<p>The SAT scores are not high enough for merit scholarships at SC unless the OP has some incredible achievements outside of the classroom. The National Merit Scholarships are only given to admitted students who are National Merit Scholars. Scores rose again for the class entering in August 2011. For the admitted class which entered last fall the middle SAT score was a combined 2030-2240.</p>
<p>I second Chapman University, although not as prestigious as USC or UCLA, it is a great school and very generous with merit scholarships and grants which you would certainly qualify for with your stats. It has lots of great programs and when I visited the campus it had a great vibe, I will definitely be applying in the fall and even though its a safety I could see myself going there over some of the more ‘selective’ schools that I am applying to as well.</p>
<p>Definitely USC if you can get in. Fantastic school and on the rise. Has already passed UCLA and amidst CA budget cuts (1.3 billion was just cut from the UC system, and more might come), USC is making tons of money ($700 million in donations just this year, including $200 million for the college of letters & science). The campus is smaller than Berkeley’s or UCLA’s and it’s nicely manicured and looks great. Football games right next to campus so it gets exciting. Great network in SoCal, probably the best of any school. People are always extremely happy and spirited about Trojan pride. Academics are solid and are increasing in prestige, good opportunities for pre-med, especially with the $150 million recently donated to their medical school. You need lots of financial aid? USC will probably give you close to a full ride if you’re low income, and even if you’re not, you’re going to get lots of aid, probably making it as cheap or even less expensive than any other comparable school, though Stanford might be slightly less expensive depending on your situation, but it’s not likely you’ll get in. I would definitely consider USC as your top choice, or at least one of your top choices. Chapman is good too but I have several friends (3 actually) transferring away from Chapman to attend USC this year; take from that what you will. Bias: I go to UC Berkeley, but I might even transfer as well.</p>
<p>Keep in mind no matter how prestigious the schools are, you’ll find people transferring to and from different schools for different reasons. I’ve heard of people transferring from UCLA to Chapman, too. I’m sure you’ll find people transferring from Princeton to Harvard and vice versa. Some people like bigger campuses and some like smaller campuses. Some people like to live in LA and some like to live in the OC. At the end, most people prefer more money in their pockets.</p>
<p>Also consider LMU…it’s smaller than USC and UCLA, but slightly larger than Chapman, not as religious and up tight as Pepperdine. Students really seem to love LMU!</p>
<p>There are many good private schools out there, but you need to do your research to find the best merit-aid, many of them are not that generous with their merit-aid. Based on what I know and from what I’ve heard, Chapman has the best merit-aids program.</p>
<p>OCELITE we get it. You can stop touting Chapman now.</p>
<p>cubecul, I’m only providing financial information to the OP according to the topic. The OP is looking into a good college with good merit-aid. There’s a difference between touting and educating someone by providing valuable information. If someone tells me to go to USC instead of Chapman even though Chapman has a better aid, that’s touting.</p>
<p>Your last two posts offer no help to the subject. I’m sure people appreciate the suggestion (I certainly would have) but to continue posting about Chapman moves this thread into a battle of Chapman vs. the world. It’s also funny how your continued posting occurs after someone suggests a school that’s not Chapman.</p>
<p>cubecul, You are too funny! Apparently you are missing the point. I’m simply responding accordingly. It’s not a battle as you’ve indicated. LOL. You reminded me of another thread a while back where one of the posters openly insisting the OP go to a very expensive school in the mid-west with bad weather, when the OP was looking for schools in a nice area with a good climate and is affordable. How do you like them apples? Is that offer better help to the subject? In general, people care more about cost when shopping for a school and what is the best value to them. Sorry if Chapman happens to be that special school that offers all of that. There’s nothing wrong with sharing the wealth and knowledge with those people who have worked so hard to get to this point in their lives. Unfortunately some people care more about their own wealth than to share it with others.</p>
<p>GeorgiaGirl:</p>
<p>Its hard for me to find evidence of USCs claims of 25-75 percentiles of SAT scores. One reason could be the superscoring calculation by the U, but generally, when I look at individual high schools, I cant see USC claiming 2030-2240 even by doing such. </p>
<p>Unless the students from the hss that I have seen wrt scores would be < 25th %-ile, which might be pushing the boundaries of statistical probability, Id have to think USCs scores are overstated heres one example [high school](<a href=“http://www.pvpusd.k12.ca.us/penhi/collegeacceptance/collegeacceptance2010.pdf”>http://www.pvpusd.k12.ca.us/penhi/collegeacceptance/collegeacceptance2010.pdf</a>), USC decisions start on page 94. </p>
<p>We know that USC admits a heavily private-hs intensive group, a good 40% of the students are from p-hss, added to the fact that USC accepts a higher % from private hss … and we know that the more prestigious private hss produce students that score well on the SAT. But still even in this specific cohort, I cant see USC claiming these middle scores of SATs, unless USC were to admit from deeply into these classes wrt grades and rank for scores, which it probably does. One example would be the 29 students from Harvard Westlake. If one figures that the absolute top students would be attending the top elites, that would probably put these 29 at a middle rank at best (because top-elites wouldnt typically stray below the 80%-ile of class rank, say). </p>
<p>I think USC does a great job of merit, but a lot of merit is doled out to those who dont need it as much. Someone stated that the oos students USC admits would be > than the CA students for quals, but I cant see USC as having a two-tiered admissions for these two.</p>
<p>If I may offer a rebuttal to Caltanner:</p>
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<p>If you mean as far as US News National Rankings of US Us… thatd be correct. But the reason why USC passed UCLA last year in the publicaton wasnt due to budget cuts, but a change in peer score. UCLA outpaces USC in every other publication.</p>
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<p>Smaller? ~ 200 acres, really small for > 30K students. This could be a hindrance … really crowded campus. Not a lot of room to expand on the University Park area, could segment the school elsewhere, but that wouldnt give the school a campus feel. </p>
<p>Some of the new buildings on campus are nice. But still a lot of utilitarian buildings. I think its a nice campus, not real attractive when circling the campus from the outside, but inside its okay. Most probably think its not as nice as UCLA.</p>
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<p>Pretty exciting. I like Cals or Stanfords football feel better because the walk to the football games has a better more wide-open view of open scenery, instead of concrete cityscape.</p>
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<p>This is overstated…</p>
<p>Most prestigious firms arent as specific-school centered, so being competitive in the job market would depend on ones qualifications. </p>
<p>Larger firms/companies, generally, arent into school nepotism. If you want a boutique firm, there will be USC grads that will take you in. USC has great connections to entertainment companies, but so does UCLA.</p>
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<p>I like this element… USC and non-USC grads alike, much of it centered around the football team.</p>
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<p>Not nearly as good as UCLA, unless one were accepted to USCs seven-year Bacc/MD program. UCLA far outpaces USC in placements into med school, probably a good three to one.</p>
<p>OCELITE you are completely ridiculous and anyone reading the thread can tell you’re aiming at the wrong target right now. Read your PM.</p>
<p>drax12:</p>
<p>UCLA doesn’t even have their football stadium on campus. Instead students need to commute to Pasadena which is quite far. That’s just not cool, and it takes away from the excitement of having a huge moving crowd right on campus.</p>
<p>You think USC’s campus is too small, but I think UCLA is too large and impersonal. UCLA has a few nice buildings (royce hall is great) but USC I think has a much more intimate and consistent look/feel. The architecture is gorgeous, and I’m not sure about the “utilitarian” buildings you speak of. [Here’s</a> a nice video made by USC](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube) which has some great footage of campus.</p>
<p>About pre-med: I would never pick UCLA if I was planning on medical school. The climate at UCLA is filled with pre-meds, which as we all know, creates an atmosphere of intense competition. USC will have smaller classes with superior private-school advising, and perhaps some grade inflation to help you out. You definitely made up the “3:1” ratio of med school acceptance UCLA:USC. That’s ridiculous. The only way that would be possible is if UCLA had 3 times more pre-meds in raw numbers. UCLA is known to be a huge pre-med pressure cooker, which is never desirable. I would expect the medical school acceptance rates from USC and UCLA to be about the same; they should be. But the experience would be much less hectic at USC; I’m positive.</p>
<p>Finally, you say “Most prestigious firms aren’t as specific-school centered, so being competitive in the job market would depend on one’s qualifications.”</p>
<p>Ohh man, that is just completely wrong. For example, investment banking is heavily school-centric, but networks are extremely beneficial in any job search. UCLA kids get jobs just fine, but the trojan network is real. USC grads are extremely tight-knit, in the sense that they will purposely return to seek new grads and make recommendations to employers for fellow trojans, even to people they don’t know well, even simply through email correspondance. This also applies to internships. I have friends at both schools, current and alum. I am convinced that the USC guys were much better connected into some of the best internships and jobs, whereas UCLA kids needed to be much more independent about it. I think this is representative of the public school vs private school mantra, which applies to networks, advising, and even teacher recommendations.</p>
<p>If there has ever been a time to select USC over UCLA, it’s probably right about now (and likely in the future as well). Stanford used to be severely out-ranked by Berkeley before the 1960s, because they had no money while Cal was funded by the great state. That changed very quickly due purely to wealth. USC won’t reach the level of Stanford, but it’s easy to see how a school’s financial stability ultimately determines its long-term success.</p>
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<p>I think you need to visit the campus instead of relying on a youtube USC promotion video. I’m not saying it’s bad looking campus, especially the new buildings, like the business building, but it does have a lot of utilitarian structures. Some of the older traditional structures look dirty and not very well kept. </p>
<p>Most do have types of utile structures including UCLA, but USC has its abundance of them, maybe more. Many fairly objective surveys have UCLA in the top 20, let’s say. Add that UCLA is hilly which gives it a grandeur. USC is as flat as Kansas. </p>
<p>A bit off-topic … Stanford’s earthy buildings and the red-tiled roofs. It’s too cookie cutter, too well planned, with an occasional turret, which looks phony. CA Spanish styles should have some flaws; a lot of the buildings there look like tract housing, besides my liking lighter colored stucco, including not liking that abraded look. I’m not even a fan of the Oval.</p>
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<p>One shouldn’t go to a premed school becuase it’s less hectic. Generally, those schools with a large community of premeds tend to raise the performance of those who aren’t as good students.</p>
<p>Here’s the [aamc.org](<a href=“https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html”>https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applicantmatriculant/86042/table2.html</a>) website. 700+ apps for UCLA; 200+ for USC. Expect UCLA’s acceptance rate to be at least as good as USC’s.</p>
<p>Here’s [Calbar](<a href=“Attorney Demographics”>http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/demographics.aspx</a>)for attorneys in CA for good measure.</p>
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<p>No, trust me I know each campus. Oh and so many people I know hate the hills at UCLA (“uphill both ways”), or tell me how it’s such a hassle to travel to and from the dorms/greeks (“walk of shame”). I never get that from Trojans.</p>
<p>At this point there’s little more we can say about campus aesthetics without continuing to delve into biased opinions. I truly think the USC campus is cleaner, better kept, more intimate, and more consistent with its architecture and style. UCLA is more spread out, more eclectic in style, less pleasant for walking around (hills, distances), and IMO dirtier. It’s exactly what I would expect from the private/public divide.</p>
<p>And there’s no way I would label the insane pre-med grade-grubbing of a pressure cooker as “incentive for raised performance”, rather I would consider that climate to detract from authentic education.</p>
<p>I’m not going to debate your points as to which campus is nicer, except to point out the surveys which seem to be more objective. Most of what you’re forwarding is you opinion, and I’m not going to try to turn you to liking UCLA better. </p>
<p>I agree, there are some who don’t like the walks from dorms to classes, and vice-versa. And UCLA is definitely more of a walking campus than USC, which is more bicycle, again because the former has hills and the latter is flat. But those who don’t like to walk shouldn’t be on campus; jmo, but I think UCLA should have a specific physical fitness req … be even more partial to accepting those who were involved in sports in hs, because of the competitive aspects also.</p>
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<p>Just wanted to address this one, which I wasn’t able to before…</p>
<p>Neither UCLA nor USC have great ins in IB. Both probably do pretty well with the regional banks on the westcoast, as well as both should because both are westcoast u’s. </p>
<p>UCLA doesn’t have a pure bus major, but bus-econ, math-econ, econ, math-app science seem to be placing well in various bus fields as witnessed to by the postings on UCLA’s board.</p>
<p>Those u’s that place well in whatever bus field do so because their grads perform well in whatever sector, as USC’s fares well with accounting firms, etc.</p>
<p>cubecul, I can see clearly that you are still missing the point. Perhaps you need to reread the OP’s posts. Responded to pm. Have a nice day!</p>
<p>drex12, I said that both UCLA and USC grads get great jobs, but from what I’ve seen, the actual search process is easier for a Trojan because of the network, if anything for internships alone (which often translate into jobs regardless of network).</p>
<p>Depending on how high you can your standardized test scores, I suggest strongly considering the Claremont colleges. This will also depend on how important athletics are to you. Personally, I am a fan of cheering on my friends at our much smaller sporting events, but if you really want the big football games, then the 5Cs are not a great choice. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I didn’t find USC’s financial aid to be that great. I won a combination of merit and need-based aid from USC, and my cost of attendance was still around ~$10,000. Comparatively, Pomona provided me nearly a full ride; I only had to pay about $2,000 my freshman year.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone! This was so beneficial for me to read and I have found some new colleges to look at! I didn’t mean for the fighting over Chapman to break out so from here on out let’s just drop that topic! I am definitely applying to USC and Stanford and i’m looking at a lot of others… Does anybody know some liberal leaning colleges that have strong or decent science and math programs that I could get scholarship money to? (2050, 98 GPA) Keep in mind i’m taking the SAT again in a couple months. Thanks!</p>