<p>Definitely USC.</p>
<p>The strength of any schools alumni network is pretty much tenous and unquantifiable. Just keep that in mind if you are basing your decision on such a thing...I cringe every time I hear this term thrown around.</p>
<p>If most of what you mean when you say "school spirit" involves sports, please remember that there are only 3 sports which are prominent enough at the college level to be sellouts at a lot of colleges: football, basketball, and hockey. And probably no college in the country is as good at all three as BC (you see them beat North Carolina in hoops today?) USC would squash just about anybody in football, but that's a few weekends a year. It's nice to have respectable teams fall and winter (nice unifying focus; nice way to relieve stress; nice way to keep in touch with your alma mater after graduation). ND is pretty good in all 3 sports too. </p>
<p>LoneFreckle is right about both USC and BC being beautiful, but it's a really different kind of beautiful. USC is a leafy oasis in a rough section of LA, and once you leave the campus it's not so leafy or oasisish any more. BC is the safest college in the country as ranked by **************.com. BC's location isn't just good--it has possibly the best location in the country, if you believe Boston is the ultimate college town, AND that a campus should be buccolic and safe (it's surrounded by one of the wealthiest suburbs in the country). </p>
<p>I still say the biggest variable in your decision is probably your reaction to the whole Los Angeles scene. If you go there and and are bowled over by the number of palm trees and movie stars, that's your place. If you think it is one gigantic monument to superficiality, then your choice is between the Midwestern solidity of South Bend and the Northeastern slickness of Chestnut Hill.</p>
<p>thanks so much for the help so far everyone!! ...when i say school spirit, yes i am talking about sports. i know bc is good at them, i was wondering if people actually support their teams. for example, i live in nebraska, and football is absolutely HUGE here. granted, the huskers haven't been that good in the past few years, but every single game is a sellout and people absolutely go crazy...just wondering if BC was similar, or if they are good but students would rather be at a party than at a game</p>
<p>It's not like Nebraska in football (but what is?), but sports are still VERY big at BC. In terms of sports enthusiasm, it's probably the most Nebraska-ish place in New England--they have a big band and cheerleaders. etc. You're the exception, not the rule, if you're not into sports there. BC is now the biggest football power in the New York-New England area, and few colleges in that area can match it in baskeball, either. And with BC now in the ACC, they should become the unquestioned athletic power in that area (only UConn--and only in hoops--is close to BC as a sports power in the NY-New England area; Syracuse used to rival them, probably not any more).</p>
<p>In the princeton review it has BC as one of the schools where "students pack the stadiums" </p>
<p>I personally have not been there but when researching BC i asked people who have and they told me that sports are a big deal there. I suppose that USC does have nearly double the student population so you may feel the support more purely due to that (i have never been there so dont take my word for it.. i just am making an assumption).</p>
<p>USC and Notre Dame have decades of history of placing alums in the best grad schools while a recent Wall Street Journal study placed BC way behind. Also the endowments and fundraising are 2-3 times that of Boston College.</p>
<p>Do you have a link to that study?</p>
<p>It sounds interesting!</p>
<p>well, i may be beating (or "bumping") a dead horse but... BUMP!</p>
<p>USC is the most well-rounded school, in my opinion. It's on the rise academically, it's got the renowed "Trojan Family" which promises career and personal connections the world over, the culture kicks ass (high athletic involvement, school spirit, etc) and it's in Southern California.</p>
<p>I have nothing but respect for ND and BC (honestly, you couldn't really go wrong at either) but I think USC has the whole package. Notre Dame might have a tad bit more national eminence but you'll have to contend with cloudy skies and crap weather. And as awesome as ND probably is, it's also in South Bend, so if you want real excitement you'll probably journey to the Windy City.</p>
<p>I say go with USC but then again, you can't really screw this one up. All are pretty top notch.</p>
<p>I've been giving this one a lot of thought. Thinking outside the box, I came up with a different approach to making your decision.</p>
<p>First, a little background. A while ago, after graduating from BC, I got accepted into the master's programs in English at ND and Iowa. I tried to suppress all emotion, and make the choice on pure logic.</p>
<p>I ended up choosing Iowa for these reasons:
ND was too much like BC.
Iowa had a more-famous English Department.
Iowa was cheaper.
ND back then had better sports, but since I wasn't going there to PLAY football, it was an irrelevant reason.</p>
<p>I got to Iowa, and while it was a surprisingly nice place, it simply had no pizzaz for me, and I have since been beating my head against the wall for making the decision to go there.</p>
<p>Lessons learned:</p>
<p>Choose the COLLEGE, not the DEPARTMENT, unless there is a huge difference in departments.</p>
<p>The march to a degree is a long and difficult one, and if what's at the end of the road is something you aren't excited about, it will eventually seem pointless.</p>
<p>While it might be good to use your BRAIN (logic) to narrow your choices to 2 or 3 colleges, it's probably best to make the FINAL decision with your HEART--which one makes you proudest, gets you giddy, etc.</p>
<p>While I think a visit to each of your 3 excellent but vastly different schools would make this decision an easy one, here are some things you could do to see where your heart is:</p>
<p>Get a T-shirt from each school. Take a jog wearing each shirt. Which one makes you proudest and feels just right?</p>
<p>Stand in front of a mirror. Pretend you are 30 years old and on an airplane. Have a family member stand off to the side and pretend to be the passenger next to you. Your family member says, "So where did you go to college?" Watch yourself saying, "I went to Notre Dame," "I went to USC," and "I went to Boston College." You will get a different feel from each one. Which one feels best?</p>
<p>As everyone here says, you are in the wonderful position of not being able to go wrong with any of these three. Good luck.</p>
<p>Those are three great choices, you can't really go wrong. Do overnight visits if you are able to - that may help.</p>
<p>I'd give ND a slight edge in national name recognition and a national alumni network. As noted by another member, they always rank in the top couple of schools for alumni giving. In my opinion, Notre Dame is fairly unique in the level of bonding between the school and the student. ND grads seem to emerge as Domers for life. </p>
<p>ND's campus is gorgeous, and the new construction is mostly harmonious with the older buildings. The weather isn't great in the winter, and South Bend isn't the best college town.</p>
<p>I'm least familiar with BC, but to the degree that the Jesuits still run the place it's bound to be a very solid education. They seem to have good school spirit, and have spoiled a couple of ND's best football seasons with unexpected wins in November.</p>
<p>USC has some great programs, too, and southern California weather beats the other two by a mile (unless you like snow/cold).</p>
<p>I wouldn't downgrade the importance of sports at these three schools. Even for non-participants, much of the social life and general school spirit will focus on the major sports (particularly in the fall). I've seen students who could have cared less about football in high school turn into rabid fans in college. A crisp fall day, when ESPN is broadcasting from the campus, tens of thousands of alums and others are converging, tailgates that start 24 hours earlier, and a few thousand of your fellow students standing and yelling for the entire game... it's hard not get get caught up in it.</p>
<p>Good luck - this is one of those "can't go wrong" situations, IMO.</p>
<p>Tourguide - creative approach to college decision and interesting to read about your personal odyssey.</p>
<p>I know someone ( JC Hallman-author THE CHESS ARTIST) who atttended the renown Iowa's Writer Workshop and if you are involved with that program, you will not regret your decision! </p>
<p>Your advice to Jimmy to pick the 'college' - not the "department"- and to "follow his heart" ,is wise advice.</p>
<p>I reread his original post ( and read all his other posts, too)
JIMMY WROTE"
here's what is important to me:</p>
<p>-solid academics/good alumni base
-location (warm weather and/or a city would be nice, but like i said i'm from a city of 200,000 in the midwest, and i'm used to snow...)
-good sports
-some people similar to me
-good reputation
-good food :-)</p>
<p>Warm weather = USC
Boston = City </p>
<p>Sounds like BC is pulling a bit harder because it gives this Nebraskan a chance to experience all that an East coast city can offer, culture, music, food, sports events...........
He could easily travel to NYC, Phila, and Washington. </p>
<p>So I think he should pick a "region" over a "college".</p>
<p>If Jimmy would really take advantage of what a city offers, the next four year would truly give him a chance to "expand" his world!
Would South Bend offer that ? Would USC ?</p>
<p>Tour guide, I'd say Wisconsin is as or more competitive overall in football, basketball, and hockey without question.</p>
<p>SouthJerseyChessMom: USC has warm weather and a city so it seems to fit better than Boston! Boston is cold and the city is good but USC is warm and it's in LA so the OP will definetly be able to experience "culture, music, food, sports events". USC is a great school too.</p>
<p>Notre Dame</p>
<p>We could quantitatively compare BC and Wisconsin sports, but for some reason I can't find a basketball poll that has Wisconsin on it.</p>
<p>bc has intense school spirit.. uhh hello i have them winning in march madness :)</p>
<p>That's a good one, Kaitylin...LA and "culture." Maybe he can even get some tickets to "American Idol"!!</p>
<p>i think there is culture in LA. It's just a matter of what each person wants. Anyways, all I was trying to say is that LA is a city adn thats what the OP wants. Hey, maybe he can get some american idol tickets! lol!</p>