Should I go to UCLA or USC?

College Search & Selection
1

I was recently admitted to both USC and UCLA and the decision is very difficult. I was granted 60k/year in scholarship at USC and 22k/year scholarship at UCLA, meaning both have come down to close to the same price. UCLA dorms are more expensive however, so USC is probably going to end up being less. With that, I am going in as a science major-- debating between cognitive science, psychobiology, neuroscience, and biology. Both schools are great for science as USC has so many resources and access points while UCLA is larger yet still a great school. With such information, I am entirely conflicted.

Here are some things about me you may want to consider:
-I am outgoing but not overly extroverted. I consider myself in the middle
-I want to be social and go to parties but also put my time towards studying
-I have a car and plan to drive it during these next 4 years
-I enjoy the lavish lifestyle USC offers but am not sure if it’s worthwhile considering the location
-I’ve been going to large schools all my life so I’m not sure how daunting the large student body at UCLA would be for me, but a small one at USC might be easier socially

Thanks a lot!

2

I also feel that attending UCLA is a greater accomplishment. I’d much rather say I’m going to UCLA than USC which is odd, but the truth. I feel that USC might be better for me but the location is troublesome. I’ve always loved UCLA but I’m really not sure which is more fitting…

Also, the fact that UCLA is SO large makes me feel it will be very hard socially. I want to have a solid social life-- that is really important to me as high school was difficult socially.

3

UCLA alumni here, so I may have a bit of bias.

Do not worry about the size of UCLA. That aspect vanishes quite quickly and your focus will be on your studies rather than the size of the school and student body. USC has a student body that is the same size as UCLA, but a chunk of their student body are graduate students. Do not worry about if the class has a large number of students, your professors will always make time for you. In fact, most professor will complain that nobody visits them during their office hours. And to be honest, they’re right. I can count on one hand where I went to office hours when I wasn’t required to do so.

USC has rose in the ranks over the last decade but for me, personally, UCLA has a long history of being ranked as one of the best schools in country. In fact, UCLA is now tied as the #1 public school in the country alongside Cal.

Again, do not worry about making friends or connecting to people, that will easily come in time. If you put just a smudge of an effort, you will make connections with your peers and will have study partners during midterms and finals.

You also said stated you’re going to be a science major. UCLA has a world renowned science department, and if it is biology, neuroscience or etc, UCLA has a world-class academic staff in all of these fields. Times Higher Education, published the best life sciences universities in the world a few months ago, they had UCLA ranked 19 in the world, USC did not crack the top 100.

If you want to truly enjoy the City of Los Angeles, then go to UCLA. You are a couple miles from the nightlife of Hollywood and the beach.

Finally, when I was a student, I would pause and take a moment to look at the beauty that was UCLA and it always felt like home to me. i instantly felt close to the school as I was enchanted by what the school provided me.

Best of luck.

4

Thank you so much!

5

I attended both. USC undergrad and UCLA grad. I loved both but greatly preferred the feel of USC. I love the Trojan spirit, the sports and the alumni network can’t be beat!

6

Awesome. Did the location bother you at all? That’s a big factor in my decision. I feel USC’s location may be unsafe?

7

Not at all! Honestly, you need to be aware at night, but that is true of Westwood too. USC is a busy place and I did not feel unsafe. If you need an escort at night, you can call for free transportation to your dorm, the library, etc.

Are you local? Go spend time at both campuses. You need to feel comfortable!

8

Yes, I visited both and I loved USC much more but thinking about the location deters me… Don’t you think food at USC can get so expensive? The villages’ restaurants are pricy :(. I also feel UCLA has such a great name and is a greater accomplishment for some reason. Not sure why.

9

I had a few friends that attended USC and graduated in recent years. They always told me they felt a bit on edge walking to their cars at nights. The area over the years has been gentrified but it is still a surrounded by a rough neighborhood. Just a couple years ago two graduate students from China were murdered in a robbery near campus. But again, this could merely be an isolated incident.

10

You should go to UCLA. Because this is the UCLA board.

Go to the Southern Cal board and they’ll tell you to go to their school.

Go with your gut, honestly.

11

You won’t be able to get a parking permit at UCLA for the first 2-3 years unless you’re commuting. Permits are prioritized by seniority (e.g. seniors before freshmen) and also by need (commuting, working off campus, etc). Even as a junior working off-campus my D was denied a parking permit this year. You could probably find an nearby off-campus parking spot to rent, though, if you really wanted to keep your car close and are planning on living on-campus.

Overall UCLA does have better name-recognition, but USC is definitely a great school. If you look at individual majors I’m sure there are some that USC does better, and vice versa. In the end choosing one or the other isn’t likely to affect your eventual job prospects unless you’re doing something like acting or communications, in which case you’d probably want UCLA’s network.

I don’t think you can make a “wrong” decision, so you’re definitely in a good place. Spend more time at both soaking up the atmosphere and wandering around during a weekday when students are around, and do tours if you haven’t already. If you’re the type that likes going off campus (like my D) then UCLA might be a better fit; if you prefer to stay on campus (like me when I was in college) then maybe you’d like USC better. Either way, best of luck to you!

12

Another Biased Bruin Alum! Congrats on getting into both schools. My son got into USC with a half merit - we visited and he liked it but chose a different path (Ivy and football). I agree with the above posts - UCLA is historically academically superior. USC has come so far but I don’t think its superior to UCLA esp for sciences. It is big but once you get over 15,000 people its really up to you to make connections and find your people - which you will either way. Another difference we noticed is the overall feel of the student body. More wealth at USC was obvious to me which makes sense due to the price. My bruin alumni friend has her twins at USC and they spend so much money on all of the extra programs that USC offers - great opportunities but that would have been out of reach for us. Both good schools but for science and possible graduate school I would choose UCLA! Hail to Hills of Westwood!

13

My DS is in the exact same position as you, albeit a different major and slightly different concerns. It will be roughly the same cost for him, and he has the same feel about the prestige of UCLA. He is not at all concerned about the safety at USC, and neither are we as his parents. He has friends at both schools who are advocating hard why their school is better. He is still very torn. Visiting both next week. In the meantime, here are additional thoughts and we would greatly appreciate feedback:

UCLA may have an edge on prestige now, but USC is climbing the ranks, and the alumni network is unmatched in So. Cal – if this is where you plan to work in the future. In 10 years, USC likely will be a more prestigious name on par with other more elite private universities.

USC has a huge reputation for a drinking culture. That concerns him because he does not drink. He is social and will go to parties, but UCLA seems like there are more opportunities to avoid that scene, or participate in it, if that’s what appeals to you.

UCLA is on a quarter system, USC is on a semester. UCLA will be much faster-paced, intense studying, particularly in your major. Graded on a curve at UCLA, so it may be more cutthroat.

UCLA has the reputation for having less support in helping you get the classes you want, and making you feel more like you are a number. USC counselor support is a given in terms of planning your four years, future, getting classes, doing double majors, minors, etc.

No one is going to be watching out for you at UCLA. You need to be a self-starter, organized, etc. USC gives more coddling, support.

The geographic location at UCLA is amazing. USC feels more like you are fenced in and isolated, even though you are isolated with thousands of other students. Traveling to coastal areas like Venice, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Melrose, is a snap from UCLA. Not so much from USC.

Curious why you are taking a car for your freshman year to either school? We are thinking about whether that makes sense. I do not think many have a car at either school their first year.

We have been told our DS should focus on the academics at both universities, look at the classes offered, what appeals to him, etc., and really give that tremendous weight rather than the “feel” you get when you visit. It’s easy to be swayed by that when they roll out the red carpet. At the end of the day, you are getting an education, and you want to make sure you are choosing the best academic experience for your major.

1 Like
14

Congratulations on your acceptance to these great institutions. Are you planning on going to graduate school? You may want to research on which school in your major has a higher percentage of acceptance to graduate schools. See if you can talk to students at the orientations. USC has stronger networking in the Arts and Business. Campus wise, UCLA is one of the most beautiful campus in the world. Ucla has been ranked significantly higher in undergraduate and graduate science programs but USC is catching up. Sorry but this will be a tough decision for you but since these are great schools, you can’t go wrong.

15

UCLA is the better long term choice IMO. I grew up in LA, USC did not have a good reputation at all for academic rigor (aside from graduate school programs). It’s recent transformation is asto7 ding and impressive, but many believe it is a result of marketing. Google their medical dean issues, and you will be astounded that they knew this man was a danger but allowed him to,continue to operate on patients, probably because he was a huge fundraiser.
Good luck, but there is only one choice if you were my daughter.

16

If you like football go to USC and if you like basketball go to UCLA(not so much lately but still better than USC).

17

I’m with @Amusebouche. The cover-up and lack of integrity displayed by the leadership at USC would be a disqualifier for this parent. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-usc-dean-20171114-story.html

18

USC just ranked top 10 in graduate engineering at #9, UCLA is not on that list, just fyi…

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/articles/2018-03-15/2019-best-graduate-schools-preview-top-10-engineering-schools?src=usn_tw

They are both ranked the same overall so rankings are a wash and not a good measure on a personal level anyway.

They both have over 40K students, but USC has smaller undergrad population and larger grad population. But still same amount of students walking around. But def easy to get lost in the undergrad crowd at UCLA. They are both gorgeous campuses. USC has the incredible alumni network, I don’t think UCLA alumni do anything for each other, I really don’t.

But let’s see, for the same price…an elite private or a big public school where it is hard to get into classes and graduate in four years and changing majors is often impossible. Steak or ground chuck…hmmmm…

If you can go to USC and UCLA for the same price and you don’t really know that answer, then you should go to UCLA. USC students are passionate about their school and studies, and they know what they have, they don’t come in on a fence. From your other posts, you are putting the neighborhood as a higher criteria than the education you will receive. People pay a lot more money to attend USC for a reason, it’s not just so they can wear red. But if you can’t see that USC is obviously a better school, then UCLA is better for you. Some people don’t want to get out of their comfort zone and it sounds like yours is a big public school, so go to UCLA.

19

Let’st stop with the moral preaching. UCLA basketball players disgraced the university, and the country, by shoplifting in China.

I went to USC. I wouldn’t worry about USC’s neighborhood, but if deep down you’d rather have a degree from UCLA, go to UCLA. That said, there’s nothing that convinces me that you’ll necessarily get a better undergraduate education at UCLA.

20

Aside from them both being in L.A. and both considered elite universities, they are not as similar as many might think - at least as I see it.

USC is private, has a smaller undergraduate population and is inherently more flexible in terms of offerings (# of classes, majors, minors, student activities, etc.), the ability to easily double major or add minors, etc.

UCLA is public, has a larger undergraduate population, more GE requirements and inherently less flexibility. Even individuals only pursuing a single major often take 5 years to graduate.

The manner in which you describe your personality seems to correlate well with my two daughters… both at USC currently. They personally could not even have imagined the larger class sizes and additional GE requirements at a state university. I do prefer the area around UCLA to the area around USC… but other than that - I favor USC in every regard.

Since you seem to be on the fence though, I would simply attend UCLA if the cost savings were significant. If the prices are even close, I would favor USC for a host of reasons… and mainly due to the overall strength of the Trojan Network… i.e. global alumni strength. USC alums go out of their way to help their own. Some even refer to them as the USC or Trojan Mafia. UCLA simply does not afford its graduates the same level of support after graduation.

Good Luck though with your decision…