<p>Hey everybody,
I remember using this site a lot during this time last year, so I figured I could help people out this year. I am a Freshman just finishing up my first semester. I live in the dorms, am in a fraternity as well as a couple other campus organizations. I am a broadcast journalism major and a presidential scholar so I can speak about academics as well as the social aspect of the school. If you have any questions just let me know, I'd be glad to answer!</p>
<p>Hi Applicant100,</p>
<p>I have applied to USC and am anxiously awaiting my decision. In the meantime I have a few questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What does being a Presidential Scholar incorporate? Is it just a scholarship or is there more to go along with it? Also, if you do not mind, could you explain what helped you become a Presidential Scholar (i.e. test scores, EC, etc)</p></li>
<li><p>How have you found the neighborhood? I just visited at the fall open house and drove around a bit and didn’t think the neighborhood was that bad/unsafe, but everywhere we went in California everyone said it was horrendous. What do you think? </p></li>
<li><p>This one is just because I’m curious and didn’t have the guts to ask during the tour…have you ever seen Miranda Cosgrove on campus?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hey Sullivan7,
- Being a Presidential Scholar means that I pay half tuition, but USC does have the Trojan Scholars Society which is the group of scholarship winners. They host events for all of the kids that have been awarded a scholarship of some sort. I can’t pinpoint what helped me become a presidential scholar and the group is actually very diverse. My test scores were pretty good (high 2100’s) but so were those of a bunch of my friends who didn’t get scholarships. I’d say the number one factor I felt was important during my interview was my extracurricular involvement, especially in the area of my major. USC is a very active campus, so I imagine the administration is looking for students who were willing to put themselves out there during high school</p>
<p>2.The neighborhood isn’t really as bad as people make it out to be. I’m from the East Coast and I live in a suburb so the adjustment to urban life is definitely a change, but as long as you have street smarts, you shouldn’t have an issue. Yes, we do get some crime alerts from the Department of Public Safety, mostly about people getting stopped and robbed late at night. I can say that the walk from the Row back to campus late night isn’t bad and students really don’t walk many other places late night. You have to be careful, but I haven’t had any bad experiences even with walking back from places late night. On campus you’ll never have an issue. Getting onto campus after I think 8 PM requires that you show an ID, so you could walk alone from one end to the other and feel 100% safe.</p>
<ol>
<li>I haven’t seen Miranda Cosgrove, unfortunately. I know she’s around SCA a lot, but I haven’t spent enough time there to see her. Maybe next semester though!</li>
</ol>
<p>A few questions (thanks for doing this by the way)</p>
<ol>
<li>How is the engineering school in general, specifically for computer science?</li>
<li>What are the perks and disadvantages of living out in LA?</li>
<li>Are internships / co-ops common (I know you’re a freshman so you might not have much info on this)?</li>
<li>How are the people there? I’ve definately heard a lot about many of them being stuck up / bratty / rude, would you say this is true?</li>
</ol>
<p>No problem goods37</p>
<ol>
<li>I’m in Annenberg for Broadcast Journalism so my thoughts on Viterbi are just what I have heard from my friends who are Engineers. Everyone that I know in the program is always extremely busy, but they do like it. I think the school is ranked 9th nationally by US News so that speaks to the quality of education. I know certain programs like BioMedical are smaller than some of the others like Electrical. I’m not really sure about CS other than that my friends thought their intro classes were difficult. They aren’t majoring in CS though which I’m sure adds to their struggle. Overall it is definitely pretty renowned and although it is hard, the career opportunities are definitely available. </li>
</ol>
<p>2/3 There are a LOT of perks to living in Los Angeles, which ties into your question about internships. USC is obviously a top school in California and the internships, especially around Los Angeles, are prevalent. I am a freshman, but I’m already looking into possibly staying out in LA for the summer after my Sophomore year for an internship. Other than the availability of jobs though are the perks of LA’s geography. At USC, you are two stops on the metro from LA Live, an outdoor mall that has the Staples Center, the Nokia Theater, Club Nokia and other nightlife, three stops from downtown (although fewer people hang out in downtown LA) and a car ride from places like DisneyLand, Mountains for skiing and the beach. There are so many places to check out which makes it awesome. Disadvantages? It is an urban environment and with that comes homelessness and crime. There is a relatively large homeless population that as a student walking up and down Fig on the way to the Row or other places off campus, you will have to interact with by just saying “no.” Also, there is crime around campus, but as long as you walk in a pair past like midnight, you shouldn’t ever have an issue. </p>
<ol>
<li>The people here are actually awesome. The Trojan Family actually really takes care of their own, as cliche as that sounds. The reason that you’ve heard about people being arrogant is that to those who are outside the Trojan Family, we are. I think it comes from our dominance in football back in the Pete Carroll days, but we are the Arrogant Student Nation. The culture here is VERY similar to that of Notre Dame and Georgetown (Other Schools I Considered) in the belief of superiority. Now this isn’t like we ACTUALLY look down on other people, it just goes along with the school pride here. We go to USC, and that is something that we are proud of. It’s hard for me to describe it without sounding like a jerk, but it really isn’t an issue once you’re on campus. All of the students are incredibly cooperative and helpful, we just happen to be proud of our school and it comes off sometimes as arrogant. I hope I explained that right!</li>
</ol>
<p>are a lot of classes taught by TA’s? or do professors and students form close relationships?</p>
<p>It really depends on your major. In my first semester, I had two lecture based classes that had about 80 kids in them. The professor taught the classes on Mondays and Wednesdays and then a TA ran the (shorter) discussion section. The TA’s graded the work that I submitted for those classes, but the professor was the one who taught the class. Forming relationships with those professors is actually easy though because they hold office hours. Obviously some are more available than others, but they all have designated times where students can go ask for help or just introduce themselves. My other two classes had about fifteen kids in them so in those it was very easy to meet the professors and form deeper relationships with them.</p>
<p>Hey Applicant100, thank youuu!</p>
<ol>
<li>JW are you in-state or oos, (I know it doesn’t matter tuiton wise since USC is private)</li>
<li>What were the biggest reasons you chose USC?</li>
<li>(If you don’t mind) what is your ethnicity, I’m oos from a state with a somewhat different ethnic makeup than Cali—has ethnicity played any significant role in the relationships you’ve made with peers and teachers?</li>
<li>In your opnion, is need-based aid fair at all?</li>
</ol>
<p>Hey JesusDr</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I am oos, but unless you are from like Wyoming or another state that doesn’t submit as many apps to USC, I don’t believe state of residence matters for admission</p></li>
<li><p>The biggest reasons I chose USC were the education quality, the location and the atmosphere on campus. USC has arguably the best journalism program on the west coast so that was a big factor for me. I also wanted a school that was close to a city for the ease of internships. Lastly, I wanted a school with a big sports program to ensure that there would be a lot of school spirit on campus. There are tons of other reasons that I chose USC, but I would say those are the top 3</p></li>
<li><p>I am white and from a state that is not as diverse as California as well. Ethnicity hasn’t really played a huge role in how I interact with everyone on campus. There is a lot of diversity on campus, and naturally, certain groups stick together to maintain their ethnic identity, but it is in no way exclusive. I have a good amount of white friends (mostly because of the greek system), but I have plenty of friends with different backgrounds as well. </p></li>
<li><p>I cant answer too much about financial aid just because I don’t know all of the details. Sorry!</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Usually need-based aid is pretty fair, but everyone’s situation is different. USC has one of the biggest FA pools in the country ([USC</a> Releases Admission Statistics for Fall 2013 | Press Room | USC](<a href=“http://pressroom.usc.edu/usc-releases-admission-statistics-for-fall-2013/]USC”>USC Releases Admission Statistics for Fall 2013 - Press Room USC)). Also, when entering in freshmen year, you can apply for a larger estimated budget to account for college purchases such as a laptop and possibly receive an increase in aid.</li>
</ol>
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