Just got accepted to USC and I’m trying to figure out how prestigious it is. I know it’s pretty distinguished in the US but what about around the world?
Why is an international reputation important to you? Are you an international student, and want to know how USC is perceived by international companies?
USC is ranked among the top 130 universities in the world. It doesn’t have huge name recognition in the way that, for example, Berkeley or Stanford do. But some of its programs are world class, and those knowledgeable in those fields do recognize USC as the outstanding school that it is.
Well… I believe that more international students currently attend it than any other U.S. college or university. That tells you something about how the outside world perceives USC. Many past and current world leaders have attended… for example, Prime Ministers of Japan, South Korea, etc. Its alumni network in the U.S. and globally is one of its greatest strengths.
Rankings… #19 Niche, #15 Wall St Journal, #21 US News
(Top 10 in terms of many of its schools - like Annenberg, SDA, SCA, etc), etc.
I would be asking myself two basic questions…
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is it a good fit for me? And realistically, only you can answer that question. And I strongly recommend visiting it first before committing if you have not already.
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does it have a strong alumni network to support me and my job efforts after graduation? yes - the strongest realistically of any university out there in my opinion - just in terms of its size & activity. The Trojan Mafia concept is real… and they really do help their own. The Trojan Network consists of over 100 alumni groups on five continents.
There are a ton of links explaining the overall strength and breadth of their alumni network (more than 365K strong) via this webpage… https://alumni.usc.edu/
And here’s a link to a list of some notable alumni…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Southern_California_people
Good luck with your decision…
that’s an odd question that we all ask ourselves not only about schools, but about cars, jobs, address etc. It’s a shame we are all so insecure and often shallow. The only really important question I think we should be asking ourselves as parents is if a school is the right environment for our kids, if it’s a reasonable financial decision, and if it’s safe.
As far as comparisons go, I would say that USC is just below schools like Georgetown in prestige and on par with UCLA, Michigan, Wake etc.
USC, however, has the x-factor the way NYU has it. They’re in cool cities that everyone of that age dreams of. Clearly it holds prestige with kids who want to be in L.A. There film school must also be damn good considering they turned Spielberg down three times.
Thanks a lot everyone I appreciate all the feedback!
Internationally, USC is ranked around the top 50, which is good considering that there are thousands of universities in the world. Also, notable colleges such as Dartmouth, Brown, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon are ranked between 60 to 100. See the ARWU link below which schools such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, etc. quote to show their global rankings.
www.shanghairanking.com/ARWU2017.html
Note that schools such as Brown, Dartmouth, Carnegie Mellow, Rice, Vanderbilt, etc. are ranked > 50. Some like Brown, Dartmouth are ranked between 100 to 300.
As far as comparisons go, I would say that USC is just below schools like Georgetown in prestige and on par with UCLA, Michigan, Wake etc.
As far as comparisons go, I would say that USC is just below schools like Georgetown, UCLA, Michigan, and on par with Wake etc.
fixed it for you…
“There film school must also be damn good considering they turned Spielberg down three times.”
Or perhaps no so good evaluating student talent? 
@rjkofnovi Nice try. USC and UCLA are both ranked #21 on USNWR. Michigan is at #28.
@stardustmom there are tons of rankings, you can’t go by one. Besides, those rankings take different things into account. There is no way USC is better than UVA or Michigan for instance which in your ranking are below it. Also don’t think it is better than Carnegie Melon.
Take this for instance, it ranks Michigan above Berkeley and UCLA which in your list are ranked higher.
https://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2018/03/26/collegerank.html
These type of college preferences are all subjective opinions. Even the rankings are subjective. In the past year, USC has been ranked 14th, 15th, 19th and 21st in various rankings, but none of that really matters. USC is either the right fit for an individual applicant or not.
In my family’s case, based on my girls’ wants, expectations, research and perceived fit, they were really only considering attending Yale or Brown vs. USC. Neither got in to Yale or Brown, and both are at USC now. My younger daughter turned down Princeton, Rice and Emory to attend USC.
Other posters clearly have differing opinions… but that is all they are. That is all my family’s preference is too… an opinion. Statements like “There is no way ___ is better than ___” only make any potential sense if you add a qualifier like “to me” or “to my son or daughter or family”.
But thankfully we do all have freedom of expression and the freedom to choose… and over 1500 colleges and universities to choose among. To anyone wrestling with a decision to choose among colleges admitted to, you should be looking more within and less without for such reasoning and conclusions. Actually take the time to read the schools’ catalogues online, look at each school’s website extensively to get a feel for how they operate and present themselves, see what you may be getting into, research the major itself and all of the offerings of the college that may be of interest to you & look at galleries and online video tours… and by all means, if at all possible, visit the campus/area and determine if it is the best fit for you. Ultimately that is far more valuable to you and your future than any other outsider’s opinion.
Good luck to all high school seniors this year as they make this key decision…
Rankings shmankings is what I say - All the schools mentioned are great schools, and so are many many others! Be appreciative that we live somewhere where all these fabulous institutions are an option.
Just find a school you love, has what you want and need, and go there!
@byeretirement Im not gonna say anything abt michigan but uva is hardly a comparison to usc. In terms of world ranking, USC out ranks UVA on all 4 major world rankings, by A LOT. US News national ranking is the only ranking that places UVA right behind USC, close enough. Im not gonna say anything about admission difficulty here. we all know it. So with being ranked lower on all major rankings and having a higher acceptance rate, which part of UVA is better than USC? I don’t recognize the so-called prestige without fact backing it up.
And when it comes to USC, CMU and Michigan or any college at this level, you don’t say it is better than the other without mentioning specific major. USC’s cinematic school has been ranked #1 in the word for a few years now with an acceptance rate as low as 4-7%, one of the most difficult cinematic schools to get into in the world. USC Annenberg is also ranked #1 in the world by QS. As far as US News goes, USC has top 10 engineering and public policy schools as well as top 20 law and business schools. USC’s architecture school is also very highly regarded in the industry. You might say CMU’s CS is definitely stronger than that of USC, or Michigan’s science is stronger than that of USC. But I can’t see anyone say “oh, michigan as a university is stronger than USC”. that is absolutely inaccurate and very subjective.
If you get into world university rankings, you see can see schools like Washington, Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois may rank above either USC or UVA. They might not be very good for measuring undergraduate prestige or quality.
UVA is considered top level on this side of the country. Getting into UVA OOS is close to impossible. Looks like my D is going to go with Michigan, student day blew her away and she thought Ann Arbor was a perfect university town. As a parent I’m concerned about the size of the school and her getting on to those Brazilian made tiny commuter planes in the freezing winter. She has so many options, I wish she’d relax and take a few more weeks to think it through.
https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2018
USC is very prestigious in certain program like film, engineering, accounting, communications, and physical therapy which are top 10/15. But in most editorial rankings that have some gravitas schools like Michigan typically outperform it. UVA also does so often. US News is very biased towards private schools.
All great schools anyway, but bottom line, it would take me less time to fly to Detroit and then drive to Ann Arbor than it would to drive from the USC campus to Santa Monica 
These CC posts are read widely… some have over a million views. Many come to CC to try and gain some actual insight about specific colleges or their environment so that they can make an informed decision. I therefore see no reason for some posters to continuously promote misinformation.
I get that the above poster is trying to be funny… but I have personally driven from USC to Venice, from USC to Santa Monica, from USC to Hollywood and from USC to the Griffith Observatory… as numerous examples… & each in the range of 25-30 mins… and I have done so multiple times. And I am not a local. Of course, I also tend to drive in a forward gear and use a car.
Clearly, L.A. traffic can be bad at times - especially during rush hour, but to me - it is consistently worse even in Tampa, where I live. Like many things on CC, it is a negative stereotype and largely overblown - at least in my experience.
Let’s face it, it is fine for anyone to personally dislike USC and/or L.A. generally, but you can also do so simply based on personal preferences or your subjective opinion. I see no need for hyperbole. But for whatever reason, the USC threads here on CC seem to attract many with the single-minded goal of bashing USC. I get that tens of thousands are routinely rejected, etc., but maybe find something better to do with your time.
There are 1000s of admitted applicants actually trying to make an informed decision about where to attend right now. Maybe actually try to offer some constructive advice.
Personally, I am very fond of L.A. I prefer its weather… which is clearly superior to FL’s IMO… and I love its diversity related to communities, geography, etc. There are very few places that I can think of where you can leave a college campus and be in a vibrant downtown or on numerous beaches or even into the mountains all within less than an hour consistently. Internship and job opportunities across an amazingly wide spectrum abound there. And USC students are all poised and ready to take advantage of it all. USC is not perfect nor right for everyone, but it is an elite private university that can be tailor fit for what each student there desires… which is why 64K applied to attend there this cycle.
If you are among those trying to decide… choose whom to take advice from or listen to carefully. And if at all possible, simply visit and decide for yourself.
@WWWard Okay, I was trying to be funny, so why take it personally? But yes, it’s a known fact that traffic in LA is mind boggling bad. I have my main office in NYC (takes me 2-3 hours to drive in 30 miles some days), we have an office in LA I visit frequently, and I have teams in Mumbai where the traffic makes NYC and LA traffic look like early 20th century traffic. Traffic in LA is horrific and that is not misinformation. The area around USC is also not the best for most parents and that is also not misinformation. I’d agree that kids can adapt and grow up in such environments while benefitting from such.
Personally I find your posts very helpful and kind in nature. But before unleashing thinly veiled and subtle attacks on posts you may not want to agree with, perhaps because they contradict your behavioral decisions and attitude towards the place you selected for your own kids, please note that you have over 2000 posts promoting USC and one can argue that this can also affect people trying to make an informed decision.
By way of example, if you had surgery to eradicate a tumor, you would naturally spend 2000+ posts promoting surgery in order to validate your own decision. However, clearly an informed decision would require people pointing out the potential quality of life issues that can be associated with surgery and perhaps juxtapose these radiation for instance.
USC is a fantastic school, anyone who goes there should feel blessed. But an informed decision also requires careful analysis of issues that may be troubling to some. Peace and congratulations on your kids being so successful.
@byeretirement Thanks.
Well, the reason that I did not name you or point my comment to you was because it was not inherently about just you. Other than your joke about traffic, I was not really even talking about your postings specifically.
It was more about an accumulation of 5 yrs of certain CC posts & posters… a large percentage from UC supporters… who seem to go out of their way to bash USC. To the contrary, I have not seen or heard of anywhere near that proliferation of USC supporters out trolling on threads about other colleges and universities. I went to JHU, for example, and I am not a supporter generally of that illustrious university. It has many good elements overall, but I find it hard to urge anyone to attend there who may have solid options elsewhere. But I also do not go to JHU threads to try and dissuade others away from there. I was also not generally supportive of public university options for my own children, but that would not justify me seeking out threads, like UCLA’s, to condemn or ridicule or try to dissuade anyone contemplating attending there. They (UCLA supporters) do so in reverse consistently all the time. I certainly hope USC students and alum and supporters are not acting in kind… but I have never even looked at a UCLA thread. So I do not know for sure. I personally just find it all childish and unhelpful. I aim instead to post constructive or helpful things. And clearly most of my posts aim to assist those already interested in or committed to USC.
You and everyone else are of course entitled to your opinions regarding USC or L.A. And while I clearly support USC, I have also tried to steer many away from it once it has become clear that their goals or interests are better aligned with other options. As I have said many times… USC is not right for everyone. For example, there are many who would not thrive or do well or enjoy being in such an urban environment. The campus is beautiful, but it is certainly surrounded by an urban environment. That urban environment continues to see rapid improvements, but it is clearly not pristine or perfect by any measure. If that single element though is that critical to you, and you cannot name a # of positive superlatives about USC that would entice you to go there regardless, then that alone may be justification for an applicant to look elsewhere. Of course I would prefer USC’s setting to be more idyllic. But it is what it is. Regardless… for a host of other reasons, it was the perfect place for my girls.
I just wish that more people taking the time to try and dissuade admitted applicants away from USC or anywhere would also remember to include the valuable suggestion to visit, explore, research and ultimately decide for themselves. My girls did and made their own decision. The worst possible outcome may be for someone to attend without visiting and then being disappointed… or for someone who would have benefited from attending USC to have been persuaded not to simply by negative posts online.
To return to the original question: I think that “prestige” is largely in the opinion of each individual, and will depend upon what subject you are interested in. USC is a good university for many subjects.
I personally tend to pay more attention to areas where I have worked or studied, such as mathematics and computer science. For those subjects USC is very good, but I would note that there are a LOT of very good schools, prestige doesn’t matter much if at all for CS, and I would personally prefer multiple other schools such as Berkeley or Michigan or Waterloo (or MIT or Stanford, but those are almost too obvious).
Given that OP has gotten accepted and needs to decide where to go, I guess that the first set of questions would be: What other schools have you been accepted to, what do you want to study, what is your budget, and what sort of financial aid if any have you been offered?
I will also note that I have worked with large numbers of MIT and Stanford graduates. As such pretty much no school is going to make me or the hiring managers that I work with say “wow”. However, many universities would be taken as very good schools that turn out strong graduates, and while I live almost as far away from USC as a person can live and still be in the same country (and thus resumes from there don’t tend to turn up here), it would be considered a good school should a resume from there actually show up.