USC Viterbi...is it worth it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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<p>Basically, I'm almost panicking, and I don't know if its warranted.</p>

<p>I got accepted at USC in their Computer Science undergraduate program, and their financial aid statement is giving me $26,000 per year (20 in grants, 6 in loans and work-study), and leaving me with $23,000 to pay per year. Not bad, but it could be hell-of better. My parents are willing to contribute $6,000 per year, leaving me with $17,000.</p>

<p>I've also been accepted at my state school, University of Wisconsin - Madison, which is a well ranked school, which I can go to for $12,000 and they will give me a $3000 loan per year. Not as good, but that puts me at $9,000.</p>

<p>I'm a bit perplexed by USC, because it seems so hard to get in (2,000 admitted out of 35,000?), yet on so many message boards, review sites, opinion sites, I'm getting the impression that USC is going to take my money, and leave me with a second rate education and debt. Now, I really don't want to believe this, because California is new, exciting, ...warm. But I also don't want to blindly follow my instincts, and doom myself to a bad degree and big bills.</p>

<p>I need to know if USC and their engineering program would be worth it...I want to get into the video game industry, which is one of the most appealing things about USC: their number of courses geared toward that industry. Also, after college, will a degree from USC help me or hold me back? Any information or insights would be incredibly helpful, but please don't try to sell me the school; I get enough of that from USC's website...I really just need facts from people who've experienced the school.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot, and I appreciate any help. :)</p>

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<p>17k a year in loans is not worth it, especially when UW-Madison is academically strong. Plus, as far as my knowledge goes, USC is not as strong in engineering as UW. According to US NEWS, UW is ranked #13 overall for under engineering, while USC doesn't make the top 20.</p>

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<p>Los Angeles:</p>

<p>Midway Studios
Vivendi/Sony Studios
THQ Inc
Insomniac Games
Pandemic Studios
Riot Games
High Moon Studios
EA Games
...etc, etc</p>

<p>Wisconsin:
?</p>

<p>If gaming is what you're going for, definitely USC. Knowing people currently in the program, I have heard nothing but success stories. However, if you're vascillating on this whole gaming industry issue, then go with UW. </p>

<p>But, as I always believed, take rankings, particularly USNews rankings, cautiously. Let me give you an example. Virginia Tech is ranked "higher" than Harvard in engineering; does that mean then, if you were given a full scholarship to both schools, that you would enroll at VTech over Harvard? For your sake, I hope not. </p>

<p>And, just from my experiences in late night internet perusing, USC is one of those schools that people either love or hate. Ambivalence is a hard thing to find in terms of USC opinions. That being said, finding a lot of acrid characterizations of USC should not be too difficult - it is ultimately up to you, as an accepted student, to filter through these various generalizations and derive your own conclusion.</p>

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<p>I'd suggest that you do your undergrad at UW & if you LOVE engineering, apply to USC for grad school. I agree that $17K/year in undergrad debt is WAY too much, especially with a decent state school like UW.</p>

<p>Congrats on your nice grant package, but I would not allow my S to take on the kind of debt you're talking about. He's finishing his 1st year at USC & said it was good but nothing earth-shattering for him so far. Hopefully, he will have some good internship & networking opportunities but it is NOT a good idea to take on substantial debt for an undergrad degree.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the comments so far,</p>

<p>I've been crunching numbers and, based on the tuition and my current aid awards, USC would end up being $3,000 more per semester, $6,000 more per year...which doesn't seem all that much. I mean, all the large numbers make it seem impossible, but when I got down to it...the extra cost is not impossible.</p>

<p>Something I've been really curious about is the reputation of USC...I'm in the dark about that. Is USC considered a prestigious or reputable school? Like, will people see it on a resume and be impressed or note it more so than UW-Madison? I guess I just want to know how USC would help in obtaining a descent paying job.</p>

<p>Oh, and as an aside, is StudentReview.com a reliable source of info? Because they claim that most USC graduates are unemployed and, well, that just seems ridiculous for any college.</p>

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<p>anyone can post on studentreview, even if they've never actually been to USC, and it seems like half the bad reviews fall into that category :)</p>

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<p>No, studentreview.com is not at all a reliable source of info. I imagine most of the posts on the site are actually made by people who don't go to the schools they write about, and the posts are made as flames at the intended school. In USC's case, it's entirely possible UCLA students wrote the reviews.</p>

<p>And yes, USC is considered a very reputable school - that honestly seems like a silly question. Although i'm certainly biased, i think most people outside of Wisconson would consider USC more prestigious. USC is significantly more selective than UW-Madison is.</p>

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<p>about Student Review...i think the reputation of the site can be evaluated by the site's most reviewed universities list. Pensacola Christian College, a school with less than 5,000 students, is the most reviewed school by more than 6 times that of the next school. not far behind...Bob Jones. so yeah, enough said haha.</p>

<p>with your first calculation, i would have said just go with UW-Madison without question, but your second cost calculation seems much more reasonable. i'd be fairly certain that having a degree from USC would open more doors than one from UW, so i seriously doubt most USC grads are unemployed.</p>

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<p>Engineering is a great career choice and it really doesn't matter where you get your undergrad degree. Hiring is very regional in nature unlike say law or some business degrees. It really does matter how good you are not where you went to school (within reason of course) Take on debt carefully for an undergrad degree.</p>

<p>With the exception of MIT, CALTECH and Stanford there are very few schools with national appeal for many companies. Where do you want to live after graduation? Places you may have never heard of like Cal Poly. Colorado School of Mines, and Missouri Rolla are highly respected in the field and the name carries some real weight. For petroleum engineering I would go to School of mines over any of the IVY league schools.</p>

<p>USC is very strong in engineering and you would get small classes with individual attention that you would not get at Wisconsin. If class size is important or you want to live on the west coast USC is a better bet. But I don't think you can go wrong with either it is a matter of preference. My son is going to go to USC over several other schools but his aid package was better due to a lower family EFC. We are comfortable with 4K a year in loans. I would have to stop and think at 17K per year though and probably stay with the instate school.</p>

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<p>if you want to go into the aerospace industry, usc is by far your best bet. just thought i'd put that out there.</p>

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<p>I’m making the decision right now to choose between USC and Cal Poly. USC honestly has the better connections with the industry than UW. It’s called the “Trojan Family” for a reason. Especially for jobs in the Silicon Valley, you’ll be set by graduation job-wise.</p>

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<p>CMK,
If you have been admitted to the Computer Science/Games major at Viterbi, we are talking about one of SC’s most competitive majors. A student last year sold his game for $2 million. Gasp. Your peers would not only be bright, but also some very imaginative and creative classmates. The games majors also work with students in the School of Cinematic Arts, which is a plus.</p>

<p>Pictures were taken of the games demonstrations. It was standing room only with all the big name game representatives present There is a video about the Game Pipe Lab at SC. It is a bit out of date. Use search to see if a later one is available. It is called Game Pipe ABC dated 12/15/2009.</p>

<p>Did your package factor in a summer job? If not, that will bring in a certain amount of funds each year.</p>

<p>If I can find out more about the games major I will post it here.</p>

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<p>CMK,
Found it! On the Viterbi website is information about the Game Pipe Lab, faculty, photos, blogs and a DVD video from Demonstration Day.</p>

<p>If you were admitted to this major the information you want is there. Go to [USC</a> - Viterbi School of Engineering - Home](<a href=“http://www.viterbi.usc.edu%5DUSC”>http://www.viterbi.usc.edu) . Use search to access Game Pipe Lab. There is much information about the major as well as a complete schedule of what classes are involved. You will then see more about the facilities, faculty interaction and response from the industry to USC’s games.</p>

<p>Hope this answers some of your questions.</p>

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<p>this thread is from 2007…</p>

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<p>jose,
Thank you. Let us hope the information is helpful to a current student. lol</p>

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<p>hahahaha i didn’t notice its 2007…</p>

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<p>seems like OP chose USC and based on timeline…graduating this year? How time flies…it would be really funny if OP is the student who sold his game for 2 million</p>

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<p>thanks, georgia girl
this post and your reply can be really helpful to me since i am a newly accepted CS student and is interested in game and animation^^
And supperdoo you really make me LOL hahahaha!</p>