Neighborhood surrounding USC in LA

[Anonymous]

USC is more rough than UPenn in Philly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if you live in the DMV, but to try to give you an analogy:

I would say USC is located in the equivalent of like Gallaudet or Catholic University in the district. Downtown LA has gentrified quite a bit and is now a fairly lively place vs. it used to kind of be a ghost town 20 years ago. USC is not directly adjacent to downtown LA...there are some rough areas in between and you want to have good street smarts.

I would say UCLA is located in the equivalent of Bethesda. Westwood is a nice area and UMC. Now, directly north of UCLA (like it starts across the street from UCLA at the end of campus) is Bel Air which of course is an incredibly high end area of $20MM+ homes, but it is residential with private estates...students are not venturing into the area unless they snag an invite to the Playboy Mansion (is it even still the Playboy Mansion?) which I think is within a 1/2 mile of UCLA.

Um, no. Brookland (where Catholic is located) is a far safer area than the area surrounding USC. I grew up in LA and live in Brookland now. You cannot compare those two areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if you live in the DMV, but to try to give you an analogy:

I would say USC is located in the equivalent of like Gallaudet or Catholic University in the district. Downtown LA has gentrified quite a bit and is now a fairly lively place vs. it used to kind of be a ghost town 20 years ago. USC is not directly adjacent to downtown LA...there are some rough areas in between and you want to have good street smarts.

I would say UCLA is located in the equivalent of Bethesda. Westwood is a nice area and UMC. Now, directly north of UCLA (like it starts across the street from UCLA at the end of campus) is Bel Air which of course is an incredibly high end area of $20MM+ homes, but it is residential with private estates...students are not venturing into the area unless they snag an invite to the Playboy Mansion (is it even still the Playboy Mansion?) which I think is within a 1/2 mile of UCLA.

The Playboy Mansion is about 1 to 1.5 miles from UCLA.

😏

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if you live in the DMV, but to try to give you an analogy:

I would say USC is located in the equivalent of like Gallaudet or Catholic University in the district. Downtown LA has gentrified quite a bit and is now a fairly lively place vs. it used to kind of be a ghost town 20 years ago. USC is not directly adjacent to downtown LA...there are some rough areas in between and you want to have good street smarts.

I would say UCLA is located in the equivalent of Bethesda. Westwood is a nice area and UMC. Now, directly north of UCLA (like it starts across the street from UCLA at the end of campus) is Bel Air which of course is an incredibly high end area of $20MM+ homes, but it is residential with private estates...students are not venturing into the area unless they snag an invite to the Playboy Mansion (is it even still the Playboy Mansion?) which I think is within a 1/2 mile of UCLA.

Um, no. Brookland (where Catholic is located) is a far safer area than the area surrounding USC. I grew up in LA and live in Brookland now. You cannot compare those two areas.

I agree - Brookland is safer and not a good comparison. Also, Brookland is different in nature to start.

[Anonymous]

When I lived out there, a girl was shot in the back going into her USC off-campus apartment. It has these tall metal gates and she was trying to unlock the gate. Car drove by and shot her, we'd regularly see the outlines for dead bodies driving from USC to the beach communities. I vowed I'd never go back

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure if you live in the DMV, but to try to give you an analogy:

I would say USC is located in the equivalent of like Gallaudet or Catholic University in the district. Downtown LA has gentrified quite a bit and is now a fairly lively place vs. it used to kind of be a ghost town 20 years ago. USC is not directly adjacent to downtown LA...there are some rough areas in between and you want to have good street smarts.

I would say UCLA is located in the equivalent of Bethesda. Westwood is a nice area and UMC. Now, directly north of UCLA (like it starts across the street from UCLA at the end of campus) is Bel Air which of course is an incredibly high end area of $20MM+ homes, but it is residential with private estates...students are not venturing into the area unless they snag an invite to the Playboy Mansion (is it even still the Playboy Mansion?) which I think is within a 1/2 mile of UCLA.

Um, no. Brookland (where Catholic is located) is a far safer area than the area surrounding USC. I grew up in LA and live in Brookland now. You cannot compare those two areas.

I agree - Brookland is safer and not a good comparison. Also, Brookland is different in nature to start.

Brookland being safer is a recent development. I think pp was making a similar comparison to USC, arguing that the neighborhood has gentrified to some degree (although there seem to be differences of opinion on that).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! I'm an alum and can tell you from first-hand experience that it's very rough[b]. With that said, the school has a great security team.[/quote


Angelino here. This. It's two exit ramps from Watts. I wouldn't send my kid there.

[Anonymous]

USC- there are a lot of weirdos/mentally ill wandering around. I’m from LA, and sadly used it, so it would not stop me from sending my kid to USC. However - it would be completely understandable for other families to decide otherwise.

[Anonymous]

My niece is a freshman and from what we've seen, security is everywhere and the schools spends a lot on everything from free Lyfts to buying up blocks around the school (where upscale apartments and stores have been build and are under construction). It isn't like going to school in a small town and, yes, you have to be street smart like in any city.

The school is phenomenal but city living is not for everyone. I would have loved to see Rick Caruso win the mayoral election and fulfill his plan to clean up LA...but, at least he can continue impact the area around UC.

[Anonymous]

I'm a graduate of UCLA (and currently live about 5 miles away) and I didn't apply to USC because my dad, who was a former USC professor, thought it was too dangerous of a neighborhood (esp. for a female). But, that was over 30 years ago and it's gentrified.

I'd send my HS senior to USC, with one stipulation, which is, with a car. Generally speaking, Los Angeles was designed for the car, and that's the way to explore it and get the most out of it. I'd recommend that for UCLA as well, however; due to UCLA's nice neighborhood, having a car is not as important as for USC, imo.

[Anonymous]

My DC is at USC and loves it. She knows when to walk alone, when to be with friends, when to use the LYFT or Uber. The friends look out for each other and they have no hesitation having fun both on campus and off. It requires basic big city street smarts. The campus is beautiful with Beach, skiing, all accessible. Great sports, smart kids, strong programs and schools. It’s definitely not for everyone though and you probably know if your kid would be happy in big city bright lights that LA is. If they won’t venture off campus to make the best of the what the city offers, they probably won’t thrive at USC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC is at USC and loves it. She knows when to walk alone, when to be with friends, when to use the LYFT or Uber. The friends look out for each other and they have no hesitation having fun both on campus and off. It requires basic big city street smarts. The campus is beautiful with Beach, skiing, all accessible. Great sports, smart kids, strong programs and schools. It’s definitely not for everyone though and you probably know if your kid would be happy in big city bright lights that LA is. If they won’t venture off campus to make the best of the what the city offers, they probably won’t thrive at USC.

I always laugh when tourists think that the beaches around LA are so great. They are very polluted, crowded, full of freaks, and
cold for most of the year college students will be in class. Other than a view of the water, there really isn’t much to recommend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is at USC and loves it. She knows when to walk alone, when to be with friends, when to use the LYFT or Uber. The friends look out for each other and they have no hesitation having fun both on campus and off. It requires basic big city street smarts. The campus is beautiful with Beach, skiing, all accessible. Great sports, smart kids, strong programs and schools. It’s definitely not for everyone though and you probably know if your kid would be happy in big city bright lights that LA is. If they won’t venture off campus to make the best of the what the city offers, they probably won’t thrive at USC.

I always laugh when tourists think that the beaches around LA are so great. They are very polluted, crowded, full of freaks, and
cold for most of the year college students will be in class. Other than a view of the water, there really isn’t much to recommend.

What beach are you going to? Because I go to Zuma and it’s pretty darn stunning. LA beaches are broad with soft sand, and really nice actually. The cold water is main issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is at USC and loves it. She knows when to walk alone, when to be with friends, when to use the LYFT or Uber. The friends look out for each other and they have no hesitation having fun both on campus and off. It requires basic big city street smarts. The campus is beautiful with Beach, skiing, all accessible. Great sports, smart kids, strong programs and schools. It’s definitely not for everyone though and you probably know if your kid would be happy in big city bright lights that LA is. If they won’t venture off campus to make the best of the what the city offers, they probably won’t thrive at USC.

I always laugh when tourists think that the beaches around LA are so great. They are very polluted, crowded, full of freaks, and
cold for most of the year college students will be in class. Other than a view of the water, there really isn’t much to recommend.

What beach are you going to? Because I go to Zuma and it’s pretty darn stunning. LA beaches are broad with soft sand, and really nice actually. The cold water is main issue.

I go to a real beach in a warm climate where you can actually enjoy the water without a wetsuit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is at USC and loves it. She knows when to walk alone, when to be with friends, when to use the LYFT or Uber. The friends look out for each other and they have no hesitation having fun both on campus and off. It requires basic big city street smarts. The campus is beautiful with Beach, skiing, all accessible. Great sports, smart kids, strong programs and schools. It’s definitely not for everyone though and you probably know if your kid would be happy in big city bright lights that LA is. If they won’t venture off campus to make the best of the what the city offers, they probably won’t thrive at USC.

I always laugh when tourists think that the beaches around LA are so great. They are very polluted, crowded, full of freaks, and
cold for most of the year college students will be in class. Other than a view of the water, there really isn’t much to recommend.

What beach are you going to? Because I go to Zuma and it’s pretty darn stunning. LA beaches are broad with soft sand, and really nice actually. The cold water is main issue.

I go to a real beach in a warm climate where you can actually enjoy the water without a wetsuit.

Is it 30 min away like the LA beaches?