<p>I just joined CC but have been looking at posts for the past month or so. I need insight into making my choice... UCLA or USC? (I'm posting this in both colleges' forums BTW).</p>
<p>USC:
- Presidential + University scholar ($24,000/year in scholarships)
- COA = approximately $38,600 for 2013/2014
- Fairly steady tuition prices
- Admitted to Marshall School as Business Administration major
- Excellent alumni network
- Shadier campus neighborhood
- US News ranking: T-24, Forbes ranking: 95 (for the record, I don't believe in rankings but just another statistic to add)</p>
<p>UCLA:
- No scholarship or financial aid
- COA = approximately $32,400 for 2013/2014
- Uncertain future in public education costs for California
- Admitted to CLS as pre-business Econ major
- Decent alumni network
- Beautiful, upper-class neighborhood
- US News ranking: T-24, Forbes ranking: 45 (for the record, I don't believe in rankings but just another statistic to add)</p>
<p>I'm not completely sure what I want to do after college... Either law school or business school. With UCLA, I'd consider Poly Sci because isn't Econ a traditionally tough major?</p>
<p>Any insight you guys have would be awesome! Things I'm missing, what you'd do if you were me, etc. Either way I'd just love to hear any thoughts.</p>
<p>From the information you have provided, it appears USC will actually be less expensive than UCLA. I can attest if you do well at USC, which I believe would be easier than at UCLA, given the sheer numbers and competitiveness of public schools in general, you’ll be accepted into top business or law schools. I got into Penn, Northwestern and Michigan law schools to name a few, for example. My USC friends and colleagues also got into Columbia, Stanford, and Yale
law schools. Obviously, we all did very well academically, and virtually all of us were Phi Beta Kappa. Most importantly, it was very easy to get letters of recommendations from top professors with whom we all studied. My own observations during law school were that the public schools were much more difficult with the grading curve. In short, you will get better grades at private schools than public schools, most likely because of smaller class sizes and closer interaction with the professors.</p>
<p>As far as reputation, UCLA has a great reputation, and USC is quite respectable and getting stronger every year. Keep in mind that the competition at UCLA is greater than at USC insofar as numbers applying to top law and business schools. I suspect that at least 50 to 100 percent more kids from UCLA apply to the same law and business schools on an annual basis as compared to USC. Do the math or probability analysis and be shrewd about your decision.</p>
<p>Have you actually been to either campus? I went to both last summer and I totally disagree with the statement that UCLA is in a nicer neighborhood. As long as you don’t go to south-central LA, USC is fine. They’ve got guards on campus, and there’s almost no homeless people. Maybe the day I went to UCLA was an anomaly, but I saw 4 homeless people in Westwood. The campus is also hillier, which makes getting around a pain. </p>
<p>There’s bad parts of LA, sure, but USC isn’t in them.</p>
<p>Visit both Us. There are a lot more kids living on or near USC and a lot more commuters at UCLA. My kids both attend USC and were and felt safe. The Us have own “feel.”</p>
<p>Third to the visits. When our son was an incoming freshman, we went to USC only because we had already paid for the day. UCLA was where he was going to go. (Had a perfectly fine visit there. But our tour guide motioned to a group of building and said, “Economics is over there, I think.” Didn’t sit quite right.) UCLA was a bit cheaper for us. We had a great day at USC, especially the Marshall workshops. Later, when the question was asked, “If money was not an object, where would you go?” was asked, it was answered USC without a pause. A little more USC money came through, so that was that. He’ll be graduating next month, has a great job in hand and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>That being said, he has friends who did Business Econ at UCLA who also have had a great college experience and have jobs lined up. So go where you feel you fit best.</p>
<p>It seems like the grad B-Schools want the students to have a few years experience under their belts before getting an MBA. Law School… tread carefully, there are more lawyers than jobs these days.</p>
<p>Our friend’s S got a masters and bachelor’s from USC Marshall and really liked the mentoring and internship opportunities. He also got a bachelor’s in chemical engineering at the same time. It was a busy 4 years!</p>
<p>@SeattleTW: Just curious, how would USC cost me less? Why does your statement “I suspect that at least 50 to 100 percent more kids from UCLA apply to the same law and business schools on an annual basis as compared to USC” matter to post-bachelor school applications (law, business, etc.)?</p>
<p>@HateBeinSober: I’ve been to both campuses. I think it’s pretty clear that UCLA is in the nicer area… USC isn’t in nearly the awful area people say it is but I’m pretty confident in the fact that UCLA’s surroundings are nicer than USC’s. On-campus, both are pretty even, but I think off-campus is a lot different.</p>
<p>USC is surrounded by notorious gangs such as the largest Hispanic gang, 18th street, and many more such as the Harpys, ABZ, etc. I work 911 for CARE ambulance, and it is extremely worrisome how close these emergency calls are to the USC campus. I’ll get calls for a gang member with a gunshot wound to his hip, etc. There is a reason why Pepperdine University moved out of there. </p>
<p>However, I must agree with SeattleTW that it is extremely competitive at UCLA for Law School as UCLA produces a higher number of law students than USC. But note this, that it doesnt matter where you go. Same for medical school or dental school. You can attend Cal State Fullerton and still attend a successful law school. It all depends on your raw data (GPA, test scores), your interview score, your essays, and your extracurriculars. They really do not care where you come from. Just because you attend USC does not make you a better candidate in the eyes of the adcoms as opposed to a person who attend Cal State Northridge and excelled in every category of interviews, extracurriculars, and test scores.</p>
<p>But crime is not really the subject of this topic. If you’re interested in going to a top ranked law or business school, then I believe your chances would be better at USC than any of the U of C’s.</p>
<p>Once again, an ignorant fool arises… and it is Seattle. You do realize that UCLA EMS and PD respond to calls outside of Westwood? That database is compiled by the number of calls given to the agency. And that data actually reaches to USC. You ever seen UCLA EMT’s come transports patients that surround USC? If you actually check the number of batteries, assaults, and rapes by the campus and surrounding city ONLY, USC triples the amount that UCLA has. Please stop spreading lies Seattle. I have a couple of friends who live around USC, and they will call anyone an idiot for saying that USC is safer than UCLA. Because really, they have lived there and seen it all; they know that the surrounding areas of USC is terrible. I mean, I run 911 calls and the frequency of emergency calls around USC is the same as Compton… Tells you something about that “safety” and “crimes” </p>
<p>Also, Seattle, the reason why USC is not on that list is because the author of that article could not gain access to USC’s database for crimes reported.</p>
<p>westwood is a great quintissential college town like ann arbor charlottsville etc. while uscs loction is ghetto. there are basically no shops etc other than fast food places and a goodwill…the only bar within walking distance is the 9-0</p>
<p>also, usc students all live far from campus…its not a traditional residential college community. all sophomores basically live off campus and dont eat at dining hall etc. anymore most of the time. usc wont let you live in on campus dorms like other schools for all 4 years</p>
<p>for the record, over half of USC’s students are from out of state. They either live on campus or right off of campus within walking distance of the park. all freshmen are guaranteed on campus housing. sophomores can also live on or off campus. most upper classmen live in university housing right north of the park.</p>
<p>all students can buy meal plans and eat in the dorms on campus.</p>
<p>over 90 percent of UCLA students, by contrast, are Californians. a fortunate few live on campus, but many commute or live in Westwood, again off campus.</p>
<p>Westwood is definitely a nicer area of town, but according to the publically available Clery statistics, USC is a safer campus. in short, appearances are just that and do not reflect federally mandated crime statistics that all colleges, including USC, are required to report. but don’t rely upon any of us, do your homework…</p>
<p>as far as places around campus, that will not be a problem because generally you’ll find what you need on campus, the University Village, or, if you care to drive or take public transportation, downtown LA and, ironically, Westwood, where you’re typically find several USC students shopping, eating, etc.</p>
<p>Haha Seattle, that is the best response you can give? Dont know if youre ■■■■■■■■ or not. If not, I must have embarrassed you enough for you to be driven into a corner, stumped without an answer. Here is more information: USC does not have PD agency or EMS agency. The data that the author of the article used is this:</p>
<p>Therefore, all the emergency crimes and crime reports that occur in USC will not be visible. On the other hand, UCLA EMS/PD takes in
Sucks that USC has to rely on another college’s agency to protect their surrounding areas, doesn’t it Seattle?</p>
<p>So, OP, I guess Seattle is saying that you are 3x more likely to be robbed and 8x more likely to be raped at USC. Oh wait, doesnt make sense because the half the reported robberies for UCLA come from surrounding cities of Westwood. Guess you are 6x more likely to be robbed.</p>
<p>Okay… let’s move from the UCLA vs. USC crime statistics argument and try to help the OP. It’s LA. Bad things happen in nice and not so nice neighborhoods. So, yeah… lock up your bike, don’t leave your computer on an empty table, pay attention to the zone DPS patrols and you’ll be fine. </p>
<p>As far as “nice” area… our son lived in a dorm freshman year, campus apartment sophomore year and independently-owned apartments junior and senior years. All were exactly what you’d expect for college housing. (And similar to what/where his UCLA friends live.) He’s in a fraternity (didn’t want to live in-house) but wanted to be near the Row and bike/skateboard/walk distance from campus. There’s easy public transportation to LA Live and other nightlife from campus. He does have a car, which helps anywhere in LA. He decided this last year to just give a shot at street parking in lieu of paying for parking (apt. surcharge or USC) which has actually worked out fine.</p>
<p>Did you by chance get an invitation to Marshall’s Global Leadership Program? It’s a great freshman program with a class taught by Dean Ellis (!) along with very big-name guest lecturers first semester and preparation for an abroad week second semester. My son’s year they went to either Shanghai or Beijing. I think that GLP is offered to the top 10% of Marshall admits, but a majority of Marshall freshman participate in the LINC program which is also a week abroad with more destinations and date flexibility. Both add $$ to the bottom line, but there are need-based scholarships available.</p>
<p>Again Bruin you are per usual wrong. The Clery Act statistics have proven beyond a doubt that forcible rape, aggravated assault, and other crimes against persons are much greater at UCLA than USC, regardless of any spin you and others wish to put on it. And what about the infamous rape trail on your own campus?</p>
<p>Okay, whatever Seattle. I’m not a Bruin by the way. I even posted this as a comment on the article when it first came out:</p>
<p>"USC isn’t included in the data set because private institutions don’t report crime statistics to the FBI. This article is misleading and the title of this post even moreso.</p>
<p>I’m a Trojan and this looks dumb."</p>
<p>Even if I have DIRECTLY provided the link that SHOWS the data from your USC WEBSITE, you still deny that USC is in a dangerous part of LA. So if the USC’s WEBSITE on their annual security report is a bunch of lies to you, I don’t know what else can convince your ignorant attitude. Next time, Seattle, if you want to properly respond or give an appropriate answer, please provide links and sources. I have provided my sources directly from USC’s website; you, on the other hand, have provided nothing but stupidity. Even your fellow USC ccer’s have looked down upon your stupidity. I honestly do not understand why you still claim that USC is not in a dangerous area, when it really is. It is really misleading to future applicants. </p>
<p>You obviously know nothing about UCLA PD/EMS. The numbers on Clery are only bolstered for UCLA simply because UCLA PD/EMS has to respond to many others in parts of Korea town and downtown LA. Everyone knows youre an idiot who cant provide any sources, but words so we will all just move along while you can stay as an ignorant fool.</p>
<p>Children, take this outside… you’ve given your “statistics” and it’s time to move on. I only have the experience of our friends & neighbors who sent kids to both schools and all have positive experiences. But I think we’ve probably lost the OP, who’s thinking he’s landed in the land of “fruits & nuts” (and gangs, rapes and violent crimes).</p>
<p>There are some faculty and students attending USC and commuting from far away (not walking or biking) but our kids and the vast majority of the students we know walk or bike a very short distance to campus–no more than a 10-15 minute walk by parents and faster by students. </p>
<p>Mentoring–see if you qualify at either campus for business mentoring. That was one if the things our friend’s kid liked best about USC’s Marshall.</p>