<p>keep and touch and let me know which college you pick! :D just really really curious.</p>
<p>I've heard that UCLA is in a better part of town than SC. Is this true? </p>
<p>And I know I could probably look a bunch of stats up but this is faster. Which has a bigger student body? Are they small enough to where you will always see somebody you know walking around campus, or do you mostly see new faces all of the time? </p>
<p>I'm also applying to Stanford, Penn, and Princeton but those are very high reaches for me. Hopefully I'll get into Stanford for grad school. I've thought about Chicago, Northwestern, and Cal but USC and UCLA are really looking good for me. I'm from Oklahoma and have already been accepted to U of Oklahoma so at least I have a safety but I'm pretty sure I can get into UCLA and USC. This probably sounds stupid but I get really excited when I think of going to USC or UCLA. I still have a whole year left of high school and I already can't wait.</p>
<p>hah. yes. very very true re: location. ucla is situated between brentwood, bel air, and beverly hills. usc is close to downtown LA in a relatively dicey neighborhood. while usc's campus itself is generally safe, i don't know that i'd say the same outside the gates. </p>
<p>i cant speak for sc, but i was always surprised about how often i ran into people i knew on campus considering it's size, physically and in population. it's a very community-based campus and is always really active.</p>
<p>knguyen142,</p>
<p>Beware that the trojan alumni network may not be as big of a deal as advertised or rumored, at least definitely not in the east coast. You can find their employment profile on their business school website; it's not really that impressive and very few get (or maybe they didn't apply) jobs in NYC/Chicago where biggest IB/consulting offices are located.</p>
<p>in my relatively educated opinion, the alumni network AND marshall itself are both highly overrated. </p>
<p>some people would definitely disagree. but meh. i'm underwhelmed.</p>
<p>Well, I plan to stay in CA so hopefully the trojan family might be of some use. @ Sam Lee and <em>allie</em>, do you guys have any more experiences to support the argument that the network being overrated? I would love to know because it is one of the selling points that is steering me toward SC.</p>
<p>I've always wanted to go to UCLA ever since I was 13, but I was disheartened when I came to the realization that the school does not have an undergrad business program! And indeed, Marshall is not the best by far (ranked #19), but it is one of the best in CA, at least. And a mediocre business school is better than no school at all, right? I know LA has the business economics major, but it is more economics oriented and seems pretty competitive, so I'm told.</p>
<p>Both schools seem great, and UCLA does seem a little better in terms of academics, reputation, location, price, and its higher asian population is a plus for me :). However, career-wise, I'm leaning toward USC. Too bad there aren't many good undergrad business schools around here (There's Haas, but the competition just to get in is upsetting). Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated...I am seriously at quandary here...</p>
<p>Also, @ dawritingmachine: Sure, I would love to keep in touch. But if I don't reply come admission letters time, it means the worse case scenario has occurred: that I did not get into either school :( hopefully this will not be the case.</p>
<p>The job prospects for Trojans aren't as glorious as the Trojan Family claim:
<a href="http://www.marshall.usc.edu/emplibrary/2006%20Placement%20Report.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.marshall.usc.edu/emplibrary/2006%20Placement%20Report.pdf</a></p>
<p>Less than 30% of Trojans in Marshall received a job offer at the time of graduation.</p>
<p>Despite UCLA's large student population, there are actually less UCLA accounting students than USC accounting students. Nevertheless, UCLA sends more students to the Big Four accounting firms.</p>
<p>Most of the USC Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney internships are unpaid and not investment banking.</p>
<p>Marshall doesn't send people to ML/MS/SB to do "unpaid internships." These people probably aren't cracking IB, but they are in no way graduating from business school to do an unpaid internship. They are almost always paid, plus internships from these companies are often great ways to get yourself into a great mba program. Certain companies stick out and MS/ML are deff two of those companies. Sure, they may not be making a full salary, but if it's going to get them into a top 5 mba program it's well worth it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I don't go to either school, so I think I'm rather unbiased. But let me try and lay it out for you. UCLA is ranked about 15 spots higher than USC in most areas. USC is known as the "University of Spoiled Children" to many people in SoCal, due to it's well-known white, affluent student body, though most SC students would try and refute that statement. UCLA selects its student body purely on brains, while USC considers wealth and connections. That being said, USC is a great school that would no doubt serve you well. But UCLA is more respected admissions-wise due to its non-partisan stand, especially if you were admitted OOS. Good luck in your decision, whichever school you choose.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I am not from SoCal and went to neither. I would choose UCLA for cultural/fit reasons myself, but I gotta stand up here and say that USC has done a very good job of building itself up and becoming a school that doesn't at all deserve its Spoiled Children reputation. I don't know its demographics entirely, but I do know it has gotten significantly more selective than in the days that its Spoiled Children reputation reigned. Don't write it off on this account.</p>
<p>The other thing: Annabel Chong went to USC so it can't be all bad:</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabel_Chong%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabel_Chong</a></p>
<p>
[quote]
They are almost always paid
[/quote]
They are rarely paid. Call the local ML/MS/SB branches and ask them about internship opportunities.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Marshall doesn't send people to ML/MS/SB to do "unpaid internships."
[/quote]
</p>
<p>They intern for financial advisors at these retail brokerage firms. Almost all of these are unpaid and do not lead to a full time financial advisor position. These types of internships are widely publicized by career centers at schools such as UCLA and USC. </p>
<p>If these were actual investment banking internships, then a larger amount of graduates would work for these three companies. Additionally, Smith Barney is not an investment bank and is well known for not offering any unpaid internships. The few internships that provide income are paid for by the financial advisors themselves and are not financially sponsored by the firm.</p>
<p>knguyen142,</p>
<p>It really depends on what you plan to do. If you plan to stay in So Cal doing business esp in entertainment, I guess USC is very good. But as the 2006employment report indicates, the numbers to elite IB/consulting are low considering you have about 850 biz graduates that year. This may not be USC's fault as many offices are small in LA anyway. But the % that got offer by April is low (<30%) for business students; this is where I wonder "what Trojan family?". Also note that 85% of the employment is in CA. It's very regional. You may want to consider some other schools like CMU, Ross, UVA, or even ND (they are probably harder to get in but not much harder) if you think you may work in the east coast. By the way, 850 students are a lot for just one class; this is a lot bigger than even programs in Public U like Ross or Haas. So unless USC gives you good aid, you are paying a premium for potentially big classes.</p>
<p>By the way, many top schools without undergrad biz place more graduates into top finance/consulting firms than many ug biz schools. I think you should just apply for UCLA's business econ anyway; if you get in, you can ask for placement profile and compare that with USC's to see if there's really disadvantage of it not being a business major.</p>
<p>USC seems to offer more merit-based money. I am sure that these are very competitive. Some examples:</p>
<p>Trustee
Amount: Full tuition (approximately $35,800)
Number of Awards: 100</p>
<p>Presidential
Amount: Half tuition (approximately $17,900)
Number of Awards: 200</p>
<p>National Merit Finalist Presidential
Amount: Half tuition (approximately $17,900)
Number of Awards: Varies</p>
<p>USC Associates
Amount: $10,000
Number of Awards: 10</p>
<p>Deans
Amount: One-quarter tuition (approximately $8,950)
Number of Awards: 250</p>
<p>For more details: <a href="http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/sg/entering_undergrad_meritbased/%5B/url%5D">http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/sg/entering_undergrad_meritbased/</a></p>
<p>my issue with marshall isn't about the job opportunities it offers, because i think that's fairly irrelevant since anyone who is proactive enough to seek out internships and does well in classes from either SC or LA will be fine with jobs. my issue with them relates more to the type of education they offer, which is very very myopic and vocational in scope. even people who KNOW that they want to go into business should have experience with theoretical education and marshall doesn't really offer that. i don't necessarily agree with their approach of essentially training people to become middle managers. good business people need to have a broad scope of reference and i don't think you can get that in what is essentially a vocational program. </p>
<p>and it's not that the alumni network isn't effective, it's just that it's over hyped. someone from a school like UCLA could make just as many connections and find as many ins for themselves through professors, internships, networking opportunities, etc as someone from SC. and as an aside, i've actually found UCLA's own alumni network to be pretty huge and fairly active. both of the job offers i considered post-graduation were extended to me by alumni who found my resume and reached out to me. so i don't know. i'm just not convinced that that's a selling point. you can do just as well at either school when it comes to landing a job.</p>
<p>When is the earliest you can apply for UCLA? </p>
<p>What were the essay questions the past couple of years and is it possible that they will be the same?</p>
<p>Either way I don't think it matters much. It's not like we are talking about stanford/UCLA, or even HAAS/UCLA, where it's more of a clear choice if you're doing business. It's USC/UCLA...if you could get a job from one you'd be able to get a job from another. </p>
<p>About the internships, I have a hard time believing that the vast majority of people who graduate from business school do an unpaid internship. People get out of college and they make $$, even if it's minimal. Just bcuz you aren't doing IB doesn't mean you don't make $$</p>
<p>Will I get credit from UCLA for my AP scores?</p>
<p>5 - US history
4 - Art history
4 - English Language
3 - Calc AB</p>
<p>Next year I'm taking bio, calc BC, Euro History, gov't, and English lit</p>
<p>You'll get units, but for class, you'll only get credit for your English score. You won't have to take English Composition 3. For calculus, you need either a 5 in AB or a 4 in BC to get Math 3/31A credit or a 5 in BC to get Math 3B/31B credit</p>
<p>USC is quite generous with merit aid, provided you keep up your grades. Academically, both are good schools. There are bigger differences in cultures and neighborhoods than in academics. USC kids come to Westwood to safely go to movies, restaurants and hang out off campus. Very different locations.</p>
<p>People in CA either really, really love USC or really, really hate it. You're unlikely to find people that hate UCLA, even Cal people. Seems like UCLA fans etc. are seen as more good-natured and USC fans as more fanatic - so much so that they sometimes generate ill-will. UCLA seems more easy going about it. Nobody at UCLA will scowl if you don't return a "Go Bruins" greeting. Maybe you want intense school spirit and don't care what outsiders think. Personal preference.</p>
<p>USC seems to be trying hard to shed it's spoiled rich kids image, but it's still pretty strong. The main outside image of UCLA may just be that at UCLA U-see-Lotsa-Asians. But that's okay. </p>
<p>Visit the schools, feel it out. Know that USC puts many more dollars into marketing than UCLA, so expect to be wooed with far more brochures, attention from admissions etc. at USC than at UCLA.</p>
<p>last yr nov 30 is the deadline for UC schools (idk about this yr) and apps were available online late aug. i'll say to begin working on it from sept-nov and save the work. it's pretty tedious.</p>