University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

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Los Angeles, CA

Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

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⭐ Overall Impressions ▼

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

4 out of 10

How you think you did?

8 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

10 out of 10

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

10 out of 10

💬 Interview Questions ▼

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

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).

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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?

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Why medicine? Oh yeah just passingly, any research experience?

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What was the most interesting question?

Why not just go to UCLA? It's much cheaper, and they have better research, right?

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What was the most difficult question?

"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!

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🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼

How long was the interview?

40 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

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?

10 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What were your total hours spent traveling?

0-1 hour

What was your primary mode of travel?

Automobile

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

< $100

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

Friends or family

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

5 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

10 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?

10 out of 10

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

How did you prepare for the interview?

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.

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What impressed you positively?

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.

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What impressed you negatively?

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.

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What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

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.

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What are your general comments?

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.

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What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

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!

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University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

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