<p>I appealed my rejection to USC and got in! I would like to know which would be the better choice between these two and I'm in-state and love both of these schools!</p>
<p>?</p>
<p>By appealing, the implication is that the school which rejected you is your preference… </p>
<p>I have no advice for you, I am just perplexed as to why you appealed.</p>
<p>I appealed because USC was one of my favorite schools, but upon visiting UCLA, I came to love the campus and the people there. Both have comparable programs but I don’t know which one I should pick because both are great schools that I grew up watching sports in.</p>
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<p>You grew up watching sports in both…ya gotta feel you are either a Bruin or Trojan fan! No one can be both…sorta kidding here, but am a bit serious, I think in your heart you know where you want to go…</p>
<p>Both are good programs you may have to go with your gut on this one.</p>
<p>Are you full pay at both? In state would mean that UCLA would cost approximately 1/2 of USC’s cost. If you have no other preference, it would make sense to choose UCLA at 1/2 the cost.</p>
<p>The guy in this thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/1489212-usc-vs-ucla-computer-science-engg.html#post15782152[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/1489212-usc-vs-ucla-computer-science-engg.html#post15782152</a> has a clear opinion on the matter:
</p>
<p>I haven’t gotten my F.A. package from USC yet, but I would assume that it would be a lot since I don’t qualify for a lot of grants or scholarships. I’m in-state so UCLA might give me the better package, so if that’s the case I’ll go to UCLA. I’m just curious, with all things being equal, which school is more reputed for CS and Engineering and would give me more potential opportunities?</p>
<p>Haha I was disappointed and angry at USC at the time. Don’t judge me haha. I know that USC has a great program.</p>
<p>I think it comes down to way more that “this one is cheaper so go there.” My best friend used that equation and after a year of a miserably unhappy daughter, they had to go through the transfer process and a horrible start to college. In your case however, you have 2 great choices, but public v private is very different. Are you dealing with the conflict that a lot of people have choosing between these two - you know it would be less struggle at USC but you really like the UCLA campus and atmosphere?</p>
<p>My son’s final choices were UCLA and USC. It was a huge stressful decision.</p>
<p>Yeah that’s pretty much what I’m thinking, and I have a lot of friends going to USC and know the tennis coach pretty well, but I’m not good enough to walk on the Men’s Team but I want to be team manager.</p>
<p>So what’s the appeal at UCLA then, do you have a lot of friends there too?</p>
<p>Also do you know when you know about any aid? Do you just stay in limbo for a month or do you just have a short time to decide?</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision, it’s really a good problem to have compared to many, but that doesn’t make it less stressful. Follow your gut. Decide where you are going but wait a day or two or more before you act on it and see if you feel happy or restless with that decision. With this “trial decision” tell people where you are going and again, after you tell them, do you feel good about it or does it feel like your second choice or make you uneasy? Little tests you can do…</p>
<p>Darth,</p>
<p>Are you sure you will be able to enroll in the classes you need? SC can be less expensive if it takes you five years to complete your major at UCLA. Class size at UCLA is something to consider. Faculty student ratio at SC 1/9, at UCLA 1/19. Introductory classes at both universities will be larger, but your classes will be smaller at SC. Have you checked out internship opportunities, age of facilities, access to professors and academic support. I think SC does very well in those key areas. The Trojan family is not a myth. Read Viterbi student’s posts regarding his experience in Viterbi.</p>
<p>Is there a chance your interest in computer science may lean to the CS/Games major in Viterbi? If so, that is a fantastic program if you change your mind about straight CS.</p>
<p>One brother is a graduate of SC’s engineering school in civil engineering. He passed the test to become a registered engineer the first time. He mentioned his studies at SC prepared him well for the examination and for a career in that field.</p>
<p>I’ll try to focus on the CS aspect. Georgia Girl is right as usual, USC CS (Games) is top-ranked in the country. As far as vanilla CS at each university, I’m sure they’re good, but USC’s CS curriculum is undergoing an overhaul that it will probably take a year or two to stabilize from. If that is your freshmen or sophomore year, I’d approach with caution. If UCLA’s CS is top ranked, at least you know that you’re getting quality there (never thought I’d say UCLA and quality in the same sentence). </p>
<p>That being said, a top ranked CS department doesn’t necessarily equate to jobs. UCLA might have a research focus, which you’d only really want if you’re going to get a PhD. Look into what companies recruit on campus and what jobs new grads get if they go into industry if that’s what you want to do. I’m familiar with USC being good for both research (even in undergrad, which can be rare at a public institution) and industry. It has great companies recruiting on campus each semester, from Apple to Google to Microsoft and more.</p>
<p>“I’ll try to focus on the CS aspect. Georgia Girl is right as usual, USC CS (Games) is top-ranked in the country. As far as vanilla CS at each university, I’m sure they’re good, but USC’s CS curriculum is undergoing an overhaul that it will probably take a year or two to stabilize from.”</p>
<p>^^^Per your post psydent…What is up with USCs Computer Science curriculum? Can you or Viterbistudent/Steve elaborate? Is it really a reason to stay away from it as you suggested as a fresh/soph? That sounds pretty drastic…</p>
<p>I can only say so much about it now until more concrete plans are released, but many students are in favor of it while I remain skeptical. They mean to encourage deeper study and have a renewed focus on undergrads, but need better teachers to teach more difficult yet higher quality classes. 1 or 2 project based programming heavy classes will be replaced by more theory based classes, such as machine learning. Overall the curriculum is being updated, and it will be a good thing, but it’s likely the transition phase will have some bumps along the way.</p>
<p>I have a question about the CS(Games) program. Can you still get jobs outside of gaming companies (e.g. Google, Cisco, Microsoft, etc…) or are job prospects fairly limited since your degree includes that “Gaming” emphasis?</p>
<p>This is a really common question, so I’m glad you asked it. </p>
<p>The unbiased answer: Yes. Look at the requirements of the two programs: [url=<a href=“http://www.cs.usc.edu/academics/undergrad/]USC”>B.S. Program - USC Viterbi | Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science]USC</a> - Department of Computer Science - Viterbi School of Engineering - B.S. Program<a href=“CSBA%20and%20CECS%20are%20good%20too”>/url</a>. They’re the same in core CS classes. A CS (Games) student can get regular CS jobs. I have a friend who graduated CS (Games) and is working on enterprise software for Sony Pictures (web and database systems for internal use) and he likes it. Another CS (Games) friend is about to start working as a consultant for cyber security at either KPMG or Deloitte (I forget which one). </p>
<p>The biased answer: It’s easy for a CS (Games) student to get a regular CS job, but harder for a regular CS student to get a Games job, such as at Treyarch (Call of Duty). Regular CS students aren’t taught the necessary game programming techniques. Also, CS (Games) students are usually more passionate about it and making games then reg CS students are. It adds to how hard it would be to compete against them for jobs if you wanted to go into games from reg CS.</p>