<p>How is campus life like at USC.....is it comparable to the atmosphere of a UCLA.....SIMPLY PUT, CAN U GIVE REASON WHY A STUDENT SHOULD GO USC.</p>
<p>Comparable to UCLA? ... Campus Life?</p>
<p>I assume you're referring to student social life on (and around) campus, and I can assure you that USC is a miles ahead of UCLA in that regard. USC has much better parties, but more generally USC has a more active and social student body.</p>
<p>SIMPLY PUT, YOU SHOULD TRY VISITING THE CAMPUS ;)</p>
<p>i did and still cant make a decision i visited both.....but the thing thats holding me back is that USC business program is GREAT</p>
<p>I would also like to hear from USC students/recent grads about the school. How are freshmen acclimated? Are special programs run to ease the transition for freshmen? How's the food? Are the professors approachable? Are freshmen courses tough? How important is participation in Greek life? Do you feel safe? Any comments are most appreciated? Thanks!!!</p>
<p>"Are special programs run to ease the transition for freshmen?"</p>
<p>I highly recommend joining a Learning Community the first semester. Your student should receive a brochure on this. My daughter signed up for the L.C. which offered INTRO TO CINEMA (one of USC's best-known/loved courses, taught by Dr. Drew Casper) and CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY. There are 20 students in a Learning Community and they meet in the same discussion group. They have a luncheon during Welcome Week, and most importantly, they offer <em>free</em> tickets and dinners for events like Dodgers & Kings games and L.A. theater (i.e., LION KING). My daughter is going to be a peer advisor next year so she can keep going to the L.C. events! :) It is one way to start to get to know some people and become involved.</p>
<p>My daughter has found her professors to be <em>very</em> accessible and supportive. The work has been challenging but after all the stress of the last two years of high school, with AP tests, etc., she has really adapted well, especially as students have so much more time available outside class than in H.S. </p>
<p>Safety was a big concern, and she feels very safe, has had no negative experiences safetywise. The campus is very proactive about safety.</p>
<p>Food ranges from good (most of the time) to occasionally great. I've eaten there roughly 4 times over the last year and enjoyed it each time -- it's light years above what I was served during my own college years. Lots of choices.</p>
<p>The Greek community is substantial but at the same time if you don't want to participate in Greek life (my daughter isn't) you will not be a social outcast by any means. There are many more avenues to build a social life, whether it's friends met in dorms or classes, friendships built around interests, etc. For those who are religiously inclined, there are also very supportive religious communities on campus which offer many kinds of events. </p>
<p>Hope this helps -- I share these thoughts here fairly often as to be honest my daughter's first year at USC has gone even <em>better</em> than we'd hoped, and she's been so happy I like to help encourage others who are struggling with this important decision. One year ago my daughter was really agonizing over her decision (she was torn between USC and a "small" school) and USC has turned out to be <em>great</em> beyond her dreams. In fact the publicity you hear about USC, that it has the advantages of a large school with the personal attention of a small school, is completely true. She's had great experiences with personal academic advising, contact with professors, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you, PBK Mom. I appreciate all your comments- thanks for taking the time to help us.</p>
<p>Being involved in Greek life is not important if you don't want to. I went to my first party on the row last weekend and honestly don't get the appeal, but to each his own. Freshmen will have the opportunity to participate in Welcome Week, which is a great deal of fun, and it can help make lasting friendships. There will also be programs run by your student's RA which vary by RA, but they're typically fun and suggestions are almost always welcomed. The difficulty of freshmen classes is honestly a question of strengths and class choices, if your student is pre-med they should be prepared for quite a lot of work, but it's managable. I have found a lot of professors to be very approachable, depends on the professor. I feel safe on campus, but I don't do a lot of wandering by myself at night, wouldn't do it anywhere though. Lastly, the food isn't something I'm completely amazed by, but it's tolerable. You can definitely get a balanced diet or not depending on what you choose. I've really enjoyed my time at USC thus far.</p>
<p>Agree with the above comments for the most part, but I’d just like to add a note about Greek life. </p>
<p>Greek life is about more than just parties. Going to a party on the row isn’t going to give you any sense of the value and benefits of fraternity/sorority membership. The value of membership in a Greek-letter organization has more to do with lifetime friendships, deep camaraderie, mentoring and guidance from older students, and an unshakable support network. </p>
<p>That being said, I do believe that it’s perfectly possible to be successful and happy at USC without pledging.</p>
<p>Thank you "stress4college" and "jessetfan". I appreciate your great comments. It's a tough choice for my D. We loved USC but the distance (plane ride) is a negative for D. Any more thoughts from you or friends are welcome! Thanks!</p>
<p>ILMOM - can your D take a direct, non-stop flight from your home to LA? If so, I don't think the distance is much of an issue. In my experience, flying anywhere in the U.S. these days pretty much takes all day, regardless of the actual distance. If she doesn't have to make a connection, much of the stress of travel is removed. I say this as a California parent of two east coast students who have been connecting through Chicago for 6 years now.</p>
<p>PS I told the third child (semi-jokingly) that she could go anywhere as long as it was a direct flight. She chose USC - hooray!</p>
<p>Hi Puzzled88- yes, we would be a direct flight. What grade is your D? Incoming freshman? What helped her choose USC? Her thought process might help my D...thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, my D will be a freshman in the fall. She signed her commitment a few days ago, chose her dorms, has her email address, and has found herself a roommate on Facebook. Because she's the third child, she's been around college campuses since she was in middle school. She started her search knowing she didn't want to follow her sisters to the east coast. She didn't want to be in a tiny isolated town but also didn't want a big city (by which, it turned out, she meant a high rise environment, not so much the geographical size/population). She is a pretty well-rounded student and is adamant about being an undecided major. She's talked about studying history, might minor in some kind of media studies, wants to continue with Spanish and study abroad, and is seriously involved in choral music. She started her search by reading about and then visiting small LACs. Our other two D's had focused on the northeast so we shifted gears and researched and then visited schools up and down the west coast, in Colorado and in the mid-west. We were in LA last spring to look at Occidental and the Claremont Colleges and drove into USC just to have a look. It was interesting because she'd been kind of floppy and bored at the smaller schools but perked up immediately at USC, sensing a different energy and spirit. She attends a small private high school in the SF Bay area and perhaps the LACs were too much like her HS to be interesting. Anyway, we went back to USC last fall to do the half day tour program and she liked it even more. She ended up applying to many of the original LACs and four of the UCs. She was accepted to USC in an early round and by the time the other letters arrived, she barely bothered to open the envelopes.</p>
<p>In response to PBK Mom - my D really wants to sign up for a Learning Community but they don't show up in the online course listings. Do you recall when you received that brochure?</p>
<p>You know, the L.C. brochure might not have shown up until after May 1st. It had a heading on the front which I remember said something like "You Got In, Now Get Connected!" and listed all the course combinations. If you don't hear about it by sometime in May I'd contact them and ask. When she showed up for the Orientation in June I believe she was already on a "list" for those classes and finalized signing up for them when she registered at Orientation.</p>
<p>Here is the page with last year's info: </p>
<p>You can get an idea of the course offerings from that. My daughter did Group #17.</p>
<p>Your daughter sounds a lot like my current freshman -- she was very undeclared and over the course of the year has decided to declare a History major and is looking at a double minor in Critical Studies in Film and Geology (Geohazards). She has been taking a 2-unit vocal class every Friday which she loves as she had not had enough time to continue her choral classes in high school. She also took Spanish 1st semester (very small class, I think 15 tops).</p>
<p>My daughter had thought she wanted a smaller school and looked seriously at Wake Forest (back in NC, where we have family) and Univ. of Redlands (my alma mater). But once we visited USC everything changed. Everyone we met was so positive and she began to realize how many more opportunities she would have (academically, culturally, and internshipwise) at USC. She has found it to have a surprisingly "cozy" spirit for a big school, too, with the personal attention I mentioned above. </p>
<p>If your student likes cultural events, there is a lot available locally besides the Learning Communities. USC offered <em>free</em> tickets and transportation this spring to see Kathleen Turner & Bill Irwin in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? at the Music Center. Daughter & 2 friends (one of whom has a car) also saw WICKED at the Pantages this month (paid for out of their own funds), and a couple of them are going to see 12 ANGRY MEN with Richard Thomas and George Wendt at the Music Center this Sunday. My daughter doesn't have her car on campus due to the parking expense (and it's not really needed more than occasionally) but there is usually someone around with "wheels" to go fun places. One recent Sunday afternoon she and a friend took their studying to the beach, for example. The sports have also been a lot of fun -- the new Galen Center for basketball is directly across the street from the "freshman" dorms. If you like pop culture there is also the fun of regular filming on campus -- daughter has spent more than a couple hours watching GILMORE GIRLS shooting on campus (grin) and also saw Bruce Willis shooting the new DIE HARD movie. This is just to give you an idea of the wide variety of experiences available. My daughter is also moving into the leadership of her religious group next year and they have had fun events like a midnight Halloween party with a pinata, a Disneyland day (she had to miss that, though), and so on, besides offering regular gatherings for study, prayer, or discussion. If that's something you're looking for (it can be a great way for a freshman to make friends and have a supportive community right away), it's very available at USC regardless of your faith or denomination.</p>
<p>I just can't say enough about what a wonderfully well-rounded experience she's having. As I mentioned above, this was a hard choice for her (she didn't commit until the Admitted Students Day on 4/23 last year) but now she can't imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>Hopefully, whether or not any student chooses USC, that student will also end up with the same feeling! :) Good luck --</p>
<p>Thank you PBK Mom. You're right that our D's seem to have a great deal in common, right down to the Gilmore Girls (mine owns DVDs of all the seasons). I checked into the Learning Community courses for this fall and was told that the brochure will be mailed soon. I read through the list for last year and know that my D will have a hard time choosing. What history classes has your D taken that she has enjoyed and are there professors she would especially recommend in that department?</p>
<p>My daughter said that after working her way through GILMORE GIRLS via DVD during her high school years (we also have a shelf of the boxed sets), it was positively surreal to see "Rory Gilmore" on campus in a graduation gown, LOL. </p>
<p>She has actually only taken one History course thus far, which is Japanese History this semester, Professor Berger. She has found the class fascinating. History has always been a strong interest so she decided to go for that.</p>
<p>Otherwise she has been working on GE's -- her earthquake science GE led to her interest in Geology (they even took a field trip and were bussed out to the San Andreas Fault). The professors in that department offer a lot of personal attention and support -- even though the GE class itself was really big. She has really missed not using the math/science side of her brain this semester, which helped cement her interest in pursuing that next year. </p>
<p>One of the neat things that went with the Science GE, at least this year, was a 2-unit multimedia course where they did earthquake-related presentations on film, building a Wikipedia type page, etc. There was one such course for each of the different GE categories this year. You never know, maybe she'll end up applying for a Renaissance Scholarship for graduate work if she maintains these diverse interests. :)</p>
<p>She also took a Literature class this semester as she thought it might be a potential major, but decided that as much as she loves to read great literature and appreciate it it historical context, endless textual analysis isn't for her long-term. :)</p>
<p>Critical Studies in Film will enable to combine her love of classic movies with her love of writing, so if she sticks to this plan she'll have very diverse coursework ahead of her in the next 3 years.</p>
<p>That's all very useful information. Perhaps our daughters will run into one another in a class one day as they certainly do share many interests. Thank you again.</p>
<p>haha will they be filming Gilmore Girls there next year?</p>
<p>My S is just finishing his freshman year at USC as an undeclared engineer. He has had a WONDERFUL experience at USC and is really enjoying the campus. He has made a lot of nice friends in the dorm and around campus. He has not joined a frat, but some kids do enjoy Greek life & it's fine either way.
He has only been home for Winter Break, otherwise, he's stayed at or around USC the rest of the year, as have many of his friends. There are lots of kids from all over the US & world, as well as lots from LA & other parts of CA, so it makes for a lot of interesting experiences. He lives in the Great Outdoors floor, which has also been a nice experience.
From my understanding, UCLA has much more of a commuter school feeling than USC, but it probably depends on whom you talk to.</p>
<p>Although rumor has it GILMORE GIRLS may be renewed for a shorter-than-usual 8th season, it dosen't seem likely to me that they would film at USC next year as USC stands in for Yale, and Rory's about to graduate. :)</p>