<p>Hello, I'm a current USC undergraduate student but I've been having thoughts of wanting to transfer to UCLA for a while now because of these reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>I don't like the USC campus, but the UCLA campus looks way better in my opinion.</li>
<li>I don't like the surrounding area of USC because the area is not nice and it's dangerous during nighttime.</li>
<li>UCLA is ranked significantly higher in worldwide rankings, and UCLA is currently ranked equally with USC at #24 on U.S. news.</li>
<li>UCLA may have a better program for my majors which are Chinese and Korean. I also heard that UCLA generally has a better humanities department than USC.</li>
</ol>
<p>I actually wanted people's opinions on my 3rd and 4th reasons. Will USC eventually be ranked higher than UCLA nationally in the U.S. and worldwide? I'm asking this because I do know that USC receives a lot more money than UCLA. Also, does UCLA really have a better program for my majors Chinese and Korean and a better humanities department than USC?</p>
<p>On the side note, if I absolutely want to transfer to UCLA, I believe I am able to transfer in fall 2014 because my transfer GPA is excellent. However, there is one problem. If I successfully transfer to UCLA in fall 2014, I will graduate in 2 years which will be in 2016. But if I just stay at USC and not transfer to UCLA I will be able to graduate in 2015. So I was also wondering if the 1 extra year of school in UCLA be worth it than graduating 1 year earlier in USC?</p>
<p>Any helpful answers would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>I think you are way too into the rankings. The other reasons have some validity, but looking at rankings of a magazine is silly. And worldwide rankings, what the heck are those? Sorry to be harsh, but if you think the ranking of a college is what is going to get you a job and give you success, you are missing some real learning at college. The authors have most likely never spent a minute at most of the campuses they write about and rely on other marketing propaganda to come to their conclusions. While certain things are certainly accurate, reviews on schools, products, etc., are frequently influenced by ad dollars and PR campaigns. That is just how it works.</p>
<p>You should want to transfer because you think and feel that you personally can get more from a certain school, not because a magazine article is telling you that. Both are great schools and you can get out of them what you choose to, stay or go where you will be happy.</p>
<p>Plus, USC and UCLA are pretty much equal in terms of ranking. Some people say that USC will surpass UCLA, but I think they will always be equal. If you believe UCLA’s humanities program may be more beneficial to you, then transfer. However, if you’re only transferring because some foreign website says UCLA is higher ranked, then you’re making a poor decision.</p>
<p>You might also want to consider the financial costs. An extra year at UCLA is an extra year’s worth of tuition you have to pay.</p>
<p>I’m not sure why the OP is being chastised. Ironically enough, a survey from UCLA students said that a school’s ranking was the most important criterion in choosing a school. (this was in USNWR) So yes, rankings are important. As for your questions:</p>
<p>Nationally? it’s possible, but unlikely. UCLA receives a lot more from very wealthy private donors than you think it does (look up David Geffen for example) World-wide? very unlikely.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t transfer solely due to ranking, and world-wide ranking won’t matter unless you plan on going abroad. But it seems you like UCLA on its own, so it might not hurt transferring (can’t comment on the humanities questions though.)</p>
<p>It’s unlikely, no matter how high your GPA is. UCLA and USC have totally different academic systems. It’s possible that most of your classes won’t even transfer for credit to UCLA, causing you to not meet the minimum 60, transferable units to be eligible for admission. Secondly, transfer applicants from non-UC, 4-year schools are behind all other applicants (CCC and UC) in priority for admission. This is highlighted in the fact that last year, not a single one of the 12 transfer applicants from USC was accepted. </p>
<p>If you have substantial financial aid at USC, then UCLA is not, I repeat NOT worth the extra year of fees, rent, ect…no matter how amazing a school it is. If rankings are of great concern for you, then you should apply to transfer to Harvard or something. You probably have a better shot there than at UCLA, and I’m not even being sarcastic. The transfer system is basically built to feed CCC students into the UCs.</p>
<p>Quote:
“I’m not sure why the OP is being chastised. Ironically enough, a survey from UCLA students said that a school’s ranking was the most important criterion in choosing a school. (this was in USNWR) So yes, rankings are important.” </p>
<p>hmmm, now there is a surprise, the survey that said ranking was the most important criteria for selecting a school was in the magazine that produces the rankings. See how that works!</p>
<p>Rankings can be a good starting point, but future success in life has nothing to do with the ranking of the school you attend. We are not chastising OP but trying to get him to see the bigger picture. He gets into a better neighborhood and to a campus he finds more appealing. In the process he leaves a private school and the benefits of that, loses a year and enters a school where it is hard to get classes, dorms are tiny/crowded and off campus rent is astronomical. He is trading one set of problems for another. He also loses the income from the year he could be out working rather than in school. I’m not anti UCLA in any regard, I think they are both great schools, each with their own positives and negatives. He seems to be in a “grass in greener” phase and needs to consider all the big issues, then decide where he would be happiest. Or maybe he just wants a different experience. All good reasons, much moreso than ranking.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for the answers! I feel they might help a lot in making my decision.</p>
<p>@oceanpartier: I actually am a transfer student from a community college to USC so I have a significant amount of units that will be transferable. But yes, you’re right about that not all units will transfer from USC to UCLA. So I just have to make sure I’m taking the right classes in USC that will transfer over if I really do decide to transfer to UCLA.</p>
<p>I guess one question I have is just wondering if UCLA really does have a better program for my majors. I just heard that UCLA does but I wouldn’t be sure until I find a solid answer.</p>
<p>Any other answers to any of my thoughts and questions would be great as well.</p>
<p>Oh I just recalculated regarding about how many units I would need to complete before graduating from UCLA if I did transfer there. It will not take an extra year, but actually just one extra quarter. So I would be done with my coursework right after fall 2015 in UCLA. But if I stick with USC I would be finished in spring 2015. I guess it’s more fortunate for me if I really did decide to transfer to UCLA.</p>
<p>That doesn’t make it false. The only things that would make it false are if such a survey never occurred, or if it did, and students did not indicate that it was the most important criterion. </p>
<p>Furthermore, i’m not even sure if they conducted the survey rather than mentioned it. And if the latter, which it probably is, it certainly isn’t discredited by the fact that it’s mentioned is USNWR.</p>
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<p>That’s not exactly true. Low income/minority students get an admissions boost from attending elite universities (although there’s basically no advantage for anyone else.)</p>
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<p>You’re making various assumptions here. You’re assuming that USC has advantages over UCLA in virtue of being private, that it’s easier to get classes at USC and that rent isn’t astronomical in USC’s part of town (All are likely false. And the second, if true, probably isn’t true by much.)</p>
<p>as for the OP: If you wanted to go to UCLA so much, why didn’t you transfer there initially? If you thought you’d like USC better, and that turned out to be false, you should give it more time and see how you like it.</p>
<p>lol you’re majoring in korean and chinese it really doesn’t matter where you go. and you already transferred. go to grad school for ucla if you have to.</p>
<p>Quote:
You’re making various assumptions here. You’re assuming that USC has advantages over UCLA in virtue of being private, that it’s easier to get classes at USC and that rent isn’t astronomical in USC’s part of town (All are likely false. And the second, if true, probably isn’t true by much.)</p>
<p>Not assumptions, fact. I know it is easier to get classes at USC (and private schools in general) and one of the main reasons people are willing to pay more to attend. And if you have ever dealt with the customer service at a private you know that is another benefit to it. Ask why thousands that are admitted don’t go to the UC’s including UCLA - I’d bet the #1 reason on that survey would be cause they don’t want to struggle getting classes and feel like they are in a cattle herd. Not assumption, fact - rent around USC is very high, but not nearly as high as the area around UCLA. </p>
<p>The survey comment is silly. Marketing/PR 101.</p>
<p>Quote:
“That’s not exactly true. Low income/minority students get an admissions boost from attending elite universities (although there’s basically no advantage for anyone else.)”</p>
<p>This has nothing to do with what the comment about rankings and future success, it doesn’t even make sense as a reply.</p>
<p>I understand OPs interest in changing, but he better go with open eyes as he goes from private to public, it is in fact a different world. Each having positives and negatives that he should sort out more than caring about a manufactured ranking.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth I chose UCLA two years ago largely in part because of its ranking and prestige, as well as the fact that I could myself see studying here for 4 years. As for the private vs. public thing and in regards to getting classes or whatever, I’ve never really had problems with that. I’m a history major and for some reason, it’s easy to get whatever class you want. I also find it easy to interact and establish connections and relationships with the professors here - I’m in the Honors program so in some classes that I really like or extremely interested in, I have the opportunity to have an “honors contract” with a professor which would require me to do separate research in conjunction with my classes. Lower-division research is also available. Btw, I’m from a private high school and have gone to international schools. I guess if you wanted to connect with your professors more, you should show personal initiative cause they’re not gonna introduce themselves to you personally, but they are interested and passionate enough to work with undergrads.</p>
<p>Stay at USC, finish up in a year. Then go to UCLA for grad school. Unless you have very strong connections, I don’t know what kind of jobs you can secure with a Chinese/Korean undergrad major. If you want to be an official translator, you will need to speak both language very fluently and a master degree would open up doors.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I understand what you all mean. I actually don’t know if I want to go to grad school yet but I guess it depends on what I would like to do in the future.</p>
<p>@beyphy: When I was in community college, I applied to USC but not UCLA because I didn’t have enough units to transfer to UCLA since UCLA needs at least 60 units. I got into USC but I was actually thinking for a long time if I should just attend USC or stay one more year in community college and get into UCLA. But I chose USC instead so I may be regretting it a little. Then again I might have not been able to get into UCLA if I stayed an extra year in community college since my GPA may decrease depending on how difficult the community college courses might be. You can say I took the safe way I guess.</p>
<p>@yaujar: I was thinking to be a translator for a time but for now I’m not so sure. Do translators need at least a master’s degree? I think I read somewhere that they just need a bachelor’s degree but I guess you may be right that a master’s degree will open up more opportunities. Anyone can answer this question by the way, not just yaujar.</p>