<p>I'm having a really tough time deciding between these two! I plan to major in communications and media studies, and was accepted to the communications schools at both universities. My biggest drawback from Northwestern is the cold weather, but I love Chicago. USC has an amazing campus and alumni network, but I'm a little overwhelmed by the size of the student body. I would appreciate any thoughts on either school!</p>
<p>USC has a nice campus and the weather is great. Just don't get lost OFF campus. Yikes.</p>
<p>If it's not USC's cinema, I'd pick NU.</p>
<p>I currently attend NU, and a family member went to USC for a time. They ended up at another school, and one of the reasons was indeed the large student population. Then again, you should weigh the "small fish in a big sea" feelings against your feelings for the weather...each school has superb programs in your area, so it's hard to go wrong. I have nothing but positive things to say about my time at NU and I'm sure my friends in the School of Communications would echo those thoughts.</p>
<p>NU's alumni network in the entertainment industy in LA is insane. The purple mafia basically runs LA. I did an internship in LA last quarter (where I'm from so I got to live at home for free, which is nice) and one of our "field trips" was to have lunch with Zach Braff on the set of Scrubs (he'll be here April 16th giving a talk as well). Trust me, I know all about USC, half of my graduating class is there and I still go there for parties when I'm home, but being a Comm major here is pretty much unrivaled. You'll have connections for life.</p>