<p>Hi.
I was accepted to both USC and UC San Diego and I have no idea which one I should go to! So I would like to know a bit about USC. I guess I'll introduce myself so you guys can know what kind of person I am and if I'll "fit" in USC. Ok, I'm an international student, I've attended private school all my life, I don't talk a lot in class, I like sunshine, I'm Asian, I'm more of a "worker" than a "party-er"....Don't really know what else to say...
Ok here are some questions:
1. How is the area outside of the USC campus? Is there a lot of people? Is it safe? Will I get mugged? Are restaurants there expensive/cheap?
2. How are the classes? Is there a lot of people per class (I'm a biochem major btw)? Are people friendly? Are classes competitive?
3. How are the lecturers? Does it matter for undergraduate study? <--This is really important cause UCSD is better than USC for biochem but as long as they pretty much teach the same thing and are of similar quality its ok I guess.</p>
<p>That's all for now. Thanks in advance for all responses!</p>
<p>UCSD is better than USC in bio fields hands down. UCSD is probably even better than UCLA in biochem etc. I am pretty sure the social life at USC is a bit more lively than UCSD though. I feel like you’d fit more into the UCSD climate than USC because you are more of a “hard worker” than a partyer. Not trying to say USC kids aren’t hard working. I’m simply just talking about the air of the two different colleges. UCSD has more asians, is quieter during the week, and generally does not have as many awesome parties as USC. </p>
<p>You decide though, you honestly can’t go wrong with either school.</p>
<p>lol i was accepted to both schools too, but i don’t understand how can one school be better than the other school. I mean USC hires top professor and UCSD prolly does too. Both professor are good enough to teach the students all they need to know, so i guess…it’s really just that UCSD has the name? However, in essence, the quality of the education is similar? I am doing business so marshall for sho :D</p>
<p>Hey guys! Thanks for all your help!! I think it may come down to which school gives me more aid cause my parents really don’t want to pay the $50K+ for me to go there. Also, everyone keeps telling me that the area outside of USC is all ghettos and stuff so it could be dangerous. That is REALLY making me not want to go there since I’m not exactly Bruce Lee or something so yeah, can someone tell me honestly what the area outside the school is like?</p>
<p>lol walk in the right place and you will be fine. I didn’t get to see the ghetto part at all, cuz the popular and essential parts are really safe! It’s next to LA live and i think grammy award or something takes place around too. So those are safe and awesome! Trust me…i felt so safe at USC unlike when i was at berkeley…berkeley scares me…but that has nothing to do with ucsd lol</p>
<p>I think you will be surprised by the area surrounding USC - I know that as a parent I was. I heard the legend of USC being in a terrible area and expected the worst. Though it isn’t all sunshine and lollipops, the area immediately outside the USC campus is mainly apartments filled with USC students, food places and shops catering to USC students, and DPS patrols the area surrounding USC. I found myself walking in the middle of the night with my daughter to her apartment two blocks from campus last week and felt perfectly safe. (I got to sit in on CTCS466 with her - SO much fun - and the class lets out at 11pm.)</p>
<p>If you attend an Explore session, there will be bus tours of the surrounding area so you can see for yourself the good and the not-so-good and make an informed choice.</p>
<p>On the USC website are photos of the campus. I suggest you look at those. SC is located in an urban area. I would say the surrounding area was apartments, small houses and stores along the bigger streets. It is not lined with tenements or public housing as I saw in Philadelphia or Newark.</p>
<p>In the U.S. there are other urban universities such as Georgia Tech, Univ.of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Fordham and NYU. </p>
<p>The city location offers you access to many cultural events, museums, Los Angeles Symphony, art galleries, ethnic dining and theatres. The metro system has stations at SC, but the line will not be completed until 2012.</p>
<p>Unfortunate that USC’s surrounding area still has such a bad rap.</p>
<p>Take a virtual tour via Google maps street view. It’s a normal working class neighborhood.</p>
<p>Fyi, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards are being held at USC’s Galen Center on April 2. The LA Times Festival of Books comes to USC’s campus the weekend of May 1.</p>
<p>If I had a dollar for every person who asked this…</p>
<p>The area around USC got a bad rap in the early 1990s when the LA riots took place. That was over 20 years ago and probably before you were born! The area has changed. As a freshman, you will live ON CAMPUS – the safest place you could ever be. USC takes safety very seriously.</p>
<p>Now, you could go to school in the “safest” neighborhood possible – but if you decided to walk home alone at 3am listening to your Ipod carrying your designer purse, you could get mugged there, too. Crime happens everywhere. If you use common sense (as you should no matter in what kind of neighborhood you’re in) you will be OK. USC has a 24hr tram and Campus Cruiser that can take you home from class after hours if you are alone.</p>
<p>It’s a college and low-income neighborhood. Nothing surrounding USC in terms of food in “expensive.” You have your cheap fast food options all the way up to restaurants with entrees around $15 a person.</p>
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<p>All depends on your major, the class and the professor. Generally, everything is competitive – especially the bio classes. Your GEs will have more students, but as you move into 200 and 300 level classes, you’ll usually have no more than 20-25 students.</p>
<p>People are friendly – there’s a social group from every kind of person. If you’re quiet and like to study, you can find friends who like to do the same. If you like to party, you’ll find those people. If you’re in the middle, you’ll make a ton of friends easily.</p>
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<p>I’ll say this – at every college, there are outstanding professors and horrible professors. You’ll have to find this out on your own when you’re registering for classes.</p>
<p>UCSD has a party reputation, too. It IS San Diego. Go with whatever school you like best after visiting!</p>
But hey, i love it… plus, nothing is really easy!