<p>USC is currently one of three options I'm considering for college and it's the one I'm most inclined to attend. However, I've heard that it's a really big party school and I'm a bit worried that it will distract me from the academics aspect of college (you know, the MAIN reason why we go ;) ). What are your thoughts on this? Does anyone have any prior experience with this? Any advise?</p>
<p>Well just like any school, there are parties for those who want them, but it is also very possible to have a great social life and not party. you are in the middle of Los Angeles and there are many things to do besides party with friends, and if you just want to study, that is very possible.</p>
<p>Thanks Sheed! </p>
<p>Also, I've heard that in LA you have to drive to be able to get anywhere (interesting) off-campus, is that true?</p>
<p>To answer the car question, unfortunately it is really a necessity to get around southern california and L.A. in particular. You can get around on public transportation it just takes a long time. For example, public transportation would take 1.5 to 2 hours to get to campus or its a 35 minute drive. Of course, factor in bad traffic or rain and the times go way up. As for USC, it was long known for being a school where wealthy L.A. parents sent their kids to meet the kids of other wealthy L.A. parents. But that is changing, they have hired some stellar faculty in recent years and are adding to their already great professional programs. For undergrad it is a solid choice, although in California it still lags somewhat behind Stanford, Cal, UCLA, Pomona and I would say UCSD although that is for debate with some I am sure. When USC builds its non professional grad programs it will have truly arrived. For undergrad, I would place it somewhere between UCSD and UCSB.</p>
<p>I go to USC, I don't party, and I love it here! I find UCLA, Ph.D.'s assessment to be a joke (between UCSD and UCSB). In my opinion those are both safety schools by far, and USC certainly is in no way a safety school. It shares many admitted students with Cal and UCLA and for every student admitted to USC and/or Cal/UCLA, one student will choose USC while one will choose UCLA/Cal. Each school has great programs, but each campus has its own personality and strengths, and students eventually base their final decisions on which school is the best match for them. </p>
<p>Having turned down UCLA and Cal (as a very high proportion of Trojans have done) to go to USC, I am confident in saying that it is at a level above those two schools, but I acknowledge that there are many good schools in California and that the quality of students is very similar at those three schools.</p>
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Having turned down UCLA and Cal (as a very high proportion of Trojans have done) to go to USC, I am confident in saying that it is at a level above those two schools, but I acknowledge that there are many good schools in California and that the quality of students is very similar at those three schools.
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<p>Proudtrojan, I know you're very proud of your school as I am of mine, but saying USC is above Cal is wrong.</p>
<p>Cal pwns USC in all academic departments - except film.</p>
<p>USC is no longer a party school with mostly B students (middle 50% of the hs graduating class). It has not been for at least 20 years, as each year it is increasingly selective about whom it admits.</p>
<p>I would say a fair assessment is that 30 years ago, USC was ranked about 100th (probably about where SMU is now -- lots and lots of similarities there), 20 years ago about 70th, 10 years ago about 50th, and today top 30.</p>
<p>Kids your age will see it as more prestigious than most UC schools except Berkeley and and about equal to UCLA, overall. People who went to college 20 years ago will see it as a top 70 school, but certainly not prestigious. Perceptions change slowly.</p>
<p>I also find the between UCSD and UCSB assessment highly laughable. </p>
<p>I did not apply to Berkeley because I am not found of the environment, however I was accepted to both UCLA and USC.</p>
<p>I am choosing USC for a number of reasons (mostly financial and environment) however in terms of strength to other Cali schools it is in definitely on par. </p>
<p>It is more selective than both Berkeley and UCLA (Half the UCLA's admits at my school did not get into USC) and if you actually dig a wee bit deeper into those rankings you will notice that the main factor keeping UCLA two ranks above USC is peer assessment (25 percent of the evaluation.)</p>
<p>In terms of a undergrad education, USC is constantly improving their reputation and quality and if you want to really challenge yourself Thematic Option (there Honors version of general education requirements) sounds like it would be perfect for you.</p>
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as a very high proportion of Trojans have done
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<p>I doubt it's a high proportion. Berkeley is more selective than USC, and UCLA is about the same selectivity as USC (though perhaps a tad more selective), so I don't think very many at USC would've chosen it over the other two.</p>
<p>Agreed with UCBChemEGrad.</p>
<p>The selectivity is published, no reason to speculate:</p>
<p>UCB: 24%, with 42% accepting the offer
USC: 25%, with 32% accepting the offer
UCLA: 26%, with 39% accepting the offer</p>
<p>Clearly the three schools are very close to each other. Now on midpoint SAT, well, somehow, errr, don't know if it's trickery, errr, must be playing with the data, errrr.... USC's mid point SAT is higher than either.</p>
<p>^ Superscore and no published CDS will always lead to accusations of smoke and mirrors...</p>
<p>As to the cross admit preference, that too is published, though the data are now 7-8 years old. According to the working paper, the national rankings of undergraduate preference among all Universities and LACs (combined, unlike USNWR which bifurcates):</p>
<p>UCB: 27th
USC: 30th
UCLA: 38th</p>
<p>UCB is preferred to USC, which is preferred to UCLA, in data collected from 3,500 students who entered college in 2000 (I think).</p>
<p>Of course at the graduate level the rankings would be more like UCB #1 or #2, UCLA #11-#12, USC... not on the map.</p>
<p>I think arguments based on who is more selective or who has the higher SAT scores are not very helpful here. The schools are fairly close to each other academically although UCB is more highly regarded overall. It is a matter of what you can afford, where you want to be, what you want to major in, and campus environment.</p>
<p>^ Agreed. I actually prefer USC to UCLA. When I want something, I tend to prefer the original...not some cheap, knock-off. ;)</p>
<p>UCBCHemEGrad... not cheap anymore :(</p>
<p>It sure wasn't $22,000 with room and board back when I went!</p>
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I am confident in saying that it is at a level above those two schools
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Good that you have confidence -- too bad it's misguided. At best, USC is even with UCLA and still a notch below Cal.</p>
<p>Tsdad hit it just right, with rankings that are so arbitrary at best (and the fact that all three schools are all within six (yes only 6) rankings away from each other according to both U.S. News and the only rankings posted earlier, it appears in terms of pure academic merit you are probably splitting hairs.</p>
<p>Yes, proudtrojan was a little proud, and it appears everyone here is a little defensive of various schools. In the end, pick which school you love the most, which one you would enjoy, or which one you could afford. In terms of an education, the differences are so minimal.</p>
<p>Berkeley may have a better reputation, USC may have better connections, UCLA may have a better X program, USC may have smaller classes and more accessible professors..... I would just pick what you love.</p>
<p>I would say UCB > USC > UCLA... but i'm an OOS and I only applied to USC and was accepted</p>
<p>note : its easy for cali kids to get into the UC (public school) and all the asians in Cali are jacking up the mid - SAT/ACT scores.. whereas for USC (private) they don't have preference for cali kids</p>
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its easy for cali kids to get into the UC
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<p>Except, it's not easy. For the entire UC system? Yeah, it's easy. But for Berkeley or UCLA? No.</p>
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all the asians in Cali are jacking up the mid - SAT/ACT scores
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<p>Source? Never heard of such a claim. I see plenty of high-scoring Asians rejected.</p>
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The selectivity is published, no reason to speculate:</p>
<p>UCB: 24%, with 42% accepting the offer
USC: 25%, with 32% accepting the offer
UCLA: 26%, with 39% accepting the offer
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<p>They're a bit different now--Berkeley had about a 21% acceptance rate this year, UCLA a 24%, etc. but it's not the acceptance rate that matters. And we can see the obvious disparities in comparing other stats (Berkeley and UCLA don't superscore, USC manipulates numbers, etc.).</p>