<p>I would deff not want to be in south central over la jolla. the immediate areas themselves do not even compare. i guess i dont understand how south central could be nicer than la jolla. ucsd has usc clearly beat on location. Where usc owns ucsd is in college experience, something ucsd clearly lacks. Lots of constant studiers and nerds and such. usc has an awesome greek system and good college spirit/sports teams ect. I would also counter that ucsd is just 10 minutes from downtown (gaslamp) and under 5 minutes to pacific beach. these two areas line up very equally for the bar/party scene with sunset. Hell sunset, gaslamp, pacific beach are all known to have great college/party atmospheres. However, you probably wont see many ucsd students partying as they have a reputation for studying a lot. And if la jolla discourages students from visiting local restaurants which in the many times ive been down their i have never been treated in any way but very nice, and im a college student. I was at usc a few weeks ago and had to be carefull where i walked off campus, and usc is near some pretty scary areas of south central. Im just trying to be the devils advocate, if i was under 21 and looking for a good college experience and good academics and money was of no issue i would likely attend usc over ucsd, however, being older (over 21) and being able to go to bars in areas such as gaslamp, i would prefer the laid back atmosphere of upper class la jolla, while getting an equally good and rigourous education. whatever choice you make will be a good one. For me if money was of no issue usc for journalism is clearly better and ucsd is clealry better in poli sci. Either way even if you go to the lower ranked individual program both schools are ranked virtually the same and you will be getting a good degree. Visit both compuses and get an idea where you fit in and enjoy better. Either way your getting a top education.</p>