Elaine Said:

Nursing or Medicine for a US Citizen in College in the Philippines?

We Answered:

I'd like to say Nursing, because in the Philippines you have to have a pre-Med course before you can actually get into Medicine. Nursing is a pre-Med course, so if you graduate and decided to become a Doctor, you can still pursue it, or if you ran out of money, Nursing is a pretty high paying job in the US, you can work as a Nurse and save up to continue being a doctor.

I am a Filipina living in the US, not a nurse but in a family with a lot of nurses.

Rodney Said:

transferring to USC from community college?

We Answered:

Yes, it is possible to transfer to USC from community college.
http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergradua…

Clayton Said:

Can you go to school full time while in the Air Force?

We Answered:

Your allowed 2 classes a semester... The air force is a full time job.


No such thing as "Air Force reserves"

Paul Said:

Deciding on a School for Physical Therapy?

We Answered:

you would have to enter into a tDPT program. Many are online. They generally are 2 years but they allow you to work. I would do a DPT from the start. I got my initial PT degree 20 years ago. I did a tDPT program. It took about 18 months. The program was only in existence for 5 years. They felt whoever was going to attend did. The enrollment dropped from over a hundred to less than 20 for the last year.

Veronica Said:

To USC Doctor of Physical Therapy students: I got an email inviting me to an open house. What does this mean?

We Answered:

Although I'm not a USC student, my impression is that they are likely to invite all candidates, or at least the ones that meet the minimum requirements. Unless they said they are actually going to sit down and conduct formal interviews, I would see this more as a chance for them to get a first impression of you and for you to tour the campus. Although, according to USC's website, they do not conduct formal interviews. So, I would see this as a general advertising opportunity.

Remember, that having a PT program is still a business. They want you to come if you are a good applicant. They also want to fill all their available seats. Many state schools loose top applicants to higher tier schools, so this may be an opportunity for the school to attract them.

If you are debating on weather or not to go, I'd at least call the school and ask them what is the objective of the open house. If they just say it's to tour the campus and see the school, then I would not question missing it. If they say it's to get to know you better and place a name with a face on your application, then I would recommend you go.

Samantha Said:

Should i go to USC or UCLA if they well cost about the same for me?

We Answered:

Hi, I'm a UCLA alum and my best friend went to USC -

First off, congratulations on your acceptance! Very cool. I hope you also get into UCLA.

It would be an extremely unusual situation in which USC could ever end up costing the same as UCLA... USC costs in excess of $55,000 (http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/sfs/page/4591/e… whereas UCLA is less than half that - (http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/…

If you qualify for that much aid at USC, you'd almost surely qualify for at least some aid at UCLA, which means that your overall cost of attending is still going to be less at UCLA. Wait to hear back from them before you make any decisions based on that.


All things being equal, though...
USC is a great school, but now that I live in another state, I can definitely say that it is nowhere near as well known outside of the west coast, so keep that in mind if you might ever want to live somewhere else. I think the further east you go, the fewer people are familiar with USC, whereas pretty much everyone in the country knows UCLA's name and reputation.

For your purposes, I can't speak to the quality at USC, but UCLA's sciences can't be beat, and the cool thing about pre-health courses is that right there on the south edge of campus are a med school, several hospitals and research facilities. It is definitely rigorous (I was on that course too), but certainly do-able if you focus and keep your priorities straight. As a major research university, UCLA attracts some of the most amazing professors.... my bio prof actually had a Nobel Prize. I was completely in awe of him, and he was super nice and accessible.

USC is supposed to be a lot of fun - from what I've seen, they're very big on fraternities/sororities, if that's your thing. Unfortunately, they seem to live up to the ridiculous stereotype of spoiled rich kids. Not all of the students, of course, so it seems kind of unfair - but I sure noticed that obnoxious trend firsthand. UCLA has vast variety of students, and it's much more low-income-friendly... I didn't feel weird at all for being on a tight budget.

USC's location is not ideal (as in, don't leave campus after dark, please!) whereas UCLA is located close to the nicest parts of the city - Santa Monica, west LA, Bel Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, even Malibu are within a relatively short drive. USC probably has a stronger alumni network, and definitely a better football team.

Once you know for sure where you're getting in, take a visit to each (during the week, if possible), and just hang out as if you're a student there. Walk around, watch people, etc. - you will learn a lot about how the place feels, and how you might fit in.

Good luck!