Hello everybody! My name is TheCandidCondor. It’s college decision season again and I thought that this would be a great time to answer any questions you guys may have about admissions, housing, life on campus, extracurriculars, etc at USC.
To tell you a little bit about myself:
I’m currently a freshman here at USC and this will be my second semester here. Right now, I’m majoring in business administration at the Marshall School of Business. I intend to also double major in accounting and emphasize in management. In the future, I hope to pursue a career in strategic management consulting for non-profit organizations and social enterprises. Aside from my business pursuits, I’m also passionate about politics and international relations.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. I’ll try to answer them as promptly as possible. Thanks everybody!
What’s the student body breakdown for Marshall students? Is there a lot of diversity and how often do people of different races from different backgrounds mingle?
Also, how pervasive is the Greek life system? Is there pressure to join a sorority/fraternity? Thanks!
@sennovember The student body at Marshall is quite diverse. To me, it feels more or less the same as the percentages that USC posts on their facts and figures website for the university as a whole. The international student presence (from mostly East Asian countries and India) is particularly apparent. In terms of mingling, there is definitely many opportunities to interact with people from different cultures and races in classes or organizations, but you do need to make the effort to reach out and avoid the ethnic bubbles.
In terms of the Greek influence, about 25% of the school is involved in Greek life. While it certainly appeals to many students, there is really no pressure to join. You can just as easily find friends without being in one. Hope that answers your questions!
@collegecurious15 Most of the people you’re going to find on campus are going to be very friendly and willing to help. Of course, there are also going to be students that act entitled and take things for granted, but in my opinion this is something that plagues all universities.
In terms of class difficulty, it really depends on how strenuous your high school experience was. And it also depends very much on your major. But if I had to generalize USC’s academic rigor, it would be tough, but manageable as long as you make good use of your time and seek help when you need it. Hope that answers your question!
@TheCandidCondor Thanks for answering my questions! What do you think of the WBB program? Do you know anyone in it personally? Do you think students that are part of the WBB program would be or have been more competitive in the business world? This is a real concern for me as no cohort has graduated yet.
@sennovember I think the WBB program is an amazing opportunity to get a global perspective on business. I have many friends in the program who often raved about it. I understand your concern for the fact that no cohort has actually graduated yet. I think that the uniqueness of the program definitely will set graduates of the program apart in a way that catches the eyes of resume readers. Not many people can say that they’ve studied in three continents over the course of their undergraduate career. Summers are also free, so there is definitely still opportunities to intern and build skill sets.
That said, I think for it to become a valuable experience, you definitely need to be interested in global business. In terms of classes, the curriculum is very stiff and there won’t be much opportunity to take classes outside of the preset curriculum (there is a way to minor, but it is a very tedious process). I know that people in the program get extremely close to their cohort and this can prove valuable in terms of future connections. However, obviously you need to get along with your cohort for this to happen.
I personally did not apply for it because I wasn’t ready to commit so much time away from home and because I still desired a sense of stability in my college experience. But it is definitely something everyone should consider. Hope that answers your questions.
How easy is it to test out of math classes required through Marshall through AP exams? Also do students who weren’t selected to interview for the big scholarships still able to receive merit aid from USC?
@GriffBaum At Marshall, a 4/5 on AP Calc AB or BC will let you waive the Calculus I requirement. To my knowledge, Calculus I is the only math class that can be waived through AP exams. If you are able to waive Calc I, then you likely will take microeconomics your first semester.
If you were not invited to interview, there is still the opportunity to receive what’s call the University Scholarship. It isn’t something that you apply for, but something that gets added to your financial aid package. The likelihood of receiving this however is quite rare. After your freshman year, there are a few internal scholarships (in the low $1000s) that you can apply for. And of course, you will be eligible for need-based aid.
@collegecurious15 It really depends on what you’re looking for. There are three types of freshman housing: traditional residential halls, suite-style dorms, and apartments. Traditional residential halls have a typically more social atmosphere, are located near the center of campus, and are cheaper (not by much). You will also have to deal with communal bathrooms which can get quite disgusting. The buildings are also generally older. And there is no air conditioning, though that’s only a problem for a month or two right after fall semester starts.
I personally live in a suite-style dorm and I love it. It’s not quite social, but that’s very dependent on a combination of how social the rest of your floormates want to be and how social your RAs want to make it. Within each suite is usually 4 doubles (so rooms with two people each). You get really close to your suitemates, definitely more so than your floormates. We have two bathrooms to share among the 8 of us, which is amazing; they clean it regularly for you as well. This living is a bit pricey however. I believe I’m paying $5k a semester for it. The two suite-style dorms are also right next to what I think is the best dining hall on campus.
Apartments. Personally don’t know much about what’s it like, but I can give you a description of what the living style is like. Often you’ll have two doubles linked to a common room with a kitchen. Apartments offer maximum privacy if that is what you’re into. The apartments are right next to the gym and the “healthy” dining hall so if that’s what you’re interested in.
Thanks for doing this, TheCandidCondor. My son was accepted into Marshall last month and we will be out there later this month so he can see the campus and interview for USC’s top scholarships. As you can imagine, he is very thrilled and excited by his acceptance and the opportunity to interview.
How did you know that USC was the right school for you? I assume, based on the responses so far, that you are very happy both with USC and with Marshall? What was the key that clinched your decision to attend USC?
Was there anything that surprised you when you got to campus and started your first semester?
Do you have a car (and how often are you using it)? I’ve read that not having a car can be a big problem for some students.
What extra curriculars are you participating in or planning on participating in?
Hey I’d be happy to provide an additional answer to above just to lend an additional perspective. Not trying to hijack the OP’s thread or anything.
When your son visits, he’ll probably know. He probably knows by now anyway if he’s done enough reading, whether it’s the right school for him or not. I knew I wanted to come here before I stepped foot on campus. People who love USC have a different set of priorities to those who choose other schools. To us, it’s not so much about research rankings or intellectual snobbishness. While pretty liberal, the school is a bit more moderate and relaxed compared to the hardcore leftist activism culture of the UCs.
The fact that we’re ranked #23 and have great faculty is only a supplementary factor to what we subjectively consider as the culmination of many factors contributing to the best overall university in the nation - something that can’t be ranked by how many paper citations we get. The pre-professional emphasis, the alumni network, the sports, the all round feeling of inclusion and success as a foregone conclusion is what completes USC. If you aren’t sold by these things then you’d simply choose an Ivy. It was quite binary for me.
I’m an engineering major so I can’t comment on Marshall, though it has a good reputation on campus. Not saying to trust it, but this paragraph on Wikipedia makes it sound pretty impressive:
“USA Today ranked the USC Marshall School of Business as the No. 3 school to study undergraduate business in the nation, as of 2015.[87] In 2015, Forbes ranked the USC Marshall School of Business 3rd in the nation in producing graduates who are most satisfied with their jobs.[88]”
I’m low income, and the average person didn’t seem much wealthier than me at all. Of course now that I know the numbers, it makes sense, but truthfully, the student body mirrors basically any other respected university in terms of socioeconomic and racial representation despite whatever reputation it may have. There is a small upper band that come from local power-families, but they keep to themselves or are in Greek.
It’s not that big of an issue. I have a car and none of my friends have cars, and they don’t seem much more inconvenienced than I. In fact, it’s getting too expensive in terms of parking and insurance for the utility it brings me. I end up just taxiing friends who are too lazy or cheap to call an Uber. Seriously in this era, if you don’t need to drive at least 2 times a week, it’s cheaper to just use Uber. Koreatown and Little Tokyo are accessible by metro rail like 10 minutes away. Football stadium is next door. Within a certain range, Uber is free to USC students after 7 pm. We’re far more fortunate than any other school in LA in this regard.
I did Greek for a while and dropped out. I have no complaints about fitting in despite being a minority and low income, the main thing was how much time it took up. If you don’t want to get involved in Greek, it’s easy to just stay away from the row and make sure you fill out your housing preferences profile quite deliberately. Less than 1 in 5 students are Greek. General clubs and professional or interest orgs on campus are quite relaxed and welcoming from what I’ve experienced. Band is a big deal and you get to travel all over the place for free if you can play an instrument.
Epicer: Thank you very much for your thoughtful responses. We still have two weeks until our trip to USC but I expect that my son may have more questions as the date approaches.
@Ljtjrose Thanks for being patient with my response. Midterm season has just started up again so I’ve been quite busy. @epicer Thanks for providing your insights. I’m just trying to foster an environment where people can get help and information so please feel free to answer.
As for the questions:
I’m going to be completely frank, USC was actually last on the list of 8 private schools that I had applied to. I had been rejected by the other 7 so my decision to attend USC was really by default. That said, my decision to apply to USC was motivated by two factors: 1. USC has one of the few undergraduate business schools. 2. Proximity to home.
With regards to the first point, I’m a firm believer in the undergraduate business degree. Not so much that the classes you take are really going to prepare you that much more for a job in business, but rather the support structures (that is, your resources and pedological mindset) are very much going to be centered around business. And that’s not something you can say as an economics major intending to enter a field in business at another university.
With regards to the second point, I live about 30 minutes away from home. So the convenience of being able to visit home often was very alluring (particularly to my parents, which is something you may also empathize with as a parent). Attending USC was really about giving my parents that feeling of security.
I was definitely surprised by the size of the student body. Coming from a school that had almost 4000, I thought I was prepared. In terms of practical travel, the campus is large enough so that you aren’t shoulder to shoulder with people getting to class. But in terms of meeting people, it’s not very likely that you’ll bump into someone you know. It’s about coming to terms with the fact that there is a significant portion of the student body that you will never get to know.
I guess another thing how underwhelming it can be. I think the idea I suggest passing onto your son is to keep expectations low. Being first-generation, I really didn’t know what to expect coming into college. I imagined it as this wonderful place that would not have any of the vices of high school. I found that this way of thinking was actually quite toxic and unreasonable. So keep that in mind.
I do not have a car and I don’t see myself having one in the foreseeable future. Few freshmen have use for cars. I know I rarely leave campus and when I do the Metro usually suffices. After 7 PM, Uber also offers free rides in a 2 mile radius, so that’s also very helpful. It’s also quite pricey. Parking permits are along the lines of $500 per semester I believe. On that note, my suitemate actually has a car, but that’s because he has an internship during the day in the city.
So last semester I participated in Future Business Leaders of America. It’s much more toned down in college than it is in high school. We got to Anaheim for a weekend to compete in a case competition. I’m on the leadership board this semester and am helping plan our competition in Silicon Valley.
I also worked as a copy editor and blogger for the Daily Trojan, our newspaper. I also competed in Model UN, but no longer have the time to do so. I’m currently a pledge for the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. The business fraternity atmosphere is quite different from what you might think of when you think Greek-letter organizations and I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you have regarding professional fraternities.