Help me better understand Southern Cal universities & colleges

[Anonymous]

Kid is interested in Los Angeles area schools - he's thinking about political science, business/economics, maybe centered on the entertainment business.

Here's what I know - what am I missing?

USC - super hard to get into, great film school, bad neighborhood.
UCLA - also super hard to get into. Huge. Not sure why it is so great or such a hard admit.
Loyola Marymount - right near Santa Monica, Catholic, mid-size (7k or so), good for people who want to get into the entertainment business but can't get into the two above schools. Has a dedicated business school.
Chapman - good for film, easier to get into.
Occidental - super woke? Is that right?
Claremont Mckenna schools - 5 school consortium, hard to get into.
Whittier - Nixon.

Kid does not yet know what he wants in terms of size. He's doing IB diploma, has just over a 4.0 GPA and should have good test scores...i.e. in-state UVA and W&M are on the table but not guaranteed admits.

What am I missing about the above schools? Other schools in the area that should be on our list?

[Anonymous]

For your future knowledge, they're the Claremont Colleges. Only one school has "McKenna" involved and that is Claremont McKenna College, which sounds like a potential glove fit for your DS. Also, USC isn't in that bad of a neighborhood. UCLA is super hard to get into, because it is a gorgeous campus in a sought-after city with amazing programs for basically anything you desire

[Anonymous]

USC, UCLA, and LMU will be the most “LA” feelings as they are right in the city. Both are great options, but in terms of selectivity LMU will be the only accessible one. They have terrific programs and hell have the LA experience he wants.

Oxxy is meh. Cute campus though. Champan is in Orange, very blah area in my opinion. Also nice campus, but nothing special.

Add the University of San Diego. I know you said LA, but it’s a great school.

[Anonymous]

USC cares a lot about test scores. NMSF is a big plus. Full pay. Not that hard to get into.

UCLA on the other hand is test blind. Unpredictable but they like OOS full pay.

[Anonymous]

You can do film at Pitzer and it is a somewhat easier admit than Pomona or CMC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid is interested in Los Angeles area schools - he's thinking about political science, business/economics, maybe centered on the entertainment business.

Here's what I know - what am I missing?

USC - super hard to get into, great film school, bad neighborhood.
UCLA - also super hard to get into. Huge. Not sure why it is so great or such a hard admit.
Loyola Marymount - right near Santa Monica, Catholic, mid-size (7k or so), good for people who want to get into the entertainment business but can't get into the two above schools. Has a dedicated business school.
Chapman - good for film, easier to get into.
Occidental - super woke? Is that right?
Claremont Mckenna schools - 5 school consortium, hard to get into.
Whittier - Nixon.

Kid does not yet know what he wants in terms of size. He's doing IB diploma, has just over a 4.0 GPA and should have good test scores...i.e. in-state UVA and W&M are on the table but not guaranteed admits.

What am I missing about the above schools? Other schools in the area that should be on our list?

UCLA is so great because it is a cheap and prestigious in-state school; it is not so great for oos at the undergraduate level. You would want USC over UCLA anyday for oos undergrad — and USC will also be an even tougher admit.

[Anonymous]

Claremont Colleges are top notch!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can do film at Pitzer and it is a somewhat easier admit than Pomona or CMC.

You cannot do film at Pitzer. Liberal arts colleges are too poor to provide quality resources in the subject. Would recommend USC or LMU for film.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Claremont Colleges are top notch!

bottom notch! low quality!

[Anonymous]

Dont forget the other UCs, Irvine, SB, Riverside AND the state schools.

[Anonymous]

Business centered around entertainment - good schools for it in Los Angeles but not the only ones and I’d look at others as well as these schools are hard to get into OOS (and only slightly easier in state). I don’t see OP mention kid wants film studies but other posters mention.

For film, USC would be my #1 school in the country and then the rest behind it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid is interested in Los Angeles area schools - he's thinking about political science, business/economics, maybe centered on the entertainment business.

Here's what I know - what am I missing?

USC - super hard to get into, great film school, bad neighborhood.
UCLA - also super hard to get into. Huge. Not sure why it is so great or such a hard admit.
Loyola Marymount - right near Santa Monica, Catholic, mid-size (7k or so), good for people who want to get into the entertainment business but can't get into the two above schools. Has a dedicated business school.
Chapman - good for film, easier to get into.
Occidental - super woke? Is that right?
Claremont Mckenna schools - 5 school consortium, hard to get into.
Whittier - Nixon.

Kid does not yet know what he wants in terms of size. He's doing IB diploma, has just over a 4.0 GPA and should have good test scores...i.e. in-state UVA and W&M are on the table but not guaranteed admits.

What am I missing about the above schools? Other schools in the area that should be on our list?

LMU is not that near Santa Monica. UCLA is closer to Santa Monica. There are Cal States and Caltech. Pepperdine in Malibu.

[Anonymous]

Pepperdine Hollywood influencer types and rich kids go not that smart but good connections decent backup to or USC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pepperdine Hollywood influencer types and rich kids go not that smart but good connections decent backup to or USC

DD had a 1580 and went to Pepperdine….great scholarship. She is now at UCLA Law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kid is interested in Los Angeles area schools - he's thinking about political science, business/economics, maybe centered on the entertainment business.

Here's what I know - what am I missing?

USC - super hard to get into, great film school, bad neighborhood.
UCLA - also super hard to get into. Huge. Not sure why it is so great or such a hard admit.
Loyola Marymount - right near Santa Monica, Catholic, mid-size (7k or so), good for people who want to get into the entertainment business but can't get into the two above schools. Has a dedicated business school.
Chapman - good for film, easier to get into.
Occidental - super woke? Is that right?
Claremont Mckenna schools - 5 school consortium, hard to get into.
Whittier - Nixon.

Kid does not yet know what he wants in terms of size. He's doing IB diploma, has just over a 4.0 GPA and should have good test scores...i.e. in-state UVA and W&M are on the table but not guaranteed admits.

What am I missing about the above schools? Other schools in the area that should be on our list?

LMU is beautiful campus in Marina Del Rey and lots of tech jobs nearby on Silicon Beach. It is Catholic but not super religious (not like Pepperdine or Biola). They also have a good honors college.
Chapman is great for business, psychology and film/entertainment.
Occidental is a traditional liberal arts college, built in 1800s with small classes and caring teachers. Clueless was filmed there.