<p>Any info on pre med at USC? How big are the intro classes and how good/interesting/fair are the professors? When does premed advising begin at USC? What are the stats on getting into med school? How cooperative/competitive are the students? What opportunities are there for shadowing doctors/clinical and volunteer work/research?</p>
<p>Pre-med classes are fairly large at USC. Biology ranges from 200-350 people, Chemistry from 100-200, Organic from 100-200, Physics from 50-100 and Calculus is ~60. Honors sections of Bio, Chem, Phys do exist and are capped at ~60.</p>
<p>Pre-med is just a set of ~10 classes anyone can take, you can pretty much advise yourself and if you’re a science major, most of the classes you need to take are already in your major. Your major advisor is not a pre-med advisor but they do exist and you can go see them if you need help.</p>
<p>This site has most of the answers to your questions:
[USC</a> Pre-Health Advising - Home](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/cas/Pre-Health/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/cas/Pre-Health/)</p>
<p>It is pretty competitive and you do have to work hard for As. You can approach a professor asking to work in their lab or you can take the 490 class which is directed research for credit.</p>
<p>War Chant,</p>
<p>Thanks very much for the specifics. This is very helpful. I also appreciate the link—so much useful info. From looking at the link, it looks like they are saying that the med school acceptance percentage in 2007 was around 50%–am I reading that correctly?</p>
<p>As a premed, how do you feel about the quality of teaching in the huge pre-med classes? Do you split up into smaller TA led groups to try to review the material? Are there available resources for students who are having difficulties? Do you feel you have had much time for a social life?</p>
<p>Also. we have heard that it can be hard to find a social group at USC unless you join a fraternity. True?</p>
<p>Thanks again for the info!</p>
<p>IMO, the numbers on that page seem low but they are from the AAMC so I guess they’re correct.</p>
<p>The quality of teaching depends on the professor, some are great and some you’re better off reading the textbook. They are generally very good though. TA’s don’t really review the material (except in math), they are pretty much only there for labs and grading stuff . They do have SI reviews pretty much every day, every week which are led by upperclass undergrads who did well in the course which are there to help you if you have questions. (Personally, I don’t really care for them and my time is better well spent, but to each his own.) </p>
<p>Yeah, I definitely have time for a social life. No, you don’t have to go greek to find a social group, there are plenty of people in the same situation.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, War Chant!</p>
<p>Do you feel you have opportunities and the time to get the research and/or volunteer/shadowing doctors experience that the med schools like to see in their applicants?</p>
<p>How is the driving to get to places in LA? I had always thought it could be easier to get around and to avoid traffic jams by not going on the highways, but I’m not sure about this. Son would love to drive over to the beach on Sundays (bringing his work, of course! 
), surf a little in the mornings, study a little on the beach, then play in the drum circle in the afternoon, and then study some more…as a pre-med major, does this sound like a wonderful fantasy to you or like something that might actually be doable?</p>
<p>KWMAMA
the beach sounds nice. haha. I’m not going to lie. it really depends on your son and how fast/well he absorbs the material. I know some people who are pretty relaxed and can still pull off A’s in the prehealth classes, while some people study so hard and still barely get a B. An important distinction between USC and other colleges you should consider, which I’ve finally come to realize, is that the USC science courses are lecture/lab and semester-style while UC’s have lecture and lab separate and quarter system. It may not seem clear at first but, in short, if you’re good at maintaining high grades on 6 or so tests (3 lecture+2lab +final) over an entire semester…USC is the way to go. If you don’t want nonstop exams every week (like USC), but accept the risk of just a midterm and a final, other college for the win. My friend who transferred from UCR to USC compares USC to a marathon while UC’s to a sprint. If you have any specific questions on the courses, feel free to PM me. I’m pretty much in the process of taking my last few pre-health classes.</p>