<p>huhu: I have posted a similar response on the UVA board (UVA v USC thread), but I have changed some of that response due to your son's interest.</p>
<p>We are from VA, and S applied to USC but not UVA. Nothing against UVA because it is a great school, but S just didn't see himself there. (Also, nothing against GT because it also is a great school, but as a disclaimer I have to admit I have UGA relatives, and there's a "little" rivalry there.) S had also spent part of a summer in Southern California and really liked it. He has narrowed his final list down to just a few schools, and one of them is USC. (USC also offered him scholarship money.)</p>
<p>Before visiting, I honestly had a bias against USC, thinking that it was a partying, rich kids, we-worship-football school. After visiting USC and meeting students, faculty, and admissions officers, I realize now that I was TOTALLY wrong. Yes, there are some of those types at USC (just like at all schools), but most students are not like that.</p>
<p>I'll try and not repeat info that you have received from USC. (I must mention here, however, the great Renaissance Scholarship that USC gives for students with diverse interests. Last year's winner was majoring in Engineering (not sure which one) and Opera. Where else would you find this but at USC!) Here are a few of our observations about USC:</p>
<ol>
<li>You already know that USC offers a wide variety of majors and minors, including over 150 majors and 120 minors. It has the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. It also has 17 profession schools, including Engineering, Cinematic Art, Fine Arts, Music, Business, Architecture, Law, and Medicine, just to name a few.</li>
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<p>More importantly, however, USC encourages double majors and also encourages interdisciplinary studies and cooperation between schools. For example, for last fall's "Demo Game Day," students from three schools worked together on teams to create video games. USC</a> Viterbi School of Engineering : Viterbi Game Day Builds USC Stature as National Center for Interactive Arts Students came from the Viterbi School of Engineering, the Roski School of Fine Arts, and the School of Cinematic Arts. These were students "from computer science, interactive media, fine arts, animation, and composers from the School of Music."</p>
<ol>
<li>USC is a vibrant campus with some unique buildings. For example, the Bovard Auditorium is a beautiful facility that hosts very diverse events from Ladysmith Black Mambazo to Tom Brockaw. For photos, see Bovard</a> Auditorium - University of Southern California </li>
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<p>When we visited in February, the flowers were blooming. (We left VA in a snowstorm.) The campus is not too big and students walk, use "long boards" (skateboards), or ride bikes called "beach cruisers" everywhere. These cruisers are the exact opposite of mountain bikes. They have no gears, have baskets on the front, and come in great colors like pink, purple, lime green, etc. I think it would be hard to get too stressed out at USC with the longboards and pink cruisers sailing by you, surrounded by flowers blooming.</p>
<p>Some people talk about the "high crime" area around USC, but it did not seem too dangerous to us. Yes, it is an urban area. Yes, you would not walk around by yourself at 2 am off campus wearing your Ipod. But no campus is totally safe, and common sense goes a long way. (Note GT is in a similar-type neighborhood in Atlanta.)</p>
<ol>
<li>The student body is diverse and very nice. Eleven percent are first-generation college. We met many students and all of them were friendly. I went to an annual hip-hop dance showcase which had some amazing dancers. Even the dancers who were less than amazing received applause from the very enthusiastic and supportive audience. I talked to some students in the audience who were eager to share their we-love-USC stories. One was from Canada and the other from Northern California.</li>
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<p>USC has students from all over the world with different backgrounds and ethnicities. The students were wearing all kinds of outfits. We saw prepsters, mini-skirts with cowboys boots, lots of USC shirts, long shorts, short shorts, and everything in between. There was not one main look.</p>
<p>S went to two club sport activites (there are over 600 student organizations), and the students were very welcoming. </p>
<p>He also met a aerospace engineering student who was on USC's Design/Build/Fly team and who invited him to the team's lab where he met other members of the team. They explained how the team designs, builds, and flies (hopefully) a plane that will compete in a national competition based on mandated specs. (The team icompeted this past weekend, 4/18/08, in Wichita, KS, and came in around 10th out of 50 or 60 teams.)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>USC has almost a $4 billion endowment. Though this is not at the same level as Harvard or Stanford, last year USC raised over $450 million. Recently, USC received $25 million, the largest ever made by an African American to a U.S. institution of higher learning. (The donor made the gift in honor of her husband, a "49 Marshall School grad.) Even people who never went to USC seem to give it money. Why? Because it is easy to fall in love with USC and to believe in what USC is accomplishing. The Viterbi has received several major gifts in the past several years.</p></li>
<li><p>USC works closely with industry to help place students. For example, at the Demo Game Day I mentioned above the best of the best attended:</p></li>
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<p>
[quote]
Industry representation included Applied Minds, THQ, EA LA, EA Mobile, Activision, Northrup Grummann, Disney Interactive Studios, Digital Domain, Emsense, Disney VR Studios, Sony Online Entertainment, Sony Computer Enteratinmane of America, Steamboat Ventures, Blizzard, Google, Insomniac Games, Naughtdog Games, iSportGames, and Creative Artists Agency.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>One of the nice aerospace students we met told us that her department had a "Shadow Day" where students shadowed industry people around for the day. For her company, she selected a major player in the aviation industry. At the end of her day, her host asked her to come back in the summer for an internship because he was so impressed with her. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Though USC has around 16,000 undergraduates, the Viterbi School and the people there go out of their way to make you feel part of a much smaller group. They have activities for the engineering students and crazy contests which involve building concrete canoes and walking on water. (And yes, I mean literally!) They are also interested in all aspects of their engineering students, not just the math and science parts. For example, this past January the actor Alan Alda spent a day at the Viterbi School talking to the students about public speaking.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't know if your S is interested, but USC has honor dorms. I don't know about GT.</p></li>
<li><p>I know it sounds crazy, but I have to list the USC Marching Band. Those of you who have watched and heard them play (especially "TUSK") will agree.</p></li>
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<p>We also found the admission people to be nice, helpful, and concerned. These included those in the main USC Undergraduate Admissions Office (especially Director Timothy Brunold who also makes a great emcee) and those in the Viterbi Admissions Office (especially Director Matthew O'Pray). The Viterbi faculty and students were the same.</p>
<p>What also impressed me about USC is that unlike some schools that dwell on the past, USC focuses on the future. I see USC going nowhere but up in the coming years. I think that even if S selects a different school for his undergraduate studies (he's still deciding, and there's only a few days left before May 1st), he will come back to USC for a graduate degree. Hope this helps. Best of luck in your decision.</p>