Gone are the days when UCLA out ranked USC in every ranking…
US NEWS
USC #23
UCLA #24
https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities
WSJ/THE
USC #17
UCLA #28
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/united-states/2017#!/page/1/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats
FORBES
USC #44
UCLA #48
https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/#tab:rank_state:California
Forgot some others
NICHE
USC# 17
UCLA #34
https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges/
Keep in mind that these rankings are generally undergraduate rankings. If you looking at graduate studies and professional schools, generally, and almost always, UCLA outranks USC.
Out here on the east coast, we never even understand the points of comparison. Maybe it is a California-centric thing or simply based on their geographical closeness & the sports rivalry, as both colleges are in Los Angeles, but neither of my kids (both now Trojans) ever even considered UCLA. Last night, there were many teens here at my daughter’s birthday party, and the topic of college of course arose. But none of them ever considered or will be considering UCLA either. So… at least in Florida, they are generally not even considered in the same category of colleges. UCLA is thought of as a very good, if not excellent, state school… and certainly better academically than the state/public universities in Florida. But USC & Stanford are the only California schools I have ever heard of in terms of being on the wish lists of Florida teens. USC is thought of as an elite university on par with Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, Emory, Northwestern, UChicago, etc. & just one step below (in most people’s opinions) Stanford, MIT and the better known Ivies (Harvard, Yale, Penn, Brown, Princeton, Columbia). In my younger daughter’s case, USC was her dream school though from the beginning, and even an admission to Princeton could not sway her from attending. So USC being consistently ranked higher does not seem at all surprising to us. It not being ranked even higher though is a bit surprising.
In the West Coast, it is a toss up whether high schoolers will choose UCLA vs. USC for undergraduate studies. Generally, more will choose UCLA over USC, perhaps because of costs. However, for law school, MBA, medical, dental and many PhD’s and masters programs, most will choose UCLA over USC unless they are compelling reasons like a great financial package from USC. Anyways, these programs at UCLA are ranked higher than USC. USC is a great school, but when it comes down to graduate work, UCLA is generally ranked higher.
And that’s why we Californians think California should be its own country. #calexit =))
If my D18 were to get into both UCLA and USC, then UCLA would win hands down. And then there’s the location…
@sushiritto, aye! That’s a whole other thread there 
That’s why perception is everything to some people when it comes to choosing colleges. I also think that we are very sports-centric especially in SoCal where we have a lot of athletes in football, basketball, baseball, track…you name it…choosing their school based on recruitment.
The better school depends on each individual. To say “most” will choose UCLA or USC because of this or that is just a defensive response. This seems like such a silly argument to me and rankings shmankings - both are great schools but offer very different environments - private/public, urban/suburban, blue/red - both boast great Socal location and athletes/athletic programs. We turned down UCLA three times for USC (each applied so they could decide what they liked best) and I’m sure there are others that would do the reverse for their own reasons. I don’t think costs come into play as much as people think in the choice - we did the math - 5 years at UCLA isn’t that far off USC in four when adding to that ability to double major/minor in 4 and get to work earning money a year faster. I think the public v. private is a big factor for many. One of our biggest turnoffs at UCLA was probably a little thing to others - the triples with basically random room mates versus knowing you only had two in a room that they matched at USC (they do a really good job at this). Others will have their own reasons - like choosing UCLA because its in a better neighborhood - we chose USC because of the urban environment. Point is, if you go to either of these schools, consider yourself very fortunate.
Well I guess that these further replies help to cement the California resident impact on such comparisons. It seems very common for a high-achieving high school senior living in California to apply to most if not all of the following schools… USC, UCLA, Berkeley and/or Stanford. But… it just seems that the eastern U.S., and maybe even the vast majority of the U.S. not hugging the pacific ocean, has a very different take on things. That is likely good for those of you who are California residents. Doesn’t UCLA already get nearly 100K applications each cycle? They really do not need any more applicants.
It does though seem to mainly be a public vs. private bias. The only public university that the same high-achieving high school seniors all seem to aim towards (from the eastern U.S.) is UVa… with Berkeley in a distant second… followed by UTexas. UCLA is just never mentioned.
Very few seem to have much faith in public universities generally (applying only to their local ones as back-ups or safeties)… or maybe they dislike the extra GE requirements associated with such.
The UC system is widely considered the best, so I am quite sure our take on things would have been different had we lived in California. Of course, neither USC or UCLA can compete with Stanford’s 80% yield rate. Both languish around 35%.
So are you attempting to summarize “the take” of college students and their parents from across America?
Rankings are just rankings. But you missed one, “Best Global University Rankings”:
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/rankings
Cal is #4
UCLA is #10
USC is #53
I am not downgrading either school. Both USC and UCLA are great schools. I was just pointing out the fact that from a graduate school prospective, UCLA is generally ranked higher than USC. In this past year’s graduating class from the local high performing high school in my local area, there were 12 graduating seniors going to UCLA and 4 to USC. I live in a well to do area and it is not an affordabilty issue. A similar type of ratio or higher ratio choose UCLA over USC in other high schools in the area. USC, UCLA and UC Berkeley are all about equal in terms of admission standards. In CA only Stanford and Cal Tech have more stringent admission standards.
Cal and UCLA are ranked high globally because of its excellent professional and graduate schools.
Also see this link which supports the US News global rankings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_Ranking_of_World_Universities
Our college research experiences/discussions were limited to online and in-person contacts involving only a few 100 individuals and also going back only 7 years or so. But… I am basically only saying that the entire on-going comparison between UCLA and USC… or between any UC and USC seems to be more driven by those who live in or grew up in California. Most often, it seems to be specifically driven by someone who attended an UC school.
Elsewhere, USC &/or Stanford are more often compared to different private schools or to each other, and UCs are simply discussed far less often. I have had this same general conversation with friends, family members and colleagues in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York. Those are still admittedly limited conversations. But such discussions and my online take from those who live & work in the east vs the far west seem to support my own personal conclusions. It is simply more of a west coast concern or point of contention.
Many do of course trumpet their support for UCs over USC. I have just never personally met anyone so far who did so and who did not also grow up in or currently live on the pacific coast.
And the same sort of comparison dynamic does not really happen as often here with the schools in are own area. People may compare and contrast state schools… but they usually do not do so with the private universities in the area. They just seem to take it at face value that public vs private is a whole different matter.
Personally, I care very little about rankings as any form of definitive guidance. I instead advise prospective applicants to research each college of interest very carefully, visiting there in-person and then deciding what best fits their individual wants and needs. Any form of ranking should thus be only one of many tools to consider.
I will be the first to admit that I was very impressed with UCLA’s campus and location. To me, its location especially is far superior to USC’s… but it was still not enough for either of my daughters to consider it. They had zero interest in attending any public university… even one of the best among them.
Thankfully there are a wealth of quality colleges to choose among… both public and private. I advise future applicants to choose well and then to also leave themselves with quality options among the admits… applying to a good mix of reach, match and safety colleges. While I did clearly favor my two daughters attending a private university vs a public, and while I was also super pleased to see them both pick USC, if any applicant’s final choices came down to Cal, UCLA and USC, they would be very lucky indeed. In our case, it would just mean a decision in favor of USC. But I can clearly not criticize anyone who would choose to attend Berkeley or UCLA. Thank goodness today’s applicants all have a plethora of diverse higher education options to choose among.
@WWWard just curious, did you visit or consider the Claremont Consortium? If so, what did you and your daughters think?
As I recall, at USC, students couldn’t live on campus for all four years. I believe that only two years were guaranteed. I personally feel that private universities should provide on-campus housing for all four years, so that was a deal breaker for us. I don’t have such expectations of public universities.
@CALSmom Yes… both considered them, especially Pomona. In the end, neither applied to any LACs however. They both wanted more of the overall college experience vs what they considered fully possible at any LAC. Plus, their desired majors did not really align well with what the Claremont schools offered.
@whatisyourquest While USC technically only guarantees college-owned housing for the first two years, it is now possible for a student to spend all fours years housed within USC housing if they really prefer it. Most upperclassmen though voluntarily choose to look elsewhere and secure private accommodations… and mainly to save money. The private apartments are often larger too. My older daughter had USC housing for years 1-3, but will be living with my younger daughter (a new freshman) at a private apartment a block from campus. And the savings related to housing and board are considerable vs. the costs in prior years.
As an alum of both UC and USC (wife and her family are mostly USC alums with one family member graduating from both USC and UCLA), I had no intent to offend anyone. I was just stating the facts to respond to the original posting. In the UCLA blog in this forum, it would be hard to find postings that UCLA is better, etc. Both UCLA and USC are great choices for high school seniors going to college.
These rankings as they apply to undergrad level are no surprise. USC has nailed the undergraduate experience. From campus safety, advising, class size, to housing, everything is carefully considered and you can see improvements continually being made. USC and the UCs are not what they were twenty plus years ago, when I attended them.
@whatisyourquest Your point validates what others have said, the choices made is an individual thing - my students were ready to get off campus after a year - they would not considering staying in a dorm at any college. They wanted the freedom and responsibility of off campus housing, it was time to grow and move on (and out). They didn’t even consider schools that required staying on campus after the first year. My guess is that parents want that option probably more than the students, and is understandable, but if mine had to stay in a dorm at UCLA, USC or any school more than a year, well, they wouldn’t have gone there.
With the exception of Emory, USC’s test scores are not really on par with others. Maybe your view is a bit inflated?
@IWannaHelp Well, USC turned down over 3,000 applicants in the 99th percentile as it relates to test scores. Thankfully, USC judges applicants holistically and does not simply try to inflate their freshman survey #s. They strive to create a well-rounded and diverse freshman class. And those who choose to attend USC, applicants like both of my daughters, also do not simply select a college based on rankings or the average test scores of their peers. But my “view” is just that… my view and those of whom I know well and interact with often.
The teens that I know well are looking to attend an academically respected and challenging college, but also one that is big enough to offer all of the elements of the overall college experience… successful athletics, an active social or greek life as an option, many options to choose among regarding majors and minors, a wealth of student organization to choose among, ample internship and job opportunities, a growing and robust city surrounding it, great weather, a nice campus and a strong alumni network to support them after they graduate. There are not that many colleges that offer all of this to prospective college students. Many of the colleges traditionally considered Top-25 fall short on some of these fronts. Both UCLA and USC fit with these goals. This can be evidenced also by the tens of thousands applying annually.
As @stardustmom suggests above, USC is truly excellent these days at all of the things that matter most to both students and their parents. My younger daughter just turned down Princeton, Emory, Rice and others to attend USC. To her, it was clearly #1. And that is what it is all about… each applicant’s individual decision. And at no point in her decision-making process did she consider any of the factors that may later appear in her freshman class survey. I doubt that there are very many freshmen arriving next week who chose USC because of the average test scores of their peers or any other nonsensical qualifiers. These are personal decisions about wants, needs and fit.
The only kind of rankings that likely impacted most of the final decisions to attend USC instead centered on factors detailed within the Niche rankings where USC was #1 out of over 1300 colleges in the following factors: College with the best student life in America & Best big college in America. It was top 10 in seven categories and top 20 in nineteen categories. Being considered the best overall college in terms of the quality of student life is not a fluke. And things like that are far more important to the average 17-18 year old versus being able to brag about their collective SAT scores as a freshman class. There are frankly other colleges for that. I know… I unfortunately chose poorly in my day and attended one.