Thoughts on USC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They take a large number of transfers from community college. This is different from most top 20s.

You must be confusing it with the UC system schools.

No USC does take a good number of transfer students from California community colleges. It’s actually a hard admit so kids will do a year or two of CC depending on how many APs or DE courses they have and transfer in.

It’s far less academically prestigious than the top 6 UCs or the Claremont schools but far more prestigious than Pepperdine, USD, SDSU etc. However it’s more desirable than some of the UCs to the students it attracts.

You must be very old stuck with old ideas from 80s or so..
It's 21st century already.

[Anonymous]

I'm a Ucla alum with a child at Usc(it's a mental pretzel, tho' I've come across enough other parents in similar situation where it almost seems like it's a thing). Ucla has the nicer setting/location and better local & historical academic reputation. Usc formerly was a relative academic joke but past 30yrs or so has sincerely boosted their standing. Usc feels more pre-professional vs more academically-feeling Ucla. Usc has a stronger esprit de corp vs Ucla and has a strong network in SoCal where I grudgingly give them their respect in Business, Real-Estate, Film, Communications and to some but lesser extent Engineering, Law & Med.
My Usc child attended a competitive private prep school on the east coast, NMSF, had stats in line for Ivies but didn't get into any Ivies(wl at ucla but "vibed" significantly more w/Usc pre-results). Had a choice between Michigan & Usc. Loved their Usc visit(s) and felt at home. Chose Usc partly for chance to continue in EC niche + NMSF $ from Usc. Child has had a great experience at Usc. Appreciated the ability to change majors(even schools)plus flexibility to minor in most anything. Got an internship and then job via Trojan Network. Child is outgoing, in the greek system and enjoys the football/school spirit, party scene and availability to explore Los Angeles. Diverse student body. Definitely a # of wealthy students.
Mostly anecdotal and conjecture but fwiw the kids I've met at today's Usc seem more academically accomplished, social & polished vs the kids I know of getting into Ucla via my west coast group of friends. (Perhaps results of UC's being test blind?)
Usc: Fun School, Party Scene, Football/School Spirit, Strong SoCal network, Strengths in Film, Business, Entrepreneurship, Communications. Respectable in Engineering, Law & Med.

[Anonymous]

We lived in Westwood Village years ago, my spouse trained at UCLA hospital, and visited both UCLA and USC with our kids. UCLA has a gorgeous campus but that ends at the front door, buildings are government grade in the interior. Westwood Village has always underperformed with lots of empty storefronts, and that remains the case. Lots of nice grocery stores, though, and Greek Row is gorgeous, if that’s your kid’s scene. Other than the Greek houses, both on and off campus housing isn’t great in the immediate area, unless your kid has an unlimited budget.

USC has very high quality facilities, every building is gorgeous inside and out. Not a great area of LA but there is a Target and Trader Joe’s on campus. Can’t speak to the housing. Metro stop on campus which makes both downtown and the beach very accessible
(UCLA closer the beach but further from downtown).

I believe selectivity is similar for oos students. My kids preferred USC but liked both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We lived in Westwood Village years ago, my spouse trained at UCLA hospital, and visited both UCLA and USC with our kids. UCLA has a gorgeous campus but that ends at the front door, buildings are government grade in the interior. Westwood Village has always underperformed with lots of empty storefronts, and that remains the case. Lots of nice grocery stores, though, and Greek Row is gorgeous, if that’s your kid’s scene. Other than the Greek houses, both on and off campus housing isn’t great in the immediate area, unless your kid has an unlimited budget.

USC has very high quality facilities, every building is gorgeous inside and out. Not a great area of LA but there is a Target and Trader Joe’s on campus. Can’t speak to the housing. Metro stop on campus which makes both downtown and the beach very accessible
(UCLA closer the beach but further from downtown).

I believe selectivity is similar for oos students. My kids preferred USC but liked both.

It sounds like you've not been back to Westwood for a while...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a Ucla alum with a child at Usc(it's a mental pretzel, tho' I've come across enough other parents in similar situation where it almost seems like it's a thing). Ucla has the nicer setting/location and better local & historical academic reputation. Usc formerly was a relative academic joke but past 30yrs or so has sincerely boosted their standing. Usc feels more pre-professional vs more academically-feeling Ucla. Usc has a stronger esprit de corp vs Ucla and has a strong network in SoCal where I grudgingly give them their respect in Business, Real-Estate, Film, Communications and to some but lesser extent Engineering, Law & Med.
My Usc child attended a competitive private prep school on the east coast, NMSF, had stats in line for Ivies but didn't get into any Ivies(wl at ucla but "vibed" significantly more w/Usc pre-results). Had a choice between Michigan & Usc. Loved their Usc visit(s) and felt at home. Chose Usc partly for chance to continue in EC niche + NMSF $ from Usc. Child has had a great experience at Usc. Appreciated the ability to change majors(even schools)plus flexibility to minor in most anything. Got an internship and then job via Trojan Network. Child is outgoing, in the greek system and enjoys the football/school spirit, party scene and availability to explore Los Angeles. Diverse student body. Definitely a # of wealthy students.
Mostly anecdotal and conjecture but fwiw the kids I've met at today's Usc seem more academically accomplished, social & polished vs the kids I know of getting into Ucla via my west coast group of friends. (Perhaps results of UC's being test blind?)
Usc: Fun School, Party Scene, Football/School Spirit, Strong SoCal network, Strengths in Film, Business, Entrepreneurship, Communications. Respectable in Engineering, Law & Med.

Agree. Solid take on the student body.

[Anonymous]

FWIW and for better or worse USC and related developers are gentrifying the area. It’s already different than it was 5 years ago. Can’t imagine what it will look like 5 more years from now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in Westwood Village years ago, my spouse trained at UCLA hospital, and visited both UCLA and USC with our kids. UCLA has a gorgeous campus but that ends at the front door, buildings are government grade in the interior. Westwood Village has always underperformed with lots of empty storefronts, and that remains the case. Lots of nice grocery stores, though, and Greek Row is gorgeous, if that’s your kid’s scene. Other than the Greek houses, both on and off campus housing isn’t great in the immediate area, unless your kid has an unlimited budget.

USC has very high quality facilities, every building is gorgeous inside and out. Not a great area of LA but there is a Target and Trader Joe’s on campus. Can’t speak to the housing. Metro stop on campus which makes both downtown and the beach very accessible
(UCLA closer the beach but further from downtown).

I believe selectivity is similar for oos students. My kids preferred USC but liked both.

It sounds like you've not been back to Westwood for a while...

I was there 18 months ago. Why else would I be in this forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in Westwood Village years ago, my spouse trained at UCLA hospital, and visited both UCLA and USC with our kids. UCLA has a gorgeous campus but that ends at the front door, buildings are government grade in the interior. Westwood Village has always underperformed with lots of empty storefronts, and that remains the case. Lots of nice grocery stores, though, and Greek Row is gorgeous, if that’s your kid’s scene. Other than the Greek houses, both on and off campus housing isn’t great in the immediate area, unless your kid has an unlimited budget.

USC has very high quality facilities, every building is gorgeous inside and out. Not a great area of LA but there is a Target and Trader Joe’s on campus. Can’t speak to the housing. Metro stop on campus which makes both downtown and the beach very accessible
(UCLA closer the beach but further from downtown).

I believe selectivity is similar for oos students. My kids preferred USC but liked both.

It sounds like you've not been back to Westwood for a while...

I was there 18 months ago. Why else would I be in this forum?

Here’s a student lamenting all the empty storefronts in Westwood Village earlier this year. https://www.reddit.com/r/ucla/s/QABerbhPKY

[Anonymous]

Only downside is it is far away? It is like $100K/ year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We lived in Westwood Village years ago, my spouse trained at UCLA hospital, and visited both UCLA and USC with our kids. UCLA has a gorgeous campus but that ends at the front door, buildings are government grade in the interior. Westwood Village has always underperformed with lots of empty storefronts, and that remains the case. Lots of nice grocery stores, though, and Greek Row is gorgeous, if that’s your kid’s scene. Other than the Greek houses, both on and off campus housing isn’t great in the immediate area, unless your kid has an unlimited budget.

USC has very high quality facilities, every building is gorgeous inside and out. Not a great area of LA but there is a Target and Trader Joe’s on campus. Can’t speak to the housing. Metro stop on campus which makes both downtown and the beach very accessible
(UCLA closer the beach but further from downtown).

I believe selectivity is similar for oos students. My kids preferred USC but liked both.

It sounds like you've not been back to Westwood for a while...

I was there 18 months ago. Why else would I be in this forum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a decent school, hardly a standout. Greek life tends to dominate the social scene. And I wouldn't consider it "midsize" at all; if anything, it feels impersonal and overwhelming.

Academically, it has its strengths, I suppose. I know they're big on entrepreneurship, so that may be a plus. The B-school is mid-dish, though, and they're not exactly known for math/STEM.

And of course, there's the exorbitant tuition and the high COL.

I'd consider more prestigious/respected schools with better reputations that meet such criteria, like Pepperdine, LMU, UCI, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO, obviously UCLA - the UCs are also large-size, but figure one can eventually find where they fit in in such a large pool. You might also think about Miami, W&M, and UF (UNCW's also right by the beach, but obviously doesn't have quite the school spirit/pride of CH).

This is correct. Another CA person.
This person clearly doesn’t know SoCal and I would take what they say with a huge grain of salt. There is absolutely no way that Pepperdine, LMU and CalPoly SLO are more prestigious/respected than USC. UC Irvine is debatable. Take this from someone who has their kid in one of the private schools in SoCal that sends a lot of kids to USC and other privates. Most of the upper class folks here would much prefer USC over the large publics, and likely over East Coast top LACs and even lower Ivies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a decent school, hardly a standout. Greek life tends to dominate the social scene. And I wouldn't consider it "midsize" at all; if anything, it feels impersonal and overwhelming.

Academically, it has its strengths, I suppose. I know they're big on entrepreneurship, so that may be a plus. The B-school is mid-dish, though, and they're not exactly known for math/STEM.

And of course, there's the exorbitant tuition and the high COL.

I'd consider more prestigious/respected schools with better reputations that meet such criteria, like Pepperdine, LMU, UCI, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO, obviously UCLA - the UCs are also large-size, but figure one can eventually find where they fit in in such a large pool. You might also think about Miami, W&M, and UF (UNCW's also right by the beach, but obviously doesn't have quite the school spirit/pride of CH).

This is correct. Another CA person.
This person clearly doesn’t know SoCal and I would take what they say with a huge grain of salt. There is absolutely no way that Pepperdine, LMU and CalPoly SLO are more prestigious/respected than USC. UC Irvine is debatable. Take this from someone who has their kid in one of the private schools in SoCal that sends a lot of kids to USC and other privates. Most of the upper class folks here would much prefer USC over the large publics, and likely over East Coast top LACs and even lower Ivies.

I'm also a Socal person and this person is correct. "no way" they are more prestigious. On the other hand most of us still think of USC as a the Univeristy of Spoiled Children and it was that way for my nephew who just finished.

It's also now $99,139 a year. I don't think it's worth it. And I've never liked the location. If your kid wants a greek party scene and you are willing to pay for it, then go for it but I think you can get a far better education for less elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a decent school, hardly a standout. Greek life tends to dominate the social scene. And I wouldn't consider it "midsize" at all; if anything, it feels impersonal and overwhelming.

Academically, it has its strengths, I suppose. I know they're big on entrepreneurship, so that may be a plus. The B-school is mid-dish, though, and they're not exactly known for math/STEM.

And of course, there's the exorbitant tuition and the high COL.

I'd consider more prestigious/respected schools with better reputations that meet such criteria, like Pepperdine, LMU, UCI, UCSB, Cal Poly SLO, obviously UCLA - the UCs are also large-size, but figure one can eventually find where they fit in in such a large pool. You might also think about Miami, W&M, and UF (UNCW's also right by the beach, but obviously doesn't have quite the school spirit/pride of CH).

This is correct. Another CA person.
This person clearly doesn’t know SoCal and I would take what they say with a huge grain of salt. There is absolutely no way that Pepperdine, LMU and CalPoly SLO are more prestigious/respected than USC. UC Irvine is debatable. Take this from someone who has their kid in one of the private schools in SoCal that sends a lot of kids to USC and other privates. Most of the upper class folks here would much prefer USC over the large publics, and likely over East Coast top LACs and even lower Ivies.

I'm also a Socal person and this person is correct. "no way" they are more prestigious. On the other hand most of us still think of USC as a the Univeristy of Spoiled Children and it was that way for my nephew who just finished.

It's also now $99,139 a year. I don't think it's worth it. And I've never liked the location. If your kid wants a greek party scene and you are willing to pay for it, then go for it but I think you can get a far better education for less elsewhere.

I wonder what % are actually paying $99,139? What an insane amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only downside is it is far away? It is like $100K/ year.

Kind of like sticker price for other private schools.

[Anonymous]

I've been comparing out of state college costs lately.

Yes, USC is at the top of the list - I've got $73k tuition and $21k room/board.

But it's not that much more than many others (numbers rounded)

Georgetown: $71k/$20k
Wake Forest: $70k/$19k
DAvidson: $69k/$18k
Villanova: $69k/$17k
Franklin & Marshall: $72k/$17k
Notre Dame: $66k/$18k

The difference between $94k for USC and $89k for Franklin & Marshall is just not that much.