HELP!!!W&M VS USC Marshall

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I have been accepted to the College of William & Mary, as well as University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. As for future career, I am current interested in the field of finance. But I've also heard of the Mason School of Business a very prestigious school(Although I am only accepted to the A&S). As for W & M, it attracts me for its small classes, small faculty-student ratio and its academic atmosphere.</p>

<p>A decision between these two will be hard to make, yet the deadline is coming. As an internatinal student, I am unable to visit both. So it would be a great help to have someone familiar to give me some advice.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>USC is in Los Angeles (a large city), and W&M is in a small-ish town. USC is very big, and W&M is much smaller. In general the students at W&M are better.</p>

<p>Also…USC west coast of USA…and WM on east coast. Just more in the opposites that are these two choices.</p>

<p>Marshall is a 4-year program in business or accounting, while W&M is 2+2, that is, 2 years LAC, then you apply for the B-School for the last two years. Overall, the B-schools themselves are similarly “ranked” by Business Week, Financial Times, etc.</p>

<p>One big difference is in “size” - ~450 at W&M, (2 year), and ~3,700 at Marshall - I’d think you’d have a more personalized experience at W&M than Marshall. But the differences in the B-schools themselves, I can’t say, not having attended either of them.</p>

<p>As for the cities, I can’t really think of any two places more different than LA and Williamsburg.</p>

<p>USC is in downtown LA; while the campus itself is very nice, the surrounding neighborhoods are, well, not-so-nice, (the term “gang-infested” is often used.) The weather year-round is more moderate than Williamsburg’s, though smoggy days in the LA basin are no fun. LA has beaches and mountains within reach (come to think of it, so does Williamsburg - but LA has better beaches and California has bigger mountains.) To put it simply, LA is a huge, sprawling city, with all the good and bad that implies. The weather’s nice, but if you go there, you’ll need a car to get anywhere. LA is not your typical big-city, though - while it has a beach / outdoors / sports culture, that’s about the extent of it - it doesn’t have nearly the cultural attractions of a NY or London, say. </p>

<p>To me, it’s too crowded, too much concrete, too few trees, and has an overrated night life (outside of Hollywood, not so much.) They do have good fast food there, though, (where else can you buy carne asada <em>and</em> bulgogi from a truck?) and there are the tourist attraction standards like Disneyland and so on. The mix of cultures there (most Asian-Pacific countries have large populations and influence, as does Mexico) is interesting, though sometimes it can be a grind as well. </p>

<p>Williamsburg isn’t even in the same category as LA - far smaller, with Colonial Williamsburg as the backdrop, it’s a much quieter, more suburban place, but as a tourist destination, there are some additional things to do (and tourists to contend with) than you’d otherwise expect from a city this size. Oddly enough, people will say “LA as this or that as an activity”, but what they may not tell you is that activity is a 1- or 2-hour drive away (though still within the LA region.) For example, Santa Monica is like 15 miles away, but can take up to an hour to get to when traffic’s bad. </p>

<p>In large measure, what’s better will depend on what kind of person are you? Where would you rather spend 4 years? Being honest, if I were talking 4 days, I’d rather spend it in LA, the beaches and such are nice. But I find the congestion to be irritating, and the sprawl is endless - it’s become increasingly difficult to get away from the city. 4 years of that? Not so much. </p>

<p>The fact that you find appeal at W&M by virtue of small classes and academic atmosphere makes it <em>sound</em> as though you’d be more comfortable at W&M, at least during school hours. </p>

<p>Anyway, best of luck, whatever you decide.</p>

<p>A lot of grat stuff has already been said, so just let me throw in the new building that the Mason School dedicated this year: [William</a> & Mary School of Business - Alan B. Miller Hall](<a href=“http://mason.wm.edu/about/millerhall/index.php]William”>Alan B. Miller Hall  |  William & Mary School of Business)
Its a huge and gorgeous building, and it received a Gold LEED rating too!</p>

<p>I can tell you that the W&M Business School is very well respected and has good contacts for your post-graduation plans.</p>

<p>[William</a> & Mary School of Business - Undergraduate Business](<a href=“http://mason.wm.edu/programs/undergraduate/index.php]William”>http://mason.wm.edu/programs/undergraduate/index.php)</p>

<p>W&M> Southern Cal (except for football) :)</p>

<p>The earlier comment made pointed out an important difference. At W&M, you can be a finance major but you will be allowed to explore other interests in the liberal arts curriculum whereas at USC you might be limited to primarily business courses. At W&M, you apply to the business school during your sophomore year. The process is not a guarantee but last year they took everyone with a 3.2 GPA or higher.</p>

<p>The Mason School of Business just moved into Miller Hall, a brand new, state-of-the-art facility that is a real asset to the business program.</p>

<p>W&M is public, USC private. W&M is suburban, USC more urban. W&M has a smaller student body, USC a bigger one so there are substantial differences between the two and you are likely a better fit at one than the other.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>