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School Rankings » University of South Carolina School of Medicine
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
  • Year founded: 1974
  • ENROLLED TOTAL: 100
  • School Website: View Site >
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
Allopathic Medical School
Columbia, SC
  • SDN RANKING 2
  • INTERVIEW FEEDBACK 3 67 Responses
  • SCHOOL REVIEWS 3 1 Responses

Overview

Overview

School Stats

  • Resident Tuition $43,428
  • Non - Resident Tuition $88,494
  • Application Fee $95
  • AVG MCAT 505
  • AVG GPA 3.6
  • LIZZYM Score 64.3
The LizzyM Score is a measure of your compatibility with a school. Learn More >

Crime: Detailed Stats >

Admissions Information

  • Admissions and Enrollment Services
  • Building 3, Room 101
  • 6311 Garners Ferry Road
  • Columbia, SC 29208
  • United States

School Overview

University of South Carolina School of Medicine Fast Facts

Application Service
Situational Judgment
None

School Info

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine is dedicated to the goals of preparing students in the art and science of medicine and providing them with a background for further post-graduate training in a variety of fields of medicine. The four-year curriculum consists of basic science courses and clerkships in applied clinical medicine.

Curriculum

The four-year curriculum consists of basic science courses and clerkships in applied clinical medicine. All students complete a specific set of courses during the four years. Elective opportunities are available throughout the curriculum to assist students in pursuing individual interests and career goals.

Facilities

Palmetto Health Richland is a public, not-for-profit, regional community teaching hospital with 649 inpatient beds devoted to medical, surgical, pediatric, cardiac, psychiatric, and obstetric and gynecologic care. The hospital also supports the Level One trauma center for the region, a neonatal intensive care unit, and special care and newborn nursery units, as well as Palmetto Health`s South Carolina Cancer Center. Outpatient services total more than 284,000 visits annually. The Family Practice Center sees approximately 40,000 patients each year; approximately 72,000 patients are treated annually in the Emergency Department. Palmetto Health Richland`s affiliations with the Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute support diversified residency training programs in dental education, emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, pediatrics, and general psychiatry, child/adolescent psychiatry and fellowship programs in endocrinology, forensic psychiatry, geriatrics, hyperbaric medicine, and sports medicine.

Interview Feedback

Interview Feedback

Results Overview

How did the interview impress you?

Response # Responders
Positively 57
Negatively 1
No change 7

What was the stress level of the interview?

Response Avg # Responders
3.20 65

0 = low, 10 = high

How you think you did?

Response Avg # Responders
8.10 52

0 = low, 10 = high

Select Questions & Recent Responses

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"Do a better job with the Ultrasound Institute demonstration. The M2s on my tour did their best, but a demonstration from an instructor would be much better and more impressive." More from this Member | Report Response

"They put on a great presentation. No negative comments" More from this Member | Report Response

"Switch to online secondary." More from this Member | Report Response

"Develop an online application. This is the only school to which I applied that I had to fill out and mail a paper application." More from this Member | Report Response

"Everyone is really helpful and welcoming." More from this Member | Report Response

"They have been really kind and helpful." More from this Member | Report Response

"Could be online secondary and payment." More from this Member | Report Response

"electronic secondary" More from this Member | Report Response

"Online Secondary." More from this Member | Report Response

"Online secondary? Had to print it out and hand write responses!" More from this Member | Report Response

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?

"Tell me about yourself" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Know all your activities you listed on AMCAS. Have specific examples if they ask for significant memory from an activity. Know how to respond if they ask how the experience impacted you and what you learned from it or how it influenced your decision to pursue medicine. My interviewers basically ran through my "Work & Activities" section with me and that's what we talked about." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe what you look for in a physician." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"As an OOS student with no ties to USC Greenville, why did you choose this school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your research..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think is the biggest problem facing the U.S. healthcare system today?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why did you choose the university you did for undergrad?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What sets you apart from all of the other applicants?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What drives you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the strongest/weakest part of your application?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the one patient experience you have had that made you want to be a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is something that you'd want me to tell the other committee members about you that is not covered in your application or that I haven't already asked you about?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I pretty much got every question that was already posted on this site! I was definitely prepared... I got the one about who would you save if you had to choose btwn the mother, daughter, and father...my interviewer did put a lil twist on it though and said that you were actually able to save the mom and the daughter...what would you tell the wife if she asks if you'd not saved her would he still be here. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Is healthcare a right or a privledge?--I said it was a right--followup: How could you convince someone who says its a privledge that its a right? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Medicine? Why USC?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Is healthcare a right or a privilege?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Do you think the healthcare systems of many European countries would work in America?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me why you want to be a physician." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Is Medicine a Right or a Privilege?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Who was most influential in your decision to enter medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to come to USC?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the major crisis in healthcare today and how could you fix it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Say a man with HIV comes in and is on medicaid for his treatment. He also gets a disability check every month. However, you know he is controlling his HIV very well, and goes to work out 45 minutes at the gym everyday, so he is clearly not disabled. What do you do? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why should the admissions commitee choose you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"what is your definition of the health care crisis?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to become a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you do for fun?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your research." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your weakest point?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What will you do if you are not accepted to medical school? and Why should we accept you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I see you are the president of Alpha Epsilon Delta, exactly what have you done as president so far? (specific achievements)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Discuss your medical experiences and how each either influenced or discouraged your pursuit of medicine." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"tell me about your research" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What field do you want to go into? -be sure to answer this question that (even though you know what field you want to go into) you are remaining open-minded throughout all rotations (my first interviewer was great and coached me on how to answer questions to impress the next interviewer)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Questions are very standard... in fact, they used some that I remember seeing in the Princeton Review Best 162 Medical Schools." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why USC/Why should we pick you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think about your MCAT scores?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What books have you been reading lately?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Explain your research experience." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"questions about life-style, how you handle stress and what you do to prepare" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What makes you unique?/ Why should we pick you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What book have you read lately? Tell me about it." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why should we accept you when we have so many other qualified candidates? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the biggest problem facing healthcare today?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How I decided on medicine" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to be a doctor... Why medicine instead of some other health care profession... Why do you specifically want to be a doctor and not a nurse or some other position?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why USC?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why did your choose medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If a patient came to you for an abortion, would you be able to do it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to be a doctor? (I gave an answer relating to service.) Why is service a good thing / why do you want to do it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to be a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What kind of volunteer experiences do you have?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What was the last book you read?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"THERE'VE BEEN TIMES WHEN YOU'VE HAD TO GO HOME TO HELP YOUR FAMILY-DO YOU EXPECT THESE ISSUES TO COME UP WHILE IN SCHOOL?; HOW WILL YOU NOT PROJECT YOUR FAITH/VIEWS ON OTHERS? WHAT WAS A HARD DECISION YOU HAD TO MAKE? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why usc school of med?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Even though you scored very well on the MCAT science sections, do you think you could pass Biochemistry?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about _____ class that you took. What was it about?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How did you decide on medicine? Why do you think you would like a particular area of medicine over another?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you do about the 9/11 attacks? (I was asked this by an interviewer and also by a patient at the V.A. hospital who insisted we should just bomb Afghanistan off the face of the planet)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"They will ask questions about your background, coursework,grades, interests & experiences." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Very very specific questions from my application!" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Are you an anxious person/how do you manage stress?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Are you interested in medical activism or law?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Many 2nd generation physicians tend to have very negative and entitled attitudes about medicine. As the child of a physician, how to you plan to prevent this in yourself?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your greatest fear?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Are you on any medications?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Do you believe that healthcare is a right or a privilege?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about a time you disappointed your parents..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Let's say each thing you do in life represents a tomato plant and your life is the tomato garden. Time is your fertilizer and water. Would you try to let all survive but wilt a bit or let others die for some to thrive?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How did you study for the MCAT?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"*If you took the time to use these interview feedbacks to help you prepare, take the time to fill one out for the next person. Don't be selfish.* Nothing too out of the way...What's something you had to overcome in your life?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Questions from my personal statement" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you think you'll be able to adjust to all the work in medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"You are a doctor in an ER. A car is hit by a drunk driver. A family comes in (Father, Mother, 7 yr-old Daughter). You can only save two of the three. Which two do you chose and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I am a reapplicant and I was asked to comment on why I thought I didn't get in last year and why I think I'm a better candidate this year." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could have dinner with any author, who would it be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why did you leave a successful career to pursue medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could invite 3 people to dinner who would you invite?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"My interviewer asked me how going abroad helped me learn about myself." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Who is your hero? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"One of my interviewers started talking about a documentary on Rome when I mentioned my interest in history. Had I seen it, I'm sure the conversation would have been much more interesting. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"You have some much research experience...why medicine and not research?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"''It takes more than a thirst for knowledge to be a good doctor'' Please elaborate on this quote from your personal statement." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your definition of ''health care crisis''? What can be done about it/solutions?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could invite three people (living or dead) to dinner, who would they be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Most questions were fairly straight forward and turned into conversations at times. A lot of questions were asked regarding my current graduate work in public health. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How is your mother?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What should be done to fix the nation's healthcare crisis?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you want me to say about you to the admissions committee to persuade them to accept you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"..I was out of state with a connection of my father attending med school, residency, and graduate work at USC SOM so it was clear he is a doctor... "What quality do you have that will make you a better doctor than your father?"" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"if you could invite three people to dinner, living or dead, who would they be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"how do you settle conflict?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I was asked to describe my research in laymans terms (as if this can be done). " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What makes a good/bad doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you deal with stress? and Do you visit the theatre often?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could invite any three people to dinner past or present who would they be. What would you talk about with each one?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why should we chose you over the other qualified applicants?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could be any kitchen appliance what would you be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What can I say to you that will make you want to come to our school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What was your favorite non-science class you've taken?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were any type of cell, what would you be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could be any type of cell, what Type of cell would you be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"none really - mostly general questions about myself and the path i've chosen" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If your best friend told you that she was homosexual, and wanted you to march in a gay pride parade, would you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think about the situation in the middle-east? The new Newsweek's cover features an article on sex selection--how do you feel about this practice?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What qualities make for a good physician?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Would you be a patient in your own office?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What motivates you? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF; WHAT DO YOU DO TO RECHARGE YOURSELF?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"i dont remember many specific q's" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Compare medicine to romanticism." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I was asked what I felt an applicant being selected for acceptance should have and what qualities I possessed." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What two people would you like to invite to dinner, living or dead?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"One interviewer would give me two choices and ask me to pick one, such as "democrat or republican," "leader or follower," then he would sometimes ask me to explain why." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I was asked who my heros are." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

View All Questions & Responses

Individual Responses

Read what each person had to say about their experience with this school.

Browse Individual Responses

School Reviews

School Reviews

Results Overview

Overall, how satisfied are you with this program?

Response Avg # Responders
6.00 2

0 = Terrible, 10 = World Class

What do you like most?

"Some of the faculty are very friendly and approachable." | Report Response

"The school is about the student, we are the most important thing there." | Report Response

What do you like least?

"The scheduling for tests is completely horrendous. Unnecessary stress is added on by stacking completely unrelated material typically inside of two weeks." | Report Response

"Avoidable stressful situations due to scheduling of tests and other requirements within a short amount of time." | Report Response

View All Questions & Responses


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About the LizzyM Score

LizzyM, SDN Moderator and medical school admissions committee member, is the inventor of the LizzyM Score. The score allows you to see if you are a competitive applicant at a given school. If your LizzyM Score is far below or above the average, you may not be a good fit. If your score is far below, your application may be screened out due to numerical cutoffs. If it is far above, the school may assume they are your “safety” school and that you won’t attend if they offer an acceptance. This score should be used only as a guide to help you select schools and is not a guarantee of acceptance at any school. If you use this as your sole criteria to select medical schools to apply to, you don’t deserve to get in anyway.

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About the SDN Ranking

SDN Ranking identifies how SDN members perceive the quality of a school relative to other schools of the same type (e.g., other Medical Schools, other Dental schools, etc.). Schools are ranked from 1, perceived as much worse than other schools, to 5, perceived as much better than other schools.

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