<p>Hi, I was recently accepted into many schools and narrowed my choices into USC, UCLA, and NYU for Fall 2013. </p>
<p>Now, here is my dilemma. I never imagined getting into all of my top three schools, so I assumed my decision would be made for me. And while it is amazing to be accepted into all these great universities, it has made my decision very difficult. </p>
<p>I was admitted into USC Annenberg, majoring in Communications. I was admitted into UCLA as an Undeclared Humanities major, planning to become a Communications major during my junior year. I was admitted into NYU Steinhardt as a Media, Culture, and Communications Major. I plan to work in the entertainment industry, possibly as an agent. </p>
<p>Some of my concerns:
Cost-I am a LA native, making UCLA cheaper for me. In addition, I received an extremely large scholarship to NYU. I still have not received my aid package from USC, but I know that USC is an extremely expensive school.
Ranking: I want to get the best education possible. I know that UCLA is the #2 public school in the country, and that UCLA is ranked much higher than USC or NYU, but ranking doesn't allows translate to the best education. However, I know that for my major in Communication, Annenberg is the top ranked school in the country. Is it more important for my university ranking or my individual sub-school/major ranking to be higher?
Post Graduation: I am taking into consideration my ability to work with a community post graduation. From what I have seen, only USC really has a strong Alumni association. </p>
<p>Any advice would be very much appreciated!!</p>
<p>First, congrats. Seriously, all three are excellent schools, and you could do well at any of them. </p>
<p>Here are some things to consider:
You want to work in entertainment. LA and NY are hugely different entertainment markets. Which one appeals to you more? It’ll help to be in the region where you’d like to work.
Mathematically, how do NYU and UCLA compare at this point? Remember to factor in housing, transportation, cost of living in each city, etc. Do the same for USC when your aid package is ready. I’m not saying that cost should be the sole factor you consider–not at all–but it should definitely be something you consider.
Does being on a campus matter to you? USC is the most campus-like of the three; UCLA is similar, but much larger; and NYU is spread throughout the city. If you really want to be on a traditional college campus, USC is your strongest bet. But NYU gives you the “city living” experience from the get-go.
Weather! How do you feel about sun, snow, rain, fog, wind, cold, heat, etc?
Finally, which school keeps catching your attention? Everyone has “that school” where hearing about it or talking about it lights them up like a Christmas tree. Which one is it for you? Pay attention when discussing this over the next few days. It’ll be obvious. </p>
<p>Since you’ve gotten into your top three, no matter what, you’ll have an amazing experience. I hope you let us know what you choose, whether it’s USC or UCLA or NYU. :)</p>
<p>SC is a private university. It has a much lower student faculty ratio than UCLA. USC’s is 1/9 and I think UCLA is 1/19. SC has no impacted majors and is not suffering from California’s budget cuts. Wallis Annenberg donated $50 million for a new Annenberg state of the art complex at SC. (You can see a virtual tour of that on YouTube.)</p>
<p>In 2012 U.S. News ranked USC in the Best Universities category. It was ranked #23 and UCLA was ranked below that. Last fall USC and UCLA tied in those rankings. You have been misinformed about SC’s national rankings. </p>
<p>You should wait before deciding until you receive SC’s financial aid package. </p>
<p>Have you visited all three universities? NYU does not have a campus. Some students like that and others do not. Do you expect to live in Los Angeles after graduation?</p>
<p>victoriaheidi-1. I definitely want to work in LA, but I am a bit nervous considering that I have lived here my entire life that I wont get a full college experience. 2. Right now, UCLA and NYU are almost exaclty tied, with NYU surprisingly being 1,000 dollars cheaper per year. Do you know when USC will post their aid packages online? 3. I don’t know if a campus truly matters to me or not. I don’t think I have enough knowledge on the subject. 4. yeah, I do not do well with the cold. I love my t-shirts and shorts. BUT! I want to maybe experience something outside of the perfect LA weather. I mean, I could handle 4 winters…maybe. 5. That would be USC. Yeah, but maybe I am just jaded from years of living within walking distance of the UCLA campus.</p>
<p>Georgia Girl:Really? I had no idea that USC had moved up so far in the national rankings. I guess I can’t believe everything that is posted on forum sites (there is some serious hate between USC and UCLA that though I live in LA, I just don’t understand) I live within a ten minute walking distance to UCLA and practically grew up in Westwood, and I have visited USC twice now (one of my closest friends from choir is a freshman in PR at USC). I have not visited NYU, but I will be going to NYC in April. I definitely plan to live in LA after graduation, which makes me nervous that I will have never lived anywhere outside of LA for my entire life.</p>
<p>I think USC, at least the film program, has better opportunities if you’re interested in working as an agent (something I want to do as well). Plus, although some have offices in NYC, all the best agencies have offices in LA.</p>
<p>GeorgiaGirl has done a good job explaining the rankings of the schools. I’ll only add that all three are very good schools in vibrant exciting cities, it’s hard to see a ‘wrong’ academic decision here.</p>
<p>There is no traditional campus at NYU - campus is Washington Square and the rest on Manhattan, certainly not a bad option, but certainly nothing approaching a traditional look.</p>
<p>The winters aren’t that bad. They may be a little jarring at first but after all more than a few people live in NYC. A bigger issue might be the attitude differences between NYC and Southern California. While it’s always struck me that LA and NYC are more alike than different, the local populace of New York can be a bit overwhelming to the uninitiated (NYC is the only place where I’ve heard the f-bomb used as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb).</p>
<p>As a check-writing parent, wait and see what USC offers then try and decide. As it stands now, with NYU being the cheapest, there’s a lot to be said for exploring a bit of the world at this point in your life.</p>