chance me for emory

USC and Emory are two very different schools and both excellent schools. S was accepted to both Emory and USC this past year. Emory offered more merit/aid than USC but S went with another option that was a better fit for him.

That being said, we toured many business schools, from Marshall at USC to Goizueta at Emory, Ross at Michigan, Kelley at Indiana, Georgetown, UNC, UVA and others. Even toured the other USC (South Carolina). Also know current students and graduates from both Emory and USC. Agree with @ljberkow that Kelley is a good safety to have. S was admitted there with max OOS merit as well.

In my view, it’s not close in terms of the business school if looking at Goizueta vs. Marshall. Marshall is mostly recognized in Southern Cal and some parts of Asia, for one. While they aspire to be a domestic powerhouse, they aren’t there yet.

Emory is a very serious academic environment with very bright students. Not to say there aren’t many bright students at USC Marshall School of Business, but you will likely get more transfers into the Marshall school from junior colleges in CA. My sense is the student body at the business school at USC will be a little lower tier when compared with Emory. Agree with @Bernie12 that Emory is a different culture. USC is a great school, especially for majors such as Journalism, Film, and engineering, IMHO. Since S was looking at business and for other reasons, it was not for us, but many may like the business school at USC.

Your stats and extracurriculars look fine, but it’s really a crap shoot with USC, given the huge number of applicants. Emory is likely going to be an easier admit, assuming your essays are very strong. Nothing is guaranteed. Good luck.