Program Components

The students meet on the main campus of USC and are provided with academic enrichment in the areas of math (pre-algebra through calculus), science (biology through physics), English and study skills. Students are provided formal lecture materials, which stress concepts and individual tutoring centering on homework from their regular classes at sending schools. Formal lectures are placed according to their performance on a pre-test and their learning is measured by a post-test. The goal is to improve their grades in regular school classes and to increase their conceptual skills that will make them competitive at the college level. We stress conceptual skill development. Each Saturday students receive fifty minutes of instruction in each area (science, math and English), one hour of individual tutoring. The final hour is for presenting organized symposia where students are exposed to various health professionals as role models and to present issues facing health care delivery. Symposia are presented by medical students, practicing health professionals (physicians, dentists, pharmacists, optometrists, nurses, etc.) and medical school faculty. The Saturday tutorial program locks the students into the health career field and strongly encourages them to develop the needed academic skills.

Students are provided six weeks of work/study at the L.A.County USC Medical Center. The experience is designed to introduce each student to the health system. Each year the students are provided a different experience. The experiences are as follows:

a. Tenth Grade Experience (Intro. To Basic Medicine – IBM)

The IBM component exposes the students to patients on the wards. Students are provided two weeks of basic training by a team of registered nurses and afterward are placed in teams on wards throughout the hospital where they work directly with patients. Over the years the program has developed an outstanding reputation for quality assistance among nursing and other hospital staff.

b. Eleventh Grade Experience (Intro. To Basic Science – IBS)

The IBS component provides two days of academic work and three days ward experiences. The academic component is designed to prepare students for lab work and to prepare them for the SAT exam. Students meet for two days in the classroom and return to the wards for three days. They are given more in-depth ward exposure as advanced Med-COR students.

c. Twelfth Grade Experience (Intro. To Lab Research – ILR)

ILR is for the twelfth grade graduates. Most are placed in research laboratories but those who plan to pursue a nursing career are returned to wards and those who want to be technicians are provided experience in those areas: physical, occupational, recreation, or respiratory therapy. ILR is designed to bridge the gap between high school and college.

3. The Family Core Unit

The families of Med-COR students are organized into a support group. They meet once a month and provide many services to the program. Med-COR has good parental participation from the several ethnic groups represented in the program.

4. Counseling Services

Students are provided counseling in a number of areas: career, academic, personal, college, how to fill out forms, how and when to apply, etc. Counseling is one of the most important services provided. We work very closely with college counselors at each school. We also meet monthly with students at each school site. Meetings are held either after school or during the lunch period. Those meetings are designed to reinforce the linkages between Med-COR and the sending schools.