<p>My son was accepted to both and was very excited when the ND letter came (ND followed the USC letter). He has since softened about ND. Maybe because he's afraid of leaving home. We live in Socal. I would like to see him go to ND, but I will be supportive of his choice. If I am too vocal about ND, he will surely go the opposite way. Any thoughts about the virtues of either school? He's interested in business major and then JD from hopefully an Ivy.</p>
<p>I can't speak for ND, but my son is in a junior in accounting at USC. I feel that they have been very supportive. SC offers a Law and Public Policy minor which he is taking and may think about JD later.</p>
<p>He has enjoyed himself there (maybe a little too much?), doesn't mind the neighborhood, gets a little tired of being in the middle of a city though.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Any thoughts about USC vs Notre Dame </p> </blockquote>
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<p>I'll take ND and the points...</p>
<p>Oh, you mean which to attend? :) Either school will provide a great education and offer a lot of school spirit with a traditional college experience.</p>
<p>I'd suggest Notre Dame if the student is from Southern California. (I'd suggest USC if the kid was from Indiana.) I'm big on college as a way to get a student away from home into a totally different environment, and in your son's case I don't know that USC would do that.</p>
<p>Either is a great choice, though.</p>
<p>Roger, let me add some complexity. My son has recieved a guaranteed transfer (after a year) to Cornell. His plan is to go to USC or Notre Dame and then transfer to Cornell. He wants the best chance at Harvard law. I suspect that he will fall in love with whichever school he attends first and then stay there all four years. If that happens, I'd much rather see him at ND for 4 years, than USC.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, I agree with Roger's reasoning. (And I also would have said "take ND and the points.")</p>
<p>There are things to like and things that are so-so about each school. That being the case, my advice would be, "go East, young man."</p>
<p>Irish all the way..... </p>
<p>There is NOTHING like being a ND student and then a ND grad....
It's a lifestyle!..</p>
<p>Have 3 sibs that graduated from USC but all HATED the area -- dangerous, traffic, etc. (I'm a UC kid)</p>
<p>ND is awesome...... Touchdown Jesus watching over your child!</p>
<p>BTW.... we're doing an ND campus tour on the Tuesday after Easter (ND is closed on Monday).</p>
<p>Let football be the tiebreaker. WE all know who wins that. </p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>actually, football would be a toss-up. usc seems like it would be more fun, but notre dame seems like it would be the better college experience.</p>
<p>i grew up as a life-long USC football fan(dad is an alum), but will be attending Notre Dame this fall. go figure.</p>
<p>Going to either would probably be "fun" but I would think going to ND would be more fun. THE WHOLE TOWN lives for ND. That isn't the case for USC's surrounding area.</p>
<p>You're talking about South Bend? It didn't really seem like that great of a place, or a city that supported the school when I visited. But with USC, there are countless alumni living around the area that are intensely loyal.</p>
<p>Most of South Bend is in poverty. They could give a crap.</p>
<p>Barrons:</p>
<p>that is not only ridiculous (the poverty part -- my hubby's relatives live there) but the whole town LOVES ND.</p>
<p>that's awesome to hear. makes me even more excited to attend nd this fall.</p>
<p>AceRockolla:</p>
<p>If you are interested in "awesome alumni" just think about this. What school's football games are broadcast ACROSS the country and not just regionally? NOTRE DAME It is because of its NATIONWIDE alumni and non alumni support that its games are broadcast all over. </p>
<p>Notre Dame is in a "college town" that lives and breathed ND in the fall. USC is in a crappy part of LA where it is not safe. </p>
<p>I, too, grew up as a USC fan (except when they were playing ND at Thanksgiving).</p>
<p>AceRockolla: </p>
<p>Are you CAtholic? Do you go to a Catholic high school?</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind is that ND has more of a religous aspect to it than USC--how is your child with that? My niece is thrilled (& matriculating at ND this fall) but my son would be quite uncomfortable in a similar atmosphere (he's agnostic/atheist). It's all about "fit." Has your child overnighted at ND? How was it? Similarly, has he overnighted at USC & what did he think of that? Both schools have very loyal alums but a very different feel.</p>
<p>I'm protestant(but not very religious), and I go to a secular boarding school. i'm just hoping i'll fit in.</p>
<p>that's funny you grew up as a usc fan too; was that first sc-notre dame game hard?</p>
<p>Ace Rockolla:</p>
<p>Of course you'll fit in. The school is a CAtholic school but all faiths are welcome (non religious are also welcome). If you look on its calendar, it gives Jewish kids time off for Passover. </p>
<p>I was just asking if you are Catholic and going to a Catholic school because I wondered if that was the reason that you selected ND. Again, don't worry about "fitting in". My kids go to a Catholic high school where 25% aren't Catholic and you cannot tell who is CAtholic and who is not CAtholic at the school by talking to the kids.</p>
<p>You will LOVE Notre Dame.</p>
<p>My niece is very excited about ND & it was her top choice--she applied EA. She is Catholic & that was one factor that appealed to her about ND. That said, as was posted, I'm sure there are all kinds of folks at ND & they all get along, as happens in many schools that have some religous component (my brother-in-law attended Creighton, which is Jesuit too). Our mechanic's son graduated from ND & loved it--the HS he went to was Catholic as well (Marist).
Both schools are great, as long as you decide you'll be happy wherever you go, you can't go wrong! Since you're already in LA, you will probably grow more by leaving your comfort zone of LA, but only you & your family can decide what will work best for you.</p>
<p>Definitely go with ND! Last year at this time, I was in the midst of a difficult choice between my top two schools: Dartmouth and ND. Though I ultimately chose Dartmouth, I feel I could have been happy at either school, though my relative lack of athleticism, love of the mountains, and financial aid ended up being the tipping points. Yes, I'm Catholic (somewhat non-practicing), but my host at ND was, I believe, Protestant and fit in just fine. He actually had just applied to be the leprechaun mascot--how cool is that!?</p>
<p>Oh, and as far as South Bend is concerned, I didn't get any impression of poverty, or much of anything else for that matter. It just seems to be your typical moderately-sized Midwestern city--a little bit more so that what I'm used to, even being from Toledo.</p>