University of Southern California Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry

6 out of 10

1 out of 10

1 out of 10

4 out of 10

10 out of 10

10 out of 10

8 out of 10

You dont have an interview. You have a mock PBL session with a group of about 7 interviewees.

5 minutes

Negatively ☹️

10 out of 10

In a group

Closed file

At the school

SDN and school website

The faculty and admissions office were very friendly. Brian is a pretty awesome assistant director of admissions, he really makes you feel welcome. The school definitely does what it sets out to do and thats to make the interview day as relaxed as possible. Definitely one of the most relaxed interviews I've had so far, which is kind of a welcome change of pace.

Quite a bit! First off, cost of attendance is through the roof! THe financial aid guy was super friendly and completely honest and pretty much said its not really possible to pay off your debt before 20-25 years when most other school graduates are paying theirs off in 10-15. Living expenses and average debt of a graduate right now is around $420,000! So, for what you get and what you pay, it doesnt even compare. They have a low student to faculty ratio and pretty much state that right away. They had a lot of problems recently that are slowly being worked out and on several occassions during Brian's presentation, I was thinking, should you really be telling us all of this? He likes the school but would say things to make you believe its not the greatest school at all. Current students kind of had a false confidence about the school. I asked what they liked about the school and the one student said name recognition. He says when he tells people he goes to USC dental school that they just assume its a great program. That definitely did not peak my interest. Also, its so laid back there that you have entire days off and it seriously sounds like you practically teach yourself, which may sound like an exageration but thats definitely the feeling I got, which made me feel like well what the hell are you paying so much tuition for then?! School's location is not a great location, right near a bad area. Cost of living is ridiculously high! Overall, its not that the school is that terrible, unless you dont like PBL cuz they have A LOT of PBL and it sounds like most of the students are too fond of it. Its just that for what you pay and what you get, no offense but its a joke. You can pay half and even a third of that for a better education, better equipment, better location, cheaper living expenses, more faculty, etc... Definitely no bang for your buck! Lastly, when they hand out your folder in the beginning, I looked through some of the papers and one of the first ones was a disclaimer about dental school rankings and that the ADA doesnt approve of any rankings and to discredit them if you come across them. Ive been to a lot of interviews now and have never come across that, ever. That screams to me that they are already getting defensive because lets face it, they are probably at or near the bottom of any ranking, not that I put a lot of stock in any kind of "ranking" but when a dental school gives you a disclaimer on it, that shows me they have some major issues going on there.

That cost of attendance is really that high!

I really wouldnt suggest this school to anyone I care about! I know it sounds cynical but I had an open mind going into the interview and the cost to go there is simply not worth it, no matter how great the name USC sounds.

Admissions staff

Enthusiastic

Out of state

7+ hours

Airplane

$501+

LAX

Hotel

Willshire Hotel

2 out of 10

no