<p>So I haven't heard back from USC yet, but it is definitely my #1 choice. However, my parents are worried that it's going to be "too LA." As my mom put it, "It's too 'The Hills,' too much MTV and glamour and fake-ness" - and all this coming from an ex-Valley girl herself!</p>
<p>Can any USC alums or current students shed some light on this issue? Is there really a sense at USC of trying to out-glam each other? I know USC is a top-notch university, but I'm just trying to convince my mom that I won't return home after 4 years as a shallow, vapid girl.</p>
<p>I know this sounds horrible, but I only want my parents to be ok with USC if I end up going there.</p>
<p>It is NOTHING like what your Mother is saying. My brother graduated in 2003, and he did not come out with a "I'm better than everybody" attitude. I also know a number of people attending USC now, and they're the same as I've ever known them.</p>
<p>Honestly, I'd be worried about getting shot, considering USC is found in a pretty ghetto part of Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Eliza,
You asked for some opinions about how people "turn out" after graduating from SC. I think your mother should take a campus tour during a day when classes are in session. My impression is the students look rather like students at any fine university. From what I see most of the students wear jeans and T shirts. There is huge diversity with international students from nearly 100 countries. Also, SC takes students from all over the U.S. Our Georgia area sent about 23 students to SC last fall. I would not call Georgia "too LA". An acquaintance told me her daughter's suitemates next year are from Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Another aspect of the university is student interest in community volunteer work. A website article indicated about 60% of the students are actively involved in volunteering.
Yes, there are some "beautiful people" at SC. Check out photos of students at Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern and other fine universities. They all have their share of handsome and not so handsome students. One would find many more Californians at UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and other UC Schools. Roughly 48% of SC students are not from California.<br>
There are alumni groups all over the world. Most of these spend a good part of the year raising funds for scholarships. They also play a role in networking and fellowship.
I urge your mother to take the tour, stroll around the campus and arrange to sit in a class, particularly in the School of Engineering or Architecture. She might change her mind about these hard working students being "too LA".
The University of Southern California is a complex institution. In my opinion, it has a student body composed of creative, imaginative, talented and accomplished students There are strong religious groups which are quite active. At the same time there is a famous marching band. Students and faculty have a great deal of pride in the university and the beauty of the campus. Read the list of prominent alumni who live in countries all around the world which is found on the SC website.
As an alumna who lives in Georgia I hope your mother will not stereotype a university, but visit and see for herself what SC has to offer.</p>
<p>I'm afraid that Georgia Girl is being too kind to your mother. Preconceived notions, or prejudices, about any school are nonsense. Does she say the same things about...UCLA, which is also in Los Angeles? Or....that school that George Bush went to? Let's see...he is.........(fill in the blanks good or bad). But wait...John Kerry went there too. And they were both members of the same secret society. Balderdash! USC has lots of different kids, from lots of different backgrounds. Some students will seek out the people of the same background/tastes etc. and others will want to, and will meet people from all spheres of the world. Anytime I hear the phrase, "All Yalies are....", or "Everyone from Harvard......." or, "ALL my friends can do....":) it is an immediate red flag. </p>
<p>Let her see the campus with her eyes open. Oh, a good luck to you with admission.</p>
<p>I reread my post: the Oh, and good luck...sounded/looked snide and I REALLY didn't mean it to sound that way. I truly wish you the best of luck, lots of schools to chose from and the joy of picking the right school for you. I know what a difficult process this is and I wish you only the best in your search for your school.</p>
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As my mom put it, "It's too 'The Hills,' too much MTV and glamour and fake-ness" - and all this coming from an ex-Valley girl herself!
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<p>The lady doth protest too much, methinks.</p>
<p>It seems that your mom probably got caught up in the LA thing when she was younger. She is afraid that you will too. I would try to convince her that she did a good job raising you and that your values cannot be changed by who may (or may not*) be around during your college years.</p>
<p>If I could talk to your mom, I would tell her the next step in child-rearing for us moms is to send our children out there in the world and expect that they will make good decisions. If they are raised right, children live up to expectations.</p>
<p>*As a USC alum with two Trojan sons, I do agree with the above posters that the stereotype you described is not prevalent at USC- it is nonsense.</p>
<p>Remind your mom that USC had almost 36,000 applicants last year and I heard over 35,000 applicants this year. USC can choose from the most talented of the applicant pool.
GPA and test scores are very high. The one thing I notice about USC is LOYALTY by both alumni and students. I agree with the advice given that you should take your mom on a campus tour. My son and husband went on the campus tour and just wanted USC. Also, I suggest you all wait and see where you are accepted and what kinds of programs/aid matches your situation. You should be going to a school with the best program for your interests/goals. Your mother needs to let go and let you decide where to go given that you have the financial package for the school you want to go to. Letting go is hard for parents. I think "fakeness" and false values is not the way it is today at USC. Tell your mother to appreciate the fact that you would be driving distance from home, in a school with great programs, individualized attention and smaller classes with highly intelligent, motivated peers from around the world.</p>
<p>The school and the students are fine. 50% of them are from out-of-state, if I am not mistaken. Schools often don't resemble the city. Otherwise, one of the most liberal schools wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere in Ohio (Oberlin).</p>
<p>But the city of LA is an intellectual desert. Since I moved to DC two months ago, I've met more people with advanced degrees than I did in my 6 years in LA (excluding my coworkers in LA)! Only 10-15% of the registered voters in the LA county have college degrees (major reason why the county slightly favored Prop 8). I am just giving you this info just in case you think about where you want to live after college. As for fakeness, I encountered numerous examples including this one: I was rearended by a BMW (not brand-new but not very old and looked inshape); the driver looked stylish but had no insurance!! LA is the kind of city you either love it or hate it. I happen to be the latter one.</p>
<p>Columbia,
After couple illegal U-turns, my insurance wasn't exactly cheap so I understand why many poor people would just go un-insured. The average household income in LA is only 30,000 something despite the expensive housing market. On top of that, you got the large number of illegals in LA; so you do get many uninsured drivers in the city. Something your D may want to be careful about. Anyway, uninsured non-BMW would be what I expect. But BMW while uninsured? Only if you try to pretend you are richer than you actually are and that's pretty "LA" . ;)</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone! I know my mom is being totally ridiculous with those sweeping generalizations of hers but what are you gonna do, the woman is set in her ways. But I really appreciate everything that you said, I'm sure it will help a little to sway her opinion. Thank you again!</p>
<p>My mom was actually rather concerned about this as well... and she is an alumna of the school! She attended USC when it still had that "party school" image, so even after I got my scholarship, she was a little hesitant about me coming here.</p>
<p>Your time at USC and the type of person you will become here will depend on what you make of college life and the people you keep company with. I will admit that there are a few people who fit into the stereotypical glamorous image that your mother envisions, but this group is definitely in the minority. I have met some of the most incredible people here who are not only intelligent, but also grounded and kind, and I am a better person today because of them. :)</p>
<p>Good luck with your mom, and be sure to bring her on a campus tour sometime, as some others have suggested. USC is a great academic institution that happens to be in Los Angeles, nothing more and nothing less!</p>
<p>I'm still blown away that the UNWEIGHTED GPA Mean GPA was 3.8 and the Middle SAT was 2,095. If you want to talk stereotypes, I don't know too many Hills, MTV, glamour, and fake students who have those stats as well as took all honors & AP classes and had impressive ec's.</p>
<p>Too Hills? has she been here? Perhaps if she drove 20 minutes from here to Hollywood but uhhh we are in middle of South Central. LOL. She won't have to worry about the fakeness and etc more about how real it is over here... as in people getting robbed lol. I mean it happens I won't lie but with some precaution u should.. be ok.</p>
<p>First child had a full scholarship offer to USC and we did not even consider it due to the whole USC reputation. Second child had opportunity for NMF scholarship at USC so we went to check it out. Boy, did I have it wrong with child number one; if he had attended even one information session, he probably would have chosen to attend USC. I had grown up in So Cal and had an outdated impression of what USC was all about. Child number two is now attending USC and loves it. I am so impressed with the school now that I know more about it. People like me (maybe your mom?) should definitely visit one of USC's half day programs to find out about the school.</p>