@Stephanie - This is pretty common believe it or not. The primary benefit is you then get access to both alumni networks. One of my friends/co-workers at my post-grad employer did his ucla undergrad and is doing a joint grad degree program at usc right now.
@compoopers you might have a point except that UCLA received more applications for freshman admission this year than any institution in the country. Tens of thousands more than USC.
Yes, UCLA has thousands more applicants than USC but also admits thousands more applicants each year (almost twice as many). So the point is still valid, kiddo.
On the percentage yes. First year on common app and usc is suddenly more selective. (What took us so long, they must be asking themselves.) But whatever do you mean by pure numbers? That's just silly. USC rejected 36,000; UCLA rejected 57,000. Anecdotally it would appear from these forums that a great many people were admitted to one or the other rather than both.
UCLA -accepted- twice as many as well, so your point is...?
Anyway it's pointless to look at it that way. Some people get into USC and some get into UCLA and some get into both. UCLA is really numbers heavy while USC is more holistic. I got into both, while I know a friend who got into one and not the other. The system, especially this year, feels incredibly random. When the kid from my school with a 2400 doesn't get into UCLA, you can tell things are weird.
A lot of people seem to be torn about the supposedly "second-status" spring admit at USC, but if I am not mistaken, it DOES NOT mean that you are not welcome at the USC campus beginning Fall 2012.
You can still take classes through something called "extension" program at either USC or UCLA and have the credits transferred (perhaps grades?) to USC.
So it is not like you would waster your fall semester doing nothing but tinkering with a second opinion on the USC offer.
BruinLifer, could you elaborate more on the extension program idea? Thanks.
One strategy for those admitted to UCLA but not SC/or Spring admit to SC (and who for some reason have their heart set on being a Trojan) is to enroll at UCLA and see how you like it. If you do, fortune has smiled on you favorably and you've dodged a bullet. If you don't, apply to transfer to USC for Fall of 2013. The only downside I see to that strategy is rooting for an inferior football team.
It is not terribly easy to convert UCLA credits to USC credits, I'm afraid. It's got to do with the quarter system not equating well with what is covered in the semester system. Any spring admit thinking about starting at a UC in the fall should be aware of this beforehand and check the USC articulation agreement to make sure the courses you'll be taking could transfer over.
Thanks for the advice, madbean. I hadn't thought about it from that perspective. It does seem odd that a class taken at a community college would count towards a USC degree but one at UCLA wouldn't. Then again, maybe it doesn't.
I know. Someone explained to me (of course, I'm only half-remembering it) that USC has made a commitment to the California Community College system and has worked out very convenient articulation agreements for transferring of CC credits. With many of the UCs on the quarter system, (and no actual need for students to transfer--like they would have to after 2 years at cc), it has been less easy to make this work. For instance, the material covered in 2 semesters of language at USC (French 1 & 2, say) would be covered in 3 quarters at UCLA. Taking only 1 quarter would not equal USC's French 1, so... yeah.
And some say it's not always easy to register for exactly the classes you hope to take as a UC fall quarter freshman. Not such a big problem if you stay there for all 12 quarters, but if you are only there for 1... ??
This is not meant to dissuade or diss in any fashion. As I've mentioned, I teach at UCLA! Just a gentle heads up.
Well according to US News and World Report, the 2011 Admission Rates were:
UC Berkeley 21.5%
UCLA 22,7%
USC 24.4%
So that ought make a few of us sour grapes parents feel a bit better. My D was a NMF, 2230 SAT, and 3.9+ UW GPA and still rejected by USC. She probably wouldn't have attended USC due to costs (even with 1/2 off tuition its 10K more than UC), but she was "hurt."
Location: Maryland >>> University of Southern California Class of 2016
Posts: 568
^ She must have been lacking in other important areas of the application (ECs, Recs, Essays). As has been said numerous times, USC is holistic and wants applicants strong in all areas. UCLA wants applicants VERY strong in numbers, and above average in other areas. It's just a different admissions methodology. Nothing unusual about it and certainly nothing to be spiteful about.
Well I think you have a point. I think she didn't work as hard on the USC essays because she didn't think she needed to do so. That's a lesson for her to learn I suppose. I don't know if spiteful is the right word -- maybe. It's not easy to open a rejection letter when you were expecting a Presidential Scholarship. And holistic whatever -- when you have friends who have not worked nearly as hard, take few AP courses, have significantly lower GPAs and scores, who didn't even bother to apply to UCLA, Cal or UCSD because they figured they had no chance, and who USC then admits -- then you certainly feel something.
