<p>I've been to both campuses and met many people from both, and I will be honest. USC is overall a better experience. I honestly think most people would choose USC if it was more affordable and met 100% of need. </p>
<p>USC has a more fun, relaxed atmosphere. It's very prestigious and also knows how to party. </p>
<p>UCLA kids are a lot more competitive, and the academic atmosphere there is very cutthroat. I wouldn't want to spend 4 years (the "best" 4 years of my life) constantly studying to try and hit some extremely high curve. </p>
<p>Also, USC is much more diverse than UCLA. Since California doesn't have any affirmative action program (not that they necessarily should), UCLA's experience is watered down by an extremely homogenous student body. </p>
<p>Both schools are prestigious and will open doors. But USC's experience is one to be envied by all.</p>
<p>I agree. Love the atmosphere, and if they met my financial criteria, would have chosen USC in a heartbeat instead of waiting on scholarship decisions to later decide on USC. One of the biggest problems I have though is that the campus feels like a prison sometimes to me. I guess that is expected when we have the most notorious Hispanic gangs surrounding us.</p>
<p>Driving a Lamborghini is overall a better experience. I honestly think most people would choose a Lamborghini if it was offered to them for free.</p>
<p>A’s are very difficult to get. However, A-s aren’t too difficult, and you can get a B+ with relative ease provided you study fairly often. A’s are only very important if you’re intent on going to grad./professional school. If you’re going to join the workforce after you graduate (e.g. software, business, etc.) internships and experience are much more important.</p>
<p>Furthermore, don’t expect USC to be a cakewalk either. If memory serves, it’s grade inflation is pretty low. If you’re not ‘constantly studying’ you’ll probably do just as poorly at USC as you would have at UCLA.</p>
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<p>Not sure how you came to this conclusion. If you don’t think UCLA is diverse, you need to take a look at campuses that are like 70% white (<em>cough</em> CPSLO <em>cough</em>) UCLA is about 35% white and 35% Asian, much lower in terms of Asian percentages than schools like Berkeley (~45-50%) and UCI (50%). It’s also like 15% Hispanic, 4% black, 1% Native American, etc. In addition, 40% of the incoming class is a Pell grant recipient, and like 30% are the first in their family to graduate college. I’d hardly call that type of incoming class “homogeneous.”</p>
<p>USC is still predominantly white and asian based on the facts and figures site for the previous (and current) year, so I would say we are just as diverse as any other “diverse” university. Nothing special. But not as diverse as these Ivy leagues for sure.</p>