<p>I have received admission offers from USC and UCLA for Masters in Computer Science. (UCLA: CS in Networking, USC: CS in Game Development).</p>
<p>Can anyone suggest me which one to choose from these? Personally, I found it interesting to be doing masters in CS Game Development. However, I also have heard rave reviews about CS in UCLA and that this school is much more popular when compared to USC. </p>
<p>Regardless both these univs are comparable in ratings, I want some inputs from you guys on certain parameters for comparison sake. For instance:</p>
<li>In terms of funding and assistantships</li>
<li>In terms of research </li>
<li>Faculty and advisors</li>
<li>Study environment</li>
</ol>
<p>Your inputs will be very valuable to me in making a right decision. </p>
<p>Interesting, I probably would say UCLA if you wan't prestige... USC if you wan't a mixture. I think California is nice, though I second guess their universities. Why? They are simply too small, the campus etc... Stanford has a nice size campus, but student body is small.</p>
<p>thanks coolbreeze for your response. Do you have any idea regarding the points I have mentioned in my earlier post? coz those are the things I am really looking forward to in a college. SO any idea regarding any of these issues, please post them here. </p>
<p>They are both wonderful universities - what a great problem to have!</p>
<p>I am a mom of a current USC undergraduate in a very different major, but I have one thought about funding. Financial aid and scholarships tend to dry up once you are a graduate (except for loans, of course!), so it is a real concern. She has found research opportunities - with funding - to be plentiful. (Still a freshman, she is currently involved in three research projects - two of which are providing funding.)</p>
<p>Hopefully someone familiar with UCLA can give you info about the opportunities there.</p>
<p>UCLA has had a very highly regarded program since the days of Leonard Kleinrock and Vint Cerf... with the very first node on the Internet as we know it today in 1969. I don't know much about USC's CS dept.</p>
<p>In 1994, the NRC rankings showed UCLA at #15 in the US, and USC at #20. I suspect when the next round of rankings is published within the next year, USC will have surpassed UCLA, based only on momentum and funding....</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to visit both the universities and take a campus tour to see if the campus "vibe" could be a good fit for you. Check out the facilities, size of classes and access to professors.
I know the Viterbi School facilities are brand new. The laboratories are well equipped and classes are small. Make an appointment to see the games lab and what is going on there.
Kevin Bachus, creator of X-Box, is an alumnus of SC as are alumnae Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, co-founders of ThatGame Co.</p>
<p>Go with what you are passionate about. Networking and Game development are two different fields that lead to very differnt careers. I don't know about now but as late as about half year ago, game industry was one of the very few that was doing well in this economy. Game sales were still up. It's hard to say if the trend would continue. But video game is actually one of the cheapest forms of entertainment even though it may not seem like it (I was told a typical game can keep you entertained for 60 hours or so and a game costs like 60 bucks; you'd spend way more than that if were spending 60 hours at a bar).</p>
<p>thankyou guys for all your responses. I agree with you georgia girl. May be a visit to the campuses might gimme a better idea. Infact I have been to UCLA once last year and I liked the environment so much, I decided to apply here. I am yet to visit USC but what attracts personally to me here is the specialization. And again, your're right about X-box creator. That's one more affirmation of my affinity to join USC :-). </p>
<p>I have a question for alamemom. You said your kid is in USC. I am actually in a look out for a decent public transportation as driving to USC is my last option right now. Can you help me here? I live nearly 50 miles away from USC. Does the school provide any service for that distance? </p>
<p>^commuting 50 miles would drive you crazy even if threre's public transit. i had to go home couple times without a car (the garage closed at 6:30pm and i forgot to go move it while working) and it took me an hour and a half to just go from downtown to west hollywood (only 9 miles!). considering i go from downtown to one of the most happening places in LA, it shows you how terrible and third-world the public transit is in LA. no school would provide any service for that distance. where exactly are you? how do you get to LA usually? as you may already know, having a car is pretty much a necessity in LA. even the illegals with no insurance risk getting caught just to drive!!</p>
<p>i know what your talking about. In fact as much as I like California, I hate the transportation system here. Anyways, I live in a place called Thousand Oaks and I do have a car which I have to take out in eventuality. But before that, I want to explore other options like car pooling or buses or trains etc. Do you know how far is the LA railway station from USC and if there are any services in between the station and the campus? If that's arranged, I think I can cut down most of my driving. Where do you live and how do you manage with the college trips?</p>
<p>jayashree, the CS department at both schools should be able and eager to set you up with a day or half-day of talking to people in the department. You'll want to spend one-on-one time with both professors and grad students. If there are specific professors whose research interests you, mention that when you talk to the department to set up the appointment.</p>
<p>Commuting from Thousand Oaks is going to be a killer. I know that there are vanpools at UCLA that do extend out to Thousand Oaks, but it will lock you into a very fixed schedule. No idea if there is something similar for USC, but there are bus links via both MTA and a campus shuttle from MTA subway stops to campus. Again, both campuses will have a commuter assistance office. Call them and ask about transportation options. My two cents opinion is that unless finances are extremely tight or you have other obligations that keep you out in TO, you should move closer to campus. Having to carve 2-3 or more hours per day out of your schedule just to accomodate your commute is going to make it difficult to work with group projects, go out to dinner with fellow students, etc etc etc.</p>
<p>LA railyway station? You mean Union station not far from Chinatown? USC may have something or shuttles that stop by Union station. If not, you can take the red line from there to metro center (downtown LA) and then you transfer to a bus/shuttle. Or there may be a bus that goes from union station to USC (I don't know). You see how complicated it is and that's not even considering how you get from your place to some train station in the San Fernando Valley. By the way, buses in LA can be filled with weirdos and many bus drivers are rude. Even I rarely took them (when my car was locked in the garage or when it was in bodyshop and I had no rental insurance, which was a big mistake), I already got quite a few bad experiences. The worst was this: we were approaching a station where you can transfer to a subway. That's always where the largest number of passengers get off due to the transfer. At that time, no passenger pressed the stop request button because everyone just assumed it'd stop. The driver knew it, pressed the gas and purposely sped through it! You see as*hole bus drivers in LA all the time. Also, they are terrible with their schedule. Did I tell you that I hate LA?</p>
<p>Hmmm... public transportation... My daughter lives on-campus (USC) AND has a car with her, so she had no useful information for me on that. I know they have all the streets dug up aorund campus with an underground public transportation project, but it is YEARS away still, so that doesn't help. The best I can do is offer this USC link about public transportation: USC</a> Auxiliary Services | Transportation | Public Transit</p>
<p>If you do end up driving, the parking passes are currently about $88/month for on-campus structures and about $50/month for the off-campus lots (which I do know have free shuttles to campus). If you decide to bring a car (and decide on USC, of course) the parking permits go on sale May 14th, and you have to be FAST to get one. Here is the info: USC</a> Auxiliary Services | Transportation | Permit Information</p>
<p>Parking will be expensive and in short supply at UCLA as well. That's another question to ask both departments: will you be able to get parking? </p>
<p>I just took a look at the Metrolink maps. You could take the train from Moorpark or Simi Valley into Union Station, followed by a bus or shuttle ride to USC. The train ride alone is an hour. Add in time to drive from Thousand Oaks to the train stop and the bus transit time, and you're up to at least 3 hours a day for commuting, though you can work during the train ride itself.</p>
<p>To Jay,
Just posted on the USC forum here is a long post from a non alumnus parent who just had a complete tour of the SC campus. The post is in the interactive entertainment thread. You might find this helpful.</p>
<p>thank you all for your suggestions. I am back to my confusion on the university pick (UCLA vs USC) and here's why :</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Program: USC: CS in game dev, an awesome program with a promising career ahead.
UCLA: CS, yet to decide my specialization, all though i havent come across an interesting one available for me. So, i'll be a hard core computer scientist here, and career prospects are as usual, nothing exciting in my opinion.</p></li>
<li><p>Reputation: Both are equally reputed schools as far as I know, which does no good in easing my confusion :-p</p></li>
<li><p>Tuition: USC is way too expensive as opposed to UCLA - a one major factor, I cannot ignore!</p></li>
<li><p>Commutation: Since I stay in Thousand oaks, commuting to UCLA works out much easier than to USC.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That's all my confusion is about. In a nutshell, I don't know what to choose between career and money/comfort.</p>
<p>I really need some opinions from you guys. I have to make a decision soon.</p>
<p>
[quote]
. Program: USC: CS in game dev, an awesome program with a promising career ahead.
UCLA: CS, yet to decide my specialization, all though i havent come across an interesting one available for me. So, i'll be a hard core computer scientist here, and career prospects are as usual, nothing exciting in my opinion.
[/quote]
USC +1</p>
<p>
[quote]
2. Reputation: Both are equally reputed schools as far as I know, which does no good in easing my confusion :-p
[/quote]
Wash</p>
<p>
[quote]
3. Tuition: USC is way too expensive as opposed to UCLA - a one major factor, I cannot ignore!
[/quote]
UCLA +10</p>
<p>
[quote]
4. Commutation: Since I stay in Thousand oaks, commuting to UCLA works out much easier than to USC.
[/quote]
UCLA +5 (Commutation is an interesting term ;) )</p>
<p>I would go to UCLA. Save yourself $ and commute time (which equals $).</p>