<p>I'm a transfer applicant for USC and hoping to get in as a business adminstration major. I was looking over the internet when I stumbled upon this site.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/USC_c.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/USC_c.html</a></p>
<p>There are reviews from current students and alumni but there doesn't seem like many people like it especially at Marshall. Anyone have any thoughts about these reviews?</p>
<p>I can't help but to point out that ANYONE can make those comments on that site by just following the links and writing whatever they want. </p>
<p>I also can't help but to point out how many of the reviews contain the words, "I couldn't get into UCLA," "UCLA is so much better," or something very similar. Odd? Coincidence? Maybe?</p>
<p>Many of the complaints seem very general too...</p>
<p>And then there is the fact that only the extremes of personal opinions are the ones that even spend the time to post on sites like that. There is an overwhleming majority who just love their time there (or have slight peeves), but have no care to specifically find sites like that to comment on. Those who wish to speak negatively are often those who seek such opportunities.</p>
<p>Sure, many of the reviews are still probably true, but there is also a very good chance many of them were simply made up.</p>
<p>It's your choice to take them however you will. </p>
<p>Don't let your life be determined by the anonymous opinions of random people whose intent may not be what you think.</p>
<p>(Counting grad, undergrad alone is 16,000). And you are choosing to get worried over the comments of a paltry 151 (counting alumni)? 151 is 1/16 the number of incoming freshman this year. </p>
<p>Obviously, if USC were so freaking bad a heck of a lot more people out of thousands upon thousands would feel the need to rant and vent about how bad it is. Please do not base your perceptions of USC on the reviews of an obviously disgruntled few on that site. </p>
<p>xsabres9x is ABSOLUTELY right in his perceptive and well-written answer. Please take heed to his post.</p>
<p>And, not to be mean, but you are transferring, and you don't know if you even GOT IN or not. So, you know, maybe you shouldn't have to worry about the bad reviews of 'SC at all, since you might not have even been accepted.</p>
<p>Just a heads up.</p>
<p>as a current marhsall student i did find the reviews disconcerting on that site as well, especially since it is a bit frustratingly hard and i am hoping that my hard work will pay with the understanding that that is how a top 10 business program is supposed to be.</p>
<p>mind you though i then checked out some other schoosl like some of the Ivy leagues, and i wasnt too surprised to find they have their share of bad reviews as well, like the other person said, extremes. If you look hard enough you can find bad reviews about any school or program.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information spincut, as a current student what do you think about Marshall? Are you enjoying it there? It also sounds like its pretty difficult from your response.</p>
<p>thats a tough question to answer, as i have only attended this one school and have not really seen what it's like at the other business programs.</p>
<p>i assume the other top 10 programs have their own frustrations and rigors to them though, so it's hard to say that when i do get frustrated it's really at all unique to Marshall.</p>
<p>from what i gather, its a good program, but i dont yet know for sure, i'm sure the true test is when i go job hunting and apply for grad school.</p>
<p>the upside is, being in the top 10 affords you some visualization, so yes, the marshall program has a standard B- curve, which from the reviews appears to upset alot of future grad school hopefuls, but it's also highly likely that alot of companies and grad programs will realize this and take it into account (even though they manage to sometimes turn a blind eye to the opposite happening at an ivy program).</p>
<p>I think my professors are pretty good, there are some to avoid, but they overall come from pretty prestigious and varied backrounds (my stats professor used to teach at MIT).</p>
<p>the undergrad facilities comprise three large buildings, and overall it's pretty good, but theyare a touch old despite some rennovations, so i sometimes get bumbed that the Grad students have a seperate very cool new building made for them (they used to use the same buildings as the undergrads), but the undergrads will be getting a new building soon, named after the founder of kinkos (a USC alum), unfortunately it will be after i leave.</p>
<p>overall alot of the criticisms though may more rely on me graduating first and verifying for myself if it will affect my job and grad school prospects. Current experience wise though i've found the program challenging and useful, your core requirments makes you sample from the various emphasis, so you're bound to like some of them and hate some of the others, and some of them can be hard, especially the finance/accounting classes because USC has a specific reputation for being challenging in those areas (their seperate accouting program is in the top 5).</p>
<p>overall i can imagine that most of any flaws i would currently identify are probably highly present at the rest of the top programs, any specific unhappiness i would have would probably be my dissatisfaction with the area, as i am personally from the midwest/east and miss it a little bit (another reason grad school is important to me, as i would want to make sure i can have a good chance to get into some of those top midwest/east coast programs).</p>
<p>i also forget sometimes the obvious plusses to this program in particular, as alot business programs teach you the same emphasis principles in marketing finance ect....</p>
<p>a B.S. degree in business from a good program alone is pretty impressive, but it always helps to show some more specific interest with it (which is why alot of schools do give you at least the option to have a concetration).</p>
<p>USC has alot of concentrations to choose from (Marketing for instance has about 6 or 8 different concentrations to choose from in its department).</p>
<p>i also get to mix things up with an interesting minor (all schools have minors of course, but USC has some good options, and alot of people like to go the film route, which i would have done but waited a little long so i have to take comm design instead).</p>
<p>and to top it all off i also am earning a certificate in video game production from the engineering school.</p>
<p>so if anything USC has a diversity of subjects to enhance that business education, of which i dont see other schools offer as much.</p>
<p>what is a B-curve?</p>
<p>spin approx how many hours a day/week do you spend studying or what not?</p>
<p>Why are they upset by a B- curve? What do they want, an A- curve? What kind of school would do that?</p>
<p>a B minus curve.</p>
<p>how many hours do i study? i'm not sure as i dont measure, and it does depend on the class, generally i study until i get it, that can sometimes be a while and sometimes not be very long.</p>
<p>and why are people upset by the B minus curve? well, aside from the fact that other degree programs tend not to enforce such a pokicy nearly as strict, it can restrict the fairness of grade distribution in a class, only a certain amount of A's can be given. At the same time i have noticed that other programs also do that, some do not (i dont beleive Berkelys business program has a curve and thusly their average GPA is very high).</p>
<p>plus the grad students have a generous B+ curve.</p>
<p>and besides, i just mentioned how it's something alot of those reviews complain about, i really dont like the curve, but i dont let it get to me much, it occasionally can be helpful for the very difficult classes.</p>
<p>I'm probably one of the most negative posters here and I can tell you that many of those reviews are false. The curve is easy to handle because many frat people are in your classes. They oscillate at the bottom of the pile. The only class curve you have to worry about is 403 law for Fields or Cheeseman. The curve for that class is ridiculous, but it's the only unreasonable curve at Marshall. </p>
<p>However, if you go into Accounting that's where the curve hurts you. Because you go up against perennial dean's list students.</p>
<p>Once you're in Marshall, just figure out what prof's to take. For instance, everyone hates Mendy, but I found the guy hilarious and pretty good at explaining concepts. If you see his reviews, they'll be lopsided towards the bad end. Same thing with Kovacevich. I can't stress enough that one should figure out which classes to take in order to make student-life easy. I can't forget Merle either. That guy is a hall of famer for 250a. </p>
<p>Again, I bash USC regularly here, but those reviews are unreasonable and false.</p>
<p>Mendy is pretty cool, i have him now, he's a little bit out of his mind......but that's ok.</p>
<p>again relying on "frat kids" to help you out isnt exactly accurate. The core business classes can be on the larger side so you can commonly hope for their to be at least some students that get lower grades, but never count on one type of course to have alot of "frat kids in them", whether you're in the accounting or business program. The program isnt just about getting in it, it's about competition, alot of buisiness programs handle it similarily.</p>
<p>the accounting program is tough, but not just because of the curriculum but because of the class size. Smaller classes means less probability of their to be a wide distribution of scores.</p>
<p>What's the curve for engineering?</p>
<p>Most of the engineering classes I've taken had B- curves, which is why I was surprised to hear about people complaining about the same in business. I guess it's true what they say. =P</p>
<p>The two upper-division engineering classes I took that were officially "uncurved" were actually the hardest ones.</p>
<p>What does a B- count as..a 3.0 or a 2.67?..or what is the scale for the + and - system..my current school doesn't give + or -'s</p>
<p>2.somethin...I think it's a bit higher than .67 but I'm not sure.</p>
<p>According to [url=<a href="http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2004/academic/academic_standards.html%5Dacademic_standards.html%5B/url">http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2004/academic/academic_standards.html]academic_standards.html[/url</a>]</p>
<p>A, 4 points;
A-, 3.7 points;
B+, 3.3 points;
B, 3.0 points;
B-, 2.7 points;
C+, 2.3 points;
C, 2 points;
C-, 1.7 points;
D+, 1.3 points;
D, 1 point;
D-, 0.7 points;
F, 0 points</p>
<p>There is no A+, F-, or F+.</p>
<p>F+ and F- haha.</p>