Why should I pick UCLA over USC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>Well, I'd say they're very similar if you plan on working in Southern California. However, I hail from the lovely UK, and USC is pretty unknown over here. My sister finished schooling in the states, and most of the kids she knew that went to USC didn't get accepted to UCLA. So I think it's fairly circumstantial, overall I'm certain most people will tell you that a UCLA degree commands a little more respect in the world. Even if we buy into "MrTrojanMan" and his points on alumni, that leaves my point on working abroad or doing something further away from SoCal. </p>

<p>When I decided between LA and SC, I made sure to question as many current students as I could. Many SC students I spoke to seemed rather unhappy with their choice, and I believe the sticking points tended to be expenses/location/subpar programs. </p>

<p>I also find your points about your degree impacting your ability in the business sector to be ridiculous. I haven't completed my degree, and I've been working for Capitol Records for several years now. If you have the ambition and the drive, you can do whatever you want even if you're studying ballroom dancing at USC. A lot of your points seem boa****l to be frank, at least to someone who has to had to work as an individual for the things they have.</p>

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<p>Where did your sister go?</p>

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<p>She went to Diamond Bar High School, and will be a freshman this year at UCLA. For an example, one of her closest friends was class Valedictorian and was rejected to UCLA and subsequently will be a Trojan. I bring that point up not to talk down to USC, but simply to point out that to many of the people I have known UCLA is generally more desirable. </p>

<p>To the original poster, choose based on what feels right to you, all this is just people telling you why they did one thing or another. My sister chose UCLA as I did and my brother before me, but my father went to Berkeley and my grandfather and uncle both went to USC. It's a very personal decision, so try to focus more on what you as a person need and less on what other people say makes a school great. USC is smaller, UCLA is in a much nicer area, USC has less of a crunch on housing, UCLA has more programs that are traditionally considered top tier, USC is known for its alumni network, UCLA is far more cost effective. The list goes on and on :), the point is you need to find the school that fits your personality rather than your pride. Choose based on need and not want.</p>

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<p>I'm confused infearandfaith... Does your family live in the UK and then come to the US for college? :confused:</p>

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<p>Haha something like that, my mum is from the States, my dad hails from the UK. He came over here to study, and there you have it. Of my family, I am the only one to return to the UK, which I did to study. I was born in the states and left to attend a private school. It's not nearly so complicated as it sounds! </p>

<p>I suppose I should also forward an apology, I'm a frank speaker and I dislike searching for artistic euphemisms.</p>

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<p>infearandfaith and I have several things in common: we both go to UCLA and London. No, I am not English; I will however visit London in Aug/Sep. </p>

<p>This sounds like that motel commercial. Maybe not.</p>

<p>The institution you choose supplements your ability. If I may share a short story, which I promise will hit my point.</p>

<p>A friend of mine attending SMC is looking forward to transferring to USC, CSUN and UCLA. His ultimate goal is to attend Law School or attain an MBA. He eliminated UCLA due to the fact that UCLA is not offering a Business Major. Therefore, he is left between USC and CSUN. After thinking about the cost and education return, he decided to choose CSUN for the fact that he will be paying less to receive his business major.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that this person keeps a GPA of 3.8 and up. And assuming he receives the same GPA in either USC or CSUN. I argued that he has a better chance of getting into his Law School of choice if he were to graduate from an institution with better reputation - in this case USC.</p>

<p>The point of my argument is that if you take student A from USC and student B from CSUN with similar GPA and extra curricular background, my belief is that student A will have a better chance of getting into the school of his choice. I will skip going over the precise detail of my argument, but in my opinion, this is how your school's prestige affects you and your future. Of course, this is not a rule by any means. But much like the, 'Oh, hire [Harvard] me, because [Harvard] I received by degree [Harvard] from Harvard,' there is some truth to the prestige takes you further.</p>

<p>In my case, if I were to graduate from an institution of lesser prestige, my chances of getting in the Law School of my choice will be different from a student, say from UCLA/CAL, if we have the same profile: GPA and extra activities.</p>

<p>In conclusion,your institution alone cannot propel you to success. You have to prove yourself worthy as well. </p>

<p>P.S. I know I have to repeat this. This is NOT THE RULE. There are cases where the person gets a certain job because of connections, not because of personal merits. In general, I would argue this to be true.</p>

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<p>infearandfaith: so how many british ppl are there studying at UCLA undergrad? have you encountered any? are they hard to find? is there a stereotypical area of concentration brits at UCLA study?</p>

<p>yay UK! :D</p>

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<p>I know a Computer Science transfer (?) from University of Bristol who got smoked in CS 131. Heh. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>haha, I've actually encountered only a few brits at LA and none of them share my origin (York). Most of the attention that came up over it was professors poking fun at my accent, for instance the yank "aluminum" and my "al-oo-mine-um". </p>

<p>Flopsy, Brits aren't known for their academics! A lot of kids I knew never even finished the equivalent of high school in the states. We get by on charm, dry humor, and accents.</p>

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<p>


LOL you've altered your stance and put in caveats of "demonstrates interest" and "signalling" when it was only "rigorous math training" before; along with expressing Cal Tech grads "do very well" as opposed to "trumping" USC and UCLA grads in the finance job market. These render your prior argument moot because "demonstrates interest and required signalling" were explicitly alluded to in "....since a multitude of factors besides 'rigorous mathematical training' comes into play..."</p>

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<p>rush cal-tech grads could trump ucla grads in the finance job market. The most important factor of any in deciding who's getting the elite finance jobs is school prestige. Cal tech > UCLA/USC in terms of prestige. Added to this is the fact that most people who go to cal-tech scored extremely high on their SAT's, in particular the math section, and that's another bonus. The "multitude" of factors, for the most part, plays into cal-techs favor. If you think UCLA/USC students are just as competitive as cal-tech students you are kidding yourself. I'm not saying an LA/SC student can't get those jobs, but it's going to take more then a great gpa to get it.</p>

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<p>"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>-uhh, have you been there recently? Doesn't deserve it's spoiled children reputation? I have good friends who attend SC, and they say the biggest thing they don't like about it is that a huge amount of the students are rich and arrogant, and like to shove it in everyone else's face. Does it mean everyone is that way? No, of course not. True, it is more selective now, but what college isn't? It isn't just USC either that uses that admissions formula, so does the Ivy League, Stanford, etc. I know someone is going to come back and get mad at me for saying that, but it is true. There are more politics involved with schools who consider legacy status and connections. I mean, most people would agree that George Bush is not the Yale type, but he was accepted because his parents had money and connections. I was just trying to give an honest opinion, and I think the fact that I'm not really interested in either school should validate that. It just depends on the person. For some, USC will be great, but others will like UCLA better.</p>

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<p>^ So how on earth did a rural kid from Montana who's family made about $12K a year get to go to USC for next to nothing? It's not like USC bars it's doors to the lower classes. Quite the opposite. USC has amazing need-based aid, and honestly, if I hadn't gotten such great aid, it's not that I would have to settle for a cheap state school, I wouldn't be going to school.</p>

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<p>so does cross-admission or w/e it's called at Cal and UCLA compare to that of UCLA and USC?</p>

<p>seeing some UCLA rejects get admitted to USC. what about Cal rejects admitted to UCLA?</p>

<p>how much more prestige does cal have over UCLA?</p>

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<p>and cal and usc seem to have a larger gap?</p>

<p>i see that USC is the only conservative school out of USC, UCLA and Cal. maybe the rich kid image hasn't subsided completely.</p>

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<p>dawritingmachine,</p>

<p>Cal definitely has more prestige than UCLA. I don't know how much, per se, but it's there. However, many Cal rejects get admitted to UCLA. Many UCLA rejects get admitted to Cal. I doubt that it's 50/50, but it's not far off.</p>

<p>The data for UCLA and USC is harder to get because it's not collected in the same way. </p>

<p>rush,</p>

<p>I'm not really changing my argument. I never implied anything differently at first to begin with.</p>

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<p>All I was saying was that USC considers connections and wealth, while UCLA and Cal do not. That has nothing to do with their academic reputation; obviously it is a good school. </p>

<p>bmanbs2: they give great financial aid bc they charge twice as much as UCLA. Sure, they promote diversity to a certain extent, and it's great they gave you a full ride. That's why in my previous posts I said "sure there are exceptions." But honestly, there is a large ethnic difference between UCLA and USC. Maybe that has a little bit to do with who they target.</p>

<p>dawritingmachine: I think that as far as rankings are concerned, Cal is slightly better. Both are very prestigious, it's just that when someone says UCLA, basketball and football come to mind. When someone says Berkeley, Noble Prize winners do. Not that that is entirely true at all, I'm just saying that's what a lot of people might think (especially those who live outside of CA). A degree from either will take you far, but Cal is a little harder to get into (knock on wood), and has a little more of a "wow" factor academically. Last year three Cal professors/alumni won the Nobel Prize....</p>

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<p>vc08,</p>

<p>Actually, I think that USC has become pretty diverse. It's got a larger white population, but I think they've done a good job getting Latinos and blacks-- UCLA could probably learn a thing or two!</p>

<p>Oh, and as far as the Nobelists go, Cal finally broke a dry spell. I don't know that you can expect a repeat performance, sadly.</p>

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<p>vc08,</p>

<p>Legacy is playing less and less part in the USC admission. Even they do, they still get better or on par freshman class than UCLA. And the median family income of the enrolled students is lower than UCLA's. </p>

<p>Every school has some rich kids. I don't even believe there is huge amount of rich students at USC. Maybe your friend was lying (unfortunately he/she is a trojan), or maybe you are exaggerating.</p>

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<p>I'd certainly stop short of saying that everyone at SC is wealthy, I think there is actually just a lot more disparity among the students there. I have friends who are putting themselves through, and I also know people who are quite wealthy. But to say that there isn't a large population of wealthy kids at SC is just crazy, I've seen first hand. LA also has plenty of kids with nice cars and the like.</p>