<p>I am an out of state student so I'll be paying about the same in both schools. Should I spend that much money in a public school? Try to put yourself in an out of stater's shoes.</p>
<p>I'm basically debating btwn UCLA and USC. I prefer UCLA if I want to study premed but parents prefer USC (they are alums). I have until Tues to decide! What should I do?</p>
<p>I also like communications/english/writing, which USC is really good at as well.</p>
<p>I had to decide between these two and I chose SC, also considering pre-med</p>
<p>Go where you think you'll do best. Both offer comparable undergraduate experiences.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>go to USC, its a private school; all the better</p>
<p>Private doesn't necessarily mean better. I think you'd be hard-pressed to argue that University of Dayton is better than UC Berkeley on account of being private.</p>
<p>I'm a USC student who is not in a Pre-Med track but who considered it for some time. Each school offers a comparable pre-med experience. As of right now, UCLA Med School is more recognized than USC's Keck School (which is on a fast rise toward the upper echelons of Med Schools), but you have three or four years to make that decision. Have you visited both? There should be one that just feels right to you. For me it was SC because of a more involved student population and the feeling I got when I was on campus. I would recommend USC to you on account of the fact that I am a student here and absolutely love it.</p>
<p>The two schools are completley different. UCLA has a huge campus (I have friends who walk 30 minutes to class) and a large student population. The classes will be larger for some of the lower-division classes. Also, they are on the quarter system, which means you have "three" semesters, but you take less classes in each quarter than you would do in a normal semester. </p>
<p>USC has a smaller campus, with a smaller population. It may not be as recognized as UCLA nationally, but it is rising. The two schools are now roughly comparable in US News Reports. They have semesters here as well. If you have any other questions, let us know.</p>
<p>Actually, I think student population is about the same but it feels like there's less at USC...sometimes I wonder how they fit so many people on campus.</p>
<p>usc has significantly less, about 16,000 undergrads, whereas ucla has about 25,000. that may be why usc seems less crowded, because a lot of grad students live off campus anyway.</p>
<p>There is merely any difference between 10,000 students and 100,000 students since you will only see a small portion of them.</p>
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There is merely any difference between 10,000 students and 100,000 students since you will only see a small portion of them.
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<p>I don't think that's true... the differences are things like housing is much more cramped at UCLA, professors/advisors are more easily contacted/met with at USC, things like that.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, what % of dorms at USC are triples, doubles, and singles? I've never found that out.</p>
<p>As for meeting professors at UCLA, I never had problems with it as an undergrad.</p>
<p>That is a problem more related to student-faculty ratio. In addition, UCLA is a poublic schools so they are heavily influenced by politics.</p>
<p>When comparing total population (undergrad and grad) USC has 33K and UCLA has 36K which why I was saying not too much of a difference. But you'd have to take into account faculty-ratio, campus size etc to figure out how the size of a school feels...USC feels a lot smaller to me than UCLA.</p>
<p>UCLA guarantees 3 yrs of housing which might account for the crowded housing. </p>
<p>Birnkrant is the only dorm with triples (it has 11 room, 33 spaces)
So looking at all the options for freshmen housing on the website I found 111spaces for singles, 33 for triples and 2846 for doubles. (This includes the numbers for Parkside suites which has some space for upperclassmen and does not include numbers for Parkside II.)</p>
<p>I'd say that for upperclassmen it's mostly doubles with a few singles and the only triples in Troy East where there's 33 5-person bedrooms and Troy Hall where's there's 21 5-person bedrooms.</p>
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That is a problem more related to student-faculty ratio. In addition, UCLA is a poublic schools so they are heavily influenced by politics.
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<p>Internal politics can be just as influential as external politics. ;)</p>
<p>well, usc is in ghetto LA, UCLA is near sunset blvd, but usc is pretty awesome tradition-wise, do you want to specialize in anything? because USC has awesome neuroscience stuff…if money is not an issue, then i would go to usc</p>
<p>I went to both schools: attended USC, graduated UCLA. In my case it was the money issue. (I am instate so the tuition difference at that time was a lot). USC has small lecture classes. UCLA can have 1000 people in one lecture hall, SC 250. UCLA is getting less money now (from the state) than ever before. Most kids at UCLA are on the 5 year plan because it is more difficult to get classes. Graduates from UCLA in non specific areas (like poli sci) have a horrible time getting jobs due to the lack of networking. (My husband’s receptionist graduated from UCLA. She may be going to grad school…but that is one very overqualified receptionist.) UCLA’s area is really nice. SC’s is very safe on campus and in the general area. But the area isn’t fabulous. Limited shopping around USC (My daughters love to shop). From UCLA you can take a bus to BH or Century City. And yes, I am trying to be balanced here. Research the department that you wish to major in and see how the two compare. But bear in mind…nothing tops the Trojan Family.</p>
<p>In general: You get what you pay for and a good private school tops a public school in California any day of the week. (See GeorgiaGirl’s contribution as to who went to USC…amazing.) For further research see the California Budget cuts for UC education.</p>
<p>I recently had a talk to wife of a USC graduate who happens to be very successful. She said her husband who received financial aid from USC to attend USC years ago and became very well to do. She only wishes for her daughter to be accepted to USC, $50K tuition is nothing to her family(I wish I was in that category). UCLA is not even considered.</p>
<p>If I have to make a decision to choose between the two, I would choose UCLA.</p>
<p>RML: I am interested in your input. Why would you choose UCLA over SC?</p>