University of Southern California Visit Report by jdgrimes

Visit Activities:

Campus Tour: Yes - The tour was led by well-mannered, respectful students garbed in dress shirts, ties, and slacks. They were informative and could answer even the most esoteric of questions. A great experience overall.

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Campus:

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My dad and I were reading a map and we were approached by a student who devoted several minutes of his time to helping us find our way. Later, the same thing happened with another student.

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Despite being near a rough neighborhood, the campus was remarkably serene. It was completely flat (the highest point was a three foot-high hill) and there was plenty of space in between buildings.

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We saw many newly constructed buildings, all of which were clean and well-upkept. The whole campus came off to us as clean and crisp, seeing as even the brick ground was near-pristine.

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Spiked gates surround the campus, and after that, security checkpoints at all entrances. The quad was surrounded by gated checkpoints as well.

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It truly gave me the feeling of being at home. There were restaurants, open spaces and fields, great athletics facilities, and a great parking situation. The nicest college campus I have seen, by far.

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Off-Campus:

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Students commented that they preferred staying on campus during weekend time, because the neighborhood is very rough and has no points of interest. The great campus at USC makes up for that.

Campus Visit Notes for University of Southern California

Visit Description:

The tour was a bit short, about 50 minutes in length. However, I came away with a great impression of USC. Our tour guide talked about how the students often get to see blockbusters movies two or three weeks in advance before they hit theaters, due to the great film facilities at USC. He commented how most students with a major use up 16 of their 18 class credits, so each has 2 remaining to spend on a "fun" class. Most choose the film class. Leonard Maltin, the famous movie critic, gives a weekly lecture before the students watch movies. Afterwards, a key grip or filmer from the recently watched movie gives a one-hour lecture.

We also heard about the USC network - southern California is filled with USC alumni, and alumni interns are often favored by alumni CEOs.

The athletics are great. Everyone gets really excited about football games especially - this campus had the highest percentage of students wearing school colors, by far. We saw the trophy room, which was great (the BCS title trophy, the six heismans, etc.) and also the state of the art track and swimming facilities.

I want to be an engineer, and the facilities for engineers looked great as well. Overall USC is a great destination.

Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:

Good meal plans, great chain restaurants on campus.