<p>has anybody NOT gotten a letter yet?</p>
<p>hey guys
did everyone who got a letter get some kind of scholarship too?
i was just wondering. i got a letter and not that i was expecting any scholarship but i dont know anything about it/requirements etc. i was wondering if i should expect anything or if it means i didnt get one
thanks!</p>
<p>oops i meant the letter regarding the interview</p>
<p>btw, CALIFORNIA wooohoo :D</p>
<p>oh smack, rejection for me</p>
<p>i still have no letter!</p>
<p>m e n e i t h e r ! ! !!!!</p>
<p>ehhh lemme get some of that disappointment...no interview fer me either :(</p>
<p>How prestigious is the USC Bac/MD program??? How good is it in relation to other direct-med programs?</p>
<p>Congrats to all those who got an interview. I'm really excited to meet you guys and hopefully, get to know you better. USC has it's ups and downs but no one ever regrets BacMD....it's hard to have garantees in life so grab them when you get them!</p>
<p>whoa....I'd have to disagree with the above statements. I don't believe USC is looking of slackers or simply those who will stay. As a student who have seen their acceptance criteria, I feel that USC wants a well-rounded student who wants more then slaving over biology in their undergrad years. They look for people who will travel, write, improve the LA neighborhood, etc. Many of the former BacMDers I know did apply out and they did go to places like Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Harvard, etc. Actually, a lot of people apply out but they still leave wonderful legacies for USC. The point is, premed is hard. Medical school is often harder and then you have residency, fellowship, etc. If you get into the program, you should probably take it because where else will you get that garantee? Where else can you feel safe doing everything you want to do and still get into a good med school?</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the interview is like?</p>
<p>yah..can anyone help us out?
CC24, what day are u going? im going this wednesday
do they ask on the spot questions like ethics or w/e b/c their application was the hardest one i'd ever done lol... well it took the longest</p>
<p>I'm going on Wednesday too.</p>
<p>Do we need to bring sleeping bags if we are going to be hosted?</p>
<p>My interview was last Wednesday. It was...strange to say the least. My interviewers asked less about me, about why I would fit there, blah blah. They asked more about what I thought about the program and about being a doctor in general. "What makes a doctor a leader?" "why do you think USC even has this program?"</p>
<p>What I think killed me was when I told them I was interested in the OB/GYN specialty. They asked me why, of course, and I said something cheesy like I wanted to help out with ... ugh. It was cheesy. Whatever. And they killed me with, "That's very nice and all. But what about the dark side? What if the baby's born stillborn? What if it's missing limbs? What can you do to help the mother, then?"</p>
<p>And then in the ensuing silence, one of the interviewer's stomach growled.</p>
<p>For me, there was a faculty member and two medical students. I heard in some other interview rooms, the students weren't even in the medical field. I think at least one of them is going to be a Bac/MDer, though. </p>
<p>Oh yes. There's also the inevitable, "Why do you want to be a doctor?" question.</p>
<p>And I saw people with sleeping bags, so I guess you have to bring it. I wasn't hosted so I'm not fully sure.</p>
<p>Hey guys. To clarify things...you do need to bring your own sleeping bag, towel, etc. The interviews are conducted by two or three people. Usually, one is a faculty member either here at USC or at Keck School of Medicine. The other two are either medical students or Seniors in the BA/MD program. They tend to throw a lot of random questions at you but it's ok to answer "I don't know". Finally, read your application the night before your interview. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Student interviewers tend to be juniors or seniors in the Bac/MD program. There isn't a guideline to what questions they ask so when I did interviews I asked things that 1) said what kind of person they were and 2) elucidated how sincere they were in their application.</p>
<p>For example, if someone said they published research or worked on a project, I asked them basic questions to see how involved they really were. Know what you wrote about. Everyone says that they have been interested in medicine since they were little, so I asked them to talk about some topic relevant to medicine today. Any topic. I mean, you could even talk about how long you spend in the waiting room for a doctor's appointment and why you think that's a problem. One guy bombed this question in a big way and it was super awkward...but I think it's a fair question because when you interview for a competitive program, you have to bring it.</p>
<p>A few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How long are the interviews?</p></li>
<li><p>When you mention juniors and seniors as student interviewers, does that mean students who are about to graduate as MDs, or students who are working towards their undergraduate degree?</p></li>
<li><p>If there is no structure to the interviews, how are decisions finally made about admissions? Is the decision made by faculty/staff, based on their observations at the interviews, or do the students hand in an evaluation sheet for each person they interview?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there MDs on the admissions staff, and do they actually read student essays and applications?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Things may have changed, but this is how it worked when I did interviews:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Interviews are about 30 min.</p></li>
<li><p>The students are usually undergrads, although when I interviewed back in the day I got a med student.</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone has a copy of your file (grades, essays, teacher's recommendation, application). Remember that stuff you answered about favorite books and whatnot? We got that too. Then there's the usual Why Medicine, Why USC questions. Basically in an interview you get judged on how articulate you are, whether or not you'd be a good addition to the class. Evidence of leadership skills is a plus. Since the questions may not directly apply to your schoolwork, it's up to you to incorporate how awesome you are (ex: Yes, Foo Fighters is my favorite band...when I organized the Toys for Tots gift rally we had it blasting on loud speakers). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>At the end of the day, interviewers may be asked to rank the applicants they saw personally. So you want to be on top of your pool. BUT competitive *******s who ask everyone who got what SAT score are frowned upon. So keep your gunnerism to yourself. Student interviewers are also asked if they would like this applicant in their class.</p>
<ol>
<li>I'm not sure how the actual admissions decision work. Students are not involved in that. You can have a great interview and still not make it for various reasons, plus there's a lot of other qualified people applying. </li>
</ol>
<p>Lastly, it's better to be truthful than to tell an obvious lie. If you're a stellar applicant with amazing scores and they ask you where else you applied, don't name University of Small Backup School and leave out the ivies. It's fine to say yeah, I just got into Harvard...BUT my heart is really set on USC because _________. Any potential negative should be spun into a positive.</p>
<p>did anyone get anything yet?
do they send it by mail only?</p>