<p>Im really having a tough time deciding which school I should choose. I was admitted to both of their College of Arts and Sciences schools. My plan is to transfer internally to either Business and/or Computer Engineering. </p>
<p>Ive heard that UVa has a better business school but USCs engineering programs are better. </p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<li><p>Between the two, which of the college programs that I mentioned are favored nationally amongst employers? </p></li>
<li><p>As a whole, which University is better? </p></li>
<li><p>In your opinion, which programs are better? Why or why not? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for any help you can provide. Please constructive input only…</p>
<p>D was accepted to both as well, so we spent some time evaluating them. I can only address question 2. USC was, a decade ago, a comfortable back-up school before it boomed in popularity. The declining acceptance rate is probably the largest factor in its rising ranking, but I can't believe that academic program quality would have changed as rapidly. Both schools have very loyal alumni bases, and the undergrad population at U.Va. is actually smaller. Charlottesville is one of the great American college towns, while South Central LA is something of a disincentive. I'd say that despite being the public school, U.Va.'s name has more cachet.</p>
<p>I would look at this question from two different angles:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you intend to eventually settle on the west coast or east coast? If it's the former, USC is obvious, if it's the latter, UVa is a good choice. </p></li>
<li><p>Are USC and UVa both similar cost-wise for you, or is there a big difference?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>
[quote]
1. Between the two, which of the college programs that I mentioned are favored nationally amongst employers?
[/quote]
It's likely more regional, hence my first question. USC is more well known and actively recruited by west coast employers...the same is true for UVa on the east coast. Both USC's and UVa's business and engineering programs are respected and you will get a job upon graduation. However, if you go to UVa and then want to settle in California or the west, you'll have to do some leg work for job recruiting...since west coast employers aren't likely to come to you at UVa for on-campus rectuiting...the opposite is true if you go to USC and want to work on the east coast. </p>
<p>
[quote]
2. As a whole, which University is better?
[/quote]
Both are fantastic. Reputationally, UVa is more well known for its liberal arts programs and stronger undergrad focus. USC is more well known for its pre-professional programs.</p>
<p>
[quote]
3. In your opinion, which programs are better? Why or why not?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>IMO,
For engineering USC > UVa
For east coast business UVa > USC
For west coast business USC > UVa</p>
<p>The differences are not huge...choose for campus environment, cost and other factors.</p>
<p>UVA has more "historical prestige".
USC has better social life and sports.</p>
<p>UVA is college town.
USC is major metropolitan.</p>
<p>Both have relatively warm weather, but CA is less humid. </p>
<p>Both are great business schools, but as stated before me, it depends on where you want to work. USC will have better connections in the west, UVA will have better connections in the middle-atlantic region.</p>
<p>^ You seriously are going to choose USC just because its classes hapepn to be a "little smaller"...Okaaay...that reason wouldn't be at the top of my list.</p>
<p>this shouldn't be a hard decision to make. where do you think you want to settle after graduation, east coast or west coast.
there's your answer.</p>
<p>west coast companies etc will recruit usc more. east coast companies etc will recruit uva more.</p>
<p>OMG, the small class clan comes out once again!</p>
<p>This should really be a choice based on where you want to live for 4 years, and where you want to live after those 4 years, as well as finance considerations.</p>
<p>I think that this is an interesting choice as the schools are similar in size and objective measurements (with most slight edges to USC). Academic strength is similar while U Virginia has a stronger reputation in the world of academia. Choosing on anything other than personal fit would probably be a mistake. </p>
<p>Social life at both is considered exceptional while in athletic life, USC and its great football team (and the bandwagon-jumping LA fans) probably make for a better athletic scene (although Smith Stadium at U Virginia is thought to be pretty great as well). The campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods are very different (IMO U Virginia and its famed Lawn win here) and the weather differences are sharp as well. </p>
<p>Two areas that are or could be meaningfully different are graduation rates for URMs and the prospects for each school's finances. </p>
<p>U Virginia does an exceptional job of graduating its URMs. This may be partly due to the relatively low level of Pell grantees, but nonetheless the school has developed a commendable record on this score and consistently scores as one of the best colleges for minorities in the USA in terms of graduation performance and financial aid.</p>
<p>On the financial front, U Virginia still has the endowment edge ($4.4 bn and per capita of $180k per student vs $3.7 bn and per capita of $120k per student), but USC is making a lot of waves. The momentum for USC over the past decade has been impressive and this has spurred lots of financial support. </p>
<p>Given the scarcity of top private alternatives in the West, USC is increasingly on the radar of top students while U Virginia has its state of Virginia mandates and a much more competitive region for top students. U Virginia's managers have developed a vision for their future that does not involve state aid, but they will still need to raise a lot of money to maintain their financial position.</p>
<p>Actually UVa standing in academia is questionable. It has few strong departments and many average to weak ones. Its standing as a strong undergrad school with good professional schools is more secure.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I said classes, not the school itself...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And where are the sources to backup your claim? When you have 900 students per year for just the business school at USC, I doubt classes like business/accounting 101 are small.</p>
<p>the small class thing is completely overrated, imo.</p>
<p>At UVa I would say most of the non intro classes I took were around 25-35 students. I never thought any class I took with 8 or 9 kids were any more "personal" than a 30 student class. Personal attention comes by going to office hours--not in the 3 hours a week you'll spend in each respective class.</p>
<p>Also, I would be weary of any class numbers. There are a lot of classes that are registered to only have 20 which end up with 25 or 30 in them.</p>