<p>So I've just finished my first year at USC. First semester was a little rough, but I got through it. Second semester was much better. Yet, I still don't feel like I'm getting as much as I expected from my college experience. I think my problem lies in the fact that USC doesn't have a TRUE college environment being located in a city, yet, LA isn't exactly the most friendly city without access to a car. I'm not sure if I should "wait it out" and hope for the best, or take some action (ie transfer). I contemplated this possibility in first semester, but decided not to after my grades. I thought that USC wasn't horrible and I could live through 4 years here, but I'm afraid I won't get as much as I can from my college experience. But yeah, any suggestions on what I should do/consider to see if transferring is right for me?</p>
<p>Just some stats that could also help (not very keen on transferring if I would go to a "drastically" lower school for example):
Majors: Business Administration (BS) (Marshall) and Sociology (BA) (CLAS)
1st semester GPA: 3.35
2nd semester GPA: 3.65
SAT: 610CR, 730M, 750W (1340/2090)
SAT2: 760 Math 2, 560 Bio, 640 Chem, 530 French
ACT: 33 (32 E, 34 M, 31 R, 35 S, 30 E/W, 9 Essay)
GPA: 4.22 (W)/4.3 (HS did some wacky calculation) (if anyone wants an explanation, I can explain in another post, lol)
GPA (UW) (recalculated for a 4.0 scale): 9: 3.68, 10: 2.94, 11: 3.42, 12: 3.78 (most classes were AP/Honors for all 4 years)</p>
<p>Would I even have a chance at getting into a business program that on par, or close to, Marshall with my stats (assuming my GPA stayed the same, or possibly went a bit higher, doubt it would go above a 3.6 before apps are due though)? And are there any schools on par with USC that people know that would allow a junior transfer to double major (or dual degree) in Business and Sociology? Sorry if this is to general, just figured summer would be a good time to start figuring out what I want to do. Thanks!</p>
<p>Try UCLA. It’s a lot more quieter and low-crime than USC. Plus, most UC’s are on a quarter system which means you are able to take more classes while at USC is such a slow pace because of the semester system w/o an Winter Intercession or whatnot. Apply as an business economics major for that one or even look for Berkeley.</p>
<p>Haha, I actually applied to both UCLA and Berkeley when I was a senior. But I’m from NJ, so yeah, not going to bother wasting my time on that application again when I finally realize that my chances of getting into them (especially Haas) are extremely minimal. But thanks for the suggestion, if only UCLA was in NJ xD</p>
<p>But that’s assuming he’s a California resident, which if I had to guess, I’d guess not. A lot of USC students are from all over the United States.</p>
<p>I understand where you’re exactly coming from man. I went to the University of Miami and I am transferring for the same reasons. It’s more of a resort and bubble than a university, and it is not the type of experience I want. If I were you, I’d apply to other schools man, enjoy your remaining three years, don’t stay somewhere that you’re not happy at and is limiting you from reaching all that you worked for.</p>
<p>Apply to larger, big public schools. For business, try the two UCs if your a California resident else it’s pretty hard due to their CC program they have with residents. If you want to stay on the West Coast, the University of Washington at Seattle would be a top choice as they have a reputable business program, nationally ranked, and I believe they’re like the 11th best public university in the nation, right behind UWisconsin-Madison. </p>
<p>Other schools for top business programs you should look into are
UMich-Ann Arbor (Ross),
UVA (McIntire, VERY VERY VERY VERY COMPETITIVE; take only like 10 out of state applicants),
UNC-Chapel Hill (Kenan Flagler, though you’ll have to spend a semester in General College before you can apply to K-F),
UMD-College Park (Smith),
Penn State,
Indiana University,
University of Arizona (special program with IBM too),
Wisconsin-Madison
UT-Austin (McCombs)
Cornell (AEM)
U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>And for privates that are more of a college experience than USC
Try Washington University (Olin) and Emory (Goizueta)</p>
<p>I know you’re not female but I knew someone who went from USC –> Wellesley and was much much happier, also someone who went from USC –> Vassar.</p>
<p>I think you need to really narrow down what bothers you about USC and then rectify it. Do you like the size? the school pride? do you want to go somewhere with more humanities/liberal arts emphasis? and so on that’s how I figured how where I was going to apply.</p>
<p>Well that gives me some hope, sofy. By any chance, do you know any of the stats for the people you know who transferred to those schools? Just curious as to what kind of stats I’d need to go to schools of similar levels. But yes, I will definitely be thinking about those questions (as well as others) and hopefully can come back later onwards to see if anyone can give more suggestions about narrowing down some schools to consider.</p>
<p>Thank you for the list BruinsJew. Unfortunately, it’s to late to apply for next year, so I’d only have 2 years at a new school, so I’m still debating if it’s worth it to transfer. You were right in guessing that I’m not from CA (I’m actually from NJ), so UCLA and Berkeley probably aren’t worth my time (especially considering I was rejected as a senior). I truly appreciate your suggestions, but I think one of my problems with USC was that there were a lot more commuters/people from nearby that were able to leave constantly. I think that most likely I’d want to go to a school where that isn’t as much of an issue or one closer to NJ so that I could do that if I needed to. But thank you for the list, and I will definitely be checking out a few of those schools.</p>