<p>i had to choose between USC and UCLA as well (UCSD too, but not so much on that level)...the deal breaker for me was the idea that at USC the academic and social experience seemed more well-rounded. maybe i'm just speaking about the engineering crowd, but unlike any of the other schools i checked out, USC actively promoted and encouraged interdisciplinary education (minors, double majors, minors/double majors in disparate fields) and extracurricular activity. i don't know how you gauge "competitiveness," but USC accepts and matriculates students with stats at least as high as those from UCLA, and actually it may be higher. and on top of that, USC puts more emphasis on more qualitative aspects of students.</p>
<p>USC isn't exactly a top 20 national school (though often times its up there), but it's definitely not out of it enough to say UCLA "kills" USC in academics. i suppose USC's major weakness is in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, which outside of a few majors, is nothing spectacular at all. however, the professional schools tend to be highly ranked and respected. that taken into consideration, academically, i don't think you can go wrong going to either school.</p>