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University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

Los Angeles, CA

Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

3 out of 10

How you think you did?

No responses

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

No responses

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

No responses
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

How would you fix the health care system in this country? What do you think of Roe vs. Wade?
Tell my about yourself.
What would you do if a patient dying of cancer asked you to help end her life?

What was the most interesting question?

What would you do if a patient dying of cancer asked you to help end her life?

What was the most difficult question?

How would you fix the health care system in this country?
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

60+ minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

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?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

No responses

How do you rank the facilities?

No responses

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

No responses

What was your primary mode of travel?

No responses

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

No responses

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

No responses

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

No responses

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

No responses

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

No responses

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?

studentdoctor.net, read USC/Keck web site, mock interview at UC Berkeley career center, wrote down questions.

What impressed you positively?

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.

What impressed you negatively?

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.

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

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

What are your general comments?

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.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses