<p>My friend recently chose MIT, where she has to pay full tuition for the first year, over USC, which offered her a full tuition scholarship. In her case, she liked the atmosphere at MIT much, much more, and since college is an once-a-lifetime experience, she picked it over the latter. It’s a matter of personal preference and of the amount of cost for college that is acceptable to your family.</p>
<p>It would depend on your self-discipline. People can get an excellent education at EC. The guest professor at our seminar today did undergrad and med school at USC. If you need competition and cold weather to motivate you, choose Columbia. Otherwise I would pick USC.</p>
<p>The poor reputation of U$C should be enough motivation to pick Columbia over U$C.</p>
<p>So this is my first time posting, but I have been reading these forums for a long time, but I felt compelled to respond to this question since I faced a similar situation. I am currently a freshman here at Columbia but I am from the LA area and have spent a lot of time at USC so I can give you a better perspective. I loved both schools and I love both cities but I chose Columbia instead of the full tuition at USC since I wanted a new, different experience.</p>
<p>The first thing that you should know about Columbia is the core curriculum. If you do not fall in love with the core curriculum then you will be screwed over for the next four years. Even though you will be at SEAS for physics, you will still have your requirements. A lot of people who want to go to Columbia make the mistake of overlooking the curriculum. It is definitely an overwhelming force that dominates what you will and won’t be studying for most of your college career. While USC’s liberal arts program (thematic option=>TO) is reputable, it is in no way like Columbia’s. However, if you wanted to minor in something that is unrelated to what you want to do then I would suggest USC since they encourage you to venture outside of your major. However, if you know that you want to study poli sci, I would suggest Columbia since its program is notorious for creating strong leaders in the public services/politics fields.</p>
<p>Also know that, despite what some of these posters are saying, USC is a really good school and it has some excellent programs. It also offers a lot more options in terms of majors and minors and that all the programs there are pretty solid! When the other posters bash USC, they are probably referring to the very outdated party school reputation from the '80s. However, USC has taken many efforts to build up its programs and resources to create a school that can eventually break into the top 10 schools. Its doing a god job thus far as it is attracting many top students! My younger sister will be going to USC this fall and as I was snooping through her facebook (haha I know) and looking at the USC group, I was shocked to see how many people have turned down the ivies+Stanford, MIT and other top school to go to USC. Two people turned down Princeton two turned down Columbia and there were many others who turned down top schools like UPenn, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, Emory, Rice, Brown, etc. The point is many people are now choosing USC over the ivies because of the academic programs, opportunities, and low cost.</p>
<p>In terms of prestige, Columbia obviously wins on an overall basis. However, if you were to break it down program by program, it wouldnt be as clear cut. While irrelevant to what you want to study, USC has a much more prestigious film program and undergrad business school (since USC has a top 10 undergrad business school while Columbia doesnt have a business school, but grad school is a completely different story lol). In terms of what you want to do, however, Columbia wins.</p>
<p>However, what you also have to take into consideration is the type of experience both schools are. Columbia is definitely a school that forces you to grow up very quickly! Columbia does not and will not hold your hand and help guide you, you have to be very independent and figure it things out for yourself. Also, dealing with Columbia’s administration is like dealing with an inefficient bureaucracy. There is so much red tape and it is very slow in terms of responding to your issue. While this won’t affect your everyday life, this contributes to Columbias cold atmosphere and you will at some point deal with the unwelcoming often intimidating administration. As I’m sure you know, USC has the largest international population so they will be very accommodating and welcoming to you and take extra efforts to help you adjust to American culture. Columbia does help to some extent but not like USC.</p>
<p>Socially, I would choose USC hands down! At Columbia, you will be doing a LOT of studying and working over the weekends. Also know that the campus is dead during the weekends since New York City acts as a drain to most of the campus life. This makes it harder to meet people and often creates the cliquey social scene that can sometimes seem to dominate the social life. USC, on the other hand, has the Trojan spirit that seems to act as a unifier and there are still many people who stay on campus despite it being in the middle of LA. Also know that since Columbia is more of a graduate focused university, being that there are more than twice as many graduates as undergraduates, it has a colder, more professional atmosphere as opposed to USC which has a much warmer and friendlier atmosphere. Also know that along with the tuition, you are also paying for living expenses in New York City, which is hella expensive. Fun definitely comes at a high cost and just riding the subway has notably got more expensive. So you will definitely need to figure that into the costs of going to Columbia.</p>
<p>All in all, both are really good choices and you can’t go wrong with either one. While I love Columbia and the city, it can often leave you with something to be missed since it is not a typical experience. While the city can make up for it, it still won’t replace the awesome undergraduate experience. Despite what another poster said, you can always come to New York later in you life (grad school, etc.). You can arguably have more fun in the city as a grad student since you aren’t crippled by being under aged and you will more than likely be able to better afford your fun. I’m sure there is no rivalry to being a 20something in New York City. USC offers an unparalleled experience that caters to undergrad students. However, it ultimately boils down to what you want in a college experience.</p>
<p>If you want to stay in LA, go to UCLA (or Cal Tech if you can get in) instead of U$C, known for its nickname, University of $econd Choice.</p>
<p>^do you even know what you are talking about?</p>
<p>USC has been moving up the rankings during the past couple of years while UCLA has dropping on the rankings. More and more, students have been choosing USC over UCLA.</p>
<p>UCLA’s ranking has been dropping? Maybe you should double check your “source”… UCLA’s ranking has been consistently around 23~24 in the last decade. </p>
<p>In world’s ranking, UCLA is ranked 32th best university in the world (higher than Cal), while U$C sits at #112.</p>
<p>USC has a nice advantage over UCLA, though, that it doesn’t rely on the state of California for a large part of its funding.</p>
<p>UCLA = State school</p>
<p>Yes. UCLA = state school, so is Cal-Berkeley, so is Michigan, so is Virginia,… all ranked above U$C. </p>
<p>U$C does not rely on state for funding, but U$C tuition is also much higher than public school… </p>
<p>If you want to pay for private-school tuition, go to Columbia instead of U$C.</p>
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<p>Not anymore, according to US News rankings.</p>
<p>[National</a> Universities Rankings - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/page+2]National”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/page+2)</p>
<p>So USC basically ranks with UCLA, UMich, UVA, Georgetown, etc. in the tier below Ivy. It’s not as bad a school as wifey99999 seems convinced it is, but it’s obviously not Columbia. The key for the OP is to decide which culture suits them. They stayed on the Columbia waitlist and got off it, so they must be capable of handling Columbia. But if they’d rather the more relaxed SoCal experience, then they should stay at USC. Either way, I’m not sure how our continued arguing on this thread helps.</p>
<p>USC has done a great job in recruiting faculty and students. Forty years ago, when I was applying to college, USC had great grad and professional schools but the undergrad was referred to as the “University of Spoiled Children.” It was a school where rich people sent their children to meet and marry the children of other rich people. About thirty years ago the undergrad section started changing its focus. They recruited top notch faculty and gave full rides to outstanding students, several of whom I have taught as medical students. (I do not teach at USC, so I have no conflict of interest.) The average GPA and SAT have risen accordingly. Basically adults will rate USC according to their age: older people will have a lower opinion of the academics based upon what it was like when they applied to college. I would rank it the same as pwoods does, but he is probably younger than Wifey99999 or he lives in Southern California.</p>
<p>Let me add that today I would choose Columbia based on culture not academics. I was born and raised in the LA area, so going to NY would be a great adventure for me. Also I’m sort of a history buff, so doing the “core” would be appealing to me where it might not appeal to you. In other words go with your gut if money is not an object. If money is an object, spending that much money might affect your gut. (or your parents’)</p>
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<p>Haha, well said. </p>
<p>In general, good advice.</p>
<p>I am still very young. But I have nothing positive to say about U$C. </p>
<p>If you don’t have good grade, but have money, you will still get into U$C. their selectivity is awful. </p>
<p>On the other hand, UCLA’s admit rate is going steadily down year by year.</p>
<p>@wifey99999999</p>
<p>i think you are clueless. 24% admit rate= awful selectivity? </p>
<p>USC is paying me full ride. I’ve decided to go there. They have invested in me and will no doubt watch over me to make sure I succeed. I have decided the ivy league can wait for grad school. </p>
<p>P.S. I go to a “rich kid” school in France, (i’m not though - I’m on scholarship here too), and it’s disgusting how the kids here get into ivies as if it’s nothing - talk about “if you have money”. I worked for my spot at CU, but in the end USC is giving me a golden opportunity.</p>
<p>Ignore wifey99999999, he’s just a ■■■■■.</p>
<p>Good for you! USC is an amazing school–they have the second highest number of National Merit Scholars after Harvard.</p>
<p>If U$C is truly amazing, then it would not sit at a whopping #112 at world’s college ranking. </p>
<p>no brainer, columbia over U$C at any time.</p>