities."
"Students get their own desks, small-group learning for case studies and ICM. County hospital, diversity."
"EVERYTHING. I literally didn't expect an interview from Keck, yet they were the first to grant me one. So, because it was my first one, I prepared extensively for a "generic" medical school interview...However, in preparing for the interview I realized how awesome this school is: the patient population in East LA, clinical experience starting week 1 or 2 of MS1, the ICM and PPM programs, everything was awesome. and seeing it on my interview day corroborated all the hype. It truly is an awesome school and LAC+County is beautiful. I can't wait to serve as a physician to the people of LA here."
"The facilities are wonderful, and the students really seem to get along and work together often. Plus, the emphasis on clinical experience and training right from the start is awesome."
"The county hospital was amazing, the faculty doctors were excited for us to be there and were very down to earth and helpful, students and faculty seemed very happy to be part of USC."
"the students get to start their clinical experiences as first years which does not happen at many schools. i don't mean the classes with acting patients which every school seems to be so proud of, i mean the students actually go to LA county hospital every week and take the history from real patients from Year ONE !!!! they also have really really high board scores, that was super impressive. oh and students each have their own desk on campus which they can leave their stuff in and study. they also get their notes printed for free and free prints on campus. "
"Almost everything about this schools is amazing. First, this school supposedly ranks THIRD in average board scores from around the nation. A student told me last year thier average was 238. The clinical experience of working at LA County Hospital seems like the best in the nation. Residency programs supposedly know that USC students are ahead of the curve clinically. All of the students were very happy, and they probably had the best looking class that I have seen. It seems like they like to have a lot of fun together. There are also a TON of outreach possibilities and everyone seems really involved. Also, thier anatomy lab was very fresh smelling. lol"
"Students' happiness and enthusiasm"
"The faculty and staff are extremely laid back and approachable. Everyone really loves the school."
"Great learning environment, kind faculty, great facilities"
"The organization of the curriculum (everything seems to have a purpose, and I like the combination of lecture and small groups/labs). The hospital is amazing! The clinical focus. The student body and faculty are very cooperative. Everyone was in a good mood and wanted to be there."
"lac+usc is definitely reason enough to go here. It sucks that the school isn't ranked higher, but that's probably because they are incredibly clinically focused. Research funding isn't up to par with the top 20 schools. Everyone is really laid back, so it wouldn't be hard to be top of your class but have a good time too. County is awesome. What more could you want from a teaching hospital? Lunch was good too. Spicy ketchup rocks!"
"The campus itself is really nice. Everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful. The new County Hospital is incredible. P/F grading. Everything!"
"I was actually very pleasantly surprised. The new county hospital is amazing. There really is early clinical exposure and many mentoring opportunities. I like the mix of lectures, small group study and clinical exposure for the curriculum. The hospital and school are in the same location. The students are very down to earth and seem genuinely happy. There is a good international program. The staff seems eager to help the students."
"The amount of clinical experience offered. USMLE scores."
"The fact that you can get so much clinical experience during your first two years. You will see EVERYTHING working in the County Hospital. The grading system is pass/fail. There are so many opportunities to go abroad that the school funds. There is a brand new county hospital and it is beautiful."
"Social life as a Trojan, tailgates, parties, etc."
"The students were very laid back and friendly. The LAC+USC Medical Center is hectic, but will provide students with an incredible clinical experience. The admissions office staff were very nice and the day was well planned. The anatomy lab does not smell at all, but it is still a basement lab and not that spectacular otherwise."
"LA County, international travel is highly encouraged, early and very frequent clinical exposure--clinical focus in general, friendly students, the admissions day was very open and allowed me to see and do what was important to me "
"The county hospital! Great clinical experience/training. They put board questions mixed in with their exams. Avg board scores are higher than national average. The new dean is very interested in getting to know the students and be helpful. Professors make themselves very available. Most physicians and residents at the hospital make themselves available to those that'd like to work with them."
"How enthusiastic everyone was about USC/County Hospital/the USC education and professors, the new hospital"
"nice students, nice admissions staff, pass/fail system which leads to less competition among students, amazing clinical education from LA county hospital"
"Everyone was extremely nice and all the med students were really happy, nice, and looked rested."
"how happy the students seem to be, how friendly everyone was, County Hospital"
"the county hospital, the inscription on the county hospital, my faculty interviewer"
"The current and prospective students were all very easy to get along with and I immediately enjoyed their company."
"Great hospital facilities for learning a very diverse set of clinical skills for working with a diverse population (they have both county and private hospitals on campus). The students also seemed very friendly and relaxed (playing volleyball between classes is common there). They have a medical spanish series as an elective. Good weather. Lunch was amazing!"
"USC operates the LA county hospital! The hospital is really impressive because of its patient volume and the number of rare cases. "
"The sense of community within the students of each year. The friendly and supportive staff. The hospital -- what isn't impressive about the clinical experience we will get at LA County"
"the student interviewer. Aside from being cute....he was genuinely interested in the direction I want to take my medical career"
"Loved my faculty interviewer, the weather was incredible. The students were playing volleyball outside and generally enjoying each other's company. Each student has their own study area in a small group room."
"I had an interview with a physician in the ER. He made time to show me the ER after my interview. Also, USC has lots of research opportunities at all of their hospitals. All the students were very enthusiastic and diverse. The lunch was amazing!"
"coming from chicago, the weather. also, lunch was unreal. (it was in this faculty club that made me want to ask the waitress for some grey poupon)"
"The county hospital is amazing. Especially since i am interested in ER. The navy even opened a station here since this ER has the most ''Baghdad like injuries'' in all of America. Everyone was super nice and students seemed very happy and got along with each other well. Day was also very short relative to other schools. "
"Genuine relaxed nature of all students."
"LA county hospital... THE best hospital I have seen. Love the public heath nature. Great international health opportunities."
"LA County is an AMAZING resource. This school is top notch in terms of preparing clinicians..."
"The campus is very nice and every medical student seemed to be very happy with USC. County hospital is right down the street and it offers the best clinical experience in the country. Lunch was also excellent."
"the students! they were fantastic, nice, intelligent, gregarious, diverse, interested in their classes, community work, etc., the faculty, how involved they were with the students. overall it seemed like an incredible place to be and learn and practice medicine."
"facilities, positive friendly students and staff, palm trees, care for underserved population"
"Interview was held outdoors and very casual. Do rotations at LA County General Hospital and the private university hospital."
"LA County hospital is a great place to learn; there is a tremendous range of weird diseases and health issues there that you won't see anywere else. I also liked the comprehensive year-end exam idea - as much as I would rather not take a test like that, it is great prep for the boards, which USC students do really well on. And the anatomy lab didn't smell! At all! Wow!"
"It was great to have a faculty interviewer who entered the field of medicine for the same reasons that drive me. "
"Laid-back yet hard-working students, layout of the campus, LAC Hospital, organizations and volunteer opportunities through the school"
"wide range of patient contact available. lots of research around if you want to do it. nice people, relaxed environment."
"Enthusiasm of everyone at USC from administrators to professors to students. Also, the strength of the clinical education one receives because of it's relationship with county."
"How friendly and blunt the medical students were, and the really nice lunch."
"my tour guide was cool. lunch was swank."
"diversity in the area, patient population"
"the students, enthusiastic faculty, research opportunities, county hospital"
"The students were universally enthusiastic about the program. I also found that compared to other schools I had been to, the students seemed to have a really vibrant and balanced social life. Overall, the stress level seemed low. LA certainly has a lot to offer culturally and in terms of a really interesting patient population. I am very interested in urban medicine, and it seems that there is no better place to study this. "
"the weather's great; student interviewer was friendly; lunch was good, though I'll probably never eat there again"
"LA County, the food (there was a fresh fruit cart on the way to my faculty interview), the weather."
"The lab doesn't smell. County is huge and they have a "homie drop", which is where all of the shot gansta's get dropped off by their homeboys (think video returns at blockbuster)"
"the anatomy lab doesn't smell bad, my faculty interviewer was a really cool person, county is a crazy hospital with all kinds of people, mostly poor, very busy and crazy and as a student (even 1st/2nd yr) you can do "as much as you want" in terms of patient care so it's very hands-on"
"The encouragement and personability of my student interviewer, the diversity of clinical experiences available, the gross anatomy lab (it was really nice, and didn't smell at all!), the atmosphere--students really enjoy they're school, say they get along well with their classmates, and rave about the support they get from faculty."
"The school has an amazing trauma center and lots of exposure opportunities with in the first 2 years. Students said that they often do cool procedures as a student because of how busy it is. "
"southern cal weather. Too late in the season for smog though traffic was bad. "
"It is a nice campus, even though it's in the middle of nowhere. USC has the most beautiful county hospital on the OUTSIDE, Art Deco and all, on the inside it's the most awful piece of poopoo you've ever seen. Not beautiful at all and old, like 60's old. "
"How happy the students were, the curriculum"
"weather, lunch"
"LA County Hospital-- med students get a lot of hands-on experience and responsibility during clerkships."
"Everyone was very laid back and made me feel less nervous."
"Student interviewer was geniunely friendly and happy; weather was good, lunch was good- (I wonder if I'll ever eat there again?:)"
"How chill, laid-back, and friendly the students were. Also, the county hospital impressed me just by its obvious variety of patients."
"the students all seemed to be very enthusiastic and happy about usc, genuinely. i did not know this, but keck uses pass/fail only during the first two years of basic science, so it eliminates competition in the class and students seem very close and supportive of one another. the usc health science campus itself is very nice, and they are opening up the new l.a. county hospital next year. the lunch was awesome and the tour was the best i have been on. "
"not as crappy surroundings as other reviews here made it seem. genuinely fun, happy students for the most part. they seem to be improving every aspect of their med ed."
"1. Location not as bad as they say. 2. County hospital's proximity 3. Amount of patient contact 4. How relaxed the interviews were"
"nothing"
"the weather's nice."
"students are free to pursue non-medically related research. There are scientists affiliated with the program but no medical scientists. "
"The weather, the school is nice looking and LA county hospital looks like an interesting place to work. "
"LA County, the students were awesome, the other interviwees seemed like people I would like to go to school with, the lunch was delicious, LA rocks!"
"energy of students in class, county hospital facility where most training takes place, the nonstink in the anatomy lab, my interviewers, the interviewees, i was totally impressed by everything"
"The clinical exposure that first and second years students get at County hospital and the fact that every medical student I met seemed genuinely happy to be there."
"USC gets a lot of research money. The students seemed nice. Good food for lunch."
"The amount of clinical exposure students get"
"the MDLs for small group discussions; the students genuinely seemed to like their school (as a rule I try and interact with students not associated with the office of admissions); the weather (though I arrived after the floods/mudslide); student organizations with the indigent population, HIV/AIDS patients, and high school students (though no mention of a student run clinic)."
"I can't imagine a better place for clinical experience than LA County hospital, the patient base is just so broad. Also, after my interview (which was very laid back), my interviewer let me watch him perform an endoscopy and gastric biopsy, which was sweet. Lunch was fantastic, and the tour of the ER was eye-opening. This day definitley moved USC up on my list."
"the students seemed very positive, good faculty, having private and county hospital to train at"
"Beautiful weather, the first interview that actually was laid back (though all claim to be), friendly students, friendly professors, great lunch"
"Beautiful views from the campus. Several new buildings. Seems to be on a real upswing. the 80 degree weather in DEC. "
"Friendliness of students and administrative staff (the dean of admissions, i believe it was, introduced himself to me while i was waiting for my student interview), well cared for campus, la county hospital is AMAZING...there is also a private hospital there so you see both socioeconomic extremes...anatomy lab seemed nice...great lunch"
"Everyone was incredibly friendly and seemed genuinely upbeat about the positive direction that Keck is moving in. Of course 100+ million dollar donations always help. The opportunities at Keck seem diverse and exciting. It's very unique that they are affiliated both with a wealthy private hospital and the exact opposite in the County Hospital. Gives students a chance to see the whole spectrum of treatments in US healthcare."
"Clinical experiences at County appear to be second to none in the country, many facilities and hospitals, many options for rotations elsewhere, happy students, L.A., loved it"
"LAC+USC Hospital"
"How the students get to experience dealing with a wide variety of peoples and backgrounds during clinicals"
"The students seemed so happy to be there. My interviewer and the students were very willing to answer my questions. Lunch was great! It was literally like a sit-in-restaurant style lunch with 2 second year students and the other applicants. The people working in the administration office was sooo polite and nice. In general, all the people were really warm and welcoming there."
"The student, administration, and faculty were all extremely friendly. And, the lunch was AMAZING!"
"student satisfaction"
"They give you a GREAT lunch (I wish it was earlier in the day). "
"All the students seemed pretty happy and congenial. "
"Everything really. The campus is small, but not high-school feeling. It's got several great hospital affiliations and everyone was really nice. Evidently there is a lot of support from the deans as well; close faculty-student relationships and lots of opportunity in terms of volunteering (Free Clinic and Community Outreach Program) and research. The lunch in the faculty dining room was AWESOME! so nice! everything was good. my interviews were very conversational and it was just fun!"
"Southern California, Curriculum, Students are generally happy with a positive attitude"
"Most everything, the people, the facilities, county"
"Clinical exposure to students, faculty seem to be very committed to the students, county hospital provides a great environment to learn, many others......"
"Nearly everything. County hospital is an excellent place for a med student to train. Curriculum is great, and manageable to boot. All students seemed very happy and friendly. Lunch was a 4 star meal (served on a plate!!). MDL rooms were also nice."
"The students, interviewer, environment, tour guides, weather, large and nice campus all positively impressed me during my visit. The lunch was awesome and the best lunch that I've had at all of my interviews. When you first get there, you place an order out of three different good selections and it's a quality meal in a nice restaurant. For labs, every student gets their own MDL desk in a room with about 20 other people. In this room, they have their small groups and have more intimate learning experiences. The caliber of the school is just amazing."
"the school's facilities, classrooms (every student has his/her own desk, everyone gets copies of their lectures notes in their mail box every morning, LA County Hospital/USC med center are all near by (great clinical experience), the school has a campus atmosphere, students are happy and friendly. Oh yeah, we get to have lunch in the faculty's dinning area (great luxury food)"
"The school's honor code, pass/not pass system, breakfast and coffee is provided before certain exams."
"It might have been the 70 degrees sunny weather in early february, but the campus itself is very nice...very contained and easily accessible. County Hospital is old but will soon be replaced and then some. Students were all friendly and not just the ones giving the tour. USC will definitely provide great clinical experience with the patient population they have...and research is taking off here as well and is easily accessible to students. Plus...if you pay $79 bucks at the beginning of the school year, you can go for free to any Trojans game (football, basketball, etc). Major plus :)"
"The enthusiasm of my physician interviewer as well as his laid back conversational attitude. The student guides were very informative and friendly and spoke highly of their school, the innovative curriculum and the clinical experiences. The lunch was awesome and the day went by very smoothly."
"County Hospital and how you get lots of rare cases. The early clinical training. The sense of humor exemplified by the students. The MDL desks. Great lunch at the faculty club. "
"students and faculty members were very positive about USC and were happy that they had chosen USC. Everyone is so laid back, too."
"The students first of all. When he saw I was wearing a suit, one random student gave me an impromptu tour for 15 minutes before his class. Second, the facilities: the Zilkha neurogenetics center is very exciting. When I had a tour of the place, many offices were still empty as they are recruiting faculty. From discussions with Peter Jones, they are heavy on recruiting excellent faculty for Zilkha. By the time this year's class hits the labs, the Neurogenetics institute should be fully up and running."
"The facilities are beautiful, the weather was beautiful, every single student I met was convinced they made the right decision, all faculty gleamed about the school, L.A. County hospital is the best clinical experience in the country, and no one seemed depressed or stressed out"
"County Hospital--it is so busy and provides many opportunities for students to be involved. Lunch was very nice."
"Lunch is great, everyone at the hospital and on campus seemed willing to spend time talking to the applicants."
"I really liked the campus! We got a tour of all the lecture halls, the anatomy lab, study rooms, PBLs, and a couple of the hospitals. The students who gave us the tour were great. The Office of Admissions pays for interviewees to have lunch in the faculty lounge, which is much nicer than the cafeteria! The Admissions staff were all very friendly and helpful. "
"Everything. I love this school. I really think it is underated. The facilities allow you to work with underserved populations at LAC where they let you do so much more than other institutions would permit. You can also work with cutting-edge new technology at the Norris cancer cntr or the University hospital. People are glad to be there and the school is really pushing to be in the "top ten" if thats important to you. You can do research with top medical scientists in the country."
"The weather. LA county hospital. The lunch was really nice."
"the studfents, everyone was so outgoing and friendly...very willing to chat and tell you anything about the school r the med school application process"
"LA county hospital is amazing, the ER is a stop on the student tour. Utter chaos, there's nothing you won't see after rotations in there. there's a very collegial atmosphere, the students are friendly and cooperative rather than competitive. the new curriculum is great. the faculty is very approachable, and the administration gives a ton of attention to the students. people here feel spoiled, they're treated so well."
"How friendly the people were, how great the clinical education is there, and that they do offer full scholarships (now it's just a matter of being accepted and then getting one... :P)"
"Nice people. low stress interview."
"LA County hospital! and the students and staff at USC are wonderful"
"The admissions committee was well organized and the students on campus were very friendly. Getting to see LA county hospital, the anatomy labs, and the research facilities (being built now) was also a plus. "
"Just about everything! I loved USC... didn't know that much about it before really. The staff at the admissions office were very very nice. The students who gave us the tour were very nice. The interviewers were very nice. The interviewees were all awesome... they do a great job at selecting them (if i may say so). Lecture hall was excellent, student lounge was cool. Hospital treats a lot of the indigent population - which is good for my purposes. Student body is diverse. The cafeteria in the hospital is all you can eat, for 2.8 dollars! There's more, but i don't remember right now."
"LA County hospital is amazing. If you like the idea of learning from a huge, diverse and poor population in one of the biggest hospitals in the country, as I do, USC will impress. They are building a new hospital building, but even the old current facilities did not detract from the excitement and energy of the place. USC's students seem relaxed and relatively happy; several had choose the school over other options despite the high tuition. The gross anatomy lab looked great and modern; 6 per cadaver. Over all, the quality of education was higher than I expected. USC may be one of the most under-rated schools in the US News rankings."
"the students all seemed genuinely happy and totally love it there! relaxed atmosphere. true pass/fail grading system. outstanding opportunities for clinical exposure at the LAC+USC medical center. new curriculum changes."
"The classes are pass/no pass, and the students say it really takes the stress and competitiveness away. The great clinical experiences you would have at county. Even though that has been said on this website, actually being there and seeing it, you can definately see how it would he awesome. The curriculum sounded cool, but a little sketchy since this is only the second year that they are doing it, the second years have not taken the boards yet. it will be interesting to see how they do. also, the second years learn no new info, supposedly, after spring break, from then until the end of the year is just review sessions for the boards....definately nice. i dont think i will do well with endless days left up to only me to study for the boards! also, the school is really trying to be in the top 10 in the coming years, so they have alot of expansion and stuff planned. "
"Instructors are accessable and LAC has many opportutnites."
"Great location, great weather, great hospital, great people, great clinical experience."
"The lunch in the faculty room was nice. "
"Proximity of the school to the hospital, the med students seem very happy, the atmosphere is relaxed."
"Everything. County is a great place to be trained and there are amazing research opportunities. The new curriculum seems to sit well with the students and since it was implemented 2 years ago, all the problems will have been worked out for the 2003 entering class. The quality of life at Keck seems really high and the students seem very happy. My student interview was great! She was really friendly and I felt like she was interested in getting to know me and not just my stats."
"County hospital, massive funds for expanding the school... and they gave us lunch at the faculty restaurant, which was really nice."
"I really like all the students I met - very relaxed and nice. I also sat in on a lecture and I didnt fall asleep! That's huge for me! :) The professor was great and did a wonderful job getting the students involved in the lecture. As everyone else has said, I think training at County would be incredible. Also, I really liked the rooms that the med students have access to for studying etc (I forget what theyre called...)"
"The students are so happy. They really have a lot of support systems set up for the students here. In addition, training at LA county would be an incredible experience."
"the happiness of the students. the move to a pass/fail system(it used to be honors/pass/fail). the gross anatomy lab is the best gross anatomy lab i have seen out of the 5 other ga labs i've been to. there is no smell!!!!! county-usc is the busiest hospital i have ever seen. beds are literally stacked on each other in the ER with more patients lining the wall on chairs. if u want to be in the ER county-usc is the place to be. training at county would probably get you the most clinical exposure as a med student because of the large volume of patients and plethora of cases there."
"The people are very friendly, both the students and the staff. The campus is nice and clean, although not in the greatest location. The hospital is huge and you serve a very diverse population, which is great. It seems as if the medical school really cares about the education of its students and wants to improve constantly."
"the office buildings were nice. "
"Awesome Facility. The students were incredably enthusiastic and have a contagious school pride. They make you want to be there."
"How responsive the faculty is to student's requests for changes in curriculum. If someone complains about something in the curriculum, it gets discussed and is usually changed. They truly listen to students' needs. Hospital facilities are impressive in their patient mix -- if you're interested in learning clinical skills by working with an ethnically, economically, and educationally diverse patient population, USC could be for you."
"Clinical involvement during the 1st and 2nd years, the County hospital, a nice lunch"
"The USC county hospital....it's enormous!"
"each student has his/her own desk on campus with a cubpoard to lock items in (besides anatomy locker). the lunch was awesome! the students loved the school. "
"clinical opportunities at L.A. County, how happy the students are, how much the faculty cares about the students, the gross lab, and lunch was great!"
"LA County Hospital--I think it would be very rewarding to work there"
"No presentations from official admin. Most of the important info were in pre-recorded videos for you to watch on your own time which made interview day experience very brief but also felt a bit disengaged"
"Not much."
"nothing! The school is in a rougher part of LA, but I grew up around the ghetto so doesn't bother me really."
"only thing - you have to pay for parking"
"The students who were our tour guides were friendly, but very awkward and, honestly, a bit obnoxious."
"High COA"
"The facilities were kind of dingy, and the area around the school is not very nice."
"Very smooth interview process. Not a single negative impression"
"Students usually live outside of Keck area and commute 20 minutes to get to school."
"Los Angeles generally - it's a big city where everyone drives. Maybe you like that."
"The area"
"The price tag is high, but it seems like there are a decent amount of scholarships/grants available after your first year. The students typically commute and don't all live in one central location. This doesn't bother me as a slightly older, non-trad student, but I can see how some younger people might prefer on-campus housing/dorms."
"Area surrounding the school."
"The area, but I knew about that going in."
"The area directly around campus is run-down and little dangerous looking"
"loved everything"
"The area around the school is meh. Crappy air quality."
"nothing nothing nothing. The school was really great, everybody was friendly, and they worked really hard to put all the interviewers at ease."
"LA isn't exactly my favorite city, but the campus could make me warm up to it."
"Area. seemed dangerous"
"I'm not the biggest fan of the location, not many places to eat according to my student interviewer, its not near the undergraduate campus"
"The location is sketch, making it hard to commute in any form except via car (I was told to not even ride my bike at night unless I was with a group)."
"It's not in a great neighborhood, and traffic can be difficult in the surrounding area."
"nothing, really enjoyed the interview"
"As a private school, tuition is unfortunately high. However, they seem to have a fair number of scholarships available for those whose applications impress their scholarship committee enough."
"Traffic in LA sucks. Public transportation and biking are not especially feasible options either."
"nothing. I didn't see any smog."
"Will have to commute a ways to/from school."
"I do come from a very, very wide open and green campus. I felt like the actually health sciences campus was a tiny bit cramped and small. However, I probably won't be saying that when I am running late to class and just have to stroll across the campus to reach any building in seconds."
"Since lectures are posted online, not all go to lecture. I'm not sure why this bugs me."
"The price tag of the school may make it just a dream for me. and i didn't like the fact that students stay all over and not in one central location. and i really really do not like how spread out LA is. that is the worst planned city i have seen. "
"The price is up there with most private schools. It doesn't seem like there is lots of aid for people in my boat who DEF. need aid, but on paper, the government wont believe it. Also, this class seemed the most "cliquey" that I have seen. The most high-school like atmosphere that I have seen at a med school. Other than that, everything was amazing!"
"Neighborhood"
"The tour of the facilities seemed a little rushed, and as a result, we spent most of our time rushing around campus. The cost does seem a bit higher than other schools."
"The cost. The necessity of a car. "
"The cost is terrible. 40% of people get merit scholarships, so hopefully that works out. 42k in tuition people. That's probably what you'll make as a resident. Scary. The tour guide stressed p=md. Sure that is true, but AOA=top residency. Do you know what I'm saying?"
"Long hours of lecture. "
"I personally don't like LA and the tuition is very expensive. "
"Cost."
"The fact that I may have to take $70,000 in loans to cover one year of expenses. :( The campus is not aesthetically pleasing and is in a low income area (This did not really phase me much because I am from LA and it was nothing that was new to me. If you are not accustomed to seeing an inner city area, then it may bother you)"
"Everything else -- literally. My faculty interviewer spent 20 minutes outlining the reasons why I shouldn't go to USC and why I should go to UCLA. It was really awkward but I agreed with him."
"Students usually commute to school and most do not go to lectures. Financial aid will not be much, if not at all, for most students."
"Location isn't that great - there's not much to do around the school nor where most students live. However, they're not that far from downtown LA and Pasadena."
"the school is in the middle of nowhere in a bad area (but I knew that already)"
"location and cost of attendance"
"nothing, it was really great!!!"
"nothing the school is great"
"LA isn't my favorite city..."
"Location."
"One of my interviewers was cold and made some innapropriate comments to me during my interview. How expensive it is. They're also expanding the class size, but the extra money doesn't seem to be going as much to the students as it does to they're expanding research program."
"The neighborhood around USC is really crowded/busy/poor. I hated my trip getting to and leaving from the school."
"The library is dated. I know new buildings are going in, but there is virtually no housing, food or collegiate local community."
"the tour guides.........could have been friendlier"
"Nada"
"Yes, you do have to drive as a student but LA has so many different areas near the school that anyone can find a place to live that fits their lifestyle."
"nada. loved it."
"The cost. Average student loan is about 250 and by the time your done with residency, with interest, it will be up to about 390. It was the ONLY thing I thought was bad about it though. "
"The interview day felt like a waste of time because it doesn't count for much. The interviewers simply submit a paper with limited information to the admissions committee. They probably had the decision about me made before I got there."
"Los Angeles... not a city I would love, but a city I could like."
"if you want research this is not the place to go"
"the traffic!!!"
"need of a car, smog, surrounding area of campus"
"It is mostly a commuter campus and separate from other graduate schools. Students said this may have affected class cohesion."
"That you have to live so far away from the campus. "
"Nothing from the school really had a negative impression; however, while talking to some of the other applicants during lunch I saw how really closed minded some educated people can be."
"The only conceivable drawback is that the campus is far from housing, the USC main campus, and various other conveniences."
"no one lives closer than 15 minutes from campus, you haev to drive and parking is expensive. No gym on the medical campus (have to go to the USC main campus). "
"Not much, maybe the fact that you can't really live anywhere within 15 minutes of USC."
"the school lacks any outstanding features, or did not make them known to me. school located in the middle of nowhere. little sense of school spirit or unity. expensive tuition. county+usc is old, new building is behind schedule. students did not seem too enthusiastic."
"no info session about the school, no financial aid session (although i hear you shouldn't expect much financial support from them)."
"location, location, location!"
"There was no presentation by financial aid or an admissions staff person, so the school didn't really give interviewees any idea of how their files would be reviewed or how long it might take to get an answer. "
"the location is the worst I've seen for a medical school; there is essentially no on-campus housing; compared to other schools the facilities are dated. Spanish fluency is an absolute must on the wards. "
"The other interviewees seemed either like sorority girls or else socially maladjusted. The student tour guides seemed like good people though."
"With all of the hype about the USC lunch I expected filet mignon, but got chinese chicken salad. It is good for a free lunch, but don't get your hopes up kids."
"my student interviewer said the students are mostly affluent and with few challenging life experiences, basically snobby rich kids, but that's what the reputation is so i guess it's probably true cause i didn't see any evidence to the contrary"
"My faculty interviewer seemed a little bit disinterested, or maybe just distracted. He was very nice, but I couldn't tell if I should keep talking about myself or stop. He didn't ask very many questions. It really wasn't that bad, though--nothing was really negative."
"The County hospital seem dangerous considering you need metal detectors to enter the building. Lots of security staff made it feel like a jail and not a hospital. "
"Tuition is 39k and the student body could be much more diverse. Parking is horrendous. Students pay >$300 a semester for a garage spot or they park at a meter. County+USC is very old and underequipped, new building is behind schedule. "
"The tuition is so high it's ridiculous. You must have a car to go to USC. Not good. Also the students kept on saying how non-competitive it is. I hear that at every school. Can you please tell me something original? What medical school is competitive?"
"Some of the buildings are very old, but they are getting a huge new facility in the next couple of years."
"I just interviewed at UC-Davis Medical Center campus in Sacramento which in comparison is very beautiful with a lot of open space and new construction going on. Additionally UCD has much lower cost of living, lower tuition, and a passion for medicine. I would definately recommend it for in-state applicants. "
"LA County Hospital--it was so busy that it was a bit overwhelming. It was also VERY old, but a new one is currently being built."
"Not that much on-campus housing"
"traffic (very bad), county hospital, and the campus- my friend I stayed with told me you must know spanish and the doctors are not enthusiastic about working with the poor. like everyone says it seems like a miserable place to spend four years (sorry)."
"The facilities aren't all that hot. Not terrible, but I'll bet that other med schools have nicer ones. Some buildings are pretty nice, and the new county hospital is slated to open in 2007, but the classroom building isn't so hot..."
"there is no way around it, the surrounding area is miserable and its a shame that it is so disconnected from usc's main campus."
"the med school is quite far from the main USC campus."
"1. Still not the best location for peaceful learning 2. Tuition costs a lot 3. Student facilities seemed old and run-down 4. Facilities felt cramped"
"Location of the school. There is nothing in the area and its not possible to live on or near campus. "
"The campus, the lack of research opportunities, the tuition ($38,000+), the fact that you MUST know spanish to communicate on the wards. "
"the campus is very bad, in a terrible location- the worst I've ever seen. Do not believe the other feedback forms- there is NO research at USC."
"The students seemed to be a little on the young side and I didn't see myself having much in common with a lot of them (other than medicine). The area around the school isn't the greatest. I also feel that living out in East LA is going to isolate me from all my friends in West LA and the beach. Lastly, they don't have a true pass/fail system (honors, pass, fail)."
"The neighborhood isn't great, but not as bad as I thought. The dorms suck."
"The surronding area is crappy, but on campus you don't notice it."
"The campus is right next to a juvenile hall. If you don't want to live in the dorm, you would probably end up having to commute because the surrounding neighborhood is not very nice. The medical campus is nowhere near the main campus, a half hour shuttle ride away."
"location and traffic"
"How archaic the school is. The campus isn't completely wireless, the classrooms are cramped and small (I saw several students sitting on the steps. In fact, there aren't enough seats in the lecture room for all of the students), the anatomy lab lacks technology; the new county hospital will have fewer beds than the orginial; for a school with so much research, very little was mentioned; "
"The area, the cost, and of course, the traffic."
"traffic, the area right around the school"
"um. . . nothing really"
"driving around LA. "
"surrounding area (LA is huge); student interviewer had a hard time thinking of questions to ask; small, almost useless library"
"The library certainly could use some improvements. The campus is tiny, but that's the nature of big city schools. The LA traffic definitely sucks. "
"Boyle Heights itself is not a fun or interesting neighborhood but that kinda doesn't matter much, small computer lab, no gym or weights apparently (at least they weren't even mentioned), parking can be rough."
"the interview day was a little uptight"
"The student interview. Interviewer seemed pretty apathetic, no eye contact, no smiles, no response at all what-so-ever. Entire burden on me to make sure that the conversation kept going. The student seemed like he was doing this as a resume builder. Who knows?!"
"The campus itself was a little disappointing. I've been to the main campus before and it's a beautiful campus. Compared to that, the med campus is small and the buildings are very bland. USC has money! I was expecting to be a bit more impressed with the classrooms and facilities"
"The city of Los Angeles. Not the most beautiful place in the world."
"the surrounding area"
"My faculty interview was a physician who had never done an interview before. I was one of the first people he had ever interviewed, so it seemed really unstructured and he talked about himself a lot. Also, he kept alluding to the fact that I wasn't going to get in. It was hard to act normal after hearing that, but I think I did a pretty godo job. "
"The library was pitiful. "
"the LA traffic...need i say more"
"Cost, Tour Guide tried to sell the school too much which discredited him a little."
"Nothing much, perhaps LA itself not a big fan"
"Not really anything, the 'hood isn't great, but no one really hangs out there anyway. Interviewers seemed uninterested sometimes, didn't ask many questions. I spent most of the time talking."
"Tuition is 37k and the student body could be a little bit more diverse. Parking is horrible. Students either pay $300 dollars a semester for a spot in a garage or they park at meters daily. Many of them use the meters and often get tickets because their classes will run longer than usual. "
"maybe the fact that the school isn't near an undergraduate campus (thus not many stores, restaurants, coffee shops,..) "
"My faculty interviewer did not really ask me anything about myself. He went out of his way to make me feel like my experiences were completely ordinary and at the end of my interview he asked me, "do you really think you have the stamina to make it through medical school? I mean, do you really think you have what it takes?" I have no idea what that was about."
"That students all pretty much live off campus randomly throughout the area."
"Nothing really."
"none really. maybe the jail on the 13th floor of County but that could be considered "interesting" not "negative". The disparity in treatment between patients at County Hospital and USC Hospital."
"Nothing."
"The smog. A friend once said that LA is reminiscent of "the valley of ashes" from the great gatsby. Looking through a smoggy haze to downtown, I kind of agree. There are days when you should not be outdoors."
"There was no contact with anyone from the admissions office during the day, just the tour, lunch and two interviews. I would have liked a brief presentation about the school or something."
"I knew that USC isn't exactly in the greatest area of LA, but being there made me wonder how safe the campus is. The students I talked to said that there are never problems though, and that you can live about five minutes away in a safer area."
"Commuting.. everyone drives long distances there"
"I had 3 hours to kill between my first interview and the tour. "
"the smog and traffic in LA"
"NOTHING. the weather was... too nice? distracting?"
"Since the med school is 10 miles away from the main campus, it's a bit isolated and there isn't much interaction with USC's other graduate schools. The first semester (core) doesn't seem very exciting, especially after sitting in on one of their classes."
"Parking. I couldn't find the lot they sent me to."
"nothing I didn't expect--the traffic."
"There is a consensus among students (and even the faculty) on how much the price-tag hurts. And there is no financial aid session, so the figures on the average debt are different depending on who you ask. "
"Neighborhood isn't altogether that pleasant."
"The traffic is bad; USC is in LA. I promised myself never to move there but... we'll see. Some might dislike the east-central LA neighborhood, but I thought it was a blessing in some ways to work in such an area; others may disagree. Unfortunately, the location separated from the central campus means no gym, no real open areas or parks around and no contact with undergraduates or other grad schools."
"there should've been more than just the 2 interviews and the tour/lunch... financial aid session would have been helpful."
"My student interviewer ruined it for me. Before that, I was pretty impressed with the school, despite the fact that it was not all that exciting to look at. He was an arrogant pompous prick with a really creepy attitude towards me and my answers to his questions. It was really difficult to have a conversation with him, he kept waving to his friends and saying hi to people in the quad while i was realy trying to concentrate and answer him. "
"LAC might be too crazy."
"Why's the school not ranked top anything?"
"Campus is located in bad and boring part of LA. Many (maybe most) students intensely dislike the new curriculum. Tuition is very high (and keeps increasing) for a school that is not very impressive. My student interviewer was very arrogant. My faculty interviewer basically tried to convince me to go somewhere else. A lot of people say County+USC is great because of the experience you get, but I disagree. It's run down, lacks a lot of basic resources (like functioning BP cuffs in many rooms), is over crowded, and there is too much going on to get good clinical instruction. It would be different if County was just one of several hospitals you rotate through, but the majority of rotations will be done there, so the experiences are very diverse."
"Nothing"
"Parking."
"high cost of living, no place to park"
"The lack of a true campus. "
"Nothing about the school at all. I would not live more than 10 miles from campus though as LA miles are exceptionally bad traffic-wise."
"county-usc isn't exactly a brand spankin new paperless techno-wonder hospital...however, would i rather train at GWU's new hospital or at county-usc? county for sure because i would be exposed to waaay more cases, which is more important than being in a spiffy hospital."
"Nothing really...the medical school is not near the main campus, so you don't have great access to facilities on the main campus."
"We didn't even get to see the classrooms, the interviewers were very strict. I tried making a joke and they wouldn't laugh or smile. That was harsh and uncomfortable."
"The Tutition. Ouch."
"Yeah, the cost. (Which was not even discussed by the formal program until our tour guides brought it up...there is no financial aid session, which I thought would be helpful to listen to at a place that has a mid-$30K price tag a year)"
"The tour and student interviews were by 2nd year students. They didn't know too much about the school besides what happens the first year."
"Parking"
"not really any housing available."
"The area, the tuition"
"my faculty interviewer was only luke-warm on USC and told me about the less desirable attributes of the school"
"Don't stress so much! They put so much emphasis on applicants being genuine people who are passionate about medicine and will be able to communicate with the patients of LA county. If you are you and don't try to over-sell yourself, you'll have a great interview experience :)"
"Don't overprepare. It's a conversation not an interrogation."
"We get an hour long break in between interviews. I usually don't like this when interviews do this because I feel like I get "cold" in between interviews. I prefer just hammering through the day without a break."
"how low-stress the interview day is"
"Get there at the beginning or the arrival window and take time to read through the packet they give you before anything else."
"Be ready to talk about some ethical issues, especially if they are issues you have encountered during your research/volunteer/etc. experiences."
"That I just need to be calm and collected. Not intense at all."
"I wish I had remembered that the interview was closed file so I could have thought about all the points I wanted to bring up."
"To not stress as much as I did (Never hurts to over prepare but do it within reason, this is the fun bit of the process)"
"Not to stress out about it so much"
"Completely closed file interviews! They also don't really want you to come with a "Why Keck" answer... the interview is more a personality assessment."
"How great the student host experience would be... definitely do it if you're from out of town."
"I wish I didn't stress as much before the interview. It was my first interview, so I was definitely nervous. I probably over prepared a bit, but I'd rather do that than be under prepared obviously. It's very low stress, but don't let this get you off of your game: stay professional/affable."
"Not to bring a purse."
"Not to stress! This was a great school with a laid back "Cali" attitude."
"the exact location of the parking structure"
"How friggin cool this school was. I really enjoyed my time there."
"Wear flats. Or bring bandaids. The campus isn't large but we do a lot of walking. My feet were killing me by the time I made it to my interviews. I felt a tiny bit self conscious hobbling across campus over the last hour."
"It's very casual--more of a conversation than an interview"
"Be ready to be challenged by the interviewer. Stick to your guns and know the reason you have done your activities and your motivation for medicine."
"Each interview is about an hour long, during which a lot of the time is "do you have questions for me". Compared to my other interviews, I would recommend getting even more questions (More than the general rule of thumb which is 3-5)"
"We didn't get to tour LA County Hospital - they show us the outside of a new research building instead"
"Not to stress out about this interview! Chillest interview ever!"
"that the interviews are really just there to get to know the applicant as how everyone else has said. didn't really believe it until i began the interviews"
"n/a"
"That the fruity lemonade at lunch tastes like cucumbers."
"The vegetarian lunch option was very small."
"That I would have to leave lunch early to attend my student interview, which began at 1PM. After the tour, we were a little late to lunch so I had to jet out of there to catch my student interview in time. The food was so good I was sad to go."
"Everyone wears a black suit for the interview."
"that I would be done so early in the day (1pm) that i would start so early (7am) that i parked in the wrong parking structure which ended up wasting time as i moved the car. and that i needed a picture to give them (maybe they said that somewhere, but i don't remember) also be ready to give an update on classes since filing your application. "
"How hard it is going to be to make a decision between this school and a public school. Also there is not the pretentiousness that is expected with the USC/private school undergrad."
"Although the admissions staff recommends on keeping your whole day free, there are only 4 - 5 hours worth of activities planned for you."
"That this was not an interview to stress out about, as long as one is prepared."
"Nothing at all! "
"that I'd really love the school."
"I did know that the traffic is awful and to allow a lot of time to get to the interview, but if you don't know the area, keep this in mind. "
"The traffic would be so bad. Give yourself lots of time to get there."
"I knew that it was expensive. But now I know that it's financially impossible for me to afford USC... literally impossible. "
"I was prepared, but the traffic was still awful."
"That USC is amazing. I wasn't very enthused going in, but now its one of my top choices!"
"If I had showed up earlier in the day I would have been able to sit in on a class."
"Nothing, it was pretty much as expected."
"That the interviews are more like conversations and that I didn't have to be as nervous as I was"
"Location in Los Angeles and distance from the undergrad campus makes it seem somewhat isolated."
"That we were allowed to observe lectures if they were being held --- I would have gone in earlier."
"That my interview would be in the County Hospital"
"Calling to confirm your interview the day before stressed me out a little since I was traveling cross country. "
"they're building a new county hospital and it'll be done next year."
"The day was going to be so short. And.. there ARE places to live that are biking/walking distance to campus. The places close by, however, are low income hispanic neighborhoods. Not the best but not the worst either. If I get in, I'm moving into one of those neighborhoods. "
"The interview isn't worth much."
"That most USC students take out 60+ k of loans per year and that most of that is private."
"Just how busy and impressive the hospital is. Also how easy it is to do rotations around the LA area"
"that USC runs the LA county hospital - talk about hands-on experience! the clinical preparation is incredible."
"How great the students are and the school! Everyone was so friendly and relaxed. "
"There was no reason for me STRESS so much the night before. Both interviews were very conversational and laid-back."
"The strengths of USC have been very understated."
"I wish I had known more about the school's cirriculum."
"nothing."
"how narrow-minded a faculty interviewer can be....."
"nothing - the admissions is really good in providing detailed directions as well as an idea of how your day is like"
"You pretty much have to have a car at USC, and debt load after graduation is higher than at many other schools. The interviewers are not members of the admissions committee and after they trun in their evaluation of you (which is a single piece of paper with several categories where they rank you from 1-5 and then an area for comments on the bottom), they have nothing to do with your application. I would assume, although this is just a guess, that interviews at USC are not as heavily weighted as at other schools. "
"its very difficult to identify anything distinctly positive about USC compared to other area schools (not cost, education, location, or facilities)"
"when my student interview was supposed to be. that the courses are P/F. "
"that the student interview would take so damn long, i had planned other stuff to do that day and the last interview being 80 minutes long didn't help"
"There is a lot of construction going on near the campus, plus the street signs are hard to see, so it can be a little bit difficult to find your way around. Also, I was more nervous than I needed to be--my faculty interviewer told me to relax, he just wanted to see how I presented myself."
"LA traffic sucks and Public transportation is awful. You need to have a car if you go and parking is very expensive. An expensive school and area overall. you need to know SPANISH if you want to be effective there!"
"that you need a car to go there."
"nearly 50% of keck school grads enter primary care."
"No surprises...except seeing the actual room with bodies to be worked on"
"how to get from the medical school to the main campus. I like the main campus (where my interviewer was an undergrad) much more but I guess people don't commute between the two. You must have a car in LA."
"Nothing!"
"We had to wait for hours in between our interviews. There was nothing to do except goto the cafeteria or sit in the lobby..."
"The location- I probably wouldn't have interviewed had I known. "
"the campus, the surrounding area, the lack of student cohesion, the lack of student housing and food. "
"besides the campus, I wish I had known about the lack of effort put into the MD/PhD program. "
"The location of the school is extremely poor. Additionally there is very little research on campus. Students tests scores on USMLE Step II are below the national mean. (Ask about this). "
"How long it would take to get to the beach from USC--3 hours by bus!!!. Yes, I took the bus. Big mistake."
"I wish I had known that Dr Quinn was such a nice woman!"
"how much traffic there would be getting to the interview that morning"
"There is absolutely no school presentations given. You show up, interview, take your tour and go home. I guess they didn't want to scare us with the revelation of graduating with $200+K debt. Also, I didn't know LAC+USC served the jail/prison inmates until I ran into a group of 20 inmates and 5 guards."
"The location of parking lot #6"
"nothing really, being better prepared for the rain would have bee nice!"
"get there early! trying to find parking caused me to be 20 minutes late to my interview"
"wearing a black pants suit in 80n degree weather would be horribly uncomfortable "
"nothing important...the day ended earlier than i expected"
"Nothing that comes to mind. It was dead week so there were no classes to observe."
"The Bishop building is complicated. Go early to find faculty if your interview is in there."
"that i would get questions like those above! (student interview) "
"Directions! If you drive make sure you know how to get there. can be confusing! And leave early cuz of LA's notorious traffic."
"That is was going to rain. :("
"They have a new curriculum that they implemented in 2001 or something."
"The Health sciences campus is pretty far away from the UG campus and med students rarely if ever go there to use the facilities (gyms, libraries, etc)"
"that they have a list of certain questions (the faculty do) that they're supposed to ask you...my faculty interview just kinda went down the list...that the interviewers themselves are not on the admissions committee, they just do write-ups after each interview and turn those into the admissions committee which then makes the decision"
"NA"
"Should have taken a taxi to prevent getting lost. "
"I wish that I would've known how laid back everything was. Me and my student interviewer just talked about anything that came up and was real genuine. Also, I think that my interview was pretty late in the interviewing season. But everyone that I talked to said that the date of your interview does not affect your chances of getting accepted. Once invited for an interview, everyone is on the same plain. Also, a lot of the students that we talked to were initially put on the waitlist. I guess alot of people are accepted from the waitlist because tuition is so high."
"I guess I thought the medical campus was closer to the undergrad campus. If you are looking for a place to hang out with non-medschool people or even just a gym to work out in your down time -- expect to take a shuttle to the main campus (round trip, 45 mins)."
"That the student interview doesn't really make much difference at all. They simply fill out a sheet that is turned into the admissions committee."
"The relaxed atmosphere of the interviews."
"no surprises. the entire experience went as smoothly as expected."
"How relaxed the interviews were."
"The student interview is your med school interview and is closed file. For MD/PhD, if the faculty get your info in time it is open file."
"That the interviews were more of conversation than interview, so I didn't need to prepare as much"
"County Hospital is USC's biggest draw, and is tough to beat as far as teaching hospitals go."
"That it would be so relaxed."
"Basically just how laid back the entire day was. I had my faculty interview from 8am to about 9:30, then my student interview at 10. Then I went on a tour and had lunch with some of the med students and that was the day!"
"Snow on the grape vine! last thing i thought i would encounter going to LA!"
"Traffic is variable in LA - I should have left more time to drive to USC. I ended up barely making it in time for my first interview and didn't have time to catch my breath. "
"the neighborhood around the medical campus is not nearly as bad as i had heard; it's not the place to go for a 2 AM stroll, but definitely not urban decay."
"My student interviewer admitted to me that she gets a lot of her ethical questions from the TV show ER. I wouldn't have thought of ER as good interview prep :)."
"How low stress it was"
"I wish I had known how friendly the interviewers were going to be--would have saved me alotta stress."
"That this interview day is a little different, you do not have a talk from the dean, a presentation from a faculty/committee member on the school, or a student panel/mixer with current students. You have your interviews, a student led tour, and lunch (with your two tourguides) and that's it. I was there from 10-2. "
"That I'd love LA so much."
"Traffic can be even slower than expected (1:45 from Orange County for a 10 am interview; the office thought 1:30 was plenty), and the parking can be a little confusing. Check the map and give extra time to get there. You will have plenty of time to ask questions, so prepare many beforehand and think of new ones to ask your tour guides as you go along"
"don't be nervous! they really try hard to make you feel comfortable at USC."
"That i might actually like the school. I wish I had not sent my secondary in so late, that way I might have a better chance. Even though they say that they do not fill the class until they interview everyone, by this time of the year you are basically interviewing for a waitlist spot. Its not a bad thing, but my student host and her roommate got off the waitlist about 3 weeks before school started"
"The students don't like the small discussion meetings called MDL (I think.)"
"Need a car to get around LA."
"I would have arrived earlier to look around on my own, since my student interview ran long and cut into the tour. He sort of gave me a half-ass walk through."
"I should have worn more comfortable shoes and arranged to attend a class."
"How laid back the interviews were. I got the impression that they just want to make sure you're normal and can communicate well. "
"How low stress everything was."
"I wished i would prepared more."
"Relax. This is a low stress interview. Just be open. The interviewers are on your side."
"That traffic was really as bad as it sounded. If you're not familiar with LA traffic, I suggest consulting with a friend, your host, or even the admissions office on suggested driving times. I wasn't late, but I did give myself more time to get there than I thought I really needed."
"the tour is a little longer than others i've had, so wear comfortable shoes. if you select an off-campus interview, you still have to go to campus. i didn't mind, but some did."
"I thought the new curriculum was more PBL based but it is still very lecture oriented. Still there is no more than 4 hours of lecture per day."
"nothing"
"Overall really loved the school and would have been my second choice to commit to!"
"This was my dream school and the interview just solidified why. They care about who their students are as people over stats. My MCAT was much lower than their 10th percentile scores and I got an interview still. It seems like they genuinely want all the interviewees to succeed on interview day!"
"RELAX + HAVE FUN. Very laid-back, entertaining interview day."
"Generally a low-key, low-stress interview. However, this can also be dictated by which faculty member interviews you."
"I really loved the school. It is very well regarded and the faculty and students all seemed happy and nice. I am def matriculating here, as it is my first choice."
"Low stress and fun interview day."
"the interview was really casual, more of a conversation based on what you say"
"I would be happy to attend USC, but I have had more comfortable and encouraging interviews since. Their program and opportunities sound incredible but the surrounding area is awful."
"Loved the focus on clinical experience and excellent hospital affiliations."
"The interviews were very chill, especially the faculty interview. I found the student interview to be more formal because my interviewer went through a list of questions rather than having a conversation with me."
"Relax and be genuine. They definitely don't want you to put any "spin" when presenting your application."
"Promising school with excellent clinical opportunities. The cost is very daunting, however. :("
"Growing up a Bruins fan, I applied to USC simply because it was another shot at staying in Southern California. I didn't know much about the school at first, but once I did my research and visited the campus, Keck rocketed up my list. It's pricier than in-state schools, but with the recent financial problems in the state, the gap between private schools and the UC's is narrowing quickly, unfortunately. Quality of life is huge for me, so USC is definitely the front runner at this point. Another school would have to blow me away with a financial aid offer to sway me at this point."
"Very nice and laid-back."
"absolutely amazing"
"Great school. Lucky to have interviewed here. Fantastic lunch and a tour that gives you all the sights you want to see."
"I think its a good school, and I wouldn't mind going here, but there's nothing that wows me. It has a good curriculum, good students, but a poor location. The best thing about it I think is the LAC Hospital and the multiple other affiliated hospitals"
"Very very friendly people!!! Definitely moved up on my list after the visit."
"USC made the interview process easy. They just want to know that you're a compassionate person and care about being of service, and that you'll excel in patient care, research, teaching, or some combination of the three. Be normal, and you'll be fine."
"See previous questions"
"It seemed like a great school, I hope I get in!"
"One faculty interview and one student interview."
"Great school, they seem to take care of their students, and everyone seemed happy."
"Really, really prepare to talk about yourself when you get to the staff interview. I mean, the interview itself will be very natural and "relaxed" (I think everyone has read that advice about USC). But YOU are in controlled of how "relaxed" it actually is. When the staff interviewer gives you the go-ahead and asks "Tell me about yourself" USE IT WISELY. This is your one and only chance TO SELL YOURSELF TO KECK in an easy-going and polite way! Convince them you belong there and try to sneak in answers to questions they are probably going to follow up on like mentioning how you got into research in college, you clinical experience and so on. After that one question and answer, if you give them what they want to hear, then the rest will be easy."
"The interview is just a conversation with brilliant but humble people who want to get to know you. What matters is that you be yourself and show them who you are."
"I think the biggest seller of the school is that they get LA county hospital. they see things other students can only read about in books. one student i talked to said that he had seen three gunshot wounds just in the last week. The view from the top of the hospital is amazing! The lunch was amazing, not really the food but how they served it we went to the doctors lounge and they had a long table set up with napkins and silverware and they had three waiters serving us and refilling drinks. very different from other schools which just give you a tray of sandwiches. "
"Loved Keck Edit: FYI I was accepted about a month later"
"I had a great time here throughout the interview and now have a good bar to measure other schools against. I left very impressed!"
"They pride themselves about lac, so I recommend you do the same. It's a great place to learn medicine, so you should be excited about it anyway. Hands on medical education=USC. I only wish it were cheaper and ranked higher!!!!!!!!!"
"Honestly, going into the interview I did not have a positive attitude because I never like USC undergrad or LA. I was really surprised. The school offers some great programs and solid training. It is one of the few schools that legitimately offers early clinical exposure and not just to standardized patients. I never thought I would consider being in LA or at USC, but i think i really could be happy there. I still wont cheer for the Trojans though!"
"Keck seems like a great place to study medicine. The new LA County Hospital is amazing. During my faculty interview I was allowed to stand in on a liver+kidney transplant."
"USC is a great school. It is one of my top choices. The faculty and resources available to the students are outstanding. This school is not as research oriented as some other schools, but if research is not your thing then this place is an amazing institute to train in order to become a quality physician."
"Poor scholarships, vague financial aid session, extremely expensive, poor location and student body since everyone is scattered. Students have to loan at least $50,000 a year to cover tuition and some of the living expenses. There still is a projected $15-20,000 deficiency for personal needs. For me, I simply don't have that kind of money lying around every year. "
"Both interviews were very relaxed and conversational, but the topics can be challenging if you are not prepared. Lunch in the faculty lounge was very impressive. The students seem very happy to be at USC, while the faculty seems to work hard to provide ample support for them. I had a very good experience."
"Lunch in the fancy pants physician cafeteria was very cool :-)"
"Awesome school!! This is my first choice! :) The admissions office is really nice. I missed the financial aid talk and the tour because one of my interviews was scheduled at the same time. The secretary got materials for me and showed me where I could go to talk to people about financial aid. And she found me a student to show me around/take me on a tour - if she hadn't been able to, she said she would have shown me around herself! Awesome!"
"Everyone at USC is REALLY into USC. The students really seem to like it, the faculty I spoke to were really enthusiastic. Also the interviews were really laid back which was nice. If you are into primary care or emergency medicine or surgery, this is an awesome place because of all the crazy things you see at County Hospital. It should be pretty sweet when the new hospital is up and running. That said, the school is in a crappy area and students live all over the place so there isnt a really cohesive student body or student life."
"It was my first interview and I was extremely nervous. However, it turned out to be a very positive experience. Both my interviews were very casual and conversational (All questions were brought up within the conversation). Everyone there was incredibly friendly and helpful."
"I was really impressed with USC. It wasn't one of my top choices before the interview but I think it might be my number one school now. Everyone was really friendly- students and faculty went out of their way to introduce themselves and ask how the day was going. The tour was pretty interesting- we got to see a lot of the campus and some of County Hospital."
"Very positive, very reassuring. "
"Since the interviews were blind, both of my interviewers started off with ''so tell me what you want me to know.'' Essentially we went from there, no questions really other than clarifications on what I had talked about previously. This interview style has been my favorite so far and the admissions members were very excited to meet the prospective students."
"My student interview was very relaxed and informative, but my faculty interview was not very pleasant. Probably just an isolated incident though. Every student had a different interview schedule, but we all had a very tasty lunch together that USC paid for."
"Overall this was a really easy interview. My faculty interviewer had a habit of giving very long and in-depth accounts of his past and his views on medicine and society. For example, I mentioned that I had read up considerably on the state of our healthcare system. He proceeded to tell me how medicine has changed considerably during his career, his experiences as a medical school applicant, a medical student, etc. During his long narratives, I had to make an effort to squeeze in a few words about myself. My student interview was very laid back. She let me talk about anything I wanted to say about myself and seemed genuinely interested in my experiences."
"Great interveiw, very easy-going. I talked with my faculty for nearly 2 hours, and my student for 1 hour. I found the people engaging and Keck is a wonderful institution, they treat members of the Trojan family very well."
"Great.....I really hope I get to go there. The experience received during your first two years are clinically oriented, and there is a lot of one-to-one interaction between students and faculty"
"Great experience, incredibly laid back. My kind of school."
"Both my faculty and student interviews were very relaxed. It seems everyone who is at USC really loves it there. "
"interviewers were real nice. on my faculty interview, i had to wander around LAC+USC and ended up loitering in the psych ER. it was actually a really cool experience to be interviewed by a doc almost in context. everything was great. would give a finger (preferably left hand) to get in. "
"It was really great. Try and stay with a current medical student (I did). They are really nice, willing to answer a bunch of questions honestly, and you'll get rides to campus."
"I showed up early and slipped into a 2nd year lecture. Interesting that less than 75% of the students tend to go to lecture at one time. Met up with others in lobby. Tour of the school. Lunch in the faculty club. Interviews in the same building as the admissions office. Faculty interview first, then medical student interview. Wandered around the campus and Norris Cancer Hospital until my ride showed up."
"Short and sweet, one hour faculty interview, sat in on their a begining clinical integration class, one hour student interview (4th year!), tour, lunch, sat in on a class, out. "
"I had a student interview after a brief tour and the notorious FANTASTIC lunch (with a menu, drink service, etc!) She was an M2, and she didn't ask me anything too difficult though she did ask some current events questions. Then I had an hour to kill before my faculty interview so I watched students play volleyball and ate a muffin, or something. I had to go to LAC hospital to find my interviewer and when I arrived to the hospital I got metal detector checked and proceeded to try and find my interview. I wondered around like a chicken with my head cut off until I found a costodian to ask about my room assignment. He said he had no idea where that was. Everywhere I kept walking security guards would be like ''hey man where are you going?'' Finally I got directed to the main ER where the doc I was supposed to interview with worked. He wasn't there. His nurses then kindly guided me to him in the following minutes. Meanwhile some convict was yelling and spitting at cops as they held him in custody to be treated and a woman was bleeding extensively from a leg wound...but i had an interview. I finally met my interviewer but he was on call! he was the head ER doc that day. He signed a couple requests before needing to find a place to interview...so we interviewed in a patient stall (plastic curtain and all). WE only talked for 20 minutes or so, and he was very pleasant, and then he spent the rest of the time wondering around the ER and showing it off. I felt so special that USC would let me interview with this doc--they took him out of work in order to do so! they really do a good time of schmoozing you..."
"The faculty and student interviews were both very similar. Similar in that both interviewers were very relaxed and laid back. there were no super difficult question and there were no ethical questions. They seemed like they wanted to know more about what i kind of doctor i would become as in how i valued doctor patient relationships and how i would help the undeserved population. my faculty interviewer came right of the OR to give me the interview, in her scrubs and surgical mask. Made me feel important, like they were taking time out of the OR to find out what kind of person i was."
"GREAT! SUPER impressed. I have no idea why people don’t like this place. The facilities were great, clean, beautiful. Of course it’s in a bad area, but you barely feel it on the campus. The staff was great, the students so happy! Really happy! And they had lives! Gregarious, fun, intelligent, well-rounded students. VERY diverse. Office of diversity was great, really open. Faculty interview went exceptionally well. We were well suited for the interview and spoke for about an hour and a half – it was fantastic, definitely the type of professor/doctor I would want as a mentor. The curriculum is great – especially the ICM – they have patient contact (taking histories) from the 3rd WEEK on… Integrated systems course – don’t have biochem alone. Student interview was incredibly relaxed. Someone I could really hang out with – all the students were fantastic. Very informal – he wore basketball shorts. Would love to see them next year ?."
"positive, i loved the school and the curriculum. i just don't want to have to deal with a car though and LA traffic. but god, i miss that warm weather and palm tree beaches"
"Dr. Eric Hsu told me that if he interviews you, your chances of getting in are very good. Essentially, the admissions committee only gives him applicants they know they want. "
"Overall, I had a great day. I don't think that my interviews themselves went very well, as I wasn't very prepared. And I kept forgetting I was being interviewed because everyone is so freaking friendly!! I feel like I was a little too casual in conversation. The tour could have been a little more focused on the hospitals around USC. Also, the famous USC lunch was great, but don't get the salad!"
"My interview day started as I entered County Hospital to meet the faculty member in his office. That hospital is really something else! The most hands-on medical training could be received there among the most diverse patient population. My interviewer spoke about his experience at LAC-USC and also touched on what this medical program has to offer an applicant like. The tour and lunch with medical students was pretty good as well. The student interview was short and to the point; he knew exactly what he wanted to find out about me and did a great job at answering all my questions. I was surprisingly VERY impressed with this school!!!"
"After checking in at 9:30, I mingled with the other interviewees until my faculty interview at 10:00. Afterward, I went back to the admissions building and found that just about everyone had assembled for the tour. The campus is pretty small, so it went quickly. We saw the study rooms, the anatomy lab, some of the lecture halls, and had a brief walkthrough of County (unfortunately we couldn't see more because of HIPAA). Lunch in the faculty lounge followed, and I had about an hour between that and my student interview. I spent that time exploring the library and Norris Cancer Center, as well as talking with some of the students. When my student interview wrapped up I hung around the quad until my ride came."
"Short but pleasant day. Checked in at 1045, tour/lunch with tour guides from 11:15 to 1:00. Faculty interview 1:30 and student at 2:30. Interviews were very conversational, and the interviewers shared a lot about themselves."
"Very positive experience."
"It was a very laid back and interesting experience."
"not a bad school, but not an excellent one either. they did not do a good job of selling the school to me."
"so my faculty interviewer gave me a really hard time regarding the healthcare system issues and really wouldn't let it go. didn't feel like she wanted to get to know me as a person at all, which was unfortunate. she seems to think that only people who truly understand the healthcare system and who know how to solve this problem deserve to be physicians. i personally think there is a lot more other attributes that make a good physician. their system is also weird because you're suppose to call your interviewer the day before to confirm the appointment, but they didn't post that information until the day before. then they also called and changed my appointment time later in the afternoon after i had already confirmed my appointments. had i been flying from out of state, it would not have worked out. the only good thing was that lunch at the faculty club was nice. im disappointed that i wasn't more impressed with the school. i've been to more than enough interviews this app cycle and this was definitely one of the worst experiences."
"My two interviews were great! They were both like a conversation, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Use interview time to learn more about the school, and what it has to offer you. The interviews were closed filed, and the interviewers can relay any experiences/achievements you have had post-AMCAS application submission. "
"I went into this interview thinking that I would like USC ok, but came out of it feeling that USC is now my top choice for medical school. From my extremely friendly and helpful student hosts the night before to some random studnets I stopped for directions, all of the students seemed genuinely enthusiastic about their school and happy to be there. My student interview lasted an entire hour and was one of the most pleasant interview experiences I have had. It was a friendly conversation. My faculty interview was with a pathologist, and although it was only about 25 minutes long, I felt that the questions were fair and she was quite pleasant, even though it was very clear that her motivation for pursuing medicine and mine were vastly different. LA County hospital was amazing on so many levels--just thinking about the diversity and complexity of the patient population is exciting. "
"The interivew day starts in late morning. Interviews are closed file but by now but I'm fairly used to talking about myself and my experiences so it was very conversational. Student interviewer was enthusiastic and cute. "
"The office is pretty cagy about giving out details of the itnerview times. I was told that my student interview would be in the afternoon, so I got in a little later in the day only to find that my interview was going to happen right when I got in! Then there was a tour/lunch at the faculty club followed by my faculty interview. I didn't get the good bonding feel with the interview group that I had felt at other interviews. "
"It started at around 11:00 so I got to sleep in a little bit. The interviews were low-stress. Everybody said that their student interviews were really eaasy, mine however was not quite so. My student interviewer grilled me on why I want to be a doctor, why USC, why medicine, my strengths and weaknesses. My faculty interview however was the complete opposite."
"the tour guides were both really nice and one of them was very enthusiastic and informative. lunch was very good. nothing too impressive about the school, i actually don't remember much of the experience and it wasn't too long ago, it's just not a match for me"
"I think I did all right. I don't think I did a great job at first, when my faculty interviewer said, "Tell me about yourself." I think I recovered, though, and my student interview was more comfortable even though she asked me tougher questions. I learned a lot about the school and how much the students there like it. USC did a great job of presenting itself through the student interviewer and the tour guides."
"You start the day around 11 am with a tour and then an AWESOME LUNCH! Then you go to the interviews which are close file and you really need to bring up what your strong points are because they have not read your application. The interviews are fairly conversational but just make sure that you talk about your strong points because the know NOTHING about you!"
"the interviews were disorganized. My faculty interviewer was late but she apologized. She seemed unfamiliar with my file so we discussed my background and interests before continuing on to the usual spiel. The student interviewer seemed to have been prepped on selling the school (oh you want to do research- we have great research!). I've heard horror stories about County Hospital but I couldnt get an honest opinion there. Lunch was great but the campus is terrible- very tiny (a high school atmosphere) in the middle of nowhere. "
"My first interview was absolutely fantastic. I forgot we were interviewing. It's a closed-file interview so they basically go through your entire background, up to present day. Then we talked about why USC, and then talked about general things about medicine and USC. He really sold me on USC and discussed how they get gobs of money and are building new hospitals and other building and within a matter of years will become a top school. The student interview was fine, I didn't think she was all that into the interview though. Other than that, the tuition is exorbitant. No other school that I know of requires that you budget 63K a year to go to school. That is absolutely outrageous and no medical school, in my opinion, can be a top one if the students have to be over 200K in debt. Simply not acceptable. Take some of that building money and apply it to tuition adjustments or more scholarships/loans."
"I go there and checked in, then walked 7 min. to the outpatient building where my faculty interviewer's office was. The interview was very low stress and conversational. I felt like he really wanted to know what I thought about things. We went interviewed for an hour and then he took me around his facility, which was great. I was late for the tour, but luckily spotted the group on my way back. I missed the county hospital, but the other facilities seemed okay. The lunch was in the fancy faculty club and was yummy. After lunch was my student interview, which was so lovely and low stress. My interviewer seemed very happy with everything and answered all of my questions."
"Traffic was horrible on the way in. I hadnt been to LA before so I've never experienced anything like that. Almost all students live off campus so I don't know how they handle it every day. They stressed the clinical side of things as opposed to research yet I was not impressed by the facilities nor the reputation of individual specialties."
"Okay overall. No one from the admissions office came and talked to the interviewees, which was disappointing. I didn't get a great impression of the other interviewees (a bit preppy and spoiled), which made me wonder what the USC-Keck students are like. The lunch was FABULOUS-- the best of any school I've interviewed at so far, and I've been to a bunch."
"It went well. I wish I would have prepped more questions but I think I still received the info I needed"
"I was nervous since it was my first interview, but I think I did OK. If you can, try and sit in on a class- the lecture hall seemed a little small - students were sitting on the steps. They say they are increasing the class size but I dont know where they'll fit the new students. The MDLs seemed ok. I interviewed with a student and a faculty member, both were laid back like everyone says and conversational. I asked about USMLE board scores- student said she wasn't sure but they were around the national mean"
"I had a really good time at USC. Granted, this was my first interview, so I don't have much of a basis for comparison, but I really enjoyed my visit. Both of my interviews (faculty and med student) were really relaxed and stress-free. Everybody was friendly, and everybody loved being a student at USC. You could tell that stress levels were pretty low, especially for 2nd year students. The food (as everybody says, and I agree) was pretty good. "
"the interview day seems a little bit disorganized as it approaches because you have no idea about what you need to do until you call the school and your faculty interviewer the day before to confirm, but once i was there it was the most impressive interview day i have had thusfar. my faculty interviewer was 30 minutes late, but she was very apologetic about it and we hit it off nicely. the interview is closed file, so you talk about your background and interests before you get into anything heavy. it was very conversational. my student interview was with a second year and she was awesome. she tried to engage me on my interests and i felt like i was sitting at a coffee shop with a friend moreso than having an admissions interview. she answered all my questions and made a very positive impression on me about the attitude of most keck students and the comradery of the class. the tour was the best i have been on and gave us a look at the medical school, the health science campus, and county hospital. the tour guides were very open and encouraging. the lunch was unbelievable, period. bottom line: i was impressed and my opinion of keck is much more favorable than it was before. i heard horror stories about county hospital, but one of the students put it best whan they said that the diversity of cases that they see at county can prepare you for anything in medicine. the surrounding area is not nice, but the health science campus itself (which is huge) is very attractive, new, and safe."
"Interviews themselves were relaxing, but the waiting killed me. Lunch was in the faculty club. That was the high point of the visit."
"I interviewed with one student and one faculty member. The student was obviously trying to sell me on the school, which was ok, but there weren't too many selling points. If you just want a bare-minimum MD, USC might be the right place but otherwise I would not attend. "
"I had a very interesting chat with a 4th year heading into ER in NY. She seemed to be selling the school a little so I wasn't sure what to believe. The clinical facilities seem acceptable because of the patient population. ..Research on campus is almost non-existent, interestingly though I wasn't applying md/phd someone on campus gave me this link http://www.geocities.com/mdphdpgm"
"Overall the interview experience was nice. I loved the weather and liked the school but I didn't care much for East and Downtown LA. Transportation in the city is a big concern of mine."
"I had a blast! USC is now my first choice."
"very conversational both faculty and student interviewers seemed most interested in really getting to know who i was, like things that could not be read on paper."
"Very relaxed. The tour guides were awesome and one of my tour guides happened to know my student interviewer really well which helped me break the ice during my interview. The tour has no bearing on getting in or not, but talk to them as much as you can because you get a lot of good info that you can use to your advantage. My faculty interviewer was also really nice and as a USC graduate herself she had a lot of school pride. Both interviews were very conversational and actually fun, the key is to not take it so seriously and overall RELAX."
"The day was pretty laid back, the tour guide was enthusiastic and I think genuinely liked the campus, but the location is not that great."
"Comfortable conversation"
"Very laid back, both interviewers seemed to want to know me personally. If you can, try and sit in on a class. Also, the #applicants is roughly 10/day, making it easier to mingle with your potential classmates."
"The student interview was totally chill, we just sat outside and chatted for an hour and a half. This was the best interview day I've had so far. No stress, really friendly people in the admit. office. "
"Overall, I really like USC- if definitely moved up on my list of schools. i had my interviews back to back which ended up being very tiring. I think I was talking for about 2 1/2 hours straight. Other than that, the day was very enjoyable and the lunch was great!"
"The fact that it was 80 degrees in december left a huge impression on me, coming from the east coast. it was the first really laid back interview i've had, and i even had my student interview outside in the sunshine. it was totally just a conversation, and i felt really comfortable there. probably the best interview experience i've had."
"amazing weather. fantastic lunch. my interviewer actually took me to the hosptial to meet one of his patients. pretty interesting. "
"Very low stress, nice, modern facilities, great hospital, but the area is not so appealing. All in all, I enjoyed the experience. I was surprised that the student who interviewed me could think of few questions to ask. The faculty interview was very comfortable and conversational. All in all it seems like they're moving in the right direction, with a large number of research buildings opening soon, as well as a replacement for la county hospital opening in 2007"
"Very, VERY relaxed. No complex or controversial questions. As expected in a closed-file interview, a lot of the time was spent discussing my background. Be ready to talk about yourself, you don't have a choice about it."
"Great school. Won't bore anyone with details but generally, the people there are good and you can read my other comments down below. But, my faculty interview went for 2 hours - no joke. He both asked a lot of questions and we did a good deal of chatting in between questions/responses. He either loved me or just wanted to keep asking questions. Nothign too hard though."
"Ok tour, good lunch. What sucked the most was that my student interview gave the impression that he was bored with all my answers to his questions. And to make it worse I ended up having no faculty interview but instead sat in the ER watching my faculty interviewer, an ER doc, work. That part was awesome to watch since USC's hospital is the LA County Hospital and their ER is one of the busiest! but I dont think that will help in the long run and the admissions committee will probably rely heavily on my student interview."
"The interview was more like a conversation than a question answer session. This was true more for the faculty interview"
"It was a great day. I finished my interviews in the morning, so then I went on my tour, had a delicious lunch and was done by 1:00pm. My faculty interview lasted for almost 90 minutes and was very conversational. He asked me to describe my experience in college and asked follow up questions from there. He was very friendly and welcoming. My student interview was very casual (we sat outside on a bench) and lasted for about an hour. Neither of my interviewers had anything in front of them while we talked, so it felt much more relaxed. Two very friendly students took us on a tour of the campus and LA County Hospital and then to lunch. They were helpful and answered our questions honestly. Overall, I was very impressed with the program and the school, but I'm still hesitant to move to LA..."
"The student interview was great. I learned a lot about the school and his experiences and he asked questions that I thought were pertinent but still casual. The faculty interview was a bit uncomfortable, as he pretty much expected me to talk the whole time about myself without him asking specific questions or giving any input. "
"As I said before, the faculty interview was a disaster (but I don't think it was actually my fault). The student interviewer was very friendly and had only the best intentions. The campus looked sort of dingy and the hospital is an ancient bulding that looks like it is falling apart. "
"It was a very positive experience. Very low-stress."
"great! i really liked it there. it was a place i could see myself and it felt good to be there."
"Both my student and faculty interviewers were wonderful really made me feel comfortable just like having a chat with an old friend and catching them up on new things in my life. It was a beautiful sunny day. The tour guide was great really open to any questions and quite informative. The faculty interviewer was really nice even gave me tips, told some jokes and we had a wonderful time, it was truely a pleasure. The same with my student interviewer he was laid back and very informative. The school is great, its only weakness is tuition :)"
"My experience was pretty laid back. I had my faculty interview first, which lasted about 80 minutes. My faculty interviewer was a first yaer professor and he went into great detail telling me about the new cirriculum. Even showed me outlines he uses in his class. Pretty laid back, spent a lot of time asking about me and trying to get to know me, then telling me about USC. Student interviewer was a first year and after lunch. He was very cool and kept it very low stress and very conversational. Never felt grilled or on the spot. Facilities are great. USC is definitely my first choice if I get in."
"Faculty interview with chief of anesthesiology took place 3 feet from a gastric bypass patient's head, wedged between the drug cart and the anesthesia monitoring equipment in the OR! Scrubs and all. Student interview was fast, followed by tour of campus and LAC+USC hospital. That's it!"
"The school is amazing. If I get accepted, I will go here for sure. "
"My interviewer was great and at the end of the interview he offered to give me a tour of the radiation oncology units. I found out that I got in 2 weeks later. "
"I was really looking forward to interviewing at USC, but both the faculty and student interviewers really tainted my overall opinion of the school. The student interviewer seemed bored with giving interviews (his eyes glazed over before I started to speak), and the faculty guy seemed less interested in getting to know me and more interested in questioning my motivation (is anyone really in it for the money these days???). That aside the school offers a excellent opportunity to work at LAC-USC and the new hospital will be ready for the class of 2004."
"Student interview was very laid back (we talked outside of a cafe) and friendly. USC is definitely a school that emphasizes their clinical skills. County Hospital provides care to an incredibly diverse patient population both in terms of ethnicity and socioeconomic level. The students and faculty have a strong sense of community (most striking example was the groups of students eating breakfast and chatting with their professors in the cafe when I first arrived) and I think this is only strengthened by the pass/fail grading system."
"Sign-in, chat with other interviewees, interview, tour,lunch,second interview and the end."
"my best interview thus far. My faculty interviewer was very sweet, relaxed, and gave me a feeling of reassurance that USC is a great choice. First and second year students were all very friendly and we chatted a lot. They were all very happy about their choice to attend USC."
"I was very lucky to get very mellow interviewers - no hard questions, i.e. nationalizing healthcare, Roe vs. Wade, etc. I learned a lot about USC and the curriculum, etc. "
"Friendly students, great clinical exposure, new research facilities, and I haven't even mentioned the Caltech portion of the program! All in all I was greatly impressed by USC. In addition, the housing options are great and there is less traffic relative to UCLA/westwood."
"I stayed with an M1 the night before, met 20 or so of his M1 friends and partied with all of them the night before. I was pleasantly surprised they were all drinking and having fun even on a Tuesday night. The weather for my interview was beautiful, and the med. student interviewer and faculty interviewer spent more time selling the school and sharing their experiences than asking me questions. I left in the afternoon wihtout a shadow of doubt that Keck is a fantastic school. On a side note, I thought Chicago traffic was bad, but L.A. traffic brings things to a new level."
"The interviews were both quite relaxed, although the faculty interviewer was very soft-spoken and it was hard to tell how the interview went. The student tour guides and student interviewer were enthusiastic about the school and willing to answer questions honestly. Overall, I was impressed with the school."
"Both of my interviews were very relaxed. USC does blind interviews, so there was no mention of GPA or MCAT. Both interviewers seemed like they just wanted to get to know me as a person and understand my interests both inside and outside of medicine. Be prepared to answer the "why USC" question. My faculty interviewer emphasized the fact that about 1/2 of interviewees are accepted, and he seemed impressed that I knew a lot about the school and had an interest in it. Also, be ready to answer questions about where you applied, where you've interviewed, and and where you've been accepted. I got this question at almost every interview I've been to."
"The faculty interview was conversational. I felt that I should have done more of the talking. I also didnt address a particular topic strong enough and the interviewer had some very strong opinions. She was very friendly but hard to read so i dont know how i did. Student interviewer was way more lax...at cafeteria and I definately got to do alot of talking there. She told me that each interview carries equal weight so hopefully i get in!!!"
"My faculty interviewer was hard to read, which made me nervous. I couldn't tell how well that interview went even though the questions weren't hard. He wouldn't nod or smile during the interview. My student interview went fine though. I was impressed with the amount and quality of clinical experience that students get at LA county. I wish there was some sort of presentation about the curriculum or financial aid or something. The tour was interesting, but it felt weird walking through the ER and gawking at the patients. The lunch is very posh - at the faculty club. Overall, I think it would be a great school to go to. "
"I had an amazing day, and left with a wonderful feeling about the school. Both my interviewers were so friendly, and just the atmosphere throughout the day put me at ease. I loved the school"
"I was floored by USC. i went in with mediocre expectations, and now it is far and away my top choice. all i have to do now is get in..."
"Both interviews were really friendly and conversational. I got a great vibe from the place, mostly because of the students I met there. Admissions staff was helpful, and I'd love to do clerkships at a place like LAC."
"I got the dean of admissions, Dr. Erin Quinn, and she was really cool even though I showed up a few minutes late because of the parking. We were talking for so long that the interview went about 20 minutes over and the secretary had to end it so I could go on the tour."
"If you have an interview here, do not stress about grueling interviews. Everyone tried to make this experience a pleasant one. LA County is impressive--if you want experience with patients, this is the place to be. The students are very happy and really get along with each other."
"The interview day was great, interviewers were informal and willing to answer questions. The facilities are extremely nice and well equipped for student use. There is no chance to get to know current students (except for the tour guides), but everyone seems happy and the new cirriculum seems to be doing well. "
"My first interview was with a med student. Really nice kid, friendly, conversational, and would warn me about the questions which were supposed to be hard. He seemed to like the school a lot. My second interview was with a faculty member. She was very easy to talk to and appeared genuinely interested in knowing me. She also told me a lot about the school. The interviews were not confrontational and very low stress. I actually had a really good time during my visit and if I get in, I'm going there!"
"I had a 70 minute interview with an emeritus professor, Dr. Jung, who was once the head of the resident program in the 90's. The interiview started out very relaxed. We sat down at a table in the café and he offered to buy drinks, then started a chat about football (my school, Cal, beat #3 USC) and other light topics. The questions about my life and experience were nicely directed and gave a good chance to present myself clearly. Although several of the ethical questions near the end were tough, I never felt grilled or pressured. I also got good answers to my questions about the new curriculum (board scores for second year went up 9 points; the students like it as my tour guides confirmed) and USC's ranking in research. About a half-dozen interviewees were taken on a tour by two medical students (they do not usually have two guides; there must have been a mistake) and we had plenty of time to ask questions there and during the nice lunch in the faculty club. However, there were no organized sessions and any information on financial aid, the curriculum and other subjects was had thru asking. My second interview at 1 pm was with a second-year medical student. It was also relaxed, though a few questions were more pointed. "
"it was very enjoyable! USC did a really good job of advertising itself and i hope i get accepted there!"
"Wonderful. They made the school look great."
"Overall, I was very impressed with the school."
"Interviewer had my application, but no GPA or MCAT scores. Within the first 5 minutes he straight-out asked me what my numbers were- which I don't think he was supposed to do. USC is an average school, with very high tuition. The new curriculum received mixed reviews. Some students like USC, but many have a lot of complaints. The fact that my faculty interviewer recommended that I go to another school weighed very negatively on my impression of USC."
"USC became one of my top choices following the interview. County is huge and looks a bit like an airport."
"Keck is an incredible school. The students are great, the quality of life is great, the research opportunities are incredible, LAC+USC is awesome, volunteer opportunities abound. If I get in, I'm going there."
"see positive impressions"
"After interviewing here and seeing the campus, USC has pushed itself up to my #1 choice. (It was at #3 pre-interview). Everyone was so friendly, even students I approached at random to ask directions. They have really nice facitlties for the students, including a lounge with big leather couches and a big screen TV -maybe why tuition is so high :-)Seriously though, I think I would be very happy at this school, and would recieve a top quality education. LA county hospital is incredible, I am 100% sure I would see cases there that I would not see anywhere else!"
"UCLA has nothing on USC school of medicine except perhaps for prestige and a much cheaper tuition.(this is coming from a bruin)"
"Overall, my experience at USC was great. The tour was informative and the students that led the tour were very helpful and friendly. The facilities are good and the hospital is great. You would definitely have great clinical experiences at USC since it's in downtown LA. Lunch was good (I had chinese chicken salad). The student interviewer actually asked harder questions than the faculty interviewer, but both were pretty relaxing. "
"Positive. The school really impressed me."
"Your 2 interviews are scheduled anywhere between 8 and 5. Other than that, the whole program is just the tour/lunch with the med students. No group orientation. No financial aid. You check in at the KAM building, and if you have down time, you can ask to see a schedule of classes if you want to sit in on one or two. My student interviewer was very conversational and sweet; we joked a lot throughout. No tough questions, though I heard that another student interviewer did throw out some. Faculty interviewer just went down a list of questions, taking his time to review what he had to ask...he was very gentlemanly and kind. These closed-file interviews obviously take extra work on your part than for the open-files, so be sure to take opportunities to market yourself here and there. "
"Over-all, it was a low-stress day. "
"USC was my first interview which made me nervous. My self-inflicted nervousness carried over to my faculty interview. My interviewer was tough but good since we never had an awkward silence. I got a really hard ethical question....my advice...just be honest. Also, approach the ethical questions as a thinking game...take your time to process the question and your answer. All in all, both the faculty interviewer and the medical student were interesting to talk to. BE POSITIVE, RELAX, and HAVE FUN. "
"With my student interview, we just went to the cafeteria and chatted. She was really friendly and just wanted to get to know me a bit. Very low stress! <br> My other interview was with an alumni off campus. (I had selected this option when choosing my interview date.) The only stress I had was self-inflicted. Some others I talked to that day had pretty tough ethics ?s, but I didn't. The last 2/3 of my interview was my interviewer talking and giving me advice about the application process. At one point, he said that the purpose of the 1st 5 minutes of the interview is to make sure that the applicant is normal. He just wanted to get to know me. A lot of the questions were about the current app process because he has been out of school for a while and just interested in who's applying now. Very low stress!"
"All in all, the least stressful of my interviews so far, and I was much more impressed by USC than I thought I would be."
"the clinical education you could get from LA County is unbeatable"
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 171 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 3 |
| Other | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 96 |
| Neutral | 13 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.34 | 112 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 78 |
| Out of state | 30 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 27 |
| 2-3 hours | 34 |
| 4-6 hours | 22 |
| 7+ hours | 20 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 47 |
| Automobile | 53 |
| Train or subway | 6 |
| Other | 2 |
N/A
Los Angeles International Airport
Long Beach
Burbank
LGB
BUR
LAX
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 20 |
| Friends or family | 28 |
| Hotel | 20 |
| Home | 5 |
| Other | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 27 |
| $101-$200 | 13 |
| $201-$300 | 11 |
| $301-$400 | 15 |
| $401-$500 | 7 |
| $501+ | 3 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.83 | 117 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.12 | 116 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.27 | 117 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.65 | 62 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.38 | 64 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.97 | 60 |
"Only one would be, if possible, to provide us with a parking pass. Most students tend to be from California and drive there. But 12 bucks isn't the end of the world."
"Be more honest with yourselves about the turn-around time for interviews. We were told with good confidence we would hear back within 2-4 weeks when in reality it was 6-8."
"Staff were accommodating and made sure we didn't have to spend too much time outside in the 100+ degree heat."
"None, great job so far. Very impressed."
"Nothing really. They were, by far, the most transparent and prompt throughout the entire process."
"More organized schedule and directions on the day of."
"Perhaps a slightly shorter interview day. The financial aid presentation was helpful, but could have been summed up in a few handouts. I had my interviews in the afternoon so I was already a little tired from lunch, the campus tour and the tour of County hospital. If the interviews were an hour earlier that might've help the day not feel so long."
"More info at the info sessions. The financial aid session was longer than the introduction to the school"
"Earlier notification of interview day schedule"
"Faster decision notification :)"
"It might be worthwhile to get all interviewing students together at the beginning of the day and have someone present briefly on curriculum, opportunities at USC, and maybe combine it with the financial aid presentation. It's a nice way to start out and meet other interviewing students."
"They rocked!"
"Very professional, yet friendly and invitiing. The admin office staff totally helped calmed my nerves after I initially showed up and felt a little nervous. After realizing how easy-going they were, it was all good. Keep it up!"
"keep doing what you're doing"
"the admissions office is amazing they are really friendly on the phone. you should however, tell us"
"Call us, and not snail mail us for decisions."
"It would be nice to have a little more time alloted for interviews. My morning interview ran a littl"
"The Admissions Office staff were very friendly and approachable, both over the phone and in person."
"It would have been nice to have a presentation from Dean Quinn."
"No suggestions, just a comment about how great Stephanie was for taking me on the tour herself when"
"Stephanie is fabulous. I missed the beginning of the tour due to my interview going a bit over and s"
"Make the Financial Aid Workshop longer, but other than that they were great."
"Rushed 13-minute financial aid session for an overpriced school = Bad."
"The woman at the admissions office is a total sweetheart. She made my day very pleasant!"
"GET ORGANIZED! My interviews were changed around three times and then they ended up giving me the w"
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What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?