<p>Hi everyone! Basically, I came to college confidential to get some unbiased and sincere advice since I can't seem to get that from my family. Please help! Sorry this is going to be long :/</p>
<p>I'm transferring this fall from UC Riverside to either USC or UCSD. I have already gotten my acceptance letters from both universities :) But now I cannot decide which school! I know USC is ranked 26 and UCSD is ranked 35 by US News and World Report National University rankings. USC is my first choice, but not because of the higher ranking. I have always just felt like that was the school for me. However, my mom and especially my sister feel UCSD is "the better school" not just for me but in general. My sister graduated from UCSD in 2001 and is now a very successful lawyer.. and is much more critical of me and more opinionated than my parents. She is convinced that UCSD is a much better university than USC and "UCSD will open up more doors for me, while USC will not and possibly close doors for me" and UCSD is the obvious choice. I'm not exactly sure what she meant by this and didn't want to talk much more to her about it as she is sort of irrational about it all. She's also trying to convince me that I WILL absolutely get shot if I go there haha. </p>
<p>I am currently a Foreign Language Major at UCR with a double concentration in Italian and French. I was accepted as a French Major and I am planning on minoring in Italian at USC. At UCSD, I was accepted as a Linguistics major but I believe I would switch it to Visual Arts Media if I go there because I'm interested in studying foreign languages but not linguistics and UCSD does not have a French major!!! But the other twist to this is that I really have no intention to use my language or visarts degree after I graduate because I plan on becoming a chef and own restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops... I would to go straight to culinary arts school now but my parents feel having a bachelor's degree will be extremely helpful and beneficial for my future. And I agree. </p>
<p>So, for what I want to do after college I feel USC would be a great place to help me make many connections for my future. Such as future restaurant patrons, investors and just good connections to have for large company catering jobs and possible connections for culinary TV appearances, etc. I do want the best education for myself and definitely do want to "close any doors" myself like my sister suggested, but then again I have no idea what she is even talking about. And I don't really want to ask her to be honest because she is completely set on UCSD and nothing else.</p>
<p>I've always loved USC, that was my first choice out of high school but I did not get in. I got into UCSD during my sr yr of HS but I chose not to go because it just didn't feel right and felt forced upon me by my parents and mainly my sister. I feel UCSD is much more science, math and research oriented while I am more interested in foreign languages, arts, literature, etc. I feel like I would possibly fit in with the student body at USC better than the more science oriented community at UCSD. I am more familiar with La Jolla though because my family is from there. And the weather is amazing. But I don't want to base my decision on that alone. I also really like the new transfer dorms, The Village, UCSD has recently built and I feel like it would guarantee I would meet friends. </p>
<p>Please give me any advice at all you have on either schools, it would be greatly, greatly appreciated. I know my sister is biased, but I am still worried by her "USC will close doors" statement.</p>
<p>Well if youre looking for networking and future investors, patrons etc, id go with USC. Also, the campus is surrounded by tall fences, so it should be really safe in campus. Perhaps you should go check other college search engines as well. I really dont know much about UCSD, but generally, California’s bankrupt and funding in the public schools are going down. I see a positive trend for USC and a somewhat negative one for UCSD.</p>
<p>is money a factor? if you’re planning on doing something that has little to no relation with your bachelors degree i’d go for the cheaper option.</p>
<p>I was going to mention something like josebiwasabi. If money is of any concern, I’d go to UCSD simply because you’re pretty certain you want to do more schooling afterwards. But assuming money isn’t an option, it looks like you should be a Trojan. If you haven’t visited USC yet, I’d recommend doing so. I always thought the same things as your family (that USC was unsafe etc etc), but after staying with my sister and then visiting on my own, I realized that USC really is a safe place as long as you’re safe about it. But seriously, on campus and directly around campus, I’ve never felt unsafe as it’s almost entirely students who live there.</p>
<p>But I wouldn’t say USC would close any doors. I mean all you here about is the “Trojan family/mafia” lol! If anything, that’s a GOOD thing as the alumni here are all very supporting!</p>
<p>Not sure whether you would consider this but USC has study abroad opportunities. The French department is affiliated with the Sorbonne. A semester in Paris would be a nice opportunity for you particularly given your major as well as your future goals in the culinary arts. Just a thought.</p>
<p>Also, remember that your sister graduated in 2001. Her perception of USC may be off a bit. USC has come a long way since then academically and otherwise. Its reputation has very much changed from 10 years ago, especially due to Sample’s leadership.</p>
<p>I attended UCSD out of high school for the Fall 08 quarter. During my time there, I felt almost the opposite of what your sister feels. There doesn’t seem to be too much opportunity for people that aren’t headed for the medical/science career track. Many of the people that I keep in touch with are interns at the hospital or lab assistant or something of that sort. For the others that are say, econ/management science majors, there doesn’t seem to be many internships that spark their interest.</p>
<p>It also has to do with UCSD not being in SD but La Jolla, which might make it hard to intern at a firm that is located in SD (esp if you don’t have a car!).</p>
<p>Also, what school did your sister go to for law school? What was her GPA at UCSD?
I think it has more to do with her drive and determination to be a lawyer than UCSD giving her opportunities. If anything, the law school and/or law firm has made her what she is today , and not some undergrad degree.</p>
<p>edit:
“I got into UCSD during my sr yr of HS but I chose not to go because it just didn’t feel right and felt forced upon me by my parents and mainly my sister”</p>
<p>Similar thing here (though not as forced) , but I went. I’ll be at USC this fall.</p>
<p>If you are a sports fanatic and think you want to join a fraternity, etc. go to USC for the social life. UCSD doesn’t have much in the way of a social life. </p>
<p>Otherwise, save your money and go to UCSD where you arguably will get a better education for less. </p>
<p>The “over all” school rankings are less significant that the program based ones. I would consider USC a good option for a business major, but for almost all of their other offerings, you can get a better education elsewhere in So-Cal for less money.</p>
<p>The Trojan network is a good thing, but USC is a polarizing crowd. It could close some doors like your sister implied. Outside of the business world in Southern California, neither school is going to make or break you. It really depends what you want to do after school and where you want to do it. There are only limited circumstances that would make a USC education worth the bill.</p>
<p>like previous posters have said, if money is an issue, ucsd for sure. it DOES have a reputation for being a good school, so you wouldn’t suffer from having a b.a. there</p>
<p>however, if money is NOT an issue, USC! Not that I’m being biased, but I live in California and I see first hand how much my friends suffer from the “I can’t get the classes I want” and teachers cancelling classes all the time thing. </p>
<p>Tell your sister that the economy today is much different than when she went to ucsd, so naturally the school is going to be different. Not to mention she was on a completely different career path! Different schools benefit different careers, and I think you can definitely benefit from USC’s business school (minor in entrepreneurship??)</p>
<p>That said, if you choose ucsd, I have a friend who is very happy there. However, every persons experience at ANY school is different. Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>-you can easily transfer there with a 3.0 from community college
-there’s no school spirit
-campus is dead on weekdays and weekends
-you aren’t saving that much money because usc’s finaid package will most likely be better…
you won’t get finaid with a family ann income of 70k but with usc you will. The difference between my cost at UCSD and USC is just over 1000 a year…
-terrible alumni network and job fairs/recruitment
-will always be overshadowed by ucla and cal
-theres not much room for it to move up in terms of rankings…</p>
<p>Again, the OP didn’t name his/her sister’s law school… which plays a much bigger role than undergrad.</p>
<p>I’d second everything unknownpleasures said.</p>
<p>You should consider reading through the usc 2010 transfer thread as well. There are a ton of us transfer admits that are living near each other so it should be easy to make new friends if you are worried about that. Also, USC has an amazing hospitality department that plenty of students get involved with if you are looking for experience with culinary/restaurant life.</p>
<p>I remember when I got into UCSD, I was so excited… Then I visited and at that point I never wanted anything more in my life than to get into USC. Somehow I did and it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. You wont know unless you come, but if you are a social person you will have an unreal experience. I’m not going to go on about it, but college, especially undergrad, is all about the environment. Yes, educational rigor is important because most of the time that shapes the environment. But just understand that the environment at USC is unlike any other. Again, you will not understand unless you go here.</p>
<p>I also had this dilemma 3 weeks ago. After visiting both campus and learning more about them, I am so thankful that I chose USC over UCSD! And it is true about what unknownpleasure had said about financial aid. I wasn’t offered any financial aid at all at UCSD but I was offered a big amount of package at USC. So technically, attending USC would be so much cheaper than attending UCSD. </p>