Help me better understand Southern Cal universities & colleges

[Anonymous]

My kid loves USC! Didn’t bother applying to UCLA or other CA publics, bc why would you from OOS. Also LMU was the safety and they offered merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

My OOS DD who also did IB loves UCLA. You’ll find more privileged nepo babies ar USC. DD wanted school spirit, sn adjacent town w coffee shops etc ( not in no man’s land), rah rah school spirit. She has great friends, does fun things around LA. UCLA has a lot of distribution requirements, but means she’s exposed to things like Architecture and Urban Design. She wanted big school. Not for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Cal Tech in Pasedena.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

UCSB is an hour from LA and you are basically stranded in a small beach town. Housing, including housing in Isla Vista is really tough and crowded, There are some pros to UCSB but some real drawbacks,

UCI has a good business school and should be really easy to get into from OOS. Drawbacks are that it is a commuter school. It’s in Orange County next to LA. Geographically not far but with LA traffic over an hour. Cal State Fullerton has a good business school but again it’s a commuter school in Orange County.

Chapman is also in OC, not that far from UCI. Agree about CSUF.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Missed that. For film and business, in this order:

USC
UCLA
Pepperdine
Loyola

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind UCLA only includes 10th and 11th grades in GPA and doesn’t accept test scores.

It only includes 10th and 11th grade scores in the GPA but it LOOKS at all grades from 9th -12th for continuity, upward trajectory, class choices etc.

Yes, and you must have the A-G class requirements, some of which you may take in other years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Missed that. For film and business, in this order:

USC
UCLA
Pepperdine
Loyola

You missed Chapman which fits right between usc and ucla. Also, while Pepperdine has been filmed many times the school doesn’t have a strong film presence and Loyola is a better choice for so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I think you need to familiarize yourself with the 5Cs...
https://colleges.claremont.edu/mediastudies/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Wesleyan has great undergrad film

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Missed that. For film and business, in this order:

USC
UCLA
Pepperdine
Loyola

You missed Chapman which fits right between usc and ucla. Also, while Pepperdine has been filmed many times the school doesn’t have a strong film presence and Loyola is a better choice for so.

Chapman goes last. Pepperdine has a strong network in film; Loyola is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Hmmm! Back door into Caltech?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Missed that. For film and business, in this order:

USC
UCLA
Pepperdine
Loyola

You missed Chapman which fits right between usc and ucla. Also, while Pepperdine has been filmed many times the school doesn’t have a strong film presence and Loyola is a better choice for so.

Chapman goes last. Pepperdine has a strong network in film; Loyola is fine.

Disagree. Chapman has one of the top five film schools in the country and a solidly ranked business school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Missed that. For film and business, in this order:

USC
UCLA
Pepperdine
Loyola

You missed Chapman which fits right between usc and ucla. Also, while Pepperdine has been filmed many times the school doesn’t have a strong film presence and Loyola is a better choice for so.

Chapman goes last. Pepperdine has a strong network in film; Loyola is fine.

Pepperdine also has open air prayer meetings in the middle of campus, for everyone to take part in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cal Tech in Pasedena.

? for film and business? While it's an amazing school for STEM, I wouldn't pick Caltech for business and film.

I'm originally from CA.

Hmmm! Back door into Caltech?

Might be a difficult backdoor since Caltech doesn't have a film major or minor. Their business major is still intensive, requiring econometrics and is a statistics-heavy program.