<p>Do any of you think, from a neutral standpoint, that USC will crack the top 20 in the next 5-10 years.</p>
<p>Why or Why not?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>USC would have to surpass UCLA and Berkeley before it cracks the top 20. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I think they have an excellent chance of doing so, the NCAA will only slap Carroll's wrist and they'll get by with a minor probation, lose a scholly here and there. They'll have to find a QB to replace Leinart, one that won't get indicted by the DA, but they should do so. I see them as a top 15 team next season.</p>
<p>I don't think you were talking about academics, right? USC, "top 20" and "academics" in the same sentence?...</p>
<p>I think in the future they have a good chance. Mostly because there is an enormous alumni giving rate, and the richer they get, the better the academic programs will be, in terms of resources. This will attract higher-calibur students. Also, many of their individual programs are beginning to stand out. Not only film and art, but computer science is gaining prestige, as well. It's definitely a rising school.</p>
<p>Look at the schools in the top 20. Most of them have been there for a while and the top 19 are all private; USC's alumni giving is nothing special. Breaking top 25 is quite a challenge and USC has been peaking off.</p>
<p>usc cracking the top 20 university list. not in my lifetime. it has just about leveled out at 30. i dont believe it will get any higher in the next 10 years than very high twenties or very low thirties, and their is likely no way it will crack the top 20 in are lifetime.</p>
<p>absolutely, they have a top 10 football team, baseball and softball are strong, their basketball team could be up and coming with the new arena.....Sears Cup is within reach.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry, you meant USNews ratins -- literally impossible since the ratings are private school, east coast biased (how else to sell magazines), and the vast majority of the top 20 have been there since the first rankings were published. To move up a few notches, 'SC would have to forego the Trojan family thing (i.e., legacies), and actively recruit nationwide, ala WashU. But, first, they'd need a major national hook, like a nationally-known medical center. (Yes, I know that their Eng school is top 10, but with two the top three in the world in NorCal, 'SC's engineering school will always be in the shadow of Cal and Stanford, which has Silicon Valley next door.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sears Cup is within reach
[/quote]
I don't ever see that happening. First of all, Stanford has had a strangle hold on the cup for quite some time now- it just doesn't look like the sears will move out of palo alto anytime soon. Also, USC just doesn't really have enough breadth of sports to be able to be compete with the larger athletic schools, texas, michigan, unc, stanford. However, the few sports they do have are the mainstream ones, and they're really good at them .</p>
<p>But I could see USC cracking the top 25 later on. Their alumni giving is is pretty spectacular(something like 2.75 billion in 9 years), and they're hiring new professors and improving departments every year with the money raised from that fundraiser. It's getting really selective now, but most likely they're going to stay within the 25-30 range.</p>
<p>No way USC is ever better than Georgetown, Berkeley, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, UVA</p>
<p>For UNDERGRAD they have a shot at passing most of those.</p>
<p>Ah, but most won't get USC into the top 20. Top 25.... maybe....that would still require A LOT of work. Top 20 is almost impossible.</p>
<p>Well...maybe if a terrorist attack or a natural disaster wiped out the Ivies, then USC will be in the top 20.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Sears Cup is within reach.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>USC has not been in the top 5 for the past 10 years. Stanford has had a consistent hold on it. If Stanford doesn't win it, UCLA, Texas, Florida, Michigan and Penn State all have a better chance of winning it than USC.</p>
<p>USC and most other schools have no interest in going after the Sears Cup, because their fan base derives 100 times more satisfaction from football success. Same with the basketball schools. </p>
<p>UCLA could challenge Stanford, they're pretty close behind as it is, if they added 3 or 4 programs like gymnastics or swimming (which they used to dominate before they cut them), they would definitely get there. But it's not worth it for them. Stanford throws money at sports not even their fans care about, like synchronized swimming, cross-country or squash. Those are the sports that end up making the difference in the sears cup.</p>
<p>I always wonder why SC sucks at Basketball.</p>
<p>"I always wonder why SC sucks at Basketball"</p>
<p>because of the same reason UCLA sucks in football (not really, they got half champonship in 1954). It is the result of a series of random events happening at an ordered time points. But I do think the rivalry with Notre Dame helped in football's case, as the rivalry with UCLA dis-helped in basketball.</p>
<p>USC won't have a chance for Sears Cup unless they get similar amount of money as Standford does.</p>
<p>"To move up a few notches, 'SC would have to forego the Trojan family thing (i.e., legacies), and actively recruit nationwide, ala WashU. But, first, they'd need a major national hook, like a nationally-known medical center. (Yes, I know that their Eng school is top 10, but with two the top three in the world in NorCal, 'SC's engineering school will always be in the shadow of Cal and Stanford, which has Silicon Valley next door.)"</p>
<p>USC does recruit nation-wide with 50% OOS, just not up to WashU's level yet.</p>
<p>USC medical center is a really good one, but as you pointed out in the engineering school's case, a better medical center will be still in the shadow of UCSF, Standford, UCLA, UCSD's. The hope is all the schools of USC can continuously improve so that they make a collective clout even though individual ones are not the very top.</p>
<p>I am glad this thread is not completely a gathering of insecure UC people.</p>
<p>Stanford spends 12 mil in athletic scholarships yearly. How about USC?</p>
<p>
[quote]
USC does recruit nation-wide with 50% OOS, just not up to WashU's level yet.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I hear USC is pretty easy to get into out of state. I think that it lacks respect nationally in many academic areas, but has great respect in others.</p>
<p>^ It's a private school so it's as easy to get in OOS as in state. There's no bias like the UCs.</p>
<p>What I mean is relative to in state, it's cake getting in out of state in general, they say. I understand what you're saying, dyip10, but I'm saying it's an inverted Berkeley/UCLA/ William and Mary/ ect in difficulty of admissions by geography.</p>
<p>Yeah I agree, I was just clarifying.</p>
<p>Oh, alright.</p>