<p>I can't find the thread anymore, but I did see one where US News ranked Cal tech's ugrad engineering program #10, while USC's was #9.</p>
<p>Now im really glad i decided to bypass becoming an egghead and not apply to Cal Tech</p>
<p>And i can use it to pick on any snooty Cal Tech people i might see hiding from the sunlight down in LA next fall</p>
<p>This wasnt the post i saw earlier, but look at post #10</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure that was for graduate engineering, not undergrad.</p>
<p>It is for graduate programs. </p>
<p>I would love if our Trojans don't act like some UC trolls to pick on other people for ranking, neighborhood, etc. We strive for better ourselves, and we don't need any kind of guilty pleasure just savoring other's failure. This is exactly why I hate some UC trolls go all out to berate USC out of their own insecurity. </p>
<p>Choosing USC over Caltech for an undergraduate education is very well justifiable, but Caltech is in its own league above any kind of ranking. They are that much respected in academic world. I have had some chances working with some unimpressive CalTech grads, but I can honestly tell myself most of students at CalTech are the best you can have.</p>
<p>CalTech and USC undergrad are quite different beasts. Both are excellent and it's hard to say one is "better" than the other. When trying to pick one, you just have to choose which one you feel comfortable with, which one you feel you'll enjoy yourself and learn more at.</p>
<p>My son was admitted to Viterbi and is ecstatic. USC was his hands down first chioce. But Cal Tech is Cal Tech, recently ranked number 1 in the country and always in the top 5 or 6. On the other hand, they don't have
Trojan football. For my money (which is way more than I want to think about) USC is hard to beat because of the balance between its stellar academics and incomparable social life and post-grad network.</p>
<p>I asked my father, who studied EE/CS at MIT for undergrad and grad, about the differences between CalTech and USC for engineering, and what he told me was that CalTech is stronger in the hard sciences and their applications as opposed to pure engineering. This is not to discredit CalTech by any means; USC and CalTech just have different academic focuses in the general field of hard science and engineering.</p>
<p>Those evil UC trolls.</p>
<p>:rolleyes:</p>
<p>The schools are totally different--each awesome in its own way. I think USC Viterbi is doing a lot to help our engineers lead more balanced & rounded lives; I think that's all good! In any case, we're committed & are looking forward to son having a great 4 years at USC. Fight on!</p>