<p>which would you choose? USC is giving me half tuition, and Reed, since it doesn't give merit-based, isn't giving me anything. But, I know I would be happier at Reed. My complete ineptness at being spirited school-wise may prove detrimental at USC. I don't know how to make this decision. Both are great schools, and both have a lot to offer. If it wasn't for that $20,000 difference, I think I'd easily pick Reed. But then... USC is USC... so much great networking, beautiful weather... Ahh! Help?</p>
<p>Take USC and make sure you get into the TO Honors Program. Small classes, top professors, great students, very intellectual and cool reading lists, discussions, the whole enchilada. Take the $90,000 or so you’ll save and go to an ivy for grad school. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I’m waiting on the letter back regarding TO. If I get in, it would definitely be a point toward USC. Could the TO program be compared to the regular Reed curriculum though?</p>
<p>In TO’s writing courses, you get bi-weekly one-on-one sessions with your teacher to help develop your writing. In case you haven’t seen this, check out the website: [Thematic</a> Option > USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences](<a href=“http://college.usc.edu/thematic-option/]Thematic”>http://college.usc.edu/thematic-option/) In particular, click through on the sample courses.</p>
<p>From that site:</p>
<p>Get the benefits of a small liberal arts college in the heart of one of the world’s finest research universities.</p>
<p>It isn’t enough that the freshmen in Thematic Option, USC’s honors general education program, are swamped with reading and papers, struggling to understand the greatest philosophers, writers and thinkers of Western civilization. They are also supposed to question the definitiveness of the very works they are told are so important—those of Homer, Plato, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Marx, Locke, Paine, Woolf —the multiple “canons” that have long set the standards in their disciplines. </p>
<p>*Don’t let that “swamped” wording deter you, if you would love Reed you would love TO.</p>
<p>Madbean that “swamped” wording sent my son running within seconds. Other than that, he would’ve eaten it up. </p>
<p>As a writer, I would’ve suggested “immersed.” Or done a complete rewrite. Not a big fan of the “supposed to” sentence either, or the “to be” verbs holding it in place.</p>
<p>It definitely sounds fantastic. I guess I just feel like I’d be giving up that wonderful Reed experience that one hears so much about. I keep having to remind myself that it’s just college, not the end of the world.</p>
<p>jazz/shreddermom, the word definitiveness also seems a bit too clumsy to be placed in a description of a focused honors program. Perhaps they figured the more dense it sounds, the better it conveys the overall experience?</p>
<p>It really depends how appealing Communism, Atheism, and Free Love (and STDs) are to you. ;)</p>
<p>Well, I’ve always been more for capitalism, avarice, and free beer… We’ll see how things work out, haha.</p>
<p>Haha, that sounds more like SC.</p>
<p>Reed College has a definite appeal to a certain kind of student. I do not think you will find the diversity you will experience at SC. A student learns not only in the classroom, but also from his peers. At SC you may room with someone from Austria, have lunch with a friend from Kuwait and study with another student from Alabama. </p>
<p>Reed will offer you a fine liberal arts education, but I think USC offers something special in addition. </p>
<p>I concur with madbean, the TO would be a great program and offers a demanding curriculum that will challenge you academically. At the great Thornton School of Music the brochure says it offers a conservatory within large research university. In many ways the TO program mirrors that description.</p>
<p>Just one more thought… Portland, Oregon has rain, lots and lots of rain. I checked the weather data. Out of 365 days a year Portland has measurable precipitation 155 days with some occasional snow.</p>
<p>@Georgia Girl - As someone who hails from the PNW but lives in Vegas now, Portland(or)Seattle are a place everyone should live once in their life but you are right in that it does rain and that will drain you after being there a few winters.</p>
<p>Kulakai,
Part of our family lives in Portland. I have visited Portland many times. One member called and told me there had been 30 cloudy, rainy days in a row with no sunshine. It is green and wooded, but the dreary winters can be verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry long.</p>
<p>Just as Portland has rain it is not cold in July in Atlanta. lol</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While there is an obvious difference in size between the two, I do not think Reed is significantly less diverse than USC. I’m from India and I’ll be attending Reed this year and I know students who’ll be attending from places as varied as Vietnam and Switzerland. Reed has taken steps towards being more diverse than a stereotypical Liberal Arts College is, and isn’t doing too badly for its size. Even within the US, Reed attracts students from Arkansas, Montana, Iowa, Wisconsin and other not so typical states. You may take other criteria into account, but don’t underestimate Reed’s diversity, if that’s at all a concern for you. Honestly, if your parents can afford it and you’re a Reedie at heart-everyone knows if they are one, and no, unlike the '60s it has nothing to do with “Communism, Athiesm, Free Love”, you should come. If you’re not sure and you don’t know if it’s worth it, then I guess Reed won’t be worth it, because you’ll always have USC and the merit money you could’ve got, at the back of your mind.</p>
<p>I’m actually from Portland, but I’m currently attending USC. I’m not going to knock my hometown for its weather, I actually like the weather back home a lot more than I like it here in LA.</p>
<p>If, like you said, you know you’d be happier at Reed, the go to Reed. Ultimately, your college performance and what you get out of it will depend on how happy you are where you are. That being said, what major are you? It does make a difference, as for some majors, I would definitely advise you to pick USC because of all the industry and alumni connections that go right into the classroom. Those sorts of things will be invaluable to you when looking for internships and jobs.</p>
<p>Diversity? Why, USC has the highest number of international students of any university in the US. If that’s what you’re worried about, USC has every other school beat. We have a building called VKC, the VonKleinsmid center, and hanging from its walls are hundreds of national flags. Each one of them represents at least one current student at USC who is from that country. It’s quite a sight, to walk around there and simply look at all those countries, all those different experiences here at USC.</p>
<p>And school spirit? Don’t worry about being inept, we will teach you. And you will love it! School spirit is part of what USC is all about. Not just in sports, but in everything else as well. Trojans walk around with a perpetual swagger, that attitude of “Yeah, we’re awesome and we know it” that comes from being around some of the very best, day after day, in everything that you do.</p>
<p>jazz/shreddermom, I think the wording is a little dramatic, too, but I suspect they are looking for that sort of fearless kind of student who is looking for the challenge and would rather discourage the few who might drop out of the program anyway. Not many leave it, so they must be getting the kids they would like.</p>
<p>I’ll say that each TO student I’ve gotten to know (actually, I know their moms) has had at least a moment or two when they wondered how crazy they were to sign up for such a rigorous program. However, please remind your s that the grading seems to take into account the progress made in the semester, and is (from what we’ve observed) very kind to those who put out the effort. In other words, lots of thinking, lots of mind-blowing lectures of the highest order, and lots of A’s.</p>
<p>If a student is intrigued by what an elite LAC might have offered, this is the place to be. And you can always bail out if your other classes, commitments make it too hard to put in that little extra effort.</p>
<p>I think that if you are really trying to decide between Reed and USC, you have a lot more thinking that you need to do. It is hard to think of two schools that are more different in atmosphere and academic approach</p>
<p>I intend on majoring in comparative literature and sociology. I want to intern or work for a human rights organization after college. This could change. My parents want me to go to medical school. That won’t change. Would either school make a difference regarding either plan?
Although Reed is quite diverse for a LAC, USC does win on that, which is very important to me. I’m Pakistani-American, and it’s fair to say that every school I’ve attended since the second grade has been 80% Caucasian-American. I need a change in environment in that regard very, very badly.
The rain doesn’t bother me. While sunshine is more important to me than it probably should be, I feel like I’d be able to drive out somewhere with a visible sky when things get really bad. My parents can afford Reed, but I would feel excessively guilty due to so many loans.
I got into TO today, so it seems that that will have to be taken into account for the next few weeks as well.</p>