<p>BTW I do beleive you know a lot of people who know USC enough. USC has changed, and it is a fact. You can just say it is not at the level someones wish it to be, but don't have to put it in the class of U. Colorado, or ASU, or UArizona. That costs you a lot of credibilty, if you have some.</p>
<p>Alwaysthere, I do keep current...I know that things change and I am very cautious about venturing opinions based on Old Data. Such is not the case with USC.</p>
<p>This sub-thread began with an [accurate] assessment of USC's positives, an assessment which [accurately] completely ignored academics.</p>
<p>And then was followed up by this little gem:
[quote]
Face it, USC has already arrived as an elite academic university.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That kind of b.s. should not be left unanswered. And I don't jeer at much but for nonsense like that, I will make an exception. Jeering is exactly what that statement deserves.</p>
<p>Moreover, the defenders of USC have essentially substantiated my points at several turns.</p>
<p>And thanks for your concern about my credibility...it's not something I lie awake nights worrying about. For most readers, I'm more than credible enough. And if someone doesn't like the bluntness that some responses can contain, they can either ignore them or go pound sand...it doesn't matter to me.</p>
<p>1950-60</p>
<p>Berkeley 10.0
Stanford 8.0
UCLA 5.0
USC 2.0</p>
<p>1960-1970</p>
<p>Berkeley 10.0
Stanford 9.0
UCLA 6.0
USC 2.0</p>
<p>1970-1980 </p>
<p>Berkeley 10.0
Stanford 9.5
UCLA 6.0
USC 2.0</p>
<p>1980-1990</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 9.0
UCLA 7.5
USC 2.0
1990-1996</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.5
UCLA 7.0
USC 6.5</p>
<p>1997-2001</p>
<p>Stanford 10,0
Berkeley 8.5
UCLA 7.5
USC 7.0</p>
<p>2002</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.4
UCLA 7.7
USC 7.2</p>
<p>2003</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.6
UCLA 8.2
USC 7.5</p>
<p>2004
Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 9.0
UCLA 8.9
USC 7.4</p>
<p>2005
Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 9.2
UCLA 9.15
USC 7.4</p>
<p>2006
Stanford 10.0
UCLA 9.3
Berkeley 9.25
USC 7.4</p>
<p>2007
Stanford 10.0
UCLA 9.5
Berkeley 9.3
USC 7.3</p>
<p>2008
Stanford 10.0
UCLA 9.65
Berkeley 9.4
USC 7.3</p>
<p>Revised</p>
<p>1950-60</p>
<p>Berkeley 10.0
Stanford 8.0
UCLA 5.0
USC 2.0</p>
<p>1960-1970</p>
<p>Berkeley 10.0
Stanford 9.0
UCLA 6.0
UCSD 3.5
USC 2.0</p>
<p>1970-1980 </p>
<p>Berkeley 10.0
Stanford 9.5
UCLA 6.0
UCSD 4.5
USC 2.0</p>
<p>1980-1990</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 9.0
UCLA 7.0
UCSD 5.0
USC 2.0
1990-1996</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.5
UCLA 7.0 (New Provost thumb down)
USC 6.5 (New President Thumb Way Way Way Up)
UCSD 6.0</p>
<p>1997-2001</p>
<p>Stanford 10,0
Berkeley 8.8 (New Provost Thumb down)
UCLA 7.9 (New Provost Way Way Thumb Up)
USC 7.0
UCSD 7.0(New Provost Thumb Way Way Way Way Up)</p>
<p>2002</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.7
UCLA 8.2
USC 7.2
UCSD 7.1</p>
<p>2003</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.7
UCLA 8.5
USC 7.5
UCSD 7.4</p>
<p>2004</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 8.9 (New Provost Thumb Up)
UCLA 8.8
UCSD 7.5 (New Provost Thumb Down)
USC 7.4</p>
<p>2005</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
Berkeley 9.2
UCLA 9.15
USC 7.4 (New President Thumb down)
UCSD 7.3</p>
<p>2006</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
UCLA 9.3
Berkeley 9.25
USC 7.4
UCSD 7.2</p>
<p>2007</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
UCLA 9.5
Berkeley 9.3
USC 7.3
UCSD 7.2</p>
<p>2008</p>
<p>Stanford 10.0
UCLA 9.65
Berkeley 9.4
USC 7.3
UCSD 7.3</p>
<p>CAZA not CASA. what is that like suppose to mean something? "border of house"? i hope you know that your screen neam makes no sense.</p>
<p>and what is all that data?</p>
<p>I am really enjoying this thread. I don't know why---I find it very entertaining. Anyway, my kid's high school sends up to 10 kids to USC every year. These kids on average aren't as strong as the kids who go to the IVYs, Berkeley, Stanford, or UCLA, but so what? They are strong students overall, on a par with the rest of the UCs and many fine schools. Slackers don't get into the school anymore.</p>
<p>casa
(Spanish)</p>
<p>caｷsa
f.
1. - house
2. (residencia) - home
3. (nobleza) - house
4. (establecimiento) - firm
ca駻sele la casa encima colloquial - to be overwhelmed
casa de altos RIO DE LA PLATA: - multistory building
casa de beneficencia (casa de caridad) - poorhouse
casa de citas - house of assignation
casa de cuna - foundling home
casa de departamentos SOUTH AMERICA: - apartment house
casa de empes - pawnshop
casa de expitos - orphanage
casa de la moneda - mint
casa editorial - publishing house
casa matriz - headquarters
casa mortuoria - funeral home
como Pedro por su casa colloquial - right at home
echar la casa por la ventana colloquial - to go all out
empezar la casa por el tejado - to put the cart before the horse
en casa - at home, in
estar de casa - to be casually dressed
estar fuera de casa - to be out
sentirse como en la casa de uno - to feel at home </p>
<p>caza
(Spanish)</p>
<p>caｷza
f.
1. (cacer僘) - hunt
2. (animales) - game
andar a caza de (ir a caza de) colloquial - to be on the lookout for
dar caza - to give chase
dar caza a - to hunt down
ir de caza - to go hunting </p>
<p>m. (AVIATION) - fighter plane, fighter </p>
<p>INFLECTED FORMS: cazas - f.
cazas - m.</p>
<p>CdC, thanks for the pointer to studentsreview. While there are undoubtedly biases in the system, it's unlikely that biases would flow in different directions for different schools. Thus, for those who objected to my lumping USC in with Colorado and Arizona, here are the aggregate student rankings of Educational Quality for a few rigorous and non-rigorous schools: </p>
<p>Arizona 7.1
USC 7.5
Colorado 7.5</p>
<p>compare with:</p>
<p>U/Chicago 8.8
Georgetown 8.5
Amherst 9.9
Smith 9.2
Pomona 8.4</p>
<p>Reading the individual undergrad comments is illuminating. Divide words/sentences/features into "academic" and "social/non-academic" as you read the individual reviews. Look at the priority order in the USC reviews (or mention at all) and then do the same for the more academic schools. The contrast is stark. (But not DStark.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Wow, your analytical skills are <em>so</em> keen. Being in a top tenth of a high school class says very little about work ethic and taste for academic rigor.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It says a LOT more than anything you've said thus far. People have to work hard and be academically serious to finish in the top tenth. There are exceptions, but for the majority I'd almost guarantee you that you'd find VERY similar academic qualities. </p>
<p>Also those that are more academically serious in high school tend to keep their study habits into college. You can't tell me that those 84% suddenly forget the importance of academia once they set foot on USC's campus. What makes the 84% going to USC any different from the 83% that head to Georgetown? </p>
<p>We can discuss academic quality, but please do not tell me that USC doesn't have quality students cause that's just laughable.</p>
<p>that was wonderful spanish lesson, but it still doesnt explain why you spelled coto de caza wrong. do you even live there?</p>
<p>i see thedad wont let go. but get this: i have irrefutable, empirical evidence of USC dominance over all others! i know a guy who says USC is a great school!! surely that means USC is better than stanfrod, berk, ucla, georgetown....whatever...sarcasm in case you didnt get it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I checked Studentsreview. So many unhappy students in SC though.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's a flawed way of judging happiness. Frankly, those that search for sites, log-on, and actually take time to write reviews are usually those that are on the far sides of the spectrum. It is not an indication of the sentiment of the MAJORITY. </p>
<p>Let me ask you this, instead of looking at far extremes why don't you look at "Alumni giving rates"? That is a FAR better indication of student happiness because you are looking at a MUCH larger proportion of alumni (versus the 80 or 90 so reviews on a site) that gives a far more balanced indication. If you were unhappy with your experience at your alma mater would you give your MONEY to them? No way and vice versa.</p>
<p>Alumni Giving Rate Rankings:</p>
<p>Stanford - #9
USC - #16
UCLA - #93
UC Berkeley - #109</p>
<p>And a few others to show the trend....</p>
<p>Princeton - #1
Notre Dame - #2
Harvard - #3
Georgia Tech - #32
University of North Carolina - #33
NYU - #151
UC San Diego - #176</p>
<p>UCLA and UCB (I picked these schools cause I know them the best) giving rates are atrocious, why aren't their own alumni supporting their school? Could it be the lack of school spirit? Maybe the feeling that they were merely just an ID # during their time as a student? Or the lack of care/attention and resources needed for career development? It could be multitude of reasons, but of my MANY friends that have attended both those universities, they list those as reasons why they do NOT plan to give back to their alma mater. Those are also the reasons why I chose USC over those two schools. </p>
<p>Is alumni giving based on how much fun you had? No not necessarily, let's look at a party/fun school on a campus overlooking a beautiful beach:</p>
<p>UC Santa Barbara - #105</p>
<p>Is alumni giving based on the quality of academics? No not necessarily, let's look at a prestigious academic institution:</p>
<p>UC Berkeley - #109
Michigan - #120</p>
<p>Is alumni giving based school spirit? No not necessarily, let's look at a school that has a lot of school spirit:</p>
<p>Arizona - #164
Ohio State - #112</p>
<p>My point is that it is a culmination of ALL those things. Happiness (for the majority) is going to a college that makes you feel pride, a sense of belonging, provides you with quality education, allows you to grow as a person and socially, and offers you a life after you graduate (usually means a job). All of this reflects in the alumni - the people that have the best knowledge of their respective schools.</p>
<p>Why do so many people dream of going to Ivies? Cause they are near-perfect schools that offer you a chance at ALL of those things.</p>
<p>i am a USC student and really, im tired of hearing about how good or how bad USC is.
without actually EXPERIENCING it, it's very hard to judge.</p>
<p>that is why i respect the negative opnion of the one poster who goes there now and is unhappy with the school. very credible, good input!</p>
<p>here is my input, on the other hand:
i love the school. i didn't visit it before applying or accepting my admission. and i wasn't disappointed the first time i stepped on campus. right away i fell welcome. everyone was friendly, i am still yet to meet someone who has a problem carrying on afriendly conversation. professors that i've had so far have been very eager to help outisde of class with office hours as well as appointments. my TAs have been awesome. though some didn't speak english very well, they still understood their material and were able to explain it to everyone. i know many students dont like their TAs, i haven't had any major problems with them yet.
as far as academics overall go, i probably can't say too much as im a freshman. however those classes that i have taken haven't been as hard as i thought, but far from easy. of cousrse, they're only first and second level courses. </p>
<p>social life is amazing here. i absolutely love it. the dorm life is awesome and i've met some very close friends in the short time i've been here.</p>
<p>as far as safety is concenred, USC is one of the safest urban campuses in the nation. key word: urban. however, the are around it is a shock if you've never lived in an urban setting (myself included). i dont feel dangerous walking outside at night, but then again im always walking with a group of friends. at the beginning of the school year there were a number of crime alert reports. since then it has died down.
and if you read through those reports, many could have been avoided if studnets used common sense (though not all, of course)</p>
<p>anyways, this is just 1 opinion. agree or disagree as you wish.</p>
<p>Afterhous</p>
<p>I think UCLA and USC are dead even about alumni giving.</p>
<p>USC concludes record breaking fund raising from 1993 to 2003
$2.85 Bil (10 years-campaign. $285 million per year)</p>
<p>UCLA reached $2.4Billion (in 7 years campaign.$343 million per year)</p>
<p>Campaign UCLA, launched publicly in May 1997, reached its target earlier this year of raising $2.4 billion for campus entities including professional schools, athletics and the library. University charts show the average annual private donations to UCLA stand at $250 million, up from $100 million prior to the current fund-raising effort. </p>
<p>Though a decade-long fund-raising campaign that ends next year has more than doubled the flow of private money pouring into UCLA, officials say a trend of shrinking government funding of public universities means UCLA will depend even more on private donations in years to come.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think UCLA and USC are dead even about alumni giving.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>When you look at alumni giving rankings you have to take percentages. You can't look at the amount generated because how would we compare a school that admits 10,000 undergraduates versus a school that admits 30,000 per year? Or in the case of USC and UCLA, 16,000 versus 26,000? </p>
<p>USC's percentage of alumni giving more than doubles UCLA's.</p>
<p>USC
Enrollment stands at 30,000, including 16,000 undergraduates and 14,000 graduate and professional students. </p>
<p>UCLA
Enrollment </p>
<p>There are 25,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate students for a total of 37,000. UCLA has been #1 nationally since 1998 in receiving the most applications for undergraduate admission. Only 4,000 to 5,000 students are admitted each academic year into the freshmen class. </p>
<p>UCLA 37000
Alumni giving per person $9,189.19 (340 Mil 2.4bil/7=340 Mil)</p>
<p>USC 30,000
Alumni giving per person $9,500.00 (285 Mil 2.85bil/10=285Mil)</p>
<p>dotn forget that ucla is a larger, more reseaerch oriented public institution thats really suffering from budget cuts. at uci, we lost alot of popular programs recently. and its getting worse. tuition is like 2200/quarter and is going up by 20%.</p>
<p>
[quote]
UCLA 37000
Alumni giving per person $9,189.19 (340 Mil 2.4bil/7=340 Mil)</p>
<p>USC 30,000
Alumni giving per person $9,500.00 (285 Mil 2.85bil/10=285Mil)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That makes no sense, you are basically saying 100% of students give back to the school? Do you not take into consideration that some donate more than others? What if one person donates a $1000000 while another donates a $100? </p>
<p>Like I said, the only way to conclude "alumni giving" is by percentages.</p>
<p>Also I forgot to add the most important error to Coto's statistics. </p>
<p>Those are FUNDRAISING statistics not ALUMNI GIVING statistics. Alumni dollars may be factored into the fundraising total, but I believe the large proportion of money comes from corporations, donors, etc. </p>
<p>On the topic of fundraising, USC made huge leaps in the past 5 years (along with academics). The $285 million is not an indication of what USC has brought in recent years:</p>
<p>Top 10 fundraising universities in 2002:</p>
<p>University of Southern California $585,161,932
Harvard $477,617,144
Stanford $454,769,878
Cornell $363,031,766
University of Pennsylvania $319,742,070
Johns Hopkins $318,687,392
University of Wisconsin-Madison $307,213,842
UCLA $282,343,369
Columbia $271,231,231
Duke $264,580,048</p>
<p>Whew. This is exhausting.</p>
<p>Let's just end this, and say that no, maybe USC is not at the level of the ivys or their comparable schools, but it is a great school that is steadily improving. </p>
<p>Let's also say that we at USC are very lucky for all that we have, for ALL its varied aspects. It is a very well-rounded school, and that is why we chose it. And most of all, let's say that, yes, we selected it for its academics. We knew we'd found a high quality education that balances many other great qualities that make the university so amazing. I know that if I wanted a fun social life I could have gone to some of the other schools I had been accepted to, like UCSB or San Diego State. I chose USC, however, because I knew I would receive the high-level education that I desired, and I have not been disappointed. Sure there are faults. I don't think anyone is denying that. But to say that we didn't consider USC for its academics is ridiculous.</p>
<p>On that note, why doesn't everyone go spend time with their families and have a wonderful Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or any other holiday that you celebrate!</p>
<p>I think USC students will all admit that we are not on the level of Stanford, but to say that we are not on the level of schools like UCLA and Georgetown is ridiculous. TheDad took it to another level of absurdity when he stated that USC students would fold at the knees if they walked into a Georgetown classroom. </p>
<p>How many schools offer great academics, championship sports teams, undying school spirit, one of the strongest alumni networks, diversity, huge endowment that keeps the school moving forward, and did I mention perfect weather year round? Very few schools. It's a GREAT time to be a Trojan!</p>