Los Angeles, CA
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
What was the stress level of the interview?
3 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
6 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
8 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
10 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
What are your general comments?
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.
💬 Interview Process
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
All the general stuff: Tell me about yourself. Why medicine? Why USC?
What was the most interesting question?
How will you handle cultural barriers as a physician? (I had mentioned that cultural sensitivity in health care is a major issue)
How did you prepare for the interview?
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.
What was the most difficult question?
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?
What impressed you positively?
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.
What impressed you negatively?
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.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
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.
🤝 Campus and Facilities
How do you rank the facilities?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this school's location?
6 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
📍 Travel and Logistics
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Enthusiastic
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
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