blbk

having lived in NYC, NYU is a well respected university. People view it in high regard as well as the employers. NYU and USC are both private institutions located in two of the most popular destinations. They probably also receive two of the highest number of applications each year. Are they equally prestigious?

interestingguy

NYU and USC are both large, private schools that have moved from regional to national status less than a generation ago. They both have similar aspirations and trajectories (especially in the US News rankings). In terms of prestige, they are very similar as well.

bluebayou

sure, they are similar in prestige, which is still primarily regional, but that's about it. (OTOH, Stern gets a clear nod over Marshall at least on Wall Street.) The campus culture is significantly different, IMO.

FindAPlace

Just due to the different environments in which the campuses are located, I'd expect the campus culture is different. USC isn't far from the beach or the mountains, and has a nationally known football team. NYU doesn't have this, but the urban vibe of NYC is like no other. Both have excellent film schools, although I've been told that NYU leans more towards indie films and USC, given its location, leans more towards more traditional studio productions. The USC Trojan family is very strong throughout CA regarding contacts for future employment.

raelah

I disagree. I think NYU is much more prestigious than USC. Maybe on CC USC is a very well-regarded school, but in general, NYU has much more name-recognition than SC does.

In terms of differences of the campuses, USC has a real campus, NYU doesn't. USC has a real "jock" culture, while NYU is maybe a bit more academic. However, USC has amazing spirt and an intense rivalry with UCLA, which always keeps things interesting.

bluebayou

^^Sure, but I'd be willing to bet that most of NYU's rep outside of the NE is due to its location in Manhattan, not academics per se.