USC Class of 2013

www.westernu.edu/pharmacy/
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lkerzfan said:
This is some interesting information I found on the updated PHARMCAS School Directory Pages:

Estimated number interviewed for fall 2009 Entering Class: 420 • Estimated number accepted: 325

Please tell me this is a bunch of BS!
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Cant be true because there about over 160 placed on the waitlist after interview.
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lkerzfan said:
This is some interesting information I found on the updated PHARMCAS School Directory Pages:

Estimated number interviewed for fall 2009 Entering Class: 420 • Estimated number accepted: 325

Please tell me this is a bunch of BS!
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This is not BS
 
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Farmercyst said:
You'll need to pursue them yourself. There's info on the fao website though. I think I posted a link 1 or 2 pages back. That might be the easiest way to find it. You can definitely talk to fao if you have any ?'s or problems.
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Hey Farmercyst Can you tell me about USC financial aid
 
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koercive said:
When do we receive financial aid information. Do we need to pursue the federal loans ourselves or can I go into the fao to talk to the fin aid ppl
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Why are you just interested in fed loans
 
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Vultron said:
Is there any other type of money out there for school...
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Check out scholarships. There are many out there and if you actively seek them out, you'd be surprised how much you can knock off your tuition.
 
extra07extra said:
Check out scholarships. There are many out there and if you actively seek them out, you'd be surprised how much you can knock off your tuition.
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How do I find scholarships
 
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Vultron said:
... i definitely want to knocy offa t least 35k outta the 40k..
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Lol, I do too... As far as searching for scholarships go, you need to network because many scholarships are not really posted anywhere (and the ones that are are very competitive). My advice is to ask around (especially big pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies) to see if anyone is willing to help. You won't get anything in return most of the time but every now and then, you'd be surprised. I'm going to be knocking a couple grand off my first-year tuition simply by asking a large company and presenting to them in an essay my interest in going into pharmacy and showing interest in the work that the company does.

PM me if you want any more advice. Good luck!
 
has anyone else on the waitlist gotten any word since the first chunk of waitlisters got accepted?
 
Vultron said:
Hey Farmercyst!! Can you tell me about USC financial aid!! All I got was loans, loans, loans!! I did not get any grants, work study or anything esle. Im sure, they do not expect pple to pay 40k a year just for tuition and books with all loan money!! Where would the money for living expenses come from!!! Im really confused about how kids pay for USC tuition!!! No matter how many hours you work, you simply would not be able to afford everything!!!

These are even unsubsidized loans, if you borrow 20k by the time you graduate, you would be paying back 50k!! Now that doesnt sound like a good business practice!! Loan is not good!!! kids are always saying you would be making enough money to take care of the loans!!! But the fact is interest keeps accruing and 20k turns into 50k or 60k!!! Any business thats runs like that would go bankrupt, so why should students have to pay like that!! Is there any other type of money out there for school...
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All you can really expect for your first year is loans. Your max loan amount is Cost of Attendance (COA). The COA for me I believe is ~60K and since they don't take into account family size, just on-campus/off-campus, plus other factors listed on your FA application it should be pretty similar unless you listed as living on campus or with family members. So for me it'll be ~36K for tuition this semester and ~24K in GradPlus come Oct/Nov, whenever my funds run out again. As for scholarships, there are tons of scholarship search engines out there. Fastweb is one of the better known ones, but there are many others. Here's a fed one: https://studentaid2.ed.gov/getmoney/scholarship/v3browse.asp
There's also a Pharmacy School scholarship form that's a generic form that allows them to see which school based ones you qualify for. It was due by 4/1/09 I believe, but you'd be able to apply next year. I've received about 5K in scholarships so far, but paid ~$75K in tuition. Now I haven't aggressively applied either. I don't think I've filled out more than 2 scholarship applications. You'll find that most scholarship amounts range from $500-$1000 meaning you'd need roughly 60 different applicatons per year. Granted there are $5K and higher scholarships available, but obviously harder to get considering the average GPA for entering students is already above 3.0 at most institutions and above 3.5 at USC.
 
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For the Stafford and Grad PLUS loans, did anyone happen to find a good lender that stands out from the rest? Or does it not really matter? The featured ones on the USC website all seem to offer the same fee rates, and 0.25% interest rate reduction for having automatic debits.

I called the USC Financial Aid office, and the person I spoke with said it would be easier to have the same lender for both my Stafford and Grad PLUS loans. I want to choose a lender I can stick with for the years to come as well, so any advice or help is appreciated. Thanks!
 
nevermind, my fiance was originally #58 on the waitlist and received his acceptance today. good luck to those still waiting!
 
itmakessense said:
nevermind, my fiance was originally #58 on the waitlist and received his acceptance today. good luck to those still waiting!
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wowww congrats!! I'm wondering, did he submit new grades or anything else? I'm also on the waitlist too...
 
He received the e-mail on Friday and we received the envelope Saturday...he was kind of confused and in disbelief because he didn't check his e-mail on Friday lol

He was missing econ and a communications course, which he finished up in May. He turned in the transcripts about two weeks ago. He also had his professor send in an academic letter of recommendation (he didn't have one from a professor up until then, only letters from lab jobs and a blood bank job).

I wish everyone still on the waitlist the best! I know how stressful it can be. :(



Does anyone happen to have a rough estimate of book costs per semester or year?
 
Hey guys, I am trying to get a parking permit now. I wonder if anybody is interested in carpool with me, I live close to Main and Atlantic in Alhambra. It takes 12min driving to HSC from google map. Please feel free to contact me here. Thanks!! :D
 
I am applying to USC for Fall 2010. I am still working on part I. I was wondering if any of you could copy and paste the essay questions from last year's supplement?

I would greatly appreciate it!!!
 
I just moved out of my apartment in San Diego.

I can't seem to find (on USC websites) where I would change the mailing address so they would stop sending mail to SD....

Anyone know!?
 
hi guys!

I have to order a white coat, and i'm not quite sure what size i should pick..

i wear 38 for suits btw... (male).

anyone kind enough to help?

thanks!
 
WurangBlang said:
hi guys!

I have to order a white coat, and i'm not quite sure what size i should pick..

i wear 38 for suits btw... (male).

anyone kind enough to help?

thanks!
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Should be the same. If you are close to campus, you can try them on at the bookstore. I think my suitcoats are 38R or 40R. My white coat is a 40 R
 
When will we be getting information about the top drugs that we should know or do we just look up that information ourselves?
 
Also whats the deal with these top drugs!!
 
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JilloJillyBean said:
When will we be getting information about the top drugs that we should know or do we just look up that information ourselves?
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You'll probably get an email in the next month or so with them. If the trend continues, you'll get Sigler drug cards either during orientation week or soon thereafter to study from. The first test covers the first hundred drugs and is usually late October. The second test covers the 2nd hundred drugs and is usually late march/early April. The best way to study for them is to get an intern job early and get experience. Other than that, it's pretty much just rote memorization. I made an excel spreadsheet with brand, generic, dosages, and class/use. You'll get more details on what's required once you start classes.
 
Vultron said:
Thats a good question!!! Can any upper level students tell us how to best prepare for our first year!!! What should we be doing this summer.. How do we buy our books and stuff.. What are the things we need to prepare for our first year!!! Do you suggest we start studying ahead and stuff!!! Thanks for you in put!!!!

I am sure farmercyst or some other upper level 2012 or 2011 can help!!!
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If you aren't up on Biochem, start now. First semester biochem is dry and boring, but you'll have to pass, so Kreb's cycle, and glucose metabolism should be started now. Know key enzymes (rate limiting steps).
For biosystems you'll be covering anatomy/physiology first year. Most major organ systems. Kidneys, heart, and lungs in second semester. Nervous system and liver(?) I think 1st semester. You'll have to memorize the cranial nerves again.
Medicinal chem, go back over functional groups, normal pH ranges. Start looking at Henderson-Hasselbach again. Lots of pH plots and finding isoelectricpoints and such.
Pharmacy practice pretty much drug quiz (see post above) and learning the immunization schedule. Starting to learn your Rx abbreviations and medical terminology would be helpful (if you don't have any experience in that already).

As for books. There are lots of "required" and "optional" books. For 1st year, I would suggest the "Berne & Levy" book (I don't remember the title, but probably pretty easy to google. It's an Anatomy/Physiology book. There's a case based book that also goes with BioSystems, but I never got it, so I don't know how useful it is in that class. Perhaps BigLebow could chime in on that. The pharmacy calculations book is good to have if you aren't so good at pharmacy math and want to follow along with the instructors calculations (2nd semester, so no rush) The rest, it just depends on how you study. I tend to get more out of lecture (and most tests are lecture-based anyway) so I've bought more books than I've actually used. I opened Berne/Levy and the Calcs book. I would have opened the compounding book (also 2nd semester) if there wasn't one on reserve in the library. I already had one of the books for MedChem from my undergrad, but never opened it during the semester.
I'm not sure I can find the book list they gave us, but I think that's about all I used. There's a book for Healthcare Delivery, but I'm not sure how necessary it is. I opened it and looked, and it helped when I did, but I don't think I'd say it's "necessary". During orientation week you'll be set up in "mentor groups" and will have access to upper-classmen where you can get a variety of opinions on what books to get, but this should get you started.
 
anyone planning on entering the dual pharmD/MBA program? is it worth it to spend the extra time on the MBA or just get the PharmD?
 
Farmercyst said:
You'll probably get an email in the next month or so with them. If the trend continues, you'll get Sigler drug cards either during orientation week or soon thereafter to study from. The first test covers the first hundred drugs and is usually late October. The second test covers the 2nd hundred drugs and is usually late march/early April. The best way to study for them is to get an intern job early and get experience. Other than that, it's pretty much just rote memorization. I made an excel spreadsheet with brand, generic, dosages, and class/use. You'll get more details on what's required once you start classes.
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I have 3 different prescription drug card sets that were given to me as good-bye presents from the pharmacy and the hospital I worked at. LoL. One of them happens to be Sigler's. Thanks for the info Farmercyst!
 
Here's the drug quiz from Fall 2007. I'm missing a few of the dosages.

I forget if the bold are what they gave us or what we had to fill in. Essentially you get either brand or generic and you fill in what's missing. The drug class is whatever's stated on the bottom corner of the sigler card (which you fill in) and then they give you 3 or 4 doses and you pick the one that is actually an available dose. (The correct one is the one I put on the side, I couldn't tell you what the other options were, but it's not really important.)
 

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Farmercyst said:
Here's the drug quiz from Fall 2007. I'm missing a few of the dosages.

I forget if the bold are what they gave us or what we had to fill in. Essentially you get either brand or generic and you fill in what's missing. The drug class is whatever's stated on the bottom corner of the sigler card (which you fill in) and then they give you 3 or 4 doses and you pick the one that is actually an available dose. (The correct one is the one I put on the side, I couldn't tell you what the other options were, but it's not really important.)
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Thanks Farmercyst!

Nice of you to help out the USC pharmacy school newbies :)
 
Books you need: (By need I mean I actually opened and read them numerous times)

1) Berne & Levy - Principles of Physiology
2) Ansel - Pharmaceutical Calculations

NOTE: No follow-up questions necessary. Get these two books (if you dont get them in advance, just order them online in the first week of school. YOU WILL BE OK IF YOU WAIT UNTIL THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL TO ORDER BOOKS ONLINE) and you can use class handouts and lecture packets for nearly everything else.
 
is it true that all lectures are recorded? if i have a voice recorder, will i be able to use it at all or is it pointless as lectures are recorded?
 
koercive said:
is it true that all lectures are recorded? if i have a voice recorder, will i be able to use it at all or is it pointless as lectures are recorded?
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Not all lectures are recorded, but I'm pretty sure all the lectures in your first semester are. I know for Pharmaceutics 1 they threatened to stop recording if attendance dropped below 80% and they followed through with that threat at about week 6. I don't remember if they record Biochem or not. Starting 2nd semester you switch classrooms with the 3rd years, and they get the recording. So the recorder will come in handy then if not before.
2nd year some instructors don't want to be recorded, so it'll be hit or miss from then on out.
 
I applied for the subsidized stafford loan as an incoming student, this is my first time applying for a loan of any sort. I submitted my form and got a confirmation from the school, but i have not been contacted by the lender. Aren't they suppose to contact me about the MPN (Master Promissory Note) that I am suppose to sign. Has anyone been contacted by their lender? how soon did they contact you? I am kinda stressed over this loan issue since it's the first time that i am doing it >< thank you.
 
Haleyzx said:
I applied for the subsidized stafford loan as an incoming student, this is my first time applying for a loan of any sort. I submitted my form and got a confirmation from the school, but i have not been contacted by the lender. Aren't they suppose to contact me about the MPN (Master Promissory Note) that I am suppose to sign. Has anyone been contacted by their lender? how soon did they contact you? I am kinda stressed over this loan issue since it's the first time that i am doing it >< thank you.
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from an e-mail from FAO, "With in the next couple of weeks your lender will send you e-mail to sign your master promissory note." if not, contact them directly
 
Wow this is one big thread. Nice to see the SC going strong. Fight on.

Btw for people that wonder about grants, they're available, but do not expect it first year (unless if you're one of the bright ones then you would've been offered it anyway).
 
I thought that I would post a reply about what I have learned about the student loans as a first timer at private school. Discover seems to have the best rates for the federal stafford loans-subsizided and unsubsizized. They have a 0% origination fee, which no other lender seems to have, and a 0% default fee, no prepayment penalty, and the standard 0.25% deduction for automatic payments. You also do not have to pay any monthly fee towards your loan while you are in school at least half time. This seems to be the best lender for Stafford loans to me. If anyone has found a better deal please post!
I'm now trying to figure out the best lender for grad plus loans. I know someone said the health professions loan has better rates, but you can only get this if your parents do not make a lot of money. So for those of us with rich, stingy parents, the grad plus loan will cover the rest (housing/food/medical/travel/etc.). My question is has anyone found a better rate for the grad plus loan than 8.5% with a 3% origination fee (YIKES!!!) At these rates I calculated that I will owe $38,000 in accrued interest by the time I graduate and $248,000 in student loans.
 
Haleyzx said:
I applied for the subsidized stafford loan as an incoming student, this is my first time applying for a loan of any sort. I submitted my form and got a confirmation from the school, but i have not been contacted by the lender. Aren't they suppose to contact me about the MPN (Master Promissory Note) that I am suppose to sign. Has anyone been contacted by their lender? how soon did they contact you? I am kinda stressed over this loan issue since it's the first time that i am doing it >< thank you.
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Same here.

I never got the MPN or an email from my lender, Wells Fargo.

Keep me updated!
 
Dysic said:
Same here.

I never got the MPN or an email from my lender, Wells Fargo.

Keep me updated!
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I chose Chase as my lender for both the Stafford and Plus loans. They sent me the MPN for both loans through regular mail. It took a month for them to send me an MPN after USC received my loan request form. My only complaint so far is that Chase told me to return the MPN using the envelope they included... but there was no envelope. This happened twice. I would call your lender and see what the status is of your loans.
 
I also went with Discover

I received my mpn 2 weeks later. Is the MPN supposed to contain the loan amounts? mine was just a single sheet with the terms of the loan
 
Hi, I was wondering if any of the accepted peeps are waiting on another school? or thinking about not attending? I'm still on waitlist for USC, but I'm losing hope...
 
spirospero18 said:
Hi, I was wondering if any of the accepted peeps are waiting on another school? or thinking about not attending? I'm still on waitlist for USC, but I'm losing hope...
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I'm withdrawing sometime next week. Good luck!:)
 
for the top 100 drugs, should we just start memorizing from the quicklist they sent us in the mail? It only lists generic + brand names (no dosage/main use).

I guess it would be good to memorize the top 100 drug names first before going into more details.


Since it's fill in, we don't need to actually recite the drugs in order I assume :confused:
 
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