I’ve posted in a previous discussion about my dilemma with Penn vs USC.
If I wanted to end up in LA/West Coast while still receiving a top notch education at Penn, will it better serve me to go to undergrad school at Penn and graduate at USC, vice versa, or USC all the way? Can you guys give me some advice?
Since you prefer Penn, go to Penn. Then apply to West Coast grad schools/companies. It’s not going hurt your chances for good jobs or grad schools in California.
I also like USC, and feel like it would be a better fit for me. Will the undergraduate experience differ socially (football, campus life, etc.) from the graduate experience? You can refer to my previous thread to get a better picture of my contemplation.
If you think USC would be the better fit and want to go there, do it. Their academics aren’t that different, and it will certainly be more easy to get jobs on the west coast coming from USC. If you go to grad school, it won’t matter as much where you went to undergrad, but it will be easier to visit schools on the west coast if you’re coming from USC. USC is also known for being a very fun school (more so than penn)
If you go to grad school, it really doesn’t matter where you do your undergrad, and no employer will care what your GPA was in undergrad. They will only care about grad school. It’s kind of like no employer will care what a college grad’s grades were in high school. Of course you DO need to do well enough in undergrad to get into grad school, so as long as you don’t think the social life at SC will be too distracting, you should be good.
The grad school experience will definitely be different than the undergrad experience. Always is and has been for everyone I know regardless of where they go. There’s a more noticeable age difference by then that they will notice and you will feel. You’ll be sharing a campus, but feel somewhat separated by maturity, interests, and focus on career. I went to one or two undergrad functions in grad school, but suddenly felt like the old guy at 22. LOL. I’d been there, done that. Grad school is more intense, much smaller pool of fellow students studying what you are, and tend to stick with their own more, where undergrad is one big free-for-all regardless of major.
So pick the school you think is the best fit - where you think you’ll do the best and be happiest. In terms of potential employment, if you want to end up here in So. CA after graduation, the USC alumni network is known for being extremely strong in So. CA. Surprisingly, not the case with UCLA (where I went). USC just seems to be more of an “old boys” network, for lack of a better way to put it. So even if you did not go to grad school for some reason, you’d still have that plus.
Hope that helps. Can’t go wrong with either school. Congrats, and good luck!
Undergraduate experience is always different from being a grad student. You’re older; school is more like your work; you hang out with people who are much more focused and firm in their direction. Sure, you can still go to football games. Many grad students do - but it doesn’t feel as exciting as it did when you’re an undergrad. Just like a high school football game doesn’t feel all that exciting once you’re in college.
You seem torn - it seems you feel you belong at USC, but that Penn will give you a better education. Is that right? If so, let me disabuse you of this notion. USC is a highly respected school and has world-class contacts. Meantime, in the west, Penn doesn’t have the cachet it has in the east. There are Californians who think Penn is Penn State and won’t believe for a minute it’s in the Ivy League. (Joking, but there’s truth to it.)
In other words, even if you went to Penn you wouldn’t necessarily enjoy greater opportunities in the West. And since that’s where you want to end up, then go to USC. It has a pretty good football scene, I hear. And its weather totally beats Philly’s.
Yes, yes, it will. The graduate experience is very different from the undergrad experience. If you want the undergrad experience that USC offers, then you should go to USC. It’s an excellent school and will offer you many opportunities.
Not really…Take me, for example…
Texas A&M University - Undergraduate
University of Pennsylvania - Graduate
MIT - Graduate
University of Oxford - Graduate
Or…in your case…excel up the later…
Go USC then Penn
or
Go Penn then Stanford (which won’t be hard w/a undergrad from Penn)
Point is…grad school is where you want to knock it out of the PARK! the world is a big place and where you went to school plays a big part in that. PS - don’t be married to SoCal. Penn gives you access to NYC, Philly, DC (hell, really the world!!)
You mention going to USC for undergraduate AND graduate school. Most students go to a different grad school than their undergrad (but it depends on what you plan to study). It is generally considered good to go different places, gives you more than one perspective on the world.