<p>The new section of the light rail, which runs from donwtown LA, past USC along Exposition, and terminates to the west in Culver City, will hopefully open (on a delayed schedule in 2011.) No firms plans or financing yet in the works for the final leg to take it from Culver City to the sea at Santa Monica.</p>
<p>pacheight: Clearly you have not spent much time at UT or in Austin. Yes it is in Texas, yes, there are many Christians, but there is also diversity both in thought and faith. It isn’t unusual for a democrat to win an election in Austin even when they loose in the rest of the state.</p>
<p>There are lots of reasons a student might choose not to go to UT as my own son did, but it would be a mistake to dissuade a student from going to school there, or for that matter encourage a student to go there because of an ultra conservative environment. For a kid who thrives in a large urban environment it provides an awesome experience with outstanding quality and opportunities. This is true for kids of all backgrounds, nationalities, religions, races, interests, etc.</p>
<p>^^i think UT is a an excellent school. I’ve been to UT and it has kids from all over Texas, not just liberal Austin, and there is a majority of kids from christian conservative families attending UT. UT is way more to the side of christian conservative than USC or WashU. And liberal Austin is way more conservative than LA, or St. Louis.</p>
<p>btw, i think christen conservatives are good people, it seems like you’re implying they’re not.</p>
<p>^^^I think this thread has been hijacked long enough on the UT/conservative-liberal debate so, OP, I apologize but I couldn’t leave that last post alone. I think we have gotten the point across. Anyone who is interested in UT because it is liberal or because it is conservative go visit and draw your own conclusion. True enough there are kids there from all over Texas, and probably the majority of students are Christian and conservative, but this doesn’t mean that students who are not Christian or conservative will not be comfortable there or have a community that matches their perspective. They also will not be ostrasized for their differences. As I stated before, I know several Christian conservative folks who much prefer A&M to UT because they find UT too liberal. These are their words not mine. And these folks are my friends, so no, I’m not implying that they are not good people. I’m not sure what I said that would lead you to think that.</p>
<p>We do agree that UT is an excellent school!</p>
<p>^^ Yup and my goal here is to find out which school (USC or WashU) is best for son. Let us leave UT out of this equation simply because it is a large state school and the other 2 are privates.</p>
<p>Our school is pushing WashU on son because only 2 kids got accepted there (out of 350 total - 10 had applied). This year 17 applied to Stanford and 3 got accepted which is the highest ever. From about 35 that applies to USC, 10 have gotten in.</p>
<p>USC seems to be a popular school for our schools OOS/Int’l kids. Plus it offers students a well-rounded college experience.</p>
<p>There is a reason that a lot of international & OOS kids choose USC–they find it very welcoming. Because it is such a large city, there is a very rich culture they can also tap into. HI sends a LOT of kids to USC every year because for many, it is a great combo of serious academics, culture and a comfortable setting.</p>
<p>Convenience to airplane connections & the vibrant campus are further pluses and among the reasons my neighbor’s S just chose USC out of his options for architecture school this fall (he just finished touring, including Cal State St. Louis Obispo, USC & others).</p>
<p>It is very wrong for the HS to be pushing the kid–it is the student’s decision and fit that needs to be the focus, not what might make the HS “look good” or give it bonus points.</p>
<p>Congrats pixeljig’s son! :)</p>
<p>Thanks Fiona, haven’t seen you on the forums in a while, hope you are enjoying college!!</p>
<p>Initially when I stumbled upon these forums last year I knew 1/10th about colleges compared to how much I know today. Thanks to CC/parents/kids I feel blessed that DS has such great choices, would never have even thought about the likes of USC and WashU back then, thinking that DS would NEVER get in!!</p>
<p>Coming back to USC - yes, it looks like a great fit for a kid like mine, except there is just that one worry…is USC so big that a kid can fall through the cracks???</p>
<p>pixeljig-- ANY college is the US is big enough that a kid can fall through the cracks. Falling through the cracks, however, is more of something that happens to jr high and high school freshman and sophomores. Kids who are off to college need to know themselves and choose the school where they want to be, accordingly. Could your son fall through the cracks at USC? Absolutely. But the same can be said of Wash U, or frankly a tiny school like one of the Claremont colleges…The cracks you are refering to are ubiquitous to the college experience because nobody is going to try to keep the kid on track in school, anyway. Only he will do this. </p>
<p>If the child needs extra help in any class on any college campus, regardless of size, he will be able to get it, if he is willing to take the initiative to go and find it…office hours, counseling, ECs, etc… If the child doesn’t go to class, doesn’t do the work, doesn’t avail himself of office hours, counseling, whatnot, nobody at ANY college is going to go out and find him and make him…He will just end up leaving eventually. The kid/young adult needs to pick the school where he/she thinks he can handle the work and the pressure. Only he can know if he is ready for college. If you are worried about him falling through the cracks, regardless of his obvious gifts? Perhaps what you are really asking is “should my son take a gap year to grow up a little.”</p>
<p>Poetgrl, you are so right! He could fall through the cracks just about anywhere…but I am hoping that by August (he turns 18) he will be ready for college.</p>
<p>i would think washu would be better if there’s a falling into a crack concern or maybe getting off track is a better phrase. i think sb size will always be a major factor in a kids access to help.</p>
<p>that said you’re far better off at a private, even large private than a state. state school resources are almost non existent.</p>
<p>also at sc many kids get paid research jobs, that helps kids stay on track! responsibility, engagement…all good things!</p>
<p>Coincidentally my S also turned 18 just before going to college but I really don’t know if age had as much to do with it as his personality and learning style. He chose the smaller school and it suits him so well. I don’t know anything about USC exept that Southern Cal is a great location. You can use the term falling through the cracks or some other term. I know S felt that he would do better at a smaller school and after watching him for a year I know he was right. And while it is possible to fall though the cracks anywhere, a small school does have a much more personal environment that is more comfortable for some to navigate. This is probably true for people of all ages. Is your son’s gut pulling him in either direction? If so, that would be the school to go to. At least that is what worked for us. By the way it is amazing how much growth happens during freshman year! The good news is that it seems you cannot make a bad choice.</p>
<p>Thank you Spectrum, I am hoping he will grow up leaps this coming fall. Every summer since 7th grade he has been away from home for 4 weeks and has come back a little more mature each time. He has attended EPGY twice in SF so he has the so called ‘dorm’ experience plus he has done EPGY international in Beijing and Turkey which gave him the ‘study abroad’ experience.</p>
<p>He is adaptable and friendly the only issue is his absent mindedness. I call him AMP - absent minded professor!! :)</p>
<p>I see him as a good fit at USC…husband is totally for UT Austin. Son loved the WashU concept of hot chocolate at midnight at Ursa!! What a way to choose a college!! Food?</p>
<p>Okay well maybe that’s a little too literal with regard to “following his gut”. But if there are more substancial reasons for going to WashU, it could be a great choice. It is a beautiful campus with easy access to mass transit and surrounded by a lovely park with a really close knit supportive, intellegent student body and great faculty.</p>
<p>Yes and by no means WashU is any less than USC or any other top college. I just want him to be sure since he had the ‘no cold places’ criteria at first. Plus the CE dept is possibly the weakest there just because all other depts (business, Bio med, Chem to name a few) are superb.</p>
<p>USC’s CE dept would be better than Washu’s I believe - AND the fact that he eventually wants to work in the valley…its a tough call.</p>
<p>The engineering school really does seem to keep an eye on most of its kids and many do graduate in 4 years, sparing us the expense of additional terms of tuition. They also have a 5 years BS & MS engineering program that some kids find attractive.</p>
<p>It sounds like your S will do great wherever he chooses–congrats!</p>
<p>Yup, I hear you there. We had a warm weather plan too, but S loved Wash U so much we made that one exception and he was prepared to see it though. They however made the decision easy for him when he got WL’d. I don’t know which way it would have gone if it came down to a choice.</p>
<p>I will say when he came home for Christmas break when we asked him if he had any desire to try and transfer he whipped out his smart phone, pulled up the temperature in St. Louis and then in his college town and said, not a chance!!! Still, I think he would have been fine if he made that choice. I guess when you are from a warm climate it really has to be worth it to deal with the cold.</p>
<p>You have some good arguments for USC. I guess it comes down to if he sees it that way. It seems that for undergrad, esp if grad will follow, being comfortable and happy with the location and environment is a big part of success. I would think USC is too big only if he sees it that way.
Again,
Good Luck, I relate to your situation and choices and I’m so happy to have a reprieve from these decisions this year.</p>
<p>Just saw that comment about working in the “valley”–assuming you mean Silicon Valley, I would think that SC would be more useful in terms of connections.</p>
<p>While USC is “large,” keep in mind that the freshman engineering class was 200 students, which was slightly smaller than my S’s HS graduating class, so it was a comfortable size for him. There are lots of others on campus & lots of other departments, but the undergraduate engineering school isn’t THAT huge.</p>
<p>Total Engineering undergrad is 1900 at USC and it is spread out evenly across the board between the departments.</p>
<p>Spectrum, where did your son decide to go? If you do not mind me asking.</p>