University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry Individual responses

⭐ Overall Impressions ▼

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

1 out of 10

How you think you did?

8 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

8 out of 10

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

9 out of 10

💬 Interview Questions ▼

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

No responses

What was the most interesting question?

The PBL questions had to do with some person who was feeling sick while on a cruise and each part of the case reveals more information. Then you all throw out ideas of what the possible problem could be...

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What was the most difficult question?

The most difficult part of the PBL session was not getting up to leave in the middle, or make fun of it...they are sooooo pointless...

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🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼

How long was the interview?

50 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

In a group

What type of interview was it?

Closed file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

📍 On-Site Experience ▼

Who was the tour given by?

Admissions staff

How did the tour guide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

9 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What were your total hours spent traveling?

2-3 hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

$301-$400

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

Hotel

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

Vagebond Inn

How would you rate the hotel?

7 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

yes

What is your ranking of this school's location?

9 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

10 out of 10

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses

✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

Please do not do anything to prepare for this interview....it is not an interview...it is a joke mock PBL session that has nothing to do with anything...just participate...other than that I don't see how they chose their candidates from something so dumb...

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What impressed you positively?

Even though PBL is pointless, you are in class three times a week for 4 hours at a time. The student I ate lunch with said there are AM sessions (8-12) and PM sessions (1-5), so you will be assigned one or the other and then switch at the end of each semester. POSITIVE = only 12 hours of "class" time a week....meaning you have plenty of free time to learn the material....or plenty of personal time if you don't want to learn anything....

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What impressed you negatively?

I think PBL is helpful, but should not be used to competely replace lectures, textbook, and class notes. Either way, as long as you are self-motivated and want to learn about science/dentistry I don't think PBL will affect anyone's learning. And of course tuition.

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What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

I did not like PBL or the tuition before the interview...Afterwards, I still do not like PBL or the cost of tuition, but I did realize that if you want to learn/excel in dental school you will (probably just like most other schools just less structured)...PBL will not make a difference...and if I don't get into schools X,Y, and Z, then i would pay the ridiculous tuition to teach myself for a couple of years...

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What are your general comments?

You probably already know the two most important things about USC: they use problem based learning instead of traditional leactures and they are really really expensive. USC spends most of there day trying to explain those two factors. A one hour financial aid presentation, a one hour intro to PBL lecture from a professor, and a half an a hour observing a actual PBL session. The interview day did not "sell" PBL to me, it actually made it look worse while observing the PBL case....but in the end its a dental eduaction and you will still receive that DDS...The interview is a group PBL session that two members of the admission's staff observed...we also had a writing assignment...we all had different topics (it was random)..they say 15 minutes but people were handing them in at various parts of the day if they didn't finish...I don't know why they say "15 minutes"....most importantly, if you don't want to do any work or study for exams, then this is the school for you...it seems that slackers can still get by with doing very, very little....and I mean little...I did not get that feeling at any other school

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What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses

University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

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