<p>I'm leaning towards sciences (bio, chem, biochem, etc possible majors) with also interest in business, goal right now is to go to Medical School. I've lived all my life in Madison, WI, so I have that part of me that really wants to go someplace new - and sunny California seems really appealing . I also like USC's level of diversity compared with UW Madison's. However, I believe that UW Madison is stronger in the sciences.</p>
<p>Basically to me:
USC - Pro - new place, it's LA, weather, lots of diversity
Con - Not as strong in sciences, Safety Issues</p>
<p>UW Madison - Pro - Well rounded School, strong in sciences, closer to family (this should probably be a Con lol)
Con - not really that diverse, same place</p>
<p>Any one have any comments or suggestions? Also, could anyone give me more insight on what undergrad programs USC is strong in? Thank you</p>
<p>I’m completely sympathetic to your notions of wanting to get the hell out of Dodge, although from a purely academic standpoint I wouldn’t pass up Madison for USC in the hard sciences. Out here, UCLA is consistently the better school in that regard - UCLA’s med school is top 5-10 while USC’s med school is top 30-40 i.e. no comparison whatsoever and UCLA Medical Center is the top medical center in the entire western U.S., on par with the Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>That said, if you want to go to graduate school for a specific field (med, law, etc.) and thus just have to get a stupid undergrad degree to go there (makes no sense to me; European schools now have undergraduate law degrees) then the best advice is always to go directly to the top medical schools and ask THEM what undergraduate schools they recommend. For example, were you to have your heart set on Southern California (a great place to live, and I grew up just south of you outside Chicago) then you should definitely take a look at the Claremont Colleges, which is a consortium of 5 small liberal arts colleges, each with a different specialty, that essentially function together as a university. I know that one of the 5 specializes in the sciences, the point being that you could get an excellent pre-med undergraduate education in the kind of culturally diverse community you seem to crave - and I’m with you there… my high school graduating class was 89% white.</p>
<p>You should also take a look at some of the other Big 10 schools around you. UIUC and Michigan are both schools that have excellent science programs.</p>
<p>BTW were you to want to major in business and minor in science, then USC would be a <em>great</em> choice because our undergrad B school is great and the sciences are good enough as a minor and the alumni network is great. But if science is your primary interest then there are better places to go.</p>
<p>Take a look at UCLA and Berkeley as well - Berkeley has great science programs and their undergrad B school is as strong as USC’s, although as I found out, the UCs don’t generally give any aid to out of state students, although they are admitting far more out of state students now than in previous years because they’re so short of money. The only problem though is that their out of state sticker price is almost as high as that of USC and Stanford, but without the aid to match.</p>
<p>As much as we all love complaining about our parents, there will definitely be times when you appreciate them being close by or, if you’re going to school far from home, wish they were closer. I’d know, I flew across the country to go to SC…</p>
<p>If you’re on a premed route. Then UW Madison would be best overall for you. USC is good for…making good accountants? (that’s what my parents say). Na I kid USC is more business/the arts (gross). USC is more looked upon for alumni network…but seeing how your premed that’s completely useless for you.</p>