USC & other CA schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I've grown very interested in the Resident Honors Program at USC, but I know very little about the school outside of what I've read in Wikipedia or the school website.</p>

<p>So hopefully, I'd like some views on the "essence" of the school. A few things I'm interested in learning are things like social life, Greek life, academics, politics, LA, dorms, student body, stereotypes, things that don't come with handy statistics. I'd really like to get an idea of the atmosphere at the school. I kinda get a Valley Girl image when I think about SoCal schools, and I don't know if that would be the right place for a politically active Chinese girl like me. =/</p>

<p>I'm also interested in some comparisons with other CA schools like Stanford, Pomona, Berkeley or Pepperdine. I don't really have an opportunity to visit at the moment, so any advice would be great (and hopefully quickly, 'cause the application date is winding down).</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>USC: Beautiful campus in working class area of South LA. Not a lot of businesses catering to students off-campus.
Social and Greek life is strong. Student body is diverse, nice balance.<br>
Stereotypes are U$C, University of "Special Connections". Very strong, wealthy alumni base...good for job seeking in LA.</p>

<p>Stanford: Beautiful campus in a boring, rich suburb of San Fran. Relatively isolated...an hour into San Francisco. </p>

<p>Berkeley: IMO an ideal college town (I'm biased ;)). Intellectual environment. Beautiful campus, in a vibrant, student-oriented urban area. Lots of bookstores, restaurants, cafes around campus. Relatively large homeless population. Large asian student population. Bay Area accessible via BART...can get to airports, downtown San Francisco, Oakland from a short train ride...you don't need a car.</p>

<p>Pomona: smoggy, boring inland area of LA.</p>

<p>Pepperdine: idyllic campus in the foothills of Malibu overlooking the beach.</p>

3

<p>Is the Claremont Consortium really in that bad of a location? I like the idea of CMC and Pomona, but not if it's smoggy or boring?</p>

<p>What exactly is the working class area like? I really don't like the idea of University of Special Connections. I don't want a place where people can buy their way in (well, as minimal as possible).</p>

4

<p>Agree with most of UCB's comments, but add my personal observations:</p>

<p>Don't forget that "University of Spoiled Children" is also a HUGE football school with attendant culture.</p>

<p>Stanford: Probably the best academic institution in Calif. Agree with boring location. Campus is not beautiful to me; it is somewhat stark and barren, spread-out featureless landscaping.</p>

<p>Cal - campus and surrounding are a bit run down. Football stadium is decrepit but still a beautiful experience.</p>

<p>Pepperdine - keep in mind it is a Christian university with a "dry" campus.</p>

5

<p>CMC Consortium is not in a bad area. It's inland and is hotter, smoggier, and windier than other parts of LA.</p>

<p>USC has increased academic reputation and it's much more difficult to get into nowadays. Although there are a lot of legacy admits, since it's a private institution. You may want to post/search the USC forum for opinions from USC students.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
Football stadium is decrepit but still a beautiful experience.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Hoping the judge's ruling evicts the Treewoks and Cal can start renovating the place. The City of Berkeley is run by a bunch of nutjobs...the mayor even played football for Cal...no loyalty whatsoever.</p>

7

<p>Smog is not a big deal in Claremont, since classes are not held in summer when the smog is at its worst. Claremont-McKenna is a big poli-sci school, so I'm sure they have plenty of political discussions. Pomona is the most selective of the consortium. Claremont weather is the best however; shorts and flip flops are not unusal in January. The Claremont schools are LACs, and unlike the rest of your list.</p>

<p>Stanford's campus is relative: you either love (manicured and Rodin sculpture garden) it or you hate it (been likened to Taco Bell's headquarters, which actually is a misnomer since TB has its HQ in a 10 story glass building). However, the campus is spread out, and many kids use bikes to get around. </p>

<p>Stanford is about 40% in-state, and I think USC is slightly higher, closer to 50%.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
Smog is not a big deal in Claremont, since classes are not held in summer when the smog is at its worst.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>True, you have the hot, dry Santa Anas blowing to clear out the smog Sept - Feb.</p>

9

<p>re: Pepperdine -- high above Malibu Beach and the Pacific, is there a better view anywhere?</p>

10

<p>Hot & dry winds? That doesn't sound very pleasant...</p>

<p>I'd like more information about the student body of USC. Is it very clique-y? I don't want to end up in high school pt. 2.</p>

11

<p>USC has a very large [16,000] and diverse student body. It does not have as much an overall highly academic student body like Stanford. There are lots of really smart kids there, many on scholarships, there are also Valley girls, rich kids who seem to care mostly about things outside of school -clothes, cars, what's happening Friday night and where, but there are also nice hardworking kids, athletes- in short, it is very much like a typical big university. USC's strength is primarily in it's pre-professional programs. Many students come for the Business and Engineering programs especially, the Music program or the highly sought after school of Cinematic Arts program. It does not place the same emphasis on the Liberal arts as say a Pomona or a Stanford. You should also know that USC only has guaranteed housing for Freshman and Sophomores, and a lot of the housing is off campus in an area extending 8 blocks north. Almost 40% of students are from S Calif, and a lot leave on the weekends, so it can be pretty quiet on campus Sat and Sun, except when there is a home football game.</p>

12

<p>My son is a recent SC graduate. I do not disagree with what has been said, but as has been noted it is a large school (not VERY large; we have 25,000 undergrads, that's VERY large), and you will be able to find a a diverse group of students and student activities. My son started there in 2003 on the film floor in New/North and made friends that lasted throughout his four years and now into post-graduate life. </p>

<p>I think the campus is beautiful, but not in a gothic-style way. I like it because it is compact and immaculate. The students are polite and seem happy. </p>

<p>BTW, USC is working on improving the liberal arts (they hired away two of our rising stars in sociology a couple of years ago.) It is a very wealthy school and is using its money wisely to improve both the quality of its professors and the student body.</p>

13

<p>By the way, in concurrence with tsdad, USC, which used to be referred to by many as the University of Spoiled Children, is now called by many in the academic world the University of Stolen Colleagues!
Full disclosure- my son, who received a Trustees Scholarship and matriculated at USC last year, transfered to a much more academic U this past semester- didn't like it for various reasons, and is very glad to be returning to USC in the Spring!</p>

14

<p>Stanford has beautiful campus and surrounding areas are great. I live an hour away from it and love visiting there.. Very quite and peaceful,too. Everything is somewhat expensive there including apartment rental. It's also close to san francisco.
I also visited Cal; the school itself is beautiful but I did not really like local atmosphere. Very crowded and busy, though. But I am applying to Cal.</p>

15

<p>Haha, I like University of Stolen Colleagues! </p>

<p>I am a sophomore at USC, and I am beyond satisfied with my experience and the "essence" of the school. </p>

<p>You want to know about the following: social life, Greek life, academics, politics, LA, dorms, student body, stereotypes</p>

<p>USC is a very diverse school. There is something for everyone; in terms of social life, it is more than possible to find people with whom you are comfortable. </p>

<p>Greek life is prominant, but it accounts for a minority of students. If you like what Greek life has to offer, you will be satisfied, but if you want to avoid it, The Row is far enough away from the campus, that you can still live with the majority of students not affiliated with Greek life. </p>

<p>In terms of academics, USC has more majors and minors than any other school. I go through the course catalogue, and I want to spend a decade here to participate in all of the programs. USC has strengths in the arts, sciences, and professions, and such variety attracts distinguished students with diverse interests. Such a combination people and academic programs can be found at no other California school, and this contributes to a very vibrant campus. </p>

<p>Politics: USC was historically a very conservative school. It is now extremely diverse, and reflects the more liberal status of California. While there are alot of politically active people, you will not find a huge percentage of people who get involved in social movements or demonstrations. I almost went to Cal, and that is a much more "political" campus. USC's Hahn Plaza (by Tommy Trojan) feels more like a refined resort than Cal's Sproul Plaza, which is like an ongoing free speech movement. </p>

<p>People either love or hate LA. It is a difficult city to understand, but it has alot to offer. USC is like a self-contained haven within the city. If you like LA, it is accessable to you, but if you dislike it, you can stay on campus and forget that you are in the city. </p>

<p>Stereotypes: We've all heard the University of Spoied Children (and U of Spoiled Caucasians). Not true. Yes, like any private school, you have economically successful families involved with the school, but the average income of a USC family is now lower than most public schools in CA. The school is so diverse, it is impossible to stereotype the student body, and any educated person should know that stereotypes are not an accurate way to represent a group of people. The LA Times just released a story stating that USC again had the largest enrollment of international students of any US university. </p>

<p>Dorms: USC has a variety of options. Many dorms are in older buildings, while over a thousand students now live in the newest buildings on campus. Older dorms such as New/North are typical college dorms. The newest buildings in the Parkside Area (the International Residential College-PIRC-and the Arts and Humanities Residential College-PAHRC-which just opened this year) are unparalleled. I live at PAHRC. These building provide suite-style accomodations, in which eight people live in a suite with four bedrooms and two washrooms. Both buildings also have resident faculty who organize activities and programs. Tonight, we had Judy Reyes from Scrubs come speak at a dinner for our building. A couple weeks ago, 100 of our residents went to see Wicked in Hollywood. </p>

<p>If you have any additional questions about USC or other CA schools, send me a message.</p>