<p>Hello all,
I am from Orange County, CA and got admitted to both Vanderbilt and SC but am a bit unsure. I would prefer to stay in California after graduation and major in business or a related major where ever I attend. USC has the Marshall school, and, while Vanderbilt does not have an undergraduate business major, they do have a Human and Organizational Development major which I have heard good things about in the business world. I am currently leaning towards USC, so my question is as follows: Given my California ties and ambitions to keep it that way in the business field after graduation, is Vanderbilt prestigious enough to overlook these aspects and attend there, i.e. is Vanderbilt on the same level as Duke or the weak ivy league schools?</p>
<p>People interested in finance at Vanderbilt generally major in economics and minor in managerial studies. </p>
<p>Duke doesn’t have a business major either. Nor does Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, etc… As far as I know, most top schools don’t offer a business major. I’m looking at the classes required for Business Administration at USC – Any classes you could take at USC for “business” are going to be offered at Vanderbilt as well and fall under Econ or Finance majors, HOD, Managerial studies minors, or something similar. USC’s Marshall Business school ranks #27 by USNWR – Vandy’s Owen Business school ranks #25. </p>
<p>If you’re looking to stay in California, USC will definitely be better for networking. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt is basically same as Duke/Cornell/Dartmouth/Brown etc in academic rigor and caliber of students. Prestige will begin to reflect this soon, if not already.</p>
<p>@Ready2Learn - Have you visited Vanderbilt? That’s really the only way to decide between VU and USC.</p>
<p>Last year my son’s top 2 schools were VU and USC. We live in California. We visited both campuses twice. Both are excellent choices, but very different. Both met the requirements my son was looking for in a University. Even though Son was born in raised in California, he felt that Vanderbilt was a better fit for him. USC may have offered him a better career path to Imagineering in Pasadena, but he believes he will have other opportunities with a Vanderbilt education.</p>
<p>If you are certain you want to go into business in California after you graduate, the networking opportunities at USC can’t be topped by Vanderbilt. However, if you would like to broaden your horizons, i.e. meet people from other parts of the country, experience living in another part of the country (the change of seasons, different foods, music) your undergraduate years are a good time to do it. Vanderbilt also has a much smaller undergraduate population, over 95% of whom live on campus for 4 years which would be a different experience than you would have at USC.</p>
<p>@Ready2learn - Is there a financial incentive at either school?</p>
<p>both are excellent shcool</p>
<p>@living61 negative, both are same costs for me </p>
<p>you are going to have to go with your gut on this one, ready2learn. And be happy you had the choice. good for you, kid. If you want an adventure in a new place with kids from the entire nation, go to Vandy. My son went to Duke and majored in Econ (not for the weak in study habits). He was able to get work (not in the top Ibanking and financial agencies due to his 3.4 average and the recession) but he has a really interesting job. You gotta work 4-6 years before getting your MBA in business someplace. Duke son will be getting his MBA at night while working to go with the budget plan re debt.<br>
The most important thing you can do is to be ready for your first job at graduation. Take a look at the last post on the Vandy or UPENN conversation this evening. Commodore15 posted a very concise and current picture of some outcomes for great student coming out of the “new” Vandy into the post recession economy. BTW couldn’t talk Duke son into taking any of those mundane business core courses you get in the managerial course clusters at Duke and Vandy. He will be taking them at night now…five years later.<br>
make a choice and be happy. You had the goods to get into Vandy and you can do a great job at USC obviously.</p>