<p>I'm a rising junior and I'm starting to seriously look at colleges. Right now, I'm looking for a medium sized university with small class sizes, strong political science, international relations, and foreign language departments, great dorms, good location, and hot girls. </p>
<p>I don't want to go to a huge party school, and I've heard that USC has a ton of partiers. Is this true? I want to have fun in college, just not get drunk every night. What do people usually do on the weekends? I love the beach and the city, so I'd like to go to both as often as I can. Do most students have cars? I live in the midwest, so would it be possible to drive to school in the fall and drive back in the spring, then just fly back during breaks and some weekends? I've heard that it's necessary to have a car in LA.</p>
<p>Is there a lottery for dorms or do you list your top choices? Do most students get their first choice?</p>
<p>How is graduate school placement and career counseling? I'm not sure if I want to go to law or business school, or get a job for a few years right after graduation. </p>
<p>Do a lot of students study abroad? What about sports? I'm really into crew, tennis, and swimming, but I want to try new sports as well.</p>
<p>Thanks, and sorry for all the questions haha.</p>
<p>sounds like claremont mckenna’s the one for you</p>
<p>USC does not have a good location
around campus they live off of bikes but once you get off campus, the areas horrible so you better have the car
yes its a party school [ greek life!]
weekends? most ppl doont stay on campus for the weekends, but if they do its parties
lots of USC kids go to UCLA parties and so forht on weekends bc UCLA is in a better area</p>
<p>the beach is about 45 -50 mins away</p>
<p>im not sure about intramural but USC has a good tenis program</p>
<p>At USC, there is a variety of students but because of their high academic level, you will find that most are ambitious go-getters serious about learning. Those who party still tend to balance that with their studies. The average GPA of Greek students happens to be higher than that of the general population of USC students. So basically, you will be able to find your level or combination of study/party life because of the variety of students at USC.</p>
<p>USC has a great location close to downtown LA (great for internships), Hollywood (fun!), great shopping and the best LA has to offer (do an Advanced Search on these threads for more to do in LA). The closest beach is about 17 miles away and you can easily find others who love to go. </p>
<p>(Claremont McKenna is at least one hour to the beach and does not have a big city feel.)</p>
<p>Dorms are assigned on a first come-first serve basis so as soon as you are accepted, turn in your housing app. Those who submit early tend to get their top choice. If you wait until the end, you may not get your first choice. Luckily, there is not one BEST dorm so there are lots of choices.</p>
<p>Wow! I can’t beat cc441’s, my fellow Trojan, answer but I will tell you this. USC’s atmosphere is amazing. If finances permit, I would suggest you visit the campus. Trust me. When you visit, you’ll have a sense of belonging. If that doesn’t convince you, all the pretty girls walking around will. Fight On!</p>
<p>Is the Radisson really popular for freshman? I think that would be my top choice.</p>
<p>hiilikeyoux3, I’ve checked out CMC and plan on visiting, but I think it’s too small for me. </p>
<p>cc411, thanks! Do you think that coming from the midwest will give me a better chance of being accepted? Based on my PSAT scores, I should score around a 2000-2100 on the SAT. I also have great ECs and decent grades in a rigorous schedule. </p>
<p>mayfield, when do you think is the best time to visit?</p>
<p>I want to comment on the statement above that everyone leaves for the weekend, and it’s a nonstop party. My sense is that a lot of the kids who are from the LA area will go home on the weekends - some more than others. But USC has many students from out of the area, and they have tons of things to keep them occupied on the weekends. They attend games, movies, concerts and hear speakers on campus, make films, play in the fountains, go longboarding, have dance parties, etc. (and yes, there’s probably about as much drinking as at most college campuses, but it’s not the only option.) If they want to get off campus, they go to concerts, amusement parks, camping, and just exploring the area. My son used zipcar as a freshman for those sorts of things.</p>
<p>USC organizes several programs for prospective freshman who are not familiar with the campus. On Sunday, November 22, 2009, they have Discover USC where they have Admission Presentations, Financial Aid Presentations, Academic Sessions, Student Panel, Campus Tours, and an Academic Interest Fair. You can go to the USC website, go to undergraduate admissions, and go to visit USC for more info.</p>
<p>Usually, an applicant’s location will really not have an affect on admissions except when the student’s location is unique.</p>
<p>Of course there are exceptions but the Freshman Profile is a good way to compare your stats for admission. USC does look at all parts of an application, however, and your great ec’s and rigorous schedule can be huge factor. You may also want to check out the latest USC Decisions thread-</p>
<p>The Radisson is popular for some because the rooms are large and it is a hotel environment. Some complain about location because you have to cross a main street to get to it but I think it is actually a great location. It is directly across the street from some popular freshman dorms: New and North. The street you cross- Figueroa- has a light and crosswalk right there and is no problem to cross. Radisson is next to the new Galen Center which is the home of USC Basketball and Volleyball. It is also within walking distance of all the fast food restaurants. You can do a search here of other comments about the Radisson and other dorms.</p>
<p>CMC is too small for you? well its a part of a consortium of 5 other colleges and if you go to CMC or one of the partner colleges, you can take classes on all the other campus’</p>
<p>you can have math 10 at HMC at 9am
then english at PC latter on and etc
so it has the resourcesof 5 colleges</p>
<p>First off, the location is fine. I came from N NJ/NY so I expected something like Dykeman or Washington Heights, not a mild version of south central. Yes people have been robbed and there was one stabbing last year (although, if the paper is taken for its word, that wasn’t simply a murder, there was an altercation that escalated), but nothing that keeps you awake at night. To be honest, it doesn’t get hood unless you walk a good thirty or fourty blocks the opposite direction of downtown LA and school, i.e., if you deliberately walk straight into South Central. </p>
<p>We don’t jjust live off of bikes, we longboard too, and again, I don’t go walking too far at 3 or 4 AM, so unless you’re doing something ridiculous, walking back from the Row, or Tuscany or Chez Renee is fine. Anywhere else like Hollywood or Downtown you would be driving anyway.</p>
<p>Work hard play hard. You try to party 24/7 and see how fast that lasts. People party hard and a lot of people are greek (i’m not personally but a ton of my friends are and try to get me to rush various houses), but as long as you aren’t like biased for no reason there’s no reason why you CAN’T choose to party with some of your frat friends one night, and chill the other. Oh and don’t knock the BFA people, they know how to get down (lingerie party anyone?).</p>
<p>The weekend thing, in the beginning of freshmen year very few freshmen leave, then in the middle a few may start to go back home (those from around the area), but for the most part there are always people around. Only like 40% of the campus is from CA, and all of them don’t even leave. The weekends are usually when dorm parties, apartment parties, or people going out to Hollywood/downtown occurs. You can also grab a bite to eat or watch a show or go to a lounge if you don’t feel like drinking in so many different spots of LA (Chinatown, Koreatown, Little tokyo, Hollywood, W. hollywood, etc etc). </p>
<p>I have never in my life heard someone say, “Alot of people go to UCLA for parties.” I know some people went there for an Afro man concert last year, I’ve been there for pinks, and while I know one or two girls that went there to party, never have I seen a limo full of SC girls yelling, “screw the row UCLA I is where its at!”.</p>
<p>Also OP, the beach is like 15-20 minutes away (at least redondo and I think Santa Montica), the others are like 20-40 minutes away. We also have the angeles mountains (I go hiking up there alot) that’s like an hour and a half or so away, and if you are willing to take the trip Joshua Tree, Yosemite and Sequoia are all places you can drive.</p>
<p>Eh, well let me tell you, I am the complete antithesis of a partier, and USC was fine. Yes, there are parties on the weekends if that’s your thing, and the Greek scene is very active. But the school is large enough that you do not feel left out if you are not into frat or sorority life. You can always find people like you, who are not so much into partying. I had a couple of friends who were in sororities but most of my closest friends weren’t. </p>
<p>As far as the neighborhood goes…oh please. Yes, it’s not the greatest location and is in a working class neighborhood, but the people complaining that USC is in the ghetto are uneducated and ignorant. Sorry, but I get mad when people act as if they’re gonna be shanked just for going off campus. How sheltered are these people? It’s an insult to the neighbors that make up the surrounding community, and it’s also an insult to the people who really DO live in the ‘ghetto.’ Newsflash – USC is not in Watts or Compton! While at USC I worked with high schoolers who really did come from horrible neighborhoods. The sort of neighborhood where they were afraid to go in the front yard because of drive-by shootings. And now I live in NYC. I’ve resided in various neighborhoods in Harlem and the Bronx and let me tell you that the USC neighborhood has nothing on those places (obviously not every place in Harlem and the Bronx is like that). </p>
<p>I mean, sure, if you’re so spoiled and sheltered that the idea of living in a working class community is too scary, then go ahead and run away to UCLA where you can be even more sheltered (and I actually have nothing against UCLA – it’s a good school – but if your argument for UCLA over USC is, “USC’s neighborhood is so ghetto! UCLA is much better!” then…no).</p>
<p>Have you considered universities in Washington D.C. area since you are interested in political science and international relations? USC is great if you are interested in the Pacific Rim whereas Washington D.C. is tops for government studies/internships.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider UCSD. I think it is the Roosevelt school at UCSD which focuses on political science area. Also, UCSD is near the beach. If you want USC, you need a car to get to the beach.</p>
Yowza! After 10 minutes on that campus my daughter declared all other LACs off-limits, and I tend to agree. Unless you are into fishbowls the atmosphere can be suffocating. There are students who thrive in that environment, make sure you are one of them.</p>