<p>So, about 3 or 4 weeks ago I was accepted as a transfer to USC to study biochemistry. I'm extremely excited and I'd love to attend, but I'd be remiss if I didn't try to find some answers to a couple lingering questions I have.</p>
<p>The first pertains to USC's location. I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but, knowing that USC is in a pretty bad neighborhood, how do students who don't have cars get around? I've heard that public transportation in LA is pretty bad. Does the university have shuttles or anything along those lines?</p>
<p>USC is a fairly large school, so I'm sure class sizes are also fairly large. Obviously, when classes are large, each student gets less personal attention from their instructors. How accessible are professors? I've always thought of myself as a pretty independent student, but I'd still like to be able to have a reasonable amount of interaction with my professors in the form of meeting them during office hours or correspondence through email. Do they tend to seclude themselves like the professors at large state schools do?</p>
<p>I received a VERY generous financial aid package from USC which I am ecstatic about :). One thing worries me though. Since I have to reapply for financial aid every year I'm there, is it a possibility that my financial aid may drastically fluctuate from year to year (assuming the financial situation of my parents remains the same)? I don't want to enroll at USC, and then next year get half of the aid I'm getting now due to budgetary reasons at the school.</p>
<p>Finally, I have a couple questions about things that pertain to me as a pre-med student, though I think these questions may be answerable by any natural science student. How is USC in terms of undergraduate research opportunities? How does a USC student go about getting a research position? Also, how good is the pre-med advising at USC?</p>
<p>I realize that this is all research that I probably should've done before I applied, but I never really expected to get into USC :/. I'd greatly appreciate any and all advice! Thank you!</p>
<p>First off, congratulations on getting accepted! I’m an engineering major, so I’ll answer what I can with my knowledge/ experiences. The location isn’t nearly as bad as people (especially those who don’t go to USC) make it out to be. As long as you have street smarts/ common sense it is a pretty safe place. I live north-west of campus where not that many students stay, and my neighbors are mostly all local hispanics or african americans and it is a safe (but sometimes noisy) environment. From what I’ve noticed, is that more crime (in the form of robbery) tends to happen North of campus where more student stay. Now coming back to your question, for those who don’t have a car either a) make friends with people who do have a car, b) enroll in the Zipcar thingy, c) buy a cheapo car to drive around LA. Public transport is REALLY bad in LA (at least in my opinion, in which I’ve grown to be accustomed to rapid, efficient and timely transit). Freshman year a couple friends and I took public transit to UCLA from SC and it took close to 2 hours to get there. There are shuttles that bring you to LA Live if you want to go downtown, watch a game at staples or watch a movie, and I think there are shuttles that take you to union station.</p>
<p>As for classes, most GEs are rather large classes, and I think most bio/chem and other classes of those sort are also rather large. But classes can vary from under 20 people (foreign language, to WRIT340, to upper division courses) to well over a hundred. Regardless of class size, I feel that professors are easily accessible IF you put the effort in (either by going to office hours, stopping by their office, emailing them for questions or for setting up appointments)</p>
<p>Again, my input may not apply to a pre-med/ natural science major, but USC offers a lot of undergraduate research opportunities. Some of the opportunities is in the form of applying for positions or fellowships. While others can simply be made by talking to a professor and asking them if they could use some assistance. Research and find out what professors are researching in what topic and ask them if they could use help. Depending on the professor/ the college you may or may not get paid. I went up to one of my engineering professors, and after bugging him a couple times I’m now doing unpaid research with him and another post-doc</p>
<p>I didn’t really think the last answer was great so…</p>
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<p>Both of these are answered in other threads, I suggest you search them out for more thorough discussion. (The current bumped “Is USC safe” thread is old and you should only look at the last two pages, although most of it is ■■■■■■■■.)</p>
<p>As far as transportation: USC has trams that drive around the USC campus/neighborhood and take students to Union Station and LA Live. The Metro is opening in the fall and will allow you to take the subway to places like Hollywood and Pasadena. The bus is slow during rush hour, but if you plan it and have the time, LA public transportation will get you where you need to be. (Just not quickly.)</p>
<p>Only lectures are large – and even then, your 250 student lecture will be broken down to small discussion groups of 10-20 students. Large classes like these are restricted to GEs and lower level intro courses; when you get into 300 and 400 level classes, the size shrinks dramatically. Can’t speak for science classes, but my upper division courses ranged from 5-25 students max.</p>
<p>Professors are more than willing to talk to you; each professor is required to have office hours and most are pretty good with email. You can also interface with your TAs for help. It’s a good idea to get to know your TAs in the large classes because they influence your grading! I NEVER thought like I didn’t know a professor, like a professor didn’t care about me and that I couldn’t approach him or her for assistance.</p>
<p>Financial aid can fluctuate, but it stays pretty consistent if your financial situation stays consistent. It will grow or shrink here or there, but in my experience, it was usually in a range of +/- $4,000</p>
<p>I really wouldn’t worry about class size. I know our faculty - student ration is like 9:1 or something, which is very solid for a school this size. USC doesnt really feel like a 35,000 student school - every single one of my discussions has fewer than 20 people, and even the lectures I feel aren’t too big. Plus you have TAs who are very competent. My advice would be just to go to ratemyprof and research classes/professors. It will help.</p>