2016-2017 University of Southern California (Keck) Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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MDhopeful324 said:
5 letters? I thought Keck only accepts 3 letters max...
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Thats what I read on the website too *shrug*
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Iwannaknow said:
I mean I had 3 letters. The "roles" I discussed overlapped.
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Ohh I see. Makes sense that they are interested in a PI letter being a research oriented school and all. Thank you all for your responses!
 
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Does anyone else feel like their chosen nickname or quirky 3-5 sentence string of letters that went into that section was just the worst after finally deciding to submit the secondary and rereading it?
 
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Apophis said:
Does anyone else feel like their chosen nickname or quirky 3-5 sentence string of letters that went into that section was just the worst after finally deciding to submit the secondary and rereading it?
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After I submit a secondary, I never ever look back at it again for precisely reasons like this
 
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FindingNismo said:
3. If you had enormous wealth, how would you allocate your charitable donations?
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For this prompt, did you guys write about what organizations you would allocate your budget to? i.e. 10% to x, 15% to y, etc.
Or did you guys write about how you would budget for charitable donations?

Think I'm overthinking this one a bit but I didn't want to interpret the question wrong...
 
mightyduck911 said:
For this prompt, did you guys write about what organizations you would allocate your budget to? i.e. 10% to x, 15% to y, etc.
Or did you guys write about how you would budget for charitable donations?

Think I'm overthinking this one a bit but I didn't want to interpret the question wrong...
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Don't overthink it! Just go with how you would naturally answer it if you were in an everyday conversation. I went more general like "I would donate my money to (Cause I want to support) because (insert reasoning)." No numbers or anything technical like that.
 
Nova24 said:
Im pretty sure Dr arias told us during our interview last year that she read them all and solely decided who got interviews, after that point the admissions committee made the actual acceptance decisions and she didn't play a part in that. I thought it was pretty crazy that she read them all.

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No. Dr Arias reads the applications of everyone who gets an interview (and perhaps some recommended for an interview she decides not to grant one to), but she doesn't review the application of every person that applies. That would be absurd. The source for having one reviewer evaluate all applicants with the same MCAT score is this: https://students-residents.aamc.org...icle/how-medical-schools-review-applications/ A human reads every application but the same human doesn't read all of them
 
houston9 said:
No. Dr Arias reads the applications of everyone who gets an interview (and perhaps some recommended for an interview she decides not to grant one to), but she doesn't review the application of every person that applies. That would be absurd. The source for having one reviewer evaluate all applicants with the same MCAT score is this: https://students-residents.aamc.org...icle/how-medical-schools-review-applications/ A human reads every application but the same human doesn't read all of them
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My MCAT is way better than my GPA. I feel like this system hurts me :(
 
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ChrisMack390 said:
My MCAT is way better than my GPA. I feel like this system hurts me :(
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It might not. In previous years, USC seemed to accept lots of students with lower GPAs and high MCATs.
 
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Hau5MD said:
It might not. In previous years, USC seemed to accept lots of students with lower GPAs and high MCATs.
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That's why I applied! But if they put me in a pile of 518s, there certainly aren't going to be many 3.4s in it...
 
ChrisMack390 said:
That's why I applied! But if they put me in a pile of 518s, there certainly aren't going to be many 3.4s in it...
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Same boat here. The pile of 510s is going to super EC heavy. Research and PS pull me through!
 
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ChrisMack390 said:
That's why I applied! But if they put me in a pile of 518s, there certainly aren't going to be many 3.4s in it...
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Haha, well, there'll be at least one. 3.4 gpa and 518 mcat non-trad, checking in. SOLIDARITY.
 
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For any reapplicants, did you reuse any secondary essays??

I really like one of mine from last year I have rewritten others for this secondary but I feel like I would be doing this particular essay no good by changing it.
 
hopelesslyhopeful said:
For any reapplicants, did you reuse any secondary essays??

I really like one of mine from last year I have rewritten others for this secondary but I feel like I would be doing this particular essay no good by changing it.
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I think it depends on which essay? if it's a fun one, I think it matters less than if it were reflective of you as an applicant. it's ultimately up to you, but if you feel like it's "as good as it gets" and you would feel worse changing it, then that's probably your answer.
 
gamieg said:
I think it depends on which essay? if it's a fun one, I think it matters less than if it were reflective of you as an applicant. it's ultimately up to you, but if you feel like it's "as good as it gets" and you would feel worse changing it, then that's probably your answer.
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Thanks!

On a side note, did any use the optional essay to express interest in the school? As a re-applicant I already touched on a lot of the "what do you want us to know" in my response to the reapplicant prompt, but I also feel like I should try and utilize the optional space. This school is my number one option so I want to try and do anything that could help!
 
has anyone who's gotten an II received the list of student hosts for interview day?
 
Did anyone use the optional essay to express interest in the school? As a re-applicant I already touched on a lot of the "what do you want us to know" in my response to the re-applicant prompt, but I also feel like I should try and utilize the optional space. This school is my number one option so I want to try and do anything that could help!
 
hopelesslyhopeful said:
Did anyone use the optional essay to express interest in the school? As a re-applicant I already touched on a lot of the "what do you want us to know" in my response to the re-applicant prompt, but I also feel like I should try and utilize the optional space. This school is my number one option so I want to try and do anything that could help!
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Hmm depends, how did you incorporate the "what do you want us to know" in the re-applicant essay? I would have assumed those to be two separate questions.
 
For those of you who have gotten an interview, about how long was it from when your secondary was submitted to when you heard about an interview?
 
flip15 said:
I submitted/was marked complete on 6/30 and relieved an II on 7/15.


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Thank you! So you got an II after your letters were in? It sounds like some people have gotten them without letters being received.
 
flip15 said:
Yes, all my letters were already in, but I think someone said earlier on this thread that they got an II without their letters!


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I believe that, USC knows what they want. It was nice to see their adcoms members were much more down to earth, in person, compared to other schools.

This quality seems to be reflected in the secondary Q's too... If only I didn't have a nasty string of Ws as a nontrad to spoil the fun. Still hoping an II comes my way!

Also, good luck at the interview. I recommend staying west of the 405 the night before, if you have that luxury.
 
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PsychoSocioBioArtistMD said:
I believe that, USC knows what they want. It was nice to see their adcoms members were much more down to earth, in person, compared to other schools.

This quality seems to be reflected in the secondary Q's too... If only I didn't have a nasty string of Ws as a nontrad to spoil the fun. Still hoping an II comes my way!

Also, good luck at the interview. I recommend staying west of the 405 the night before, if you have that luxury.
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West of the 405 is also SUPER far from Keck though, isn't it? I feel like it'd be at least an hour drive in the morning.
 
Iwannaknow said:
West of the 405 is also SUPER far from Keck though, isn't it? I feel like it'd be at least an hour drive in the morning.
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Well there are a few things to consider: it definitely will be a longer drive, but you can head over before 7am and it will be a 20min or so drive. After 10am same deal, but I don't know of your interview schedule. The transit infrastructure just got some needed love too: https://www.metro.net/riding/colleges/usc/

Check for yourself, but I think you won't want to spend too much time in the after-hours around USC; IMO, better off waking up early and enjoying the rest of your stay after the interview.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
Also don't be the person who goes to interview with your mom.
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Ugh my parents insisted on joining me for one of my grad school visits. Fortunately they eventually realized it would be too expensive for them to come. Whew!
 
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Is it too late to add Keck onto my AMCAS? Already verified.
 
Has anyone been able to get in contact with any of the student hosts? I've emailed a few but no ones been replying to me. :(
 
Did anyone else use a light-hearted topic for the true/false sentence question? Starting to regret my decision. :(
 
MDhopeful324 said:
Did anyone else use a light-hearted topic for the true/false sentence question? Starting to regret my decision. :(
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Yes? I talked about my drawing abilities. Though I like to think that I really elaborated on it in a relatable way.
 
MDhopeful324 said:
Did anyone else use a light-hearted topic for the true/false sentence question? Starting to regret my decision. :(
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interesting, I wrote on a very blunt/forceful topic for this essay and am starting to regret my decision :(
I know for sure keck has already skipped over my app due to complete dates and II on this thread :(
 
Thoroughbred_Med said:
interesting, I wrote on a very blunt/forceful topic for this essay and am starting to regret my decision :(
I know for sure keck has already skipped over my app due to complete dates and II on this thread :(
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I'm sure it was great! I ended up doing a light-hearted one wishing that all gluten free foods tasted as good as normal food lol. Doesn't have to be like that though!

And I was complete early and haven't been offered an II so keep your head up its still very early to think like that.


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miaprgase0512 said:
I'm sure it was great! I ended up doing a light-hearted one wishing that all gluten free foods tasted as good as normal food lol. Doesn't have to be like that though!

And I was complete early and haven't been offered an II so keep your head up its still very early to think like that.


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omg i wrote about nutrition too :)

not gluten tho lol
 
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I talked about my dream of touring the US as a member of a punk band and opening for my favorite bands. It's pretty light hearted but it's also very meaningful to me and I think it worked out. They're just getting to know you, so I think as long as you're writing something genuine, you should be okay :)
 
Gibbward said:
Has anyone been able to get in contact with any of the student hosts? I've emailed a few but no ones been replying to me. :(
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I emailed 3 of them last friday and the student i'm staying with replied 3 days later... a lot of them might be busy and have late response times haha. I'd give them the weekend to reply!
 
.
 
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mysticalUnicorn said:
I emailed 3 of them last friday and the student i'm staying with replied 3 days later... a lot of them might be busy and have late response times haha. I'd give them the weekend to reply!
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Well there was one person I emailed last Friday and I still haven't heard back, while I emailed another Tuesday and still nothing. :( I mean it won't be the end of the world if I don't get a host. I might be able to stay at a family friend's house close by but it would be nice to sleep at a student host so I wouldn't worry about getting lost on the way to the school.
 
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