<p>@makennacompton when I was in 1st grade, UC Santa Barbra came to visit and told us about the school. They even gave us tshirts. I still have mine. When I started looking for colleges to apply to, UCSB was the first one I looked for. And I would apply there (though I’m not sure that I would attend if accepted) today, had it not been for the fact that they don’t have my major. </p>
<p>@makennacompton - the post that the poster thought had been deleted was in fact NOT deleted. I posted a link to the post about which that poster expressed concern on page 1. The post was not deleted. The concern in that case was misplaced.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Lack of good and safe housing options for sophomores, juniors, and seniors.</p></li>
<li><p>Tuition!</p></li>
<li><p>Horrible financial aid if you are middle class.</p></li>
<li><p>Unsafe surroundings off campus.</p></li>
<li><p>They talk Trojan family, but on the whole the administration only trots the phrase out to rally for money. Don’t even get me started on how admissions treats the Trojan family. They are down right disrespectful and condescending.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I agree with @southerncalimom about the lack of good and safe housing options past freshman year. I really wish that they had more on campus housing. My DS feels 100% safe walking around campus day or night. He does not feel that way off campus. After driving the streets to see the housing options for next year he has decided that he wants to live further from campus (beach cities, South Bay area) and commute.
I know a lot of people who have kids that are perfectly happy living off campus (close to school). It really is a personal choice and something that is hard to know until you live there. </p>
<p>@Angeline - the traffic might change his mind. Literally - lol! We’re working on a car for next year and were told no stick shift because of the stop, wait, and go traffic. During one visit we took inland roads during a highway back up and it took 45 minutes to drive from LAX to USC on the streets. I wanted to tear my hair out even though I honed my skills in Boston where driving is like a combat sport 
He might want to get a zip car for the day and test the theory about commuting. (but we’ve thought about the same thing - how far is close enough if she moves off campus).</p>
<p>@southerncalimom - we’re urban so it was less jarring when she moved, although we were warned it was a sketchy area. But we bought a bike and I followed her as she rode it back to campus and didn’t see much that bothered me - not even at the aging mall where there is a Grocery store and a Radio Shack. We “did” see a lot of USC security at the mall and in the neighborhoods. Took me a minute to figure out why a gentleman was watching our car while we were in the bike shop - until I saw his replacement come take over for patrol. But again - we live in an urban area. I also spoke at a conference at NYU which is not gated and in the middle of the city. Each day I walked through the park to my hotel and felt safe. So USC is relative by comparison. But I wanted to note that as far as Trojan family goes - I wonder if its “results may vary.” In just the first year we’ve experienced random staff members stopping to say hi to us during Parent weekend trips (walking across the quad with our name tags). One alum guest speaker saw our tags and that we were from the same home town and told us to have our kid call and introduce herself. I really thought the “family” part was hype, but so far we’ve felt pretty integrated into her experience and I’m loving talking to other parents I met here at home, but also on the Facebook page. Maybe the FB page is a good place to find kindred spirits?</p>
<p>But I will agree, when she calls I do sometimes hear police sirens in the background. But we all take it in stride. </p>
<p>This is a question based so much on personal preference. USC is a great school and the campus is beautiful. The reasons my son refused to even consider it were 1) the huge Greek influence. He felt like the whole social environment revolved around it and it added an elitist attitude to the campus. (His take on it -others may not get that feeling) and 2)the surrounding area- as long as you know where not to go you are OK, but there is no arguing that it is not in the best area. </p>
<p>@LongRangePlan </p>
<p>The surrounding environment isnt even that bad. I think most of that stigma comes from soft suburb kids who grew up in a bubble all their life, and then they think that area is the worst thing in existence.</p>
<p>^While I completely agree with this, having lived in a large city with mixed neighborhoods right next to each other, i do think every person needs to find their level of comfort in their surroundings. Some people may not be comfortable in this environment, while others will thrive getting to live in the middle of a vibrant city. </p>
<p>There was a proposal at some point to move USC to Orange County. </p>
<p>“The biggest drawback continues to be the neighborhood. Walking outside of campus, we encountered a lot of aggressive panhandlers, and twice saw men urinating on the sidewalk. True. I would have been afraid to walk alone off campus, even in the middle of the day. There was lots of police action, too, lots of sirens at all hours; we stayed at a hotel across the street and heard sirens throughout the night.”
When we went there for our D recruiting visit we stayed at the Sheraton nearby and in the morning our car which was in valet parking had been broken into. We had heard about the neighborhood and sure enough just our luck! We were super impressed with the school though:) Congrats and good luck!</p>
<p>If USC bought the neighborhood, can’t they take steps to maybe renovate the area? Just wondering :)</p>
<p>If the exterior looked just as nice as UCLA’s for example, I’d consider USC more seriously :)</p>
<p>“looked just as nice” meaning…reflecting lesser crime, and providing more safety and also aesthetic appeal :P</p>
<p>Buying up and gentrifying a neighborhood is not a simple thing. Just getting the approval to redo the University Village project took a considerable amount of time, money, negotiations, planning. It is NOT easy to do. USC does have long term plans (you can easily Google this) and things move very slowly-- not on USC’s part. Getting any large scale project done takes an enormous amount of effort. Won’t happen in your time at USC.</p>
<p>Moreover, there are ethical dilemmas involved-- do you displace families and family businesses that have been there for generations so some college student “feels safe”? </p>
<p>Not a simplistic thing at all.</p>
<p>sorry druce- I grew up in LA (partially) and I still think the USC area is not great. There is no denying there is a lot of crime there and, like I said, it is all just personal preference as to how much this affects decisions to attend. I could pay the same or less for an equivalent education in a much nicer area. </p>
<p>Several years ago, during a Meet USC session in Northern California, some of the parents started to joke about the “ghetto” USC neighborhood. A USC rep immediately shut down the conversation, and spoke in detail about how the University prides itself on its relationship with its neighbors, and how USC shows its support in meaningful ways, such as by starting a charter school and providing student tutors. What a valuable lesson there!</p>
<p>Also, USC is not alone in the category of top school in a neighborhood perceived as “bad.” We hear the same about UPenn, Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins, and others.</p>
<p>Personally, I prefer edgy over sterile, and I find the USC neighborhood holds all sorts of charm, if you know where to look. It’ll be interesting to see how University Village changes the landscape.</p>
<p>I agree. I live in the middle of a major city. Honestly, my daughter and I drove around looking" for the “bad” neighborhood everyone was talking about. And couldn’t really find it.</p>
<p>I really think this is about perspective. In my city there are some suburban families than have never traveled even the 10 miles or more to see what is here beyond “in and out” visits to museums, the stadium, or for a concert.</p>
<p>But that’s neither good or bad. People who aren’t used to USC’s environment have a legitimate concern. But it does beg why not then apply to schools in more suburban (or isolated) areas?</p>
<p>To live at USC (or NYU or Columbia or Harvard or Yale or …) you’ll eventually have to wander off the campus. In that case, it helps to learn the new norms and cues associated with the new environment.</p>
<p>This article in the WSJ yesterday talks about the changes to downtown LA-- especially in the LA Live area (about a mile from campus)</p>
<p><a href=“Downtown L.A. Goes From Gritty to Glitzy - WSJ”>Downtown L.A. Goes From Gritty to Glitzy - WSJ;
<p>I think it is a disservice to future USC students to claim that the area around USC is not bad. It’s bad. Ask the LAPD or anyone else who deals with crime surrounding the school. With that being said, if you are smart and careful, you can have a wonderful college experience at USC.
USC has security guards at basically every corner…security cameras…and also records the license plates of ALL cars that drive within a certain radius surrounding the campus (this includes all areas surrounding off campus housing and any suspect cars are immediately flagged) The LAPD also maintains a presence within the area…not for USC students, but to deter criminal elements from entering the area. I attended a meeting where President Nikias spoke about safety and a parent asked why the LAPD just stood around watching drunken students and (paraphrasing here)…he basically explained that it is better for the University to handle that and that the LAPD was really there to discourage outside crime from crossing over.
If the area surrounding USC was not suspect, all of the above would not be necessary, but because it is all these safety measures have been put in place. I have had four generations of my family attend USC and they have all loved the experience, but they all knew…you don’t walk alone at night…you don’t flash your expensive phone, purse etc…call campus cruiser if you need to…just use common sense.</p>
<p>I didn’t see a claim that the area isn’t bad. I did see a callout about the “perception” of “bad,” as it relates to what people are used to – and that everyone has a different comfort level. I live in Northern California, where UC Berkeley has the same level of security that you mention, southerncalimom, and I would not call that area bad, but I recognize that others might. Interesting that this list of :most dangerous campuses from 2011-2012 actually indicates that lovely UCLA was noted as THE most dangerous campus then <a href=“Most Dangerous Colleges in America”>Most Dangerous Colleges in America; (with Vandy and Cal high on the list as well.) </p>