<p>I'm going to be an engineering major this fall but don't know where yet. Can I get some fair and balanced input as to which I should choose?</p>
<p>What discipline?</p>
<p>I'd go with USC is cost is not an issue. They are really beefing up engineering.</p>
<p>I assume you got into at least one college in California...</p>
<p>So congratulations first.</p>
<p>I also recommend USC.</p>
<p>I'd say UCLA</p>
<p>Oh damn, let's not. =p</p>
<p>Copy and pasted from another thread:</p>
<p>Admissions:
-Acceptance rates are virtually identical
-UCLA has slightly higher average GPA
-USC has slightly higher average SAT</p>
<p>Student Body:
-USC is significantly more diverse, unless you are Asian in which case UCLA would be preferable
-UCLA has more students from middle class families
-USC has more students from poor families but also more students from rich families</p>
<p>Sports:
-Both have great sports traditions, with UCLA particularly excelling in basketball and USC particularly excelling in football.</p>
<p>Academics:
UCLA as a school has a little more prestige due to its historical excellence. USC is the "new kid on the block" and its prestige is rising rapidly, but not quite to the level of UCLA. The inherent nature of prestige is that it has lag time, so there would be a better comparison 5 years from now.</p>
<p>Programs:
-USC has a highly ranked undergrad business program. UCLA does not have an undergrad business program but instead has an biz-econ major.
-USC has somewhat of a weakness in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences and UCLA excels in this area.
-Both UCLA and USC have good engineering programs. However, UCLA has more of a sink-or-swim approach to educating whereas you will get more attention/support at USC.
-USC's film school is probably the best in the U.S. UCLA's Film School is good, but not to the level of USC.</p>
<p>Location:
Westwood > The area around USC.</p>
<p>Campus:
Both have very nice campuses, and it comes down the the style you prefer. UCLA is more majestic/monumental while USC is more charming/cozy.</p>
<p>Alumni Relations</p>
<p>The Trojan Family is no Joke. While I'm sure UCLA's network is strong, the school isn't particularly known for this.</p>
<p>I mentioned this earlier, but UCLA has more of a sink-or-swim mentality where you have to assert yourself a lot more in getting attention for TA's/Professor's. Some do well when they are an anonymous person in a lecture hall, others do better in smaller, more intimate classes. Also, UCLA is a public school and thus there will a lot more bureaucratic red tape. USC is more nimble in this regard. In addition, the school spirit at USC is tremendously strong. UCLA has spirit, but not to the level of USC.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that roughly 95% of UCLA students are from California. Being from arkansas, that might be a turn off (or maybe not...). Only about 50% of USC students are from California.</p>
<p>Overall, Viterbi (USC's School of Engineering) is an excellent program at both the undergrad and graduate level.</p>
<p>I'm in the running for a full tuition scholarship from USC, cost might not be an issue. Wow, thanks for the great responses--this really helps.</p>
<p>Data mostly drawn USNWR</p>
<p>OBJECTIVE DATA</p>
<p>Undergraduate Enrollment:
UCLA: 24,811 USC: 16,897</p>
<p>In-state Student Population as % of All Undergrads:
UCLA: 95% USC: 54%</p>
<p>Cost: UCLA: $6,504 in-state, $24,672 out-of-state USC: $33,892</p>
<p>Graduation & Retention Rank
UCLA: 24th USC: 36th
-% of Students expected to graduate in 6 years:
UCLA: 88% USC: 85%
-% of students who do graduate in 6 years:
UCLA: 87% USC: 83% </p>
<p>Faculty Resources Rank:
UCLA: 50th USC: 24th
-% of classes with 50+ students
UCLA: 21% USC: 10%
-% of classes with <20 students
UCLA: 51% USC: 63%
-Faculty/student ratio
UCLA: 18/1 USC: 10/1</p>
<p>Student Selectivity Rank:
UCLA: 17th USC: 17th (TIED)
-Average SAT/ACT:
UCLA: 1170-1410 USC: 1270-1440
-% of students ranking in top 10% of high school class
UCLA: 97% USC: 85%
-% acceptance rate (2005)
UCLA: 27% USC: 27%</p>
<p>Financial Resources Rank:
UCLA: 24th USC: 45th</p>
<p>Alumni Giving % and Rank:
UCLA: 15% (105th) USC: 36% (14th) </p>
<p>2006 Football Score:
UCLA: 13 USC: 7</p>
<p>SUBJECTIVE DATA</p>
<p>Peer Assessment:
UCLA: 4.3 USC: 3.9</p>
<p>Overall ranking obviously extremely close, but individual rankings on various factors vary more than one might expect. Lots here for both sides to make a claim to southern California superiority. If you are in-state, $ considerations likely tip the scale to UCLA, unless you are getting serious financial help from USC (like the OP).</p>
<p>For engineering alone USC is ranked about 7th and UCLA 15th. Both very good but a nod to USC.</p>
<p>Strength and ranking of engineering departments in california go:</p>
<p>(US NEWS)
Stanford
UC Berkeley
USC
Cal-Tech
UCSD
UCLA</p>
<p>(my opinion)
Stanford
UC Berkeley
Cal-Tech
USC
UCSD
UCLA</p>
<p>Nod in engineering goes to USC. Nod to overall university goes to UCLA.</p>
<p>ucchris,</p>
<p>Actually US News grad ranking didn't rank USC's engineering departments that well (departmental ranking which is based on peer assessment). It's the overall ranking that ranked USC high mostly because USC scored so well in research $$$ per faculty.</p>
<p>UCLA is better community-wise than USC. USC is centered in downtown LA, and is not that great a neighborhood. UCLA is a little more distant.</p>
<p>if you're going to get full tuition at SC go to SC. UCLA oos tuition rapes.</p>
<p>Good point, finances will definitely make a huge difference.</p>
<p>if you enjoy getting shot while returning from midnight lab sessions go to usc</p>
<p>Watts is not a nice place, you have about a circumfrence of 6 safe city blocks. USC is a private, more intimate school though. At UCLA its very easy to get lost. However, there's a reason that USC is nicknamed University of Spoiled Children.</p>
<p>I find it amusing how USC is simultaneously cast as a bunch of spoiled rich kids, and in the heart of ghetto south central. Wouldn't the spoiled rich kids worry about some gang member taking their Porsche!? :)</p>
<p>I also find it amusing how people don't know at all where USC actually is. Everyone can agree UCLA is in Westwood, but already in this thread USC has been claimed to be in either Watts or Downtown (completely different locations!)</p>
<p>USC is about 12 miles north of Watts and about 2 miles from Staples Center which is really the edge of downtown. Really, USC is in the Adams district of Los Angeles. I wouldn't really call it "South Central" either - as the crow flies USC is only about 3 miles south of UCLA (most of the distance is going west-east)</p>
<p>I've been to the USC campus already and the claim that you'll get shot is totally false--the campus is very safe and well patrolled. On top of that, the 'University of Spoiled Children' stereotype is just propaganda--USC has more low-income kids than a lot of other schools, and the people their aren't pretentious. If you're going to insult the place, found it on something, but I'd prefer giving factual disadvantages if you're going to give them at all.</p>