Transferring out of USC- Help!

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I am a sophomore at the University of Southern California seriously thinking about the possibility of transferring. There are some things that I like about USC- the international diversity, I can ride my bike easily, my group of friends, the campus is beautiful, and some of the classes are great. However, there are A LOT of things I really DISLIKE about USC. Before I explain, I want to give a background of who I am. I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA where there are is a lot of nature and down to earth, laid back, nature-loving, liberals. However, it was too small for me and I wanted to get out. I came to USC because it was the best school I got into and I wanted something different and it seemed like an almost perfect fit at the time. However, after 2 years, I am thinking otherwise. Here's why.</p>

<p>DISLIKES:</p>

<ul>
<li>DO NOT LIKE GREEK LIFE: greek life is the main culture at USC and I really do not enjoy partaking in it after trying it out. I find it superficial and materialistic and based on sloppy partying. I like to party, but I enjoy getting to know people rather than getting wasted and being trashy. I find myself repetitively running into A LOT of frat boys/ sorority girls who I usually don't end up really wanting to get to know because, honestly, we just have different interests.</li>
</ul>

<p>-DO NOT LIKE LA / AREA: I really do not like the culture in LA at all- I find it to be materialistic and superficial. I also find it impossible to use public transportation as it is either dangerous or unreliable and takes forever. There is always traffic and parking is always expensive. The surrounding area of USC is really unsafe and poverty stricken- several of my friends have been held at gunpoint and robbed. Meanwhile there are homeless people outside of the school, rich students flaunt their Luis Vuitton bags. Which brings me to my next point. I am a really independent person who likes to explore and I can't really do that the way I would like in LA.</p>

<p>-IT IS REALLY CLASSIST / EXPENSIVE: It costs a LOT to go to USC even though I don't have to worry about loans. The food court is really expensive and only people who are wealthy can afford it. A lot of people wear Luis Vuitton bags and are really materialistic and I can overhear their conversations are usually about shopping or the next greek life party. Rich people hang out with rich people and make it obvious, usually in the greek system. I guess that whole "University of Spoiled Children" came true in some ways even though I didn't want to see it. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing international and US students on full ride scholarships who don't fit into this criteria. BUT it is a HUGE culture at USC, undeniably.</p>

<p>-CLASSES ARE HUGE/ SCHOOL IS HUGE- I thought I wanted to go to a huge school, but after being here, I find myself feeling like just another fish in the sea. A lot of professors could care less if you attend class or not (even though I do) and I find it hard to get to know a lot of professors. I do have some smaller classes, and those are amazing, and I do really like the professors. But a lot of classes are still really big. Also, the organizations I joined were also HUGE! And I found it really hard to get to know people well when there are 199 others to meet. Apparently a big school is just a little overwhelming for me after all.</p>

<p>I could see myself in a place like Portland or somewhere classy in England. I think I could really enjoy a different type of culture/ lifestyle than the one that USC offers. I have an alright GPA at around 3.5 GPA, except for one GE astronomy class that ended up being a C- because it was SUPPOSED to be pass/fail but somehow there was a glitch in the system and it didn't get accepted AFTER I got my final grades and USC won't help me! REALLY mad about it. Other than that, I have all A's and B's.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Will transferring from a good college like USC help me, at all? Is it a good idea to transfer? Obviously I listed all of the negatives here, but look back on the positives I first listed. I feel like the main reason I stay at USC is the name/ prestige it gives and the alumni connection- but saying I won't be in LA, I don't know if it even matters. And I applied for an internship and had a interview with a guy who graduated from USC in POSC (like me) and I didn't end up getting it, which is fine, but USC alumni connection isn't magic like a lot of people say.</p>

<p>ANY advice would really, really help me! I don't know what to do. Any experience from other transfers would be nice too.</p>

<p>THANKS!</p>

<p>-Confused USC Student</p>

2

<p>Well, I’m actually trying to transfer to USC so…lol. But, I am from the Northern California area (San Jose) so I do know where you’re coming from. </p>

<p>Anyways if you don’t like USC THAT much, then look to transfer. You’re paying a lot of money to go to a school that you don’t necessarily like. Try other schools maybe? Santa Clara U is a great school and although there are a lot of greek life people as well, the people there are really nice and down to earth (my friend goes to SCU, told me all of this, and absolutely loves it there). Also, it’s a pretty small school and wouldn’t be too far from home, 45 mins to an hour to be exact. </p>

<p>It’s hard to transfer from a private to a UC. If you’re looking at potential UC’s, then you might have to just go to a cc to transfer.</p>

<p>Other possible out of state schools: Oregon and Seattle U (friends hate the weather, but love the schools). There are lots of schools that you could go to but I would do research on them. </p>

<p>USC is a great school and if you don’t find any other schools that fit you then you might just have to suck it up. Sorry that you don’t like it that much, but there’s a chance that you may have to warm up to the idea of staying there for another 3 years. I know my advice is a bit vague, but I hope it helped!</p>

3

<p>I think you’re going to find some of the problems you see at USC in a lot of schools. Big class sizes, less attention from professors, materialistic people, etc. However, if you do want to transfer out then visit the campus first, and then maybe talk to a counselor there to see how your credits might transfer over.</p>

4

<p>@uscnatalie yes, like mike011x said; you’re going to find that at A LOT of universities. USC is a big campus, but so is some of the UC’s and CSUs. If you’re thinking about transferring out because of money, to be honest, you’d probably be happier at a CSU because they’ll be a lot cheaper for you (assuming your a CA resident). I think the UCs and USC all cost about the same?? I’m not sure so don’t quote me on that lol.</p>

5

<p>@uscnatalie…I would LOVE to take your spot lol as I’m trying to transfer to USC because it is my dream school but I don’t know if I’ll get in or not. :(</p>

6

<p>Well, as response to large class sizes, you’re a sophomore, so that kinda makes sense.</p>