<p>For 2008 college decision, 1 for UCLA, 28 for USC
Note, Harvard-Westlake students are regarded as some of the hardest working and most accomplished high school students in the nation.</p>
<p>^ Those parents are used to paying exhorbitant tuition costs...why would they take a discount now that their youngster is in college? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Agree. But USC incoming freshman class has 18 kids from Harker(another top private school in the Bay Area) and 28 kids from Harvard Westlake(top private in the LA area) will only increase the quality of student at USC.</p>
<p>^ Not to be mean, but come on...USC, NYU, GWU, Tulane, WUSTL, Tufts, UMich OOS? These HW families don't understand value.</p>
<p>Budget cut, overcrowded at UCs, what value are you talking about except US News rankings?</p>
<p>^ It's likely that a lot of those students got merit scholarships...then OK.</p>
<p>But, if they're paying full freight when they are all California residents and you have the UC system, to me it seems like a foolish decision despite the budget cuts.</p>
<p>But for some people, price signals quality...rightly and wrongly.</p>
<p>Why so few accepted to MIT, Caltech over the past several years? It doesn't seem like the majority of HW students are pursuing science/engineering degrees.</p>
<p>UVa had same number as Berkeley for 2008...LOL!</p>
<p>i think UCLA is a little better..</p>
<p>columbiaStudent - nice link. 35 matriculants to CHYMPS... that's strong.</p>
<p>What's with the top LAC stats? Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore/Bowdoin/Carleton/Pomona/Middlebury - only 3 students total out of the entire class to those seven LACs? Is that a California thing? Does the counseling office at HW start promoting LACs only with Wesleyan?</p>
<p>UCBChemGrad -- having attended both public and private high schools, and then private and public university, I can understand why HW students might prefer USC.</p>
<p>There is an art to getting what you need out of a state institution. In the long run, I think those -- what shall I call them -- scrounging skills -- are invaluable in navigating real life and real business. But they're not skills one particularly needs at HW, and leads to a culture shock that I'm sure has been reported back to HW by students enrolled at Berkeley and UCLA. I spent most of high school outside the U.S., so there was no culture shock whatsoever for me. Still, I can understand that for most HW students, having grown up in relative comfort in Los Angeles, that transition would be a little bumpy to UCLA. I embraced those irritations and lack of support as a sort of adventure -- the difference being not unlike that between a self service restaurant and one with table service.</p>
<p>UBChem:</p>
<p>If you are rich, a private school offer much greater value than a public. And, of course, the Tulane/NYU contingent probably did not get into Cal nor UCLA. Thus, Tulane (with nearly guaranteed merit money) or NYC offers more than an over-crowded Davis (doubles converted to triples, trips to quads). And, if you plan to stay in SoCal, a degree from 'SC is membership in the Trojan Family fraternity for jobs -- that family is much stronger than the Bruins' connections. Now, I agree with UMich huh? (unless it was in contrast to a mid-tier UC). Also, some of those kids going east could be recruited (for country-club sports?).</p>
<p>full disclosure: as a Pac-10 fan, I just love to hear bashing of 'SC, but academically, I think is it unwarranted. An earlier poster mentioned that USC was relatively easy to get into year ago -- well guess what, so was UCLA. Back in the old days, they accepted every minimaly qualified applicant (as did USC, but its minimal qualifications might have been lower). Heck, UCSC was more selective than UCLA back then!</p>
<p>ColumbiaStudent -- I meant to add -- the teacher for Advanced Computer Sciences (all As, no Bs), and the teacher for Honors Geology (no As, all Bs) should meet each other at a midpoint!</p>
<p>bluebayou - I don't know about Davis, but UCLA offers about 20 different housing options, all priced differently in a menu:<br>
Dorm: single, double, triple,
1 bedroom Suites single, double;
2 bedroom suites double,
3 bedroom suites double, etc, including
Five just off campus (in the middle of the fraternities and private apartments) university owned apartment complexes with no food service tie-in. Again, one chooses single, double or triple occupancy, and the price varies accordingly.</p>
<p>In short, at UCLA one can spend between $9,500 and $15,500 on room and board, depending on the level of luxury/privacy one chooses to afford.</p>
<p>You will only be overcrowded if that is the option (dorm, triple occupancy) one chooses to afford.</p>
<p>The level of pampering (or standard service, if that is your expectation) that is simply not available at UCLA at any price (eased somewhat if one is in the Honors Program) is ease of class registration, personal mentoring, etc.</p>
<p>Dunnin and Blue,</p>
<p>You both raise valid points, and I agree that we don't have all the circumstances to question students choice. </p>
<p>But, clearly, many are choosing to apply to even OOS publics (and attend) at a time when the students are in-state for arguably the best public university system in the world. Are OOS publics throwing merit money at these kids? I cannot comprehend selecting UMich or UVa over a UC when in-state.</p>
<p>UCB, some kids just want to go far away from home, or just want to get away from California. For example, my daughter's friend went to Penn State, where he could have easily attended UCI or UCSB, or UCD. Maybe Penn State is excellent in his major and Penn State for OOS is similar to UCD. Not everybody has the same value as you, or what you value and what others value are different.</p>
<p>^ Understand...and if you have the discretionary income to pay for that experience without saddling yourself with debt, I'm all for it. </p>
<p>Even if I did have the money, I'd question the expense very closely. Heh, but if you've been paying nearly $40k/yr for HS, you're priorities are different than mine.</p>
<p>Heh, I paid that much(adjusted for inflation of course) for pre-school.</p>
<p>For families with EFCs over $25,000, a UC would be the more economical choice, but for California-in-state students who qualify for financial aid and have EFCs less than $25,000, both UCLA and USC provide financial aid, and the costs will likely be very similar. (Our EFC is considerably below $25,000, and USC and UCLA were almost identical in costs, while UCB was more expensive than either.) So your assumptions that students at USC are making frivolous financial choices are in many cases unfounded. </p>
<p>USC costs are similar to many, if not most, other private universities in California, and yet I do not hear this "only the rich can go there" nonsense about those other schools.</p>
<p>^ Valid points...but I don't think HW students are choosing not to go to Berkeley or UCLA because its more expensive.</p>
<p>I'm a student at SC. I'm by no means rich, and a lot of this thread is laughable. I remember thinking about what school I wanted to before OP, had I listened to some of the people up here I wouldn't happily be a Trojan right now, something I couldn't even fathom anymore.</p>
<p>First things first, on safety. It's a city. That's it. If you've lived in a city before, you know what to expect. I find nothing crazier than I've experienced coming from NJ (and I go Dyckman and Uptown Manhattan (150-180ish) really often [like every other day] when I'm home). The homeless people are alot more relaxed out here too. The kid who got stabbed theres alot of controversy going about. First off, the people knew him, and there was an altercation before hand. He was drunk, it was late, and things do happen. Its unfortunate but when people get belligerently drunk things happen. There were apparently two other events on campus too. One was with a "sexual assault" once again very late at night and a girl "agreed" to let a few guys walk her home or something to that effect. In all honesty, anyone with common sense really doesn't have anything to worry about. I'm sure westwood is in a far nicer place, but I like downtown LA alot, we're in a really convenient location, specially with the new metro coming.</p>
<p>I get excellent fin. aid from the school. A lot of my friends aren't rich and some of them are, no one I personally have met (and I've met a lot of our freshman class) has run around screaming, "Haha, look at my superior television because I have more money than you!". Sure there are some girls and some guys who may dress prep or seem arrogant to you, but I mean those people are everywhere, and alot of those people turned out to be a lot cooler than I would have ever thought. Some of my closest friends here are DEFINITELY not people I would have sought out active friendships before.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
UCLA wins for higher academic quality, greater research accomplishments, better student resources, and more accomplished alumni.
[/QUOTE]
.</p>
<p>Erm....we're the only school in the United States ever to receive a donation over $100 mil. And we've gotten three of them. One of my IR professors (Prof. Lamy) has worked all over the world, and in Washington on foreign policy and foreign affairs. My GE ARLT teacher just got back from England giving a lecture over there, we have a building dedicated entirely to neuroscience and other buildings similarly dedicated to single subjects. There are programs here that accept under 15 people a year. And our alumni network I didn't even realize until like the first game seeing thousands of Trojans, food, games, etc. all sponsored by Trojan businesses, all eally like a family like you really hear about. Now I'm not saying our school is the best in the world (it is though) but all I'm saying is that I'm never sitting in any of my classes saying, "Hey, I really think if I was in another school right now i'd be gaining twice as much knowledge." A lot of my friends here (especially those in Thematic option) study more than both of my boys in Duke.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
There is an art to getting what you need out of a state institution. In the long run, I think those -- what shall I call them -- scrounging skills -- are invaluable in navigating real life and real business. But they're not skills one particularly needs at HW, and leads to a culture shock that I'm sure has been reported back to HW by students enrolled at Berkeley and UCLA.
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Eh, even the most pampered kids adjust far more than people think. After the first few weeks, a majority of the kids are doing just fine, and this is my consensus not just from here, but from all of my friends from HS, and I know a ton of people who were far too pampered (to the point where parents would even do their HW).</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
^^Would you prefer "pampered" to "spoiled"?</p>
<p>Do you deny that there are lots of rich kids, even if those kids may have "intelligent, hard-working, friendly" parents?
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Are you insecure or something? I'm pretty broke right now, and all of my friends that are rich don't run around burning money for fun. In fact, most don't just like to waste money for no reason. I don't understand what you have against people with money? I would never even know most of these kids were rich if I didn't hang out with them daily, and I don't see how you can say that everyone is spoiled because they have money. Regardless, something like 40% or more of our student body is on financial aid. </p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
I can study hard and play hard
Competitive athletics
Beautiful aesthetics as well as a good area
Diversity
School spirit out the whazoo
And a place I can feel proud of....
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>You. Are. A. Trojan.</p>
<p>Whether you know it now or not. I mean come on? BYU? 59-0? I'll let you think about what OSU was doing and what we were doing post game. </p>
<p>Listen in the end, all these statistics and everything I used to put so much wait on is BS. If you are a minority (I'm black) there are other minorities. It's not overwhelmingly any feel, that's what's so great about SC. It's just a melting pot of different cultures and mixes from rich to poor, black, white, international, etc. and you just get a mesh of great different people. There's so many different people to meet here its absurd. For example, I know a girl from Hong Kong, my next door neighbor is from Texas, and my roommate is from Australia. Diversity won't be a problem. Academics are awesome here, and if you qualify (very few people do though) for Thematic option go for it. Safety, with common sense, is basically assured, and I mean unfortunately for all of us we do live in a flawed world, everywhere will not be as safe as the sandbox from 3rd grade. </p>
<p>I'm off though, make the right choice, I did ;).</p>