@greensat thank you so much for the very educative post. So far I have not received a sigle response suggesting that the steortype is correct. This was practically my only worry regarding USC- I am almost certain to attend.
Well this is old. I have been hearing community college students a while ago calling USC students spoiled children while their own test scores are not even close to USCâs admission line. I mean, thats how strong stereotypes could be.
D15 is a junior and loves life as a Trojan. There are many students from wealthy backgrounds, but most are smart, hardworking and high achieving kids. My impression is that there is an attitude of ambition and mutual support among USC students, with a dollop of pressure to excel. Opportunities to get involved are plentiful, although sometimes competitive. Itâs a wonderful school and I canât imagine her anyplace else.
the thing about stereotypes is that they perpetuate stereotypes. The other thing about stereotypes is that there is some truth to them (this doesnât justify exploiting these for socio/political purposes before you jump all over me)
There are some students at USC who come from extremely wealthy families, but there are also students from extremely wealthy families attending UCLA, Occidental and Cal State Long Beach. LA has a strong economy and many wealthy families, so you will find wealthy students at all the desirable universities in the area. However, USC has the resources to draw students from a range of backgrounds, so no one needs to feel out of place. When I went there in the 90âs (albeit for grad school), one of my good friends was from the Hollywood Hills and another took the bus to USC from Compton. They were both hardworking students.
However, when my DS1 (now a junior) began attending, I did expect him to constantly ask us for money. I had heard stories from other parents about how their kids (attending other universities) bought clothes for all their friends or took lavish trips to NYC, but I have seen none of that. My son and his friends (from a diverse range of backgrounds) have all been surprisingly cost conscious. At least in his group, it seems to be a point of pride to find the best deal for whatever they are doing. All of his friends also work, either on campus or during the summer. Iâm sure there are lavish spenders nowadays at USC, but I have not met them.
Your real world experience has been ours as well, @stardustmom My daughters were both a little afraid or apprehensive of that too ( the âwill we fit in among the rich?â question)⊠but it never really turned out to be that way at all. I mean, yes⊠there are of course some super rich kids there, but such is the same at NYU, UCLA, the Ivies, etc. My older daughter, especially because of her acting major, did take some classes with celebrities and kids of celebrities⊠but even they all seemed to come off as super normal⊠once the âwow factorâ wore off quickly. She has been in acting exercises, for example, with kids of millionaires and QuestBride Scholars on full rides simultaneously. And it all seems to mesh well together. To date, my girls have encountered very very few examples of snobbish or elitist behavior on campus. Maybe just a handful out of 1000s & 1000s of encounters to date.
I canât believe this is still a topic of discussion. That is such and old, outdated image that never really had a lot of weight to it. More than 75% of the students are on financial aid and that has been the case for decades. A large percentage of students volunteer in the community via JEP and other programs. It really is unfortunate that some people still have that image stuck in their heads.