<p>But don’t judge Stanford on summer school. Completely different atmosphere, a lot of non-Stanford students, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t see either in any journalism or communication rankings. I think USC would be better because they have a separate dedicated school for this field.</p>
<p>Stanford is highly ranked in STEM fields and shows up in a lot of undergraduate rankings for STEM areas.</p>
<p>Yes, texaspg and a related concern is that 44% or 46% of majors are science or engineering. My daughter is eager to determine the impact on the degee of social rinteractiveness of such a large % of students who major in these fields. She is not one to stereotype, so will see. </p>
<p>On the other hand fliqer above references the other end of the continuum–a lingering “animal house” culture at USC. Any input about the social atmosphere fit for an intellectually gifted coed who is also a well-rounded and socially quite interactive and communicative at either USC or Stanford is welcomed.</p>
<p>Go with the school that is less $$$$$$$$</p>
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And this is based on exactly what? If you want to see Animal House behavior check out the disreputable historical behavior of the Stanford band. Both schools have 1000s of students. Some are going to be compatible with your daughter; some are not. That is true at every decent size school in the country. </p>
<p>Geez. You are over thinking this. How can you turn down the money at one of the best schools in the country to pay full freight at a school that is admittedly better overall, but not hundreds of thousand of dollars better? My son is a 2007 USC grad. He was in film. Film students were his friends at SC, and they are still his friends today since they all seemed to stay in LA.</p>
<p>USC especially for this major. Stanford is great for engineering/computer related stuff because some of the professors usually start a startup with its student. No other engineering majors at Stanford have that edge.</p>
<p>The comparison is kind of ridiculous, though. Stanford has a better reputation nationally; we all can see that by magazine rankings and the general population’s perceptions of the two schools. The question is, does and should that matter and factor into your daughter’s (or anyone’s) decision about where to go to college?</p>
<p>OP says her daughter is not sure about journalism but is simply looking for a rich college environment that will offer her options. That’s clearly offered at both universities. Sure, there are differences in the particulars of opportunity at the two. But we’re talking about two universities that are both ranked in the top 25 for undergraduates. It’s not like we’re comparing Stanford to Compass Point State U or something. Both schools have great offerings in a variety of fields from which the OP’s daughter can pick. The difference is that she has a full tuition scholarship from one of these top 25 schools, and not the other.</p>
<p>I don’t want to say that prestige is never important, because I do think it can sometimes have an impact on people’s perceptions of you, including employers. But IMO, this is splitting hairs. USC is a prestigious and well-known institution nationally speaking. Tuition is covered. I’d take the money and run.</p>
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<p>Just wanted to add to this - no matter where you go for journalism, you’ll probably be starting out with a pretty low salary, and your ability to break into journalism will depend almost completely on you. Even the best j-schools (e.g. Medill) don’t give you much of a leg-up.</p>
<p>Another thing to remember is that a university doesn’t need to have an entire school devoted to a field in order to do well in it (it’s just administered differently). Stanford’s communication department was ranked #1 by the NRC for both S and R rankings.</p>