Should I go to USC or UCLA? Help! (for Business)

<p>I would major in Business Econ at UCLA and Business Administration at USC. I'd probably also try to get a minor in accounting at the school i choose. After graduating I'll probably work towards getting my MBA. I'm really torn 50-50, they're both great schools! Here are just a couple of my pros and cons:</p>

<p>USC:
Pros: my brother goes there, hotter girls, powerful alumni, nice campus, better greek life, very prestigious, Business Admin. major I heard is chill/legit</p>

<p>Cons: expensive, in the ghetto, crazy ex-girlfriend goes there (lol). Maybe Business Administration major would be repetitive w/ an MBA?</p>

<p>UCLA:
Pros: Best friend goes there, Nice campus, less expensive, Nice area, maybe a tiny bit more prestigious?, </p>

<p>Cons: weaker alumni network (in comparison), maybe slightly more difficult/competitive classes, maybe less people similar to me (percentage-wise), greek life less prominent, bigger/hilly campus (more walking, lol)</p>

<p>Help me out guys!</p>

<p>If it truly is 50-50. Go to the cheaper one.</p>

<p>Regardless, you can’t go wrong with either school, they both rock!</p>

<p>For business go with the strong alumni network. The UC’s are in financial crisis, if you can afford it the private will be less of a hassle.</p>

<p>UCLA is definitely a little more prestigious than USC. They are both great campuses, but UCLA is more recognized here and in about every other country. Also, with the economy being as bad as it is, people are less inclined to go to USC which means it will not be as competitive. Less people will apply, less people will go, and they are going to have to start accepting based on whoever is willing to pay. Therefore, prestige will drop. UCLA on the other hand is going to get more prestigious and more competitive as more and more people are going to want to go. That doesn’t mean more people will get accepted. It just means that they will become increasingly more competitive because of the fact that so many people want to go. And I would say that both alumni networks are pretty strong. If there is any difference, it is slight. Also, USC’s area does not seem to be getting any better. Crime has been very high this past academic year.</p>

<p>burk_cam, sorry but I need to straighten out some of your claims.</p>

<p>Firstly, the most blaring is that you think that UCLA’s alumni network is even in the same ballpark as USC’s. This is completely false - USC’s alumni network is widely recognized as far superior than UCLA’s.</p>

<p>Second, your claims about financial aid and prestige are reversed. USC has one of the largest financial aid budgets in the country, and guarantees to meet 100% of your demonstrated need. On top of that, USC increased its financial aid budget by 6% just to compensate for a potentially needier entering Fall 2009 class. What has UCLA done? Well, on top of being a public school in a faltering economy, I’m sure that you are aware of the California budget crisis which affected many Californian public institutions - including the UC system. USC’s financial aid program has always been superior to UCLA’s - with these recent developments, the gap between them will only grow.</p>

<p>Lastly, crime at USC has dropped steadily for the past couple of years. While admittedly, it isn’t quite in Westwood, did you know that the campus is statistically safer than Disneyland? Do you know about recent developments in the downtown/south park/exposition park area? Such as the connecting of downtown LA to USC through the Figueroa Corridor? LA LIVE? The Expo Line? The Grand Avenue project? And the massive gentrification that will surround these developments in lieu of further pushing the recent downtown LA revival? I think it’s obvious who can speak more of the surrounding area - and it is not you.</p>

<p>omg, now I’m even more confused. lol</p>

<p>Haha yeah i guess both are pretty darn good. Doesnt USC have a better business program though?</p>

<p>anymore thoughts?</p>

<p>as far as i know, they both have not released decisions yet
so let’s talk after you get admitted to both of them</p>

<p>You first have to be admitted before you can decide between these two schools.</p>

<p>I would recommend UCLA and this is the reason why. You’re looking to go for an MBA and if you are willing to go to an MBA program right out of college then you have UCLA Anderson rated one of the top elite in the nation (I believe #8 or somewhere around there), USC Marshall MBA is not as close in the rankings (Ranked #20). Even though USC does have a real business program, many employers do note that UCLA Business Economics is the highest form of Business for undergraduates at the school.</p>

<p>For alumni network and recruitment. USC is globally recognized and does have a strong network but so does UCLA. Suprisingly UCLA is very strong in many of the rising Asian countries and is the top notch place if you want to be recruited by the “Big Four”. UCLA also boasts being better then USC academically by rankings and being a cheaper university.</p>

<p>So there’s my recommendation. I’m not saying USC is a bad school, I’d love to go there (both my brothers have gone there).</p>

<p>I had a longer more elaborate post written, but it didn’t post and i"m too lazy to re-write it. But it pretty much amounts to this:</p>

<p>USC’s alumni base is stronger, however UCLA graduates about 36,000 a year. USC graduates about half of this. So even if we, hypothetically, say that a larger % of USC graduates go on to make a lot of money, chances are that UCLA will have a larger base to tap into just because of it’s size and the fact that it’s been prestigious for a longer time than SC, which, until recently, had always been kind of regarded as a spoiled kids school where parents could buy their kids admission.</p>

<p>Also, one last thing.</p>

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<p>This line is just great because it doesn’t state how ‘safe’ Disneyland is or how he arrived at this conclusion. It’s completely useless.</p>

<p>Well I am a first year at Ucla, Bus Econ major (if that is important at all). And guess what, I can’t wait to get out of this school. Although I don’t know my school as much as a fourth year does, I can tell you that the econ dept at my school sucks. The econ teachers here mostly get bad rating online. My econ 1 teacher was very scary, and my econ 2 teacher is a downright arsehole. So is the econ 41 teacher. Plus, “Business Econ” here has no business at all; it’s just a name that lures students. In fact, bus econ=econ+accounting.
Just so you know, Ucla and USC hate each other, and I can’t understand why the school forces everyone here to hate USC. I know they have bad ranking like us too (both rank below 20, if that is not bad enough), but I don’t have anything against them.</p>

<p>I already took Econ 1 and 2, accounting 1+2, and Calc 1+2 at my Community College. Maybe the upper-division class are better???</p>

<p>It all this really true though? Now I’m starting to wonder if people in USC’s business administration are happier than those in UCLA Bus. Econ major? Insights please-</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about USC, but I do hate my own school. Not just that the econ dept is bad, but I just hate the “wildness” of Ucla. Drugs, random sex, alcohol, endless parties, screaming outside dorms after midnight… if you are looking forwards to all these wildness, then Ucla might be a great place for you. I am a native Chinese, and this type of American social life is just not my preference. I would prefer a school like UChicago, where “all fun comes to an end.” My parents pay tens of thousands of dollars for me to learn stuff, not party.</p>

<p>I think it depends on what you like. I have alot of friends at UCLA who love the bus econ major. I have alot of friends at USC who love the business major too. And then others hate the programs at both USC and UCLA. However, I strongly agree with MakeBank24. While they are both great schools, I think you would be at more of an advantage at UCLA.</p>

<p>Fanofnapoleon, I don’t want to bag on you, but you seem to be very out of place. If you just want to study and think all day should you probably should’ve become a monk, not a college student. Go out, hit on some cute azn girls (there’s plenty for ya) and loosen up a little- it’s part of the learning experience my man! lol. Thanks for your help though.</p>

<p>fanofnapoleon-</p>

<p>You sound like a major buzz kill…school should be about education but there’s also the big part of college life which students enjoy…this is the partying… anyhow, USC is even worst in regards to being crazy.</p>

<p>My advice is go to UCLA!! Everyone looks at UCLA as prestigious, and USC is always less than…(except in Football) USC = University of Spoiled Children, University of Second Choice, University of South Central…etc…bottom line, getting into UCLA is more impressive than USC…everyone in LA thinks this way about the schools.</p>

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<p>Wow, I’d love to see the gallop poll that substantiates this (sorry but) simple-minded assertion, which is new to me.</p>

<p>First off I got accepted to both and I am doing an econ major with bio or chem minor. Med school after my BA. I am choosing UCLA due to cost, better quality of education. USC is more fun to be at for sure, and has a much stronger alumni network.</p>

<p>FanofNapoleon- You dont sound like you could be happy anywhere. Lighten up</p>

<p>GlueEater- Get your numbers right. If 36k people graduated from UCLA every year they would have no one at the school considering each undergrad class is 4-5k students. USC classes are about half, they have 2800 spots for 2009-2010 class.</p>

<p>Grey_syntatics- You are right they have increased aid for 2009-2010. And they do meet 100% of DEMONSTRATED FINANCIAL NEED. So what they think you need. According to them I can pay 40k a year. I’m not really sure how that is possible when my families take home pay is 95k, I live in California with a family of five. So they are not as willing to help as you make it seem.</p>