Hi! I’m deciding between NYU and USC. I’m a music major so USC Thornton is more ideal in that department. I’m also interested in photography and USC has that minor whereas NYU does not offer photography as a minor. The only problem I have with USC is that I feel like I’d be closed off from civilization. NYU is in the city and I could walk/take the train anywhere and be there in less than an hour. I feel like I won’t have time to actually be in LA (with all the schoolwork and practicing). If anyone goes to USC let me know how it is getting around LA. Do you ever have time? Do music students really get internships? Do you feel isolated from the real world? How do all the departments (classical, popular, and jazz) mesh?
hey there @tardy4daparty I too was accepted by both NYU and USC. I heard from NYU waaaay before USC and had only two weeks to accept their offer or not. I chose to decline NYU because of travel and living costs to New York and also I got accepted to LMU right before NYU’s deposit deadline.
I don’t have the expertise of someone who has already been at USC. I’ve gone there to visit but I haven’t taken classes since I’m set to start in Spring. I can tell you that the campus is extremely close to civilization. There are a couple metro stops right next to campus similar to how NYU is close to the subway. So travel to most popular LA/Hollywood destinations is not that hard. Especially when compared to other privates in SoCal, USC is very exposed to civilization. Both LMU and Pepperdine are really separate from the places that surround them. The LA Convention Center and Staples Center are just a couple miles from campus. Hope this helps.
So have you been accepted to both as a transfer? Or are you a future applicant with no real choice yet?
Uh, USC is in LA. Have you looked at a google map of the campus location? Have you ever been out of the city or wherever you are from? You can be in the heart of downtown in a 5 minute Uber or Lyft. Then there is the metro, lots of transportation options, lots of students have cars. I’d feel more closed off from civilization in NYC cause it is just the city - from USC you can hit up Santa Monica, Hollywood, Disneyland, other beaches on the coast, bop down to San Diego, over to Coachella, it’s not like people at USC just stay on campus, or just in LA for that matter. Thinking of USC students feeling isolated made me giggle. Do Thorton students get internships? Yes.
Are you saying you would have more time at NYU cause you don’t have to work as hard? If that is the case, then only you can decide that part of the equation.
There is really no comparison. USC has a much better music program in a school with way more resources. Also, keep in mind that USC is has the best connections of any school in the country to the entertainment industry. Although I don’t officially start at SC for a few weeks, I can tell you that isolation is not a problem. Pretty much as soon as you leave campus you will find yourself in the middle of reality, whether that be for better or worse. My friends have had some crazy experiences in that regard- such as going to a party a few blocks away and someone pulls out a gun or getting mugged outside McDonalds literally right across the street from campus.