University of South Carolina, School of Medicine Admission
University of South Carolina, School of Medicine Undergraduate Program
University of South Carolina, School of Medicine Application

The Facts

The University of South Carolina is a rather large, public institution located in the town of Columbia, South Carolina, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 22,000 students. The university's School of Medicine, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 300 graduate medical students. The average age of enrollment is around 23, and it is fairly rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its emphasis on public health, as well as for its strong research programs and facilities. Aside from the basic MD degree, the school offers joint degrees in the MD/MPH, and the MD/PhD in the areas of anatomy, cell biology, experimental pathology, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, as well as physiology.

Admission to the University of South Carolina's School of Medicine is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 1,050 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 130 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 80 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had average MCAT scores of about 9.0 in Biology, 8.0 in Physics, and 9.0 in Verbal, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.5. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and are able to take advantage of the school's early application program if they so choose.

The university's School of Medicine has about 800 faculty members, all of whom come from relatively diverse medical and academic backgrounds. The school also boasts a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 1:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Graduates of the School of Medicine often go on to be accepted to some of the most competitive and prestigious residency programs in the nation, and frequently specialize in the areas of primary care, family medicine, ob/gyn, internal medicine, general surgery, neurology, as well as orthopedics.

Clinical Programs

Students are required to complete extensive clinical programs including eight week rotations of medicine, surgery, ob/gyn, psychiatry, family medicine, pediatrics, 4 week rotation of neurology, surgery, medicine, and an acting internship. Students complete their clinical training at affiliated facilities including Greenville Hospital, Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, Dorn Veterans Hospital, as well as the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute.

What's Good

"There are a lot of opportunities to get hands-on experience here. It's fantastic."

"I really appreciate the school's emphasis on public health."

"The faculty members are obviously very passionate about what they do, and love to give out advice."

What's Bad

"There can be some tough competition between students because the school is so small."

"Sometimes the administration can be very difficult to get a hold of."

"The basic science courses are a bit too basic for me. It's all review."

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