<p>Try calling & talking to folks at both schools--at the school & current students. Ask how much of a hassle it is to make changes, get courses, deal with the bureaucracy. So far, I have been very impressed with the USC employees, who are helpful and provide answers & helpful info. The parents of kids who are attending USC have nothing but praise for their kids experiences & one family was trying to send their 3rd kid there (but believe she was rejected & will be attending Creighton instead.) The one thing I was told is be sure to carefully evaluate your options & make your decisions by the deadlines set by the school. Making changes can be very frustrating & difficult (e.g. trying to switch meal plans).
When in doubt, I really feel current students & parents would have the most accurate info about support, etc. I love the USC has a placement office in the engineering school to help the kids find good internships & jobs. (Can you guess my son is in engineering?)</p>
<p>Also, I was impressed by USC's engineering in that all students recieve guidance and help planning before each semester. It seemed very one-on-one and about as "small-schooly" as a school of USC's size could be.</p>
<p>USC even prints out an engineering guide every year with some sample schedules for popular double-majors or major/minors. I was also impressed at the advising they give the engineers. At AzSU Honor's College, they said you would meet with the advisor initially & then as the student initiated. USC does seem a lot more "hands on." I was wondering if it was just because they're trying to get us to go there, but my friend whose son just graduated from USC said that they were helpful to her the entire time her son was attending USC, even when her son had mono & also when he had eye surgery & had to miss school. She's sold on it as a great place for a good education.</p>
<p>Ive been thinking and USC definietely gives me more of what I am looking for as far as academics and I have people tell me that I should also think about the money and others tell me that money shouldnt matter. </p>
<p>With USC i would be able to get a BS in say ME and then an MS in EE and I could minor in something business related, which is very important to me I really want that business exposure. At UCSD I wont have that option its BS in EE and M.Eng in EE and they dont have any business minors.</p>
<p>What really worries me is if something goes wrong and im not able to get that MS degree at USC and im stuck with all those loans and no Masters...</p>
<p>if I double major or say do one minor, how much more would it cost me?</p>
<p>When we were at the USC accepted students reception, they said there should be no extra cost for a double-major or major/minor, as long as you have a pretty good idea of what you're doing by the end of your freshman year, especially if you enter with AP credits.</p>
<p>nice. Thanks HImom</p>
<p>So about that 5-year program, how exactly do you apply or get into that program? Will the school also decide your finaid the fifth year as it did in the first four? Anyone have any more information about this?</p>
<p>BTW, thanks for all the replies. I've been getting a lot out of them. Glad I made this thread. :/</p>
<p>About the private vs. public school thing...yes, it's a generalization, but I think it's a fairly accurate one. There is support at the larger schools, but not as much so as USC. That's typically what people mean by saying whether or not you're "just a number".</p>
<p>I am correct about UCSD not having any Pac-10 Division I sports. You won't see the Tritons competing against USC, UCLA, Cal, or Stanford in football or basketball.</p>
<p>Regarding the 5-year program, if you get approved by the admissions guy in whatever department and you have the GPA, I'm pretty sure you're in. However, getting the grades is not as easy as it seems!</p>
<p>beammeup4:</p>
<p>So when do you get approved for the 5-year program? Like after freshman year or..??</p>
<p>Also, do you know what it's called for each school? I'd like to look it up...</p>
<p>with the new program that beammeup talked about its a general program for the entire school and you just have to have a 3.5 gpa and come up with a course plan that is approved by both departments in your junior year. Just go read the article. <a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2006/02/14/News/Combined.Bachelors.Masters.Program.To.Start-1612081.shtml?norewrite200604050060&sourcedomain=www.dailytrojan.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2006/02/14/News/Combined.Bachelors.Masters.Program.To.Start-1612081.shtml?norewrite200604050060&sourcedomain=www.dailytrojan.com</a></p>
<p>Beammeup:</p>
<p>Since you are a current Trojan in the engineering school, can you shed some light as to how difficult it would be to get a 3.5 GPA. And alos do you think it would be possible to do the 5 year program doing a BS in ME and MS in EE as well as minoring in the new SITeC minor?</p>
<p>confucius:</p>
<p>Thanks for that link. At UCSD, you can only work towards a BS and MS in the same field and have to apply after freshman year, right?</p>
<p>yep and they dont have it for ALL the fields, i know they have it for most of the engineering majors, but you should look up what types of programs they have for your specific major.</p>
<p>Do you have a similar link or place where I can look for UCSD's program?</p>
<p>I only knwo the one that they have for electrical engineering, but they way to search for it is to go to the individual major's department website (i.e the MAE website) and search around. The UCSD website is difficult to navigate so it may take you some time, but if there is a specific major you want to find out about, i suggest just emailing them, they are pretty prompt, takes about a day.</p>
<p>Thanks. You know, I find most college websites insanely hard to navigate. When I was taking a few classes at SMC during the summer, it took me forever to find what I was looking for. It's almost as if they pride themselves in making a labyrinth out of their websites. What's the use if you can't even find your way around?...</p>
<p>haha ya I find the same problem, The best way to get information is often to call them and just talk to a person, so much more efficient</p>
<p>lol, then there's another problem with that...</p>
<p>I tried calling USC fin aid office like 2 weeks ago. I was on hold for 25 minutes. The first time, I pressed all the buttons and then it tells me, something like sorry, we're going to hang up now. And when I called again, I was on hold. During that time, I ate my dinner. When I did finally talked to the guy, he was really helpful though. I think emails are a lot more convenient. Even if you do have to wait, at most, 2 days.</p>
<p>I think you have to apply around your junior year or so at USC, but it's best to check with each school you're interested in, to be sure to get the right details.</p>
<p>its after you have 64 units, thats what is says in teh article</p>