<p>I was wondering what USC students are like. Do students take their studying seriously, do they just party all the time, or do they work hard and party hard? Do the students as a whole lean politically to the left or the right? Are people accepting towards different backgrounds i.e. race, religion, sexual orientation etc.?</p>
<p>I think USC is a pretty diverse school. But then again I never had a first hand experience, so I'm really curious too. bump =)</p>
<p>No answers? :(</p>
<p>brother just graduated from USC. He and his friends were in the "work hard, party hard" category. He often said that he was always amazed at the smart people around him. He'd know someone for a while, then find out something really interesting about them or what they'd done- and EVERYONE was like that. Most of his friends leaned to the right, politically- like libertarian, but at such a big school, there are lots of different people in that respect. He said that everyone is very accepting and not judgemental at all based on backgrounds- his friends were of different races, religions, and even sexual orientation. That honestly is NOT an issue.</p>
<p>Like most college students, they could have gone to class more but they did take studying seriously- especially upper level classes where the professors are excellent. (His favorite class was taught by Paul Orfalea- the founder of Kinkos.) All of his friends got GREAT jobs out of college or went on to grad school and would say that USC was the best college experience they could have.</p>
<p>^^^Thanks for the input.</p>
<p>Does anybody else know anything?</p>
<p>all the students i know at usc are extremely focused during the week for classes but are just as intense in their social lives on the weekends. i haven't met any mean people at usc. most everyone i come across randomly is usually quite friendly and willing to help out a fellow trojan. the atmosphere on campus is competitive but in a cooperative sense, rather than a cutthroat one.</p>
<p>I'm a biomedical engineering major, which is just about the worst you can get in terms of studying, and I agree with the mantra "work hard, play hard".</p>
<p>We're not the spoiled, party school that we used to be back in the 80's and 90's, however, we're not all about studying either.</p>
<p>We usually like to explore the LA area on weekends, since you can go to the beach, skiing, disneyland, museums, hiking, all in a day. There's a good Greek presence too, but you're not pressured to join if you don't want.</p>
<p>California is pretty liberal in itself, but I think that USC is more conservative as a whole, at least more so than the UC's. However, USC is very accepting of other people's race, gender, orientation, etc.</p>
<p>I think work-hard, play-hard is, generally speaking, a good description for the overall student culture at USC. Most people I know make a point to go out for social events, but they also make sure that they’ve finished their work beforehand. The admission office, for the most part, does a good job of finding and admitting students who are not only smart and driven, but also fairly well-rounded and socially adept. </p>
<p>USC is a bit more pre-professional than some other universities, which I think is reflected in the student culture. People here are very driven to succeed in their respective fields.</p>
<p>Politically, it is a genuine mix. On the whole, I agree that USC’s student culture tends to lean more rightward than your typical college campus. But perhaps that reflects more on the rampant liberalism of most college campuses than on the conservatism of USC. </p>
<p>Keep in mind though that USC is a big school with a lot of different types of people and a lot of different social circles. So really, I think there’s a niche for just about everyone.</p>
<p>Beammeup4, since you're in engineering, I have a question for you. How hard are the engineering courses, and how competitive is it? Because my friend from JHU told me at his school, people stay up at the library till 3 AM on a sunday studying, and that seems really extreme for me. I hope USC isn't like that. x_X</p>
<p>I totally agree with the "work hard, play hard" thing especially in the major professional schools like cinema and engineering. There are a few people who slack off and (try to) scrape by academically and there are a few that are obsessive study freaks, but by and large that's not most of the student body.</p>
<p>There's not a whole lot of competition here in engineering, really. There are no "impacted" or "pre-engineering" majors like at other schools, really, and not as much in grading curves as a lot of big public schools. </p>
<p>For example, when I took calc 3 (tough course!) the average on the second midterm was 90% (up from like 60% on the first), and the professor was so impressed, he said even though the average grade is typically a B-minus, he would pull it up to a B or possibly low B-plus just because everyone did so well. </p>
<p>So they try to make more of an atmosphere where everyone helps everyone else and it's not so cutthroat.</p>
<p>In conclusion engineering is indeed very hard, and it does require a lot more effort, work, stress, etc. than other majors, but it's not so much competitive and extreme like at some other schools.</p>