<p>Alright, I am having the most difficult time deciding where to go to college. I am a Caucasian girl from Oregon, and I have been accepted to both UC Berkeley and USC. I received a Presidential Scholarship from USC. At USC I was admitted as an English major, and at Cal, I am undecided in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. At USC, I really wanted to be in a freshman honors program called Thematic Option, which specifically focuses on the humanities, but unfortunately I was not accepted into the program. However, it is possible to appeal for admission into this program. I sent an email of appeal to the Thematic Option admissions officers last week, and they said they would let me know if I was in the program or not sometime after May 1st. That is incredibly inconvenient because by then I will have already had to commit to where I'm going to school.</p>
<p>School spirit is really important to me. I am interested in the humanities and politics, and after college I hope to go to Law School. I am planning to focus on my academics in college so I can be successful after I graduate, but I also want to have a great time and make lots of good friends. I'm definitely interested in the Greek system. </p>
<p>As far as location goes, I really enjoy both Northern and Southern California, but I prefer the Bay Area to LA. </p>
<p>My political views are pretty strongly liberal, but that is not really something that is a defining characteristic of my personality. I'm pretty open-minded and I get along with lots of different kinds of people. </p>
<p>Based on this information about me, I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me make my decision!!! I'm having a really hard time..........thank you so much!</p>
<p>Deciding,
Please glance through the recent posts about UCB and USC. In your case I would say it would be a definite yes for SC as you are one of the honored scholars. This will cut your costs down substantially as you will be paying OOS tuition at CAL. That saving would be about $80,000 or more. </p>
<pre><code>The UC system is going through a severe financial crisis. Please see the post yesterday on this board regarding cuts at the UCs. They are discussing online classes mandatory summer school, etc. Of course, these are at the planning stage. Here is an example. A TA in an upperdivision class noted the usual class size for her discussion group was 30. It is now 120 students.
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<p>At CAL the faculty student ratio is much larger than at SC. At SC 1/9, at CAL 1/15.
U.S. News reports faculty resources at SC are higher at SC, the acceptance rate lower and general financial resources at SC higher. USC alumni give rank is 7th in the U.S. At CAL it is 113th.</p>
<p>Even if the TO is not an option for you the classes at SC are much smaller. You will be taught by professors, even as freshmen. You will not be in a class of 700 or 800 at SC.
USC is a private university with a student body that is amazingly diverse. Your political views are represented in many of the 600 organizations on campus.</p>
<p>Many students have posted here after visiting both schools there appeared to be a richer undergraduate experience at SC than at UCB. The Trojan Family is not a myth.</p>
<p>In your case I suggest visiting both campuses, looking at facilities and finding which school is the best “fit” for you.</p>
<p>Deciding Soon,
I recently found out that I also received a presidential scholarship to USC and had to make this difficult decision. Being presidential scholars means that we can attend a private school for what is basically public school tuition. I for one did not want to be mixed up in the financial turmoil of the UC system, where students are having trouble graduating in four years because they are not able to schedule their required classes. At Cal (and any UC, for that matter) it seems like students are simply getting lost in the crowd, while at USC they are recognized as individuals. Moreover, I have been told that scholarship students get fantastic benefits at USC, especially if they are involved in the Thematic Option program. It is truly an honor and I am proud to have received the opportunity. I hope you consider my point of view, as I was in exactly the same boat.</p>
<p>I agree with the others here. Based on what you’ve told us I would say SC is the better fit for you. Two great schools - good job! Great choice!</p>
<p>if the cost of attending USC is basically what it would cost for you to attend Berkeley, I think, as a Calif resident and mom of a USC senior, that you would be crazy to want to attend a public university facing huge cut backs in funding over the next 4 years, with large classes taught by TA’s in many cases, and an administration that has a “students have to sink or swim on their own” mentality, instead of attending a well financed private university that bends over backwards to help it’s students. My son would not even think about applying to the UC system 4 years ago, and it is a lot worse off now than it was then.</p>
<p>This is just a little anecdote from a TA at CAL. I am on an alumni board. A dad posted his daughter is a TA at CAL in an upperdivision discussion class. Formerly her class had 30 students. Now there are 120 students. So the stories are not all fiction.</p>
<p>Have you visited both campuses and compared the lab equipment, maintenance of the campus and buildings, age of computers and availability of classes?</p>
<p>Talk to students at random when you visit. Ask questions. Do you feel it is a good fit?</p>