@Vincent1997 thanks for speaking up for transfers
Decades ago, USC’s reputation was associated with the terms “University of Spoiled Children” and “University of Special Contacts”. But that was before most current USC students were born.
Why would transfer students hurt the educational experience of those who start directly from high school?
Indeed, transfer students have proven their academic strength *in college/i, which is more predictive than academic strength in high school.
USC is a good school. Enjoys reputation in the West coast. Placement statistics is pretty impressive. Students are bright and smart. Why should a prospective student be worried about global ranking? It is true, it is almost unknown outside the US. Reputation of the Graduate programs and Research activities are very important for global ranking. Ex. Berkeley and Michigan.
Actually, USC is fairly well known in Asia. My wife is from Taiwan, and almost all of her relatives with kids who went to college in the last 20 years knew of it. I’m not sure it’s that well known in Europe, though.
USC is an excellent school and is well positioned going forward, with numerous undergraduate programs that are among the top in the country (CS, cinematic arts, drama, Thornton School of Music, business, communications, etc…). It has the majors students want, the weather, the diversity, and the fun college atmosphere. It is certainly not perfect, but it will continue to rise in popularity no matter if various rankings lag. I don’t see the transfer policy changing anytime soon. With so many CA students taking the CC route initially, USC is filling a real need by accepting transfers that other private schools are afraid to fill.
I agree with most of the other posts. There are hundreds of very good universities in the US. Whether USC is ranked 28th or 44th or somewhere else, it is a very good university.
Each student needs to find a university which is a good match for them. This includes looking at individual programs in whatever majors you are considering. If you get into USC, and if you can afford it, and if it has a good program in your major, and if you feel comfortable there, then it is a great choice for you.
@simba9 “I’m not sure it’s that well known in Europe, though.”
It’s probably not, but that has a different reason. I am from Germany and honestly, nobody I know really cares about where you study. Tuition is free and people don’t move around the country to go to some famous University. Everyone I know in the US almost instantly asks “where are you going to college?” People simply know the Universities that they see in the movies (Harvard, Stanford etc…)
The main people in Europe that know how good/bad USC is are the ones who matter (employers.)
Precisely because college should be reserved for those who respect the four year experience. Freshmen and Sophomores are discriminated against by USC admins because such students are forced to pay top dollars for all four years. To level the playing field, transfers should pay double the cost of tuition for two years.
Also, too many transfers undermine the collegiate experience, that is, those who attend for a scant 2 years have dual loyalties, less school spirit and a much weaker connection to the university.
Transfers are also less academically oriented, especially those who went to community colleges. The exceptions are those who went good four year colleges and universities.
You only have to look at transfers at HYPSMCC to see that they don’t value transfers. In fact most target specific types (in extremely limited numbers) of applicants in the transfer process. My personal opinion is that they want you there for the full four years in order to have a complete education from their college, not half from a CC. JMHO.
I do feel USC should do a better job giving priority for those that want to get into, say Marshall, to those that are there as freshman looking to to do an internal transfer. Frankly, I don’t know why any spots are given to transfer students when there are so many existing USC students that would like to transfer in from Dornsife, Annenberg, undecided, etc. It shouldn’t be hard to get into Marshall given a certain baseline gpa. Internal transfers should not lose spots to new transfers - that I find interesting. I had a Marshall student that was admitted to Marshall as a freshman, but they had friends that couldn’t switch to a business major and they had solid gpa’s. I think this problem still exists today. Not sure if this is an issue with Viterbi - another school that is a challenge to get into. But if you have proven yourself at USC, particularly over a comm college applicant, you should be higher on the list. It isn’t insulting to say cc is so much easier than a 4 year, that is just a given fact.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Closing thread. I’m not sure what is left to say, but it has devolved into a debate which violates the rules of the forum.