<p>Same with MIT (about the same era). The reality is that large universities with core courses are likely to have extremely large lectures. So it makes sense to have grad students carrying the smaller sections. After Freshman core requirements, my remaining classes were always taught by professors despite the size, with a grad student available for questions afterwards. </p>
<p>My D has talked about some “inconsistencies” in TA grading at USC, but has had no problem advocating for herself or talking to a professor. So far, so good. My sense from talking to her is that her classes specific for her major are (or will be) much smaller. I do like that SCA at least - has D clearance designations for that purpose. And the link another poster put on this site made it easy to see class sizes. Most of those I looked at within her major were 18-25 per “section.”</p>
<p>I absolutely hated my TA from my first GE at USC and the grading, from that one in particular, was beyond inconsistent (approaching levels near insulting). But courses within my major usually cap out at about 15 students or so and I could not happier with the attention.</p>
<p>I would say I’m quite disappointed in a lot more than just the fact that I’ve had a few bad TA’s though… there is a lot that USC needs to fix to improve the social surrounding and student life</p>
<p>My D is still having a tough time deciding between USC and Chapman. She would have to spend about 30k more a year to attend USC. Financially, the choice is pretty clear, but she has loved USC ever since she did a summer workshop there. I know the campus vibe is very different in the summer with a group of high school students, and she has not visited any other time of year. I know USC is more exciting and better connected, but still wondering if it’s worth the extra money. I would hate for her to give up a good scholarship at Chapman and be disillusioned with USC, but I would also hate for her to miss out on a great school because of money. </p>
<p>I actually transferred from Chapman University to USC. I would say rankings wise USC is about the 23 ranked school in the country vs Chapman which is a small liberal arts schools. The education is very different as Chapman will have smaller class sizes. It depends on what she feels comfortable with but to also think of the future and what school and degree will carry more weight after she graduates</p>
<p>Yes, could you tell us how the transfer went? Were you unhappy at Chapman? My daughter will be at Dodge, while at USC she would be at SDA and SCA. I am concerned that she will end up with no FA at USC, as what she was offered was a grant based on this year’s income, etc. I am divorced, so USC looked at my ex-husband and his wife, while Chapman only looks at me and my income. I have no idea how that works year to year at USC.</p>
<p>@Heisenberg5522 whats wrong with student life?</p>
<p>@Heisenberg5522 How is USC Engineering?</p>
<p>As someone who also had to weigh an offer to attend Chapman, did anyone else at Chapman (or anyone that toured the campus) feel like the campus vibe is just more “buttoned up” than USC? </p>
<p>It “felt” so serious when I stopped by. Just not as carefree as University Park Campus, y’know?</p>
<p>@Heisenberg5522 Could you clarify?</p>
<p>First - were you at Dodge while at Chapman, or did you pursue a different degree before transferring to USC to get into film? That explains a lot, then. Completely different campus vibes, surrounding town, campus size, etc.</p>
<p>@RandomNewGuy - my D had to weigh an offer from Chapman against USC. Campus preview day was held when there was a major concert and most of the students were off campus. So it was “quiet.” Probably not the best time to visit but I found the campus vibe to be really different from USC which was busy and vibrant and had a lot going on. Both had beautiful campuses but in the end - Chapman kept referring to themselves as the underdog - even the President gave a speech in which he said he knew many of the students in the audience were also accepted at USC. I found that an odd approach to selling the campus. I didn’t think Chapman’s atmosphere felt serious as much as low-key. USC felt more vibrant and “in the thick of things.”</p>
<p>But that might also be a factor of location. Orange just seemed very sedate - kind of an idyllic bedroom community. Whereas L.A. is – well – L.A.</p>
<p>Knowing @Heisenberg5522 came from Chapman explains why the shift was jarring. </p>
<p>Is USC hard to get into? I knew a valedictorian from a different high school who had some good EC’s not make it. Not sure why though…</p>
<p>And is the faculty nice? My mom went there for some business, and one of the staff there was really rude to her.</p>
<p>Your odds are less than 1-in-5 in terms of getting into USC nowadays.</p>
<p>And honestly, as someone that was concerned that faculty would care more about their own research endeavors than undergrads, I have been blown away by how open and available the faculty is. I’ve been able to sit down with administrators and faculty members that are experts in their respective fields, with surprising frequency. </p>
<p>@Heisenberg5522 Did high school grades matter when transferring? Where they picky about your course selection? </p>
<p>Why is this a featured thread??</p>
<p>Hi all! My transfer process anything but smooth as USC didn’t take a lot of my classes from Chapman. I think it depends what school you are coming from but it is something definitely to consider when transferring. I enjoyed the surrounding area of Chapman and Dodge very much when I was there however I felt the school was too small and sometimes it felt like I was back in high school. I also made the choice to move because I felt like the alumni in entertainment is stronger through USC. I am not familiar with the engineering at USC to answer that. To answer what things need to be improved at USC… I will be quite frank and say that the partying is a problem at this school which I do believe has an effect on our reputation. That’s not to say that USC isn’t deserving of being one of the top schools in the country but I think to compete in rankings with even greater schools such as Berkeley or an Ivy League school they will have to do something to clean up the partying a bit. I understand that the Greek system here is big but there have been incidents during my time here that indicate that changes need to be made. When there are girls being taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning every weekend, people getting injured at parties which has happened on multiple occasions it’s time for a change. I’m a guy who’s had his share of fun experiences at parties as well but in looking back I think things have gotten out of hand. </p>
<p>Now as far as security and safety around campus. Safety has improved a ton since I first transferred and security is quite tight around the surrounding area…but that’s not to say that you are living in a nice area. If you are a student here you must use common sense in what time and where you are going as when you go too far away from the campus and immediate area surrounding campus it can be rough. </p>
<p>Given what you know now about USC, would you have chosen to stay at Chapman? I ask because my daughter is currently deciding between the two schools. I would hate it if she felt like Chapman was too small for her, or felt like high school. How do your classes at SCA compare to those at Dodge?</p>
<p>Why is it that only 74% of USC’s students graduate within 4 years? Is there like a lot of biochem majors (or similar majors that take a long time to graduate with), or are people just partying too much?</p>
<p>@Heisenberg5522 I don’t know if you know this but the folks up at USC have explicitly stated that they do not transfer credit for film courses towards a film major (i.e. the courses required to receive a film degree). They ONLY transfer them as electives/gen-eds (if they even take them). </p>
<p>So if you went to Chapman, I’m assuming you were a film major. I’m also assuming you took many film courses during your time there. That is probably why many of your courses did not transfer. Not really a flaw on USC’s part but I could see why you would be upset.</p>
<p>Are you familiar with USC viterbi? My college visit to USc was amazing and I loved their computer science wing. Would you have any knowledge on what they do? </p>
<p>I actually wasn’t a film major at Chapman…</p>
<p>I loved Dodge at Chapman but in terms of alumni and a larger connection of people in the industry, USC is the big powerhouse of schools in film and tv.</p>