I recently got accepted to BU and USC. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of the two schools? Where should I go?
You need your head examined if you are seriously considering BU over USC. Why would you put up with all the attitude, pretense, and nasty ma$sh0les, all in the crappiest weather in the nation. And don't get me started on traffic, especially in the winter when you lose half the driving lanes because the snow never gets removed in the city. And you can't depend on public transportation because bus/subway drivers regularly skip stops when things get congested, especially in the winter.
The clinical experience at BU is extremely cut-throat because of the limited patients and operatories; and for lectures, students only show up if the professor takes attendance that particular day. I've sat in lectures with fewer than 15 students, out of a possible 190, even though BU dental's official policy is that attendance at all lectures is mandatory.
Even if you attend 99% of all lectures (like I did), you may learn stuff, but the quality of instruction is pretty poor on average (probably influenced by the dismal attendance), especially by the medical school faculty that teach all of the general science/medical courses. Your success on exams relative to your classmates is entirely dependent on access to this or previous years' exam. Every year, the previous class passes down a CD/DVD with a collection of old exams. Other, more recent exams are distributed on a more restritive level, and having access to a particular exam can mean the difference between an A and an F, no exaggeration. That school's program is a mockery of education, ethics, and academic integrity. And Boston is way overrated.
And don't even get me started on APEX. It can be 5 months of hell as an indentured servant, or if you've got connections it could be 5 months of vacation.
USC for sure. BU is all show and theater. I was very shocked and disappointed with my education there.
Or if half your immediate family died: the Dean tells you to submit your leave of abscence for the year by the end of the week (no refunds for tuition of course), or face expulsion for missing mandatory lectures and labs. Who cares about your dead relatives, I'm keeping your money, prolonging your graduation, and going to charge you even more.