<p>...As a Govt. major...Any thoughts?
(I would be a sophomore transfer at WM)</p>
<p>Hmmm. William & Mary is 150 miles from Washington DC, and USC is what --- about 3,000? William & Mary has graduated many future U.S. Presidents, Ambassadors, Supreme Court Justices, etc. Of course that was some time ago. You might want to contact someone with extensive government service and ask his/her opinion. I'd suggest Henry Kissinger, who is the current Chancellor at William & Mary.</p>
<p>If you're gonna run for office it won't make much difference. But, if you are going to take a diplomatic path or go for staff positions then William and Mary.</p>
<p>Where is the focus of your government interest? US government? WM, hands down.</p>
<p>Pacific Rim? Business? USC.</p>
<p>Not clear whether the USC mentioned is Southern California or South Carolina. No matter, in either case I'd go to W&M for government. Darn good LAC. I'd prefer G'town or even GW right in DC. Or UVA. But, I'm also a fan of LAC's.</p>
<p>But for the question as posed, W&M straight up.</p>
<p>I'm at WM now . . .
Govt. program here is strong, but very popular--budget difficulties and demand might make it hard to get classes you want, even as an upper level student . . .
but at WM there's currently a course being taught by fmr Gen Anthony Zinni (essentially seniors only though), there's opportunities like world champion Model UN team, a friend did political polling research, etc.
by the way, many people at WM do International Relations (govt. + economics + 2 languages)
WM is very small, and compact in Williamsburg . . . you'll have to decide whether the transition is worth it</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not clear whether the USC mentioned is Southern California or South Carolina. No matter, in either case I'd go to W&M for government. Darn good LAC. I'd prefer G'town or even GW right in DC. Or UVA. But, I'm also a fan of LAC's.</p>
<p>But for the question as posed, W&M straight up.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Considering there are over a thousand posts dedicated to Southern Cal on this forum, and about 5 to South Carolina... wouldn't it be common sense to infer which school it is? Sort of like reading up the NFL page on ESPN and mistaking the 49ers for the Charlotte College football team, hm?:)</p>
<p>I'd like WM too! I've heard the academics there are awesome, plus they have pretty small classes too. Jon Stewart also went there!</p>
<p>To clarify...the USC is Southern California</p>
<p>Clipper, except that W&M indicated a possible southern focus. </p>
<p>Glad to have that clarified. I think you will find that many on the East coast will have never heard of USC or will think that it's a state school...sorta parallel with those in SoCal who have never heard of Amherst, Middlebury, or Tufts. Many more will not be able to tell you anything more about it than that it has a good football team. Whereas most people in the area will be very familiar with W&M.</p>
<p>All this presupposing an interest in some sort of government-related service.</p>
<p>Having lived in Manhattan for ten years, married to a born New Yorker who graduated from USC, I can tell you that educated folks on the East Coast know about USC's strengths and weaknesses. Also, the USC alumni network is alive and well on the East Coast. </p>
<p>Having said that, if you plan to get a job in Washington with an undergraduate degree, the Washington area schools (Gtown, GWU, American) offer the best connections. (Although my niece, with her UMKC degree, got an amazing congressional aide job. Go figure).</p>
<p>Cheers, not to rehash an old saw, but the fact that there are 20 or whatever SC grads in Manhattan having a fantastic network party does not indicate SC is well known in the East Coast. I'd really like to see a survey of 1,000 people, from GC's to law partners, on the subject. On Capitol Hill and the K-Street lobbying world, USC is a pimple on an elephant's butt. Of course, a lot of these same folk think Chicago is "out West," so go figure.</p>
<p>Cheers, not to rehash old ground, but the fact that there are 20 or whatever SC grads in Manhattan having a fantastic network party does not indicate SC is well known in the East Coast. I'd really like to see a survey of 1,000 people, from GC's to law partners, on the subject. On Capitol Hill and the K-Street lobbying world, USC is a pimple on an elephant's butt. Of course, a lot of these same folk think Chicago is "out West," so go figure.</p>
<p>I agree with you about G'town/GW/American. HYP, plus UVA, and probably AWS would also score highly. DC is one of the last refuges of the old Old Boys' network.</p>
<p>Not sure if it counts for anything, but I go to a well known boarding school in new england and we send a good amount of kids to USC every year. It comes second to Stanford in the amount of students we send out west. Definitely not up to the level of schools such as Stanford and Georgetown, but USC is used as a solid match by a lot of kids(for me probably and a lot of my friends next school year) that the guidance counselors suggest as an option out west. My school sends around 1/3 of the class to ivies each year, so the gc's must be doing something right.</p>
<p>Dad, Dad, Dad. Have you taken your meds this morning?</p>
<p>Talk about LA and your stomping ground all you want. </p>
<p>Bash USC from morning til noon. I don't get it-- but go ahead. </p>
<p>But try to avoid rash generalizations about Manhattanites if you ain't one and never been one. Deal?</p>