<p>Thanks for the info sportsmomma. My mom was planning to accompany me.</p>
<p>How were the interviews all 2/23’s?</p>
<p>Thanks, Sportsmomma for the information. I wish I had known this before I purchased airline tickets! Can you speculate as to how many candidates were there to interview on 2/23? Thanks so much.</p>
<p>I’d estimate about 30 students. My child was very nervous, but the interview was very conversational and the interviewers were very well informed (they had all really taken the time to read the application and formulate specific questions about things on it).</p>
<p>Sportsmomma - again Thanks! My daughter is pretty nervous as well, so any input is appreciated (as I’m sure you understand). </p>
<p>MyAlex - What day is your child interviewing? I think our kids will appreciate us just being there for moral support - even if we can’t do the tours with them. I’ve already done the USC tour, so I may just plan on meeting her after her tour or lunch. We’re not heading back home until Thursday (didn’t want to cut it too close on Wednesday afternoon) so we’ll have a mom/daughter evening to celebrate the relief of getting through the interview process!</p>
<p>Thanks, Sportsmomma for the information. My husband and I had wondered if all 30 candidates actually show up or not. I know several of the USC BA/MD hopefuls have also applied to Northwestern, Brown, etc.</p>
<p>My son is interviewing on March 9. We also have been on campus quite a bit, although we usually drive down. My son lived in the dorms for the month of July for the Future Physicians Summer Program. The campus is lovely, and I am sure we will keep busy. We are thinking about opening a bank account on that day! We generally stay at the Radisson across the street…very convenient.</p>
<p>Where did everyone get the information of the schedule and where to meet? Thus far, I have only received a confirmation for my interview. Is there something that comes in the mail?</p>
<p>Hello, Athene:</p>
<p>My son received an email about two weeks ago with the following schedule:</p>
<p>8:30 a.m. Check in at College of Academic Services (CAS 120)
9:00 a.m. Welcome session
9:30 a.m. Students depart for Keck School of Medicine
10:00 a.m. Tour of Keck with current medical students
11:15 a.m. Depart Keck for Main Campus
12:00 p.m. Lunch
2:00-4:30 p.m. Interviews</p>
<p>Interviews will last half an hour and a specific time will be assigned to you thr day of the program. Dress appropriately. Business attire is recommended.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Athene, </p>
<p>My daughter also received the same info in the mail. Same schedule as MyAlex but on March 2nd. </p>
<p>We leave on Tuesday - we’ll post some info after the interviews to let everyone know how the day went.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. Best of luck to the March 2nd interviewees!</p>
<p>By the way,how did USC manage to interview all 30 candidates in two and a half hours? was it panel judging or one to one with many separate rooms? How long were the interviews?</p>
<p>@Athene-- there were 3 person panels for each student and interview was about 30-40 minutes. Different panels and rooms for the students.</p>
<p>Oh wow, thanks sportsmomma.</p>
<p>We are here at USC for my daughters BACC/MD interview. </p>
<p>Arrived at the CAS building at 8:30 and picked up a packet with information and my D’s interview time (4 pm for her). At 9AM the students headed off for the Welcome Session and their tour of Keck. Parents were not included, but we were invited to meet the students at 12:00 and can participate in lunch if we like. </p>
<p>I don’t have a lot of information at this point…but I’m happy to respond to any questions :)</p>
<p>Hey don’t worry, the interviewers were very friendly and very nice 
Enjoy the tour!</p>
<p>Good luck to all 3/9 interviewees!</p>
<p>How did everyone’s interview go? Since we are all done, we can discuss! </p>
<p>Decisions will be mailed to us by the last week of March. Crossing fingers!</p>
<p>@ Athene: I was pleasantly surprised to hear how personal the interviews were. They had truly invested some time in thinking about what they wanted to ask, showing their familiarity with the whole application and whole person. Interesting and funny questions too. What did you think?</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with you sportsmomma. I really was expecting a “tell me about yourself”, “why do you want to become a doctor”, “how will this program help you?” and “tell me about the issues of the world” kind of general questions.</p>
<p>Instead they looked at my application and asked questions very related to my application. Of course there was the “how do your experiences relate to medicine question” and “how are you SURE that you want to go through the program” type of things, but overall, it was really easy to answer their personal questions. They really fitted their questions with the parts of you whole application (including the one you submitted to USC undergraduate) that they ultimately found interesting. They asked a lot about HOW you started your projects and WHY you started it. It seemed as if they were interested with your passion and creativity more than your “average” academic pursuit of good grades. </p>
<p>I think USC Bacc MD is unique in that they want people who have other interests. Other BaMD programs usually want people with straight science interests and good stats. I think USC allows you to cultivate, or even promote growth, your interests in other areas. So, I really hope to be in this program.</p>
<p>How was your S’s interview?</p>
<p>I am just consolidating additional stats:</p>
<p>Stillconfused:</p>
<p>SAT I Writing: 790, Math: 800, Verbal: 730
AP Calc AB: 5, Calc BC: 5, Bio: 5, Span Language: 5, English Lit: 4, European History: 4, Chemistry: 3
SAT II Math: 800, Biology: 730, Chemistry: 780, Spanish: 800</p>
<p>My AP scores are okay, but I’ve still done a lot of activities. I started a science club and a volunteer service club at my school and do a lot of research and some physician shadowing. </p>
<p>For the record, the interview is usually a 3-on-1, with you interviewing with a current Bacc/MD student (either undergrad or in medical school), a member of the admissions office of LAS and a doctor and/or faculty member at Keck. They all kind of ask you questions, so it’s not like a roundtable or anything.</p>
<p>Adding on:</p>
<p>Dr. Dodger Dog: GPA in HS was 4.0 unweighted 4.97 weighted and I had a 1560 on the SAT’s. SAT II Writing 800, Math IIC 790, Chem 780, Bio 770</p>
<p>LizardKing: GPA of 3.51 unweighted/3.8 weighted. But I had a 1600 SAT, 800 Writing SAT II, etc. I also had some good extracurrics that weren’t medical–stuff like winning speech contests and being an Amnesty rep.</p>
<p>“To get into these programs these days it’s almost mandatory to have over a 1500 SAT. If you interview well, you give yourself a tremendous advantage because most high schoolers aren’t that polished. Basically they’re looking for academically capable, mature students who know what they’re getting into.”</p>
<p>drkevin40: 4.0 hs gpa, and 4.7 weighted i think. 1550 sats, a few 800s SAT IIs but i don’t think they count that much. i was in leadership (complete BS and only popularity contest), started a service club, volunteered at convalescent home (actually liked doing that), but most of all, i was hardcore research. i was westinghouse and also a lot of other awards.</p>