2011-2012 Medical University of South Carolina Application Thread

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Originally Posted by docntrainin

Wow. Completely inaccurate and uncalled for.

Yeah, smells like a Troll to me. Look back at previous posts where "She" has edited the history of previous conversations and then puts out something like this.

bro sounds like he has some personal issues....guess he was upset about some people getting honors...

Originally Posted by Slow

H/P/F. No rank. No quartiles. Either you get honors or you're lumped with every other dummy in your class and might as well not try - which puts even more pressure on step 1. Step 1 is all you have if you don't have grades or ranks.

And correct, you can't get in-state after being there for a year. They expanded class size mostly with out of state admissions and made that rule to raise some more money. God help the 10+% of students who fail out of 1st or even worse 2nd year.

The MSTP program has a fancy facade with those empty new buildings but is crumbling under the heavy and clumsy hand of Pisano. Respected researchers are fleeing (to Stonybrook, etc).

USC Cola will give you a better actual medical education and save you tens of thousands or more. MUSC will cram you full of sensitivity training, cultural competence, and interprofessionalism training, bury you under a bureaucracy, treat you as a guinea pig in their "education" research papers, and neglect the core of our profession - physical diagnosis. It is full of combative faculty personalities trying to make names and research papers for themselves by implementing whatever zany idea they come up with, your education and well-being be damned. Ask the rural SC docs who take trainees from both places. Look around and see how MUSC brags about putting out tons of primary care docs - do you really think it's because they somehow will their students to go into primary care, or is it maybe because their students can't compete?

You probably won't let this dissuade you, it's just something you read on the internet anyway. Heck, it's still Charleston after all, no matter what the school is like. Just ask yourself some hard questions and be ready for what you're getting into.

I have no affiliation with USC-Cola.

Cool story breh...Carry on everyone else, MUSC is the bomb.

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

Status: Pre-Medical

...

Originally Posted by Slow

Status: Complete Tool

I didn't realize that because of my self-designated SDN status my comments are worthless. I have known quite a few people at MUSC who have said the exact opposite of what you claim. I also have worked and shadowed there, and find what you are saying extremely untrue.

I doubt you will find too many people on this thread who agree with you, as I think most of us are pretty excited about being accepted to MUSC and getting a chance to live in Charleston. There will always be a loner student or two, who would hate their school no matter what it is, however usually they don't go rain on other people's parades.

Perhaps tomorrow I will change my status to "physician" and then no one can ever disagree with me.

Originally Posted by Blankpages

bro sounds like he has some personal issues....guess he was upset about some people getting honors...

you got that one right

Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

I didn't realize that because of my self-designated SDN status my comments are worthless. I have known quite a few people at MUSC who have said the exact opposite of what you claim. I also have worked and shadowed there, and find what you are saying extremely untrue.

I doubt you will find too many people on this thread who agree with you, as I think most of us are pretty excited about being accepted to MUSC and getting a chance to live in Charleston. There will always be a loner student or two, who would hate their school no matter what it is, however usually they don't go rain on other people's parades.

Perhaps tomorrow I will change my status to "physician" and then no one can ever disagree with me.

2nd this statement and agree MUSC is a great college. I have known many students that have completed the COM program here and have never heard such disdain as you carry. Yes, MUSC is a teaching hospital that has many MDs progressing different research studies. I think the problem here is that in the working world you have to have to have a certain amount of political sense, which goes double for medicine these days. And judging from your rant on here working on this is probably something that could help you out a lot in the future.

Soo...didn't the committee meet and decide on acceptances yesterday for the December interviews? Has anyone heard anything?

Originally Posted by guitarguy23

Soo...didn't the committee meet and decide on acceptances yesterday for the December interviews? Has anyone heard anything?

got in! received the e-mail about half an hour ago.

Anyone else interviewing at MUSC on January 6?

I was put on hold; interviewed Dec 13th... I am IS, 2nd time applicant.

Is anyone familiar with the approximate % of people who get in once they're put on hold? Is it highly unlikely that I will get in?

Originally Posted by ahha3289

got in! received the e-mail about half an hour ago.

Congrats!!

Originally Posted by krifokalokairi

I was put on hold; interviewed Dec 13th... I am IS, 2nd time applicant.

Is anyone familiar with the approximate % of people who get in once they're put on hold? Is it highly unlikely that I will get in?

corrected: There are no published numbers for that transition

Originally Posted by sirmalcs

Congrats!!




I havn't heard a statistic for the On Hold status but once they complete the wait list in April they say about a 1/3 to 1/2 will make it in from that point. Were you wait listed last cycle?

Where did you get these numbers from? Just curious. I am IS first time applicant with competitive scores and was also wait-listed. My pre-health advisor told me to start making other plans because not many people get accepted off of the wait list. I hope she's wrong!

Originally Posted by krifokalokairi

I was put on hold; interviewed Dec 13th... I am IS, 2nd time applicant.

Is anyone familiar with the approximate % of people who get in once they're put on hold? Is it highly unlikely that I will get in?

I was put on hold last year with 3.8 GPA and 27 MCAT. Didn't get in... I haven't heard of any stats about how many on hold applicants get in. I'm actually not sure if they reject anyone during the application cycle or if they put everyone on hold until April.

Originally Posted by jadisMD

I was put on hold last year with 3.8 GPA and 27 MCAT. Didn't get in... I haven't heard of any stats about how many on hold applicants get in. I'm actually not sure if they reject anyone during the application cycle or if they put everyone on hold until April.

I assume everyone that makes it to an interview is either accepted or put On Hold.

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Originally Posted by sirmalcs

I don't know if they reject people during the cycle or not (I assume everyone that makes it to an interview is either accepted or put On Hold). Now, the applicants that are put On Hold during the cycle and dont make the cut off for the Wait List (which is made in April) are given their rejection letter. The Wait List is then divided into thirds, the first third has a good chance of getting in, the middle third has some chance, and the last third probably wont make it. This is what people were told last application cycle and can be viewed in last year's forum. I don't think they publish any hard numbers but hopefully this can help you out. If you are put on hold I would say keep working towards building up the weak points of your application so if you don't make it this cycle you will have more to offer with next year's application.

During my interview we were told by Dr. Deas that MUSC ranks in the top 10 "Most Popular Medical Schools". These rankings were based on the percentage of accepted students who went on to matriculate at that same program. I found an article that backs this up and also provides some numbers: http://www.musc.edu/catalyst/archive...calschool.html

Afterwards, Dr. Underwood mentioned that once interviews are complete in late Spring, a wait list is created from those applicants who are still under consideration (on hold). He went on to say that if one makes this wait list, "you have a great chance of getting in".

I'm speculating here, but given Dr. Underwood's comment, I doesn't sound like the wait list at MUSC is very extensive. Furthermore, the idea that MUSC is such a popular school among those who are accepted suggests there really isn't any need for a large wait list. While I have read that USC has a huge wait list (divided into thirds), I have no reason to believe the wait list at MUSC is the same. Good news, I suppose, for the "on hold" applicants who make the wait list in the Spring!

Originally Posted by sirmalcs

I don't know if they reject people during the cycle or not (I assume everyone that makes it to an interview is either accepted or put On Hold). Now, the applicants that are put On Hold during the cycle and dont make the cut off for the Wait List (which is made in April) are given their rejection letter. The Wait List is then divided into thirds, the first third has a good chance of getting in, the middle third has some chance, and the last third probably wont make it. This is what people were told last application cycle and can be viewed in last year's forum. I don't think they publish any hard numbers but hopefully this can help you out. If you are put on hold I would say keep working towards building up the weak points of your application so if you don't make it this cycle you will have more to offer with next year's application.

Originally Posted by casemw

During my interview we were told by Dr. Deas that MUSC ranks in the top 10 "Most Popular Medical Schools". These rankings were based on the percentage of accepted students who went on to matriculate at that same program. I found an article that backs this up and also provides some numbers: http://www.musc.edu/catalyst/archive...calschool.html

Afterwards, Dr. Underwood mentioned that once interviews are complete in late Spring, a wait list is created from those applicants who are still under consideration (on hold). He went on to say that if one makes this wait list, "you have a great chance of getting in".

I'm speculating here, but given Dr. Underwood's comment, I doesn't sound like the wait list at MUSC is very extensive. Furthermore, the idea that MUSC is such a popular school among those who are accepted suggests there really isn't any need for a large wait list. While I have read that USC has a huge wait list (divided into thirds), I have no reason to believe the wait list at MUSC is the same. Good news, I suppose, for the "on hold" applicants who make the wait list in the Spring!

Thanks! This is really helpful and makes a lot more sense. I am going to have gray hair by the time all of this is over... my stress levels have been through the roof!

Originally Posted by casemw

I'm speculating here, but given Dr. Underwood's comment, I doesn't sound like the wait list at MUSC is very extensive. Furthermore, the idea that MUSC is such a popular school among those who are accepted suggests there really isn't any need for a large wait list. While I have read that USC has a huge wait list (divided into thirds), I have no reason to believe the wait list at MUSC is the same. Good news, I suppose, for the "on hold" applicants who make the wait list in the Spring!

Nice research! I withdraw my previous statement and stand corrected... That is USC with the wait list broken into thirds... I remember seeing post from people last year that had been accepted to both SC schools (which probably happens alot) dropping their acceptance to USC in the April time frame. Hence the wait list movement there, not here. Spring Beach weather tends to blow people down towards Charleston I guess.

Sorry if this is a repost, but can anyone tell me if MUSC accepts updates and if so where to send them?

I'm a current student and wanted to clear up a few things that have been posted. More than anything else, please realize how kind and friendly the administration is here and how open they are to answering questions. When I had questions I simply called or emailed and always got a prompt reply, so whether it be about hold lists or when the next interview invites/acceptances are coming out or what grading/AOA selection is based on, don't hesistate to call and get an authoritative answer.

That said, here are my understandings...

First, disregard the tirade from a previous poster.

Grading is H/P/F, and no they don't do any ranking. On any given exam so far, roughly half the class received honors. As such, I don't understand why the previous poster was so upset about this and said it wasn't even worth trying. In a ranked system, anyone not honoring would be in approximately the 50th percentile anyhow assuming everyone put forth the same effort; would that presumably be more motivating? To each their own,I guess.

AOA selection for junior year is based on:
# of Honors received (4 themes, 4 semesters, so 16 possible)
Step 1
CV (includes research, volunteer, etc.)
Vote of current members

I sat down with the person in charge of this and he was very forthcoming with the answer and would likely be so with anyone else who wants to know too. Senior year selection is similar but with slightly different weighting and also includes 3rd year grades.

As far as the application process, I didn't even interview til early Feb and was accepted in late Feb, so obviously nothing was full by January. Most have already stated it, but admissions converts MCAT/GPA/EC/Interviews/etc into a single numerical score. At the end of the day, the top 170ish scores are offered acceptances. A number of early holds do get in later as they set the cutoff score higher early on so they don't overfill and then gradually adjust it down until they fill the class. Again, the top scores will be who are accepted and those immediately below placed on the wait list. I don't know if this holds true at the waitlist point, but I'm sure they would be happy to answer that. Every adcom member I spoke with was very forthcoming about the process.

Overall I've been very happy here and quite impressed with the quality of students and faculty. Sure, some are average and some are stellar just like you'd find anywhere else. I will agree with the earlier tirade that the physical diagnosis part of the curriculum could use some improvement, but doing so is not easy and there are many logistical hurdles in the way. Teaching what is essentially an art on a mass scale requires time and what amounts to apprenticeship, and time is scarce and so are mentors. That said, I've found faculty very open to additional help and teaching outside of class. Want to learn a particular exam maneuver? Email that department and ask to shadow a resident or attending for a couple hours so you can learn. I've yet to be turned away and have had some great experiences this way.

Yes, they do subject us to a some sensitivity training and cultural competancy lectures, but this is really a problem in medicine according to literature. Whether these little sessions are the answer is another thing. My personal feeling is that the douches who really need it think it's stupid and those who don't need it find it silly and just common sense. Since reimbursements are already being tagged to patient satisfaction, not being a tool may end up being a very valuable skill to learn. I know of community hospitals that are already laying off physicians or revoking priviledges for poor treatment of staff and patients and I feel the trend will only continue.

Well this has turned into a loooooong post. Sorry. This is a really good school though and I haven't found any impediment that keeps me from learning what I want to know. Good luck to all going through the hellacious and stressful process of applying, and I hope to see many of you here in the fall.

Can anyone tell me more about the "outside interview"? I am OOS and am flying back to TX the evening of my interview day. Will I have to fly back to SC?

Originally Posted by bailarun8

Can anyone tell me more about the "outside interview"? I am OOS and am flying back to TX the evening of my interview day. Will I have to fly back to SC?

Nevermind, I got the info from last year's thread. As long as it's the same, I should be good. Someone said that you could have a local interview if you are IS or if there are alumni in your area. I also got the impression that I would have been told if I needed to schedule a local interview. Anyone heard anything different?

Originally Posted by bailarun8

Nevermind, I got the info from last year's thread. As long as it's the same, I should be good. Someone said that you could have a local interview if you are IS or if there are alumni in your area. I also got the impression that I would have been told if I needed to schedule a local interview. Anyone heard anything different?

Yes, the local interviews are for IS students who have local alumni. All else will have 3 interviews during their day at MUSC.

Originally Posted by wsaedalney

Yes, the local interviews are for IS students who have local alumni. All else will have 3 interviews during their day at MUSC.

Exactly this. I still had 3 interviews on campus even though I am IS because no alums are in my area. They will attach contact info with the email for a local alum interview, if you have one. If not, expect 3 on interview day. Good luck! You'll do great.

Just curious: what is the interview schedule like here? Does anybody know how many people interview per day, and how many days per week interviews are conducted?

Originally Posted by OSU12

Sorry if this is a repost, but can anyone tell me if MUSC accepts updates and if so where to send them?

Anyone answer this question?

Originally Posted by pp77

Just curious: what is the interview schedule like here? Does anybody know how many people interview per day, and how many days per week interviews are conducted?

The interview day goes from around 8:30 to 4, if I remember correctly. There were about 15 or so people on the day that I interviewed. I think they said they only interview on Friday, but I could be wrong. Good luck!

Originally Posted by woo

Anyone answer this question?

I would call the office and ask. They are so nice!

Originally Posted by pp77

Just curious: what is the interview schedule like here? Does anybody know how many people interview per day, and how many days per week interviews are conducted?

My interview day began around 8:30 am on a Friday. As far as I know, Friday is the only day of the week they conduct interviews. We met in the admissions office for drinks and pastries before going over our interview schedule, the curriculum, the admissions process, and financial aid - all that took about an hour and a half.

I believe everyone (there were 16 of us) had two interviews between 10 am and 12:30ish pm. Some of the interviewers take longer than others, so everyone was on their own schedule for few hours. Those who had not already completed a local interview were scheduled for an additional interview after lunch.

Since some interviewees finished before others, a couple different tours of the college (meeting in the admissions office) were led by current students. After the tours, all the interviewees joined up for lunch around 1 o'clock. In an effort to reduce stress, they made it a point to mention that no one from the admissons committee would be eating lunch with us. There were a few current students who also joined us for the free meal.

If we did not have to complete a third interview that day, we were free to go after lunch. I was back in my car by 2 o'clock.

Does anyone know the details of the first year schedule? What time do classes begin/end, break for lunch/resume, and are any days different than others?

Has anyone started looking for housing yet? If so, are you all mostly looking downtown or in surrounding areas as well?

Originally Posted by xlcooplx

Has anyone started looking for housing yet? If so, are you all mostly looking downtown or in surrounding areas as well?

my 2 cents: live downtown. there are affordable apartments very close to the MUSC campus and then you have the luxury of enjoying the culture and nightlife of the peninsula whenever you want. also, if you want to put in a long, late day at the library, your apartment is a short walk away as opposed to a 20+ minute drive. having lived in mt pleasant and commuted downtown every day for 2 years, i would advise against it. mt pleasant is a nice place to live, but the traffic is terrible unless you live right next to the bridge (and that ain't cheap). you could try james island, but, again, the commute isn't great. also factor in parking, gas, etc.

Originally Posted by ahha3289

my 2 cents: live downtown. there are affordable apartments very close to the MUSC campus and then you have the luxury of enjoying the culture and nightlife of the peninsula whenever you want. also, if you want to put in a long, late day at the library, your apartment is a short walk away as opposed to a 20+ minute drive. having lived in mt pleasant and commuted downtown every day for 2 years, i would advise against it. mt pleasant is a nice place to live, but the traffic is terrible unless you live right next to the bridge (and that ain't cheap). you could try james island, but, again, the commute isn't great. also factor in parking, gas, etc.

Thanks for the input! I still was lingering on deciding between James Island/West Ashley or being downtown. I guess it's easy to do so when you can find nicer apartments off of the peninsula for the same cost of staying downtown. But coming from someone who has commuted, I'll take your word for it. Now to start looking at apartments downtown...

II for this coming friday! OOS, i'm hoping for some luck because this program seems amazing.


could someone post the link to the page that shows the interview feedback, where people posted how it went for them? thank you!!!

Originally Posted by Lets Get Free

II for this coming friday! OOS, i'm hoping for some luck because this program seems amazing.


could someone post the link to the page that shows the interview feedback, where people posted how it went for them? thank you!!!

nevermind, that was easy to find: http://www.studentdoctor.net/schools/school/musc

can anyone here shine light on how their MD/PHD interviews went?

Originally Posted by casemw

Does anyone know the details of the first year schedule? What time do classes begin/end, break for lunch/resume, and are any days different than others?

I'm an MS4, there have been countless changes to the curriculum overall, but hours are pretty much the same as when I went through pre-clinical years.

Usually 8-12, hour for lunch then usually 2 hours after lunch. Dissection lab was 3 days per week in the afternoon for about 3 hours (although might be slightly different as we did all of anatomy in 1 semester back then).

If any of y'all have other questions, feel free to PM me and I'll answer them as I can. Pretty much done interviewing, so have a bit more time on my hands these days.

Good luck to all of you during interview season! I remember how exciting that time was for me.

Opps. Edited below... still getting the hang of this site

Originally Posted by OSU12

Sorry if this is a repost, but can anyone tell me if MUSC accepts updates and if so where to send them?

Also wondering about this...

Does anybody know when January interviewees should expect to hear from MUSC?

Too bad, i really wanted a chance to visit Charleston

Did anybody get an acceptance/hold this past Friday?

Originally Posted by pp77

Does anybody know when January interviewees should expect to hear from MUSC?

Admissions commitee is meeting today (1/31/2012) and decisions for January interviewees are emailed out tomorrow (2/1/2012)

Originally Posted by CyborgF2K10

Admissions commitee is meeting today (1/31/2012) and decisions for January interviewees are emailed out tomorrow (2/1/2012)

Good luck to all those that interviewed and are waiting to hear back!

Originally Posted by CyborgF2K10

Admissions commitee is meeting today (1/31/2012) and decisions for January interviewees are emailed out tomorrow (2/1/2012)

Does the admission committee usually meet at the end of the month and make a decision? I have an interview here on March 16th, and I need to know my status by April 1st.

They met at the end of the month when I interviewed. Assuming that they are still on schedule, I would assume it to be the same.

Originally Posted by Inkoate

Does the admission committee usually meet at the end of the month and make a decision? I have an interview here on March 16th, and I need to know my status by April 1st.

Last year they met at the end of March on the 29th for those who interviewed in March. They then met on April 6th to form the final acceptance list and waitlist. Why do you need to know by the 1st, a deposit?

Originally Posted by sirmalcs

Last year they met at the end of March on the 29th for those who interviewed in March. They then met on April 6th to form the final acceptance list and waitlist. Why do you need to know by the 1st, a deposit?

Not exactly the 1st, but it would help because deposits for me are due in early april. Plus, I'm going on a big trip in mid april, and I want to have my mind made up about my future plans.

Originally Posted by Inkoate

Does the admission committee usually meet at the end of the month and make a decision? I have an interview here on March 16th, and I need to know my status by April 1st.

They meet on the last Tuesday of every month and send our their decisions the following day. So for March of this year, admissions committee will meet on the 27th and email the interviewees on the 28th.