<p>I want you to be harsh critics, and dont say its perfect. You can talk about anything from good looking people to sports to facilities. Name something that they don't offer that you like. Just say something. Don't ask why I am doing this either, it is a secret, but it will be a surprise.</p>
<p>Good looking people- check
Sports- check
Facilities- check</p>
<p>(sorry, I couldn't resist!)</p>
<p>the most annoying thing to me is the rampant consumerism of many students as well as widespread political apathy.</p>
<p>There's some bad professors still (who are tenured) I mean, you can get by though looking up professor ratings, but some classes are hard to avoid. That said, I've been able to have all excellent professors, but they exist</p>
<p>The only other complaint I have is the jacked up prices for everything. Like the bookstore, parking, football season pass, ...the SCHOOL lol</p>
<p>how are the dorms?</p>
<p>I can't really say. I know some of the older dorms are well....old. Average run of the mill dorms. </p>
<p>That said, I live in the newest building, Parkside Arts & Humanities, which is AMAZING. it was just opened this year, everything is brand new, it has an elevator, 4 people per bathroom (cleaning ladies come twice a week to clean it & restock), and a common room in each 8-person (4 room) suite. And we have AC/Heater. And our own study wing that includes individual study rooms... and a recreation room with an air hockey thing and fooseball... and the food at parkside is better than EVK ^.^</p>
<p>so... i know other dorm's don't have it as nice, but i LOVE my dorm.</p>
<p>My two complaints (i would say 99% is positive)
1. The frats are extremely *****y about letting guys into parties even if you know people in them. They basically expect you to hold hands with your friend in the frat if you come in.
2. About 5% of the students are spoiled to a degree which starts to sicken you, they drive around in 60,000 dollar sportscars and spend money as if it grew on trees, which i think the majority of these people actually believe. These people firmly believe the rest of their lives will be like this and that life only gets better after college. This is not a complaint about rich kids, some of which are given strict budgets, but the little group that spend upward of 1000 a month on their credit card. On the plus side, these people are fantastic to mooch off of, u will be able to drink fancy vodkas that you would never be able to afford.</p>
<p>Whoa tumblweed. how did you get into such a nice building? do you have to apply beforehand?</p>
<p>you just apply at the same time as everyone else. I imagine ALOT more people will apply next year, since alot of people didn't know how nice it would turn out.</p>
<p>some didn't want to be in it because it isn't as social as the other dorms... and liked the social Draw of new/north...or at least liked the quieter reputations of the other dorms. since this was brand new and had no reputation...alot of people were hesitant. </p>
<p>Also, it costs a bit more per semester (but worth it) . Also..the supplemental application probably threw some people off and some people thought it was only for "Arts and Humanities" type students...i think it was SUPPOSED to be...but it's really not. They dont major-related activities or anything. It's just the name</p>
<p>are there anythings missing that a kid could improve?</p>
<p>is there grade deflation? inflation?</p>
<p>Although my experiences have been excellent, there are inevitably some shortcomings with the environment here.</p>
<p>The surrounding neighborhood is a minus. It's not as bad as many make it out to be, but it's definately not a place I would want to live permanently. Along the same lines, I wish we had a nice campus village with cool stores somewhere near campus. University Village is lacking in this regard, although I have heard there are plans to tear it down and build a replacement.</p>
<p>Another complaint of mine is that there are a lot of TA's who have very poor English skills. Sometimes this happens with professors as well (Math and Economics comes to mind). These types of professors are not hired for their teaching ability; rather, they are hired for research. That said, most of my professors have been knowledgeable and communicative. It's just one drawback at being at a major research university I guess!</p>
<p>uscfootball07: are the frats really that anal about letting guys into their parties? thats lame; how do you get around it to get into the parties?? what about sororities(do they even have parties,idk)? where would you say the majority of usc parties happen:frat,dorm,house,club,etc?</p>
<p>^ all the parties i go to are house parties (mainly bc i hate the row and the greek system). its a little hard at the very beginning of freshman year to know "where its at" but i made friends really quickly.</p>
<p>and im sure youd be interested- there are also gay parties, which are also in houses.</p>
<p>Not a current student, too old to be one, the opinion below is just an outsider observation based on a visit, extensive perusal of the material on the web site, and comparison of the ongoing threads of this board relative to "peer" institutions.</p>
<p>I would say that the school lacks the academic intensity and "bookishness" (in the positive sense of the word) that its rank would imply. This opinion is based on direct comparisons of USC to Tufts, Brandeis, UCLA, CMU. Let's face it, as others have pointed out on this thread, the reputation as a party school heavily populated by rich spoiled brats is not without a basis in reality. Few schools with tier-1 sports teams are known for scholarly achievement, and usually owe a significant part of their "prestige" to dumba**** who go there for the privilege of paying $45k as a means of getting a cheap season ticket to the game.</p>
<p>Want proof? Here you go: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/5085677-post2.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/5085677-post2.html</a></p>
<p>GroovyGeek- That's a pretty cheap shot taken out of context- very inappropriate. I would think, as a parent, you would be a bit more responsible. The only truth in your remarks is that you admit you are an outsider. </p>
<p>I have been extremely impressed with the quality of students my sons (one in USC, one already graduated) have associated with at USC. Their level of academic intensity, along with intelligence, drive, and even brilliance is stunning. This has been matched by the success in careers I have seen from my older son and his peers who have graduated from USC. </p>
<p>I'm not sure why you find it necessary to make such statements on the USC boards. But of course, you are entitled to your opinions. Stats and direct personal observations from insiders, however, may be little more informative to potential students.</p>
<p>I am a current 4th year usc student. Well, it is much much harder now to get into USC now. It has definitely become one of the top schools in the US. Have anyone look up the acceptance for recent years. It is pretty low. You got to pretty smart to get in, doesn't matter how rich you are. </p>
<p>However, I am totally under-whelmed by what USC can offer and I think there is lots of lacking. </p>
<p>Food: Food just sux at USC. It is very expensive. The dorm food taste great for the first 3 times you been there. Then you realize that it is virtually the same every single day. The only differences are pizza topping, meat, and pasta. Moreover, food at EVK is absolutely horrible. You tell these are frozen food that are heated and put on some sauce. Food outside of USC is even worst. The surrounding area is populated with cheap fast food place, you named it, it is there. </p>
<p>Safety: I would say it is not safe to be outside of campus after 8pm. It feels quite depressing. There are lots of homeless outside of school. And you will be bugged by them even at day time. Another, Campus cruiser takes up to a 45 min wait. </p>
<p>Tuition and other costs: the tuition goes up 5% every academic year. And there are lots of hidden meaningless fees each semester. Despite the school gets tons of money on donation, I got a feeling that the school is not spending them on students. Parking is expensive, the on campus one is like 350/semester. </p>
<p>Quality of education: The 6 GE classes are total BS. Size of a typical GE class is between 100 to 200 ppl. Papers and tests are graded by TA's. Writing class taught by grad student. As for math, physics and engineering classes, lots of professors can't really speak English, same thing to TA's. Overall, I feel that professors don't really care about students and can't teach. They are great researchers and care a lot about research. Sure, there are a few profs who genuinely care about students. USC is a research school; it means that USC does not care too much on educating its students.</p>
<p>auscguy:</p>
<p>For food, give the Galen Athletic Center a try. A lot of people don't know about it because they think only athletes can eat there, but it is open to all students certain hours of the day. It's located behind Heritige Hall (NOT at the Galen Center arena). Also, I've found Parkside to be a good alternative to EVK.</p>
<p>I have a different opinion about Quality of Education (and I've happened to enjoy my GE classes) but I can understand your concerns.</p>
<p>I didn't know the Galen Athletic Center was also open to non-athletes. Do you know what the hours are for that or where I can find that information, sfgiants?</p>
<p>Hi x3cin,</p>
<p>The operating hours for most of the facilities can be found here: TrojanHospitality</a> - Vending Services, but presumably because the Galen Athletic Center is a special case, it is not listed.</p>
<p>The only thing I could tell you was that it closed at 2PM on weekdays. I don't remember when it opened, unfortunately. Once Spring Semester starts, if you decide to eat there, there is a sign on the front which gives the hours. Also, another thing to note is that they only take Discresh, not Dining.</p>
<p>Hope that helps..</p>