It is a school full of extremely wealthy kids. Kids who own their own houses and drive exotic cars. Think a Walmart heiress returned her degree after the school investigated her for hiring her roommate to do some of her assignments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I lived in LA, USC was known as THE place for cocaine – even for actors and others in the Hollywood lifestyle. I know USC has tried to reduce the drug culture, but I still hear about actors appearing at fraternity parties. Judge for yourself by visiting the school, but the combination of a rich student body + truly urban location + big time fraternity system + fast Hollywood culture = trouble for many young kids. I chose to give up the perks of SoCal to raise my kids away from that fast culture.

And traded for a DC area culture?

IMHO, The DMV is an ideal place to raise a family, but I'm curious why some here think the DMV is a poor culture to raise kids. For comparison, here are the flaws I observed in California:

An emphasis on "being cool" above all else while leads to an obsessive body consciousness (dangerous for a girl), de-emphasis on academics and intellectual ability in favor of physical appearance. Lack of traditional values and morality, which leads to many broken families and girls being under pressure to "put out" at an early age. Rampant drug use.

Overall, I think parents in the DMV obsess about their kids while parents on SoCal obsess about themselves and the kids grow up fast.

They've got the best screenwriting program in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I lived in LA, USC was known as THE place for cocaine – even for actors and others in the Hollywood lifestyle. I know USC has tried to reduce the drug culture, but I still hear about actors appearing at fraternity parties. Judge for yourself by visiting the school, but the combination of a rich student body + truly urban location + big time fraternity system + fast Hollywood culture = trouble for many young kids. I chose to give up the perks of SoCal to raise my kids away from that fast culture.

And traded for a DC area culture?

+1

Anonymous wrote:When I lived in LA, USC was known as THE place for cocaine – even for actors and others in the Hollywood lifestyle. I know USC has tried to reduce the drug culture, but I still hear about actors appearing at fraternity parties. Judge for yourself by visiting the school, but the combination of a rich student body + truly urban location + big time fraternity system + fast Hollywood culture = trouble for many young kids. I chose to give up the perks of SoCal to raise my kids away from that fast culture.

And traded for a DC area culture?

When I lived in LA, USC was known as THE place for cocaine – even for actors and others in the Hollywood lifestyle. I know USC has tried to reduce the drug culture, but I still hear about actors appearing at fraternity parties. Judge for yourself by visiting the school, but the combination of a rich student body + truly urban location + big time fraternity system + fast Hollywood culture = trouble for many young kids. I chose to give up the perks of SoCal to raise my kids away from that fast culture.

Anonymous wrote:If you are looking at USC as a top choice school, what other schools is your DC looking at?

If I had a son I wouldn't rule it out, but USC is not a good school for girls. The Greek culture is very misogynistic with girls routinely being "transported" to the hospital in alcohol related incidents. The entire row was shut down for part of the year and several fraternities were shut down in recent years. You daughter will also have to keep up with the fast life of the Cali girls or be left out of the social scene. Drugs are everywhere and the campus us adjacent one of the most dangerous areas in the United States, the "southland" of LA. A street smart young man may be able to navigate the dangers and reap the "rewards" of that frat boy culture, but it's lose-lose for girls.

UCLA is a much better choice for girls.

I'd say the closest "comparables" are the so-called Southern Ivies that have a similar misogynistic frat boy culture with little economic diversity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ivy

If you are looking at USC as a top choice school, what other schools is your DC looking at?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Good luck getting into UCLA from out of state. The 5% admit rate is more selective than Harvard.

This is not true. What you have posted is the number of students from out of state who attend, not the percentage from out of state that are accepted. Nor is it the percentage accepted that apply. It certainly is very competitive to get into any of the UCs from out of state, but not nearly as competitive as Harvard. Google average GPA and SAT scores for UC Berkeley or UCLA and you'll see.

Bumping this thread because DC wants to look at USC and UCLA. On UCLA's website, it states OOS students must have a minimum 3.4 average while the same requirement doesn't hold for Cal residents.

We haven't visited either campus yet but USC seems to be in an unsafe area. There are many renown colleges in questionable areas (Yale, U of Chicago, Hopkins, etc) but enrollment hasn't declined because of it.

We will visit USC and UCLA because they have DC's interested programs. I think DC probably has a better shot at USC because it's private but I would still be concerned about safety. Any more comments from those familiar with both schools would be appreciated.

Those two schools were at the top of my DC's list until we did the formal visit and tour. Though we had strong UCLA connections, DC didn't even apply to UCLA - it just wasn't what DC expected. UCLA is very good for STEM and the campus is beautiful (though sterile), but DC thought it didn't offer a complete college experience. That said, if your DC is Asian and very focused on academics and not social life, UCLA might well be the most comfortable choice.

USC has comparable academics, but a more complete college experience. The schools are both very good (Top 25), but they are really different so you need to look under the hood. After thorough investigation, I'd be surprised if anyone thought BOTH schools were a good choice for DC. They really are that different.

^^^Thanks for your insight. I am leaning towards UCLA because of its broad curriculums (in case DC changes majors) but the decision is ultimately DC's. We have visited the west coast many times over the years, and DC loves the climate.

UCLA grad here.

The neighborhood of USC has much improved but still has a way to go. This last summer, I was driving my kids to the Nat. Hist. Museum right near there and some wacko druggie jumped out in front of us (was a tiny bit scary, but then again, everything weird is a little scary when your kids are in the car) which led us into our first drug discussion.

My father taught chemistry at USC years ago. He did not want me to go to USC due to the neighborhood (but was properly distressed when I chose UCLA, as any 'SC-related person would be, as there is a rivalry)

I ended up in law school back east, and when I came back to practice in LA, I realized there is a big 'SC presence in LA in law firms. Very strong. But that's local presence only, imo; doesn't translate to the east coast and not sure if it even translates to San Diego or points north.

But for film…it's a great school with lots of connections.

Now that's my take but I skimmed the responses and there was a former professor who replied, I think…go with that.

Anonymous wrote:

Good luck getting into UCLA from out of state. The 5% admit rate is more selective than Harvard.

This is not true. What you have posted is the number of students from out of state who attend, not the percentage from out of state that are accepted. Nor is it the percentage accepted that apply. It certainly is very competitive to get into any of the UCs from out of state, but not nearly as competitive as Harvard. Google average GPA and SAT scores for UC Berkeley or UCLA and you'll see.

Bumping this thread because DC wants to look at USC and UCLA. On UCLA's website, it states OOS students must have a minimum 3.4 average while the same requirement doesn't hold for Cal residents.

We haven't visited either campus yet but USC seems to be in an unsafe area. There are many renown colleges in questionable areas (Yale, U of Chicago, Hopkins, etc) but enrollment hasn't declined because of it.

We will visit USC and UCLA because they have DC's interested programs. I think DC probably has a better shot at USC because it's private but I would still be concerned about safety. Any more comments from those familiar with both schools would be appreciated.

Good luck getting into UCLA from out of state. The 5% admit rate is more selective than Harvard.

This is not true. What you have posted is the number of students from out of state who attend, not the percentage from out of state that are accepted. Nor is it the percentage accepted that apply. It certainly is very competitive to get into any of the UCs from out of state, but not nearly as competitive as Harvard. Google average GPA and SAT scores for UC Berkeley or UCLA and you'll see.

http://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/percentage-of-out-of-state-students-at-public-universities/360/

Good luck getting into UCLA from out of state. The 5% admit rate is more selective than Harvard.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You crazy PP? Both schools are similarly ranked for most of their programs and have similarly extensive alumni networks. But UCLA is in Westwood, beautiful, SAFE Westwood. And you can apply for in-state tuition I believe in the second or third year. USC is in a dangerous neighborhood with private school tuition.

Do you really think that out of state students can apply for instate tuition after the first year? Explain how that works?

UCLA has a beautiful campus in a suburban setting. USC has a beautiful campus in an urban setting. UCLA is a bit stronger in STEM subjects; USC is stronger in film and business. USC has smaller class size; UCLA is less expensive. Both schools are incredibly diverse.

Some think it is easy to qualify for in state tuition. Not so. The financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduates who do not have a parent living in California to qualify for classification as a resident at a UC campus.

http://students.ucsd.edu/finances/fees/residence/criteria.html

It can be done with financial aid, a job during the school year and summer and living in the area during the summer (ie, become a FT resident of CA and not moveback home to live with mom and dad during the summer).

I've heard of it being done, but, for obvious reasons, states scrutinize attempts to shift to in state tuition. In know someone trying to pull it off in another state and the parents have to essentially disown the child. Reading the link, it seems that the student is in even a tougher position if they first moved to the state to attend college as an OOS student.