Ask Me About USC!

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I’m sure many of you have tons of questions about USC. I’m here to answer them to the best of my ability!</p>

<p>Brief bio:
I’m a current senior, double majoring in Biological Sciences (BISC) and East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) with an emphasis in Korean. I was a Resident Advisor in a 1st year dorm last year and this year I’m RAing in a primarily sophomore community. I’ve held a few different work-study jobs on campus. I’m in involved in a couple of student organizations, a Christian fellowship group and a gaming club. My goals after graduation involve taking a year off to work, study for the MCAT and hopefully matriculate into a podiatry medical school for the class of 2015.</p>

<p>My high school background:
Out of state applicant
Public high school
1420/1600 SAT
3.83 UW GPA
Full IB Diploma Recipient (took HL English, History, Biology, Chemistry, and SL Math and Spanish)
Extracurriculars: taekwondo junior instructor, drum set, choir, clarinet, NHS secretary, science bowl, science olympiad, knowledge bowl, hospital junior volunteer, peer tutoring, freshmen mentoring, link crew, church youth group, sunday school teacher, Korean-English translator.</p>

<p>Feel free to ask me anything, for example:
Classes or professors I like
What housing options I prefer
Safety on and around campus
What to do on the weekends
Favorite spots at USC
Whatever else you can think of!</p>

2

<p>ill bite.</p>

<p>i drive a honda s2000
and knowing LA, im sure i will have problems with it.</p>

<p>but im just curious what you think would happen…
are car thefts the case with all cars or are some more targeted than others?</p>

<p>Im considering buying a cheap beater but that could get stolen as well.
depending on where i live, i dont know if i should stick with street parking or pay extra for a garage…</p>

<p>and lastly, why did you choose USC over all the other UC’s?
my parents keep bringing me down about the price of USC vs UCLA
any pointers?</p>

3

<p>Dainese,</p>

<p>I have a few friends that have nice cars (Lexus, BMW, Audi etc) and none of them have had any problems so far. Usually the problem with car thefts is that people leave valuables or things that look like they could contain valuables sitting in the passenger/back seats. Since you drive a nice car, I would definitely invest in getting a spot in a parking garage. </p>

<p>If you’re looking at non-USC housing, most of them have gated parking underneath the buildings that you pay far. Usually it’s included in the rent, so if you have roommates you’d just pay slightly more for the monthly rent. </p>

<p>As for USC vs the UCs, I’m an out of state applicant. UCLA would actually have been more expensive for me to attend. OOSers receive little to no finaid from state schools. USC was VERY generous with their finaid package, with the vast majority of it being grants.</p>

<p>Cost is definitely a huge factor in deciding which school to attend. But if you look at the current state economy, the state schools are getting extremely hard. I looked this up online (I think it was some UC website) and this is what it said:</p>

<p>For the 09-10 academic year alone: $109m loss of funding (the entire UC budget deficit was over $600m), avg class size of 60, 165 classes cut, 32% tuition hike, 5-10% reduction in all depts, 50% funding cut from research, an 40% cut from teaching services.</p>

<p>This doesn’t mention the fact that some students now have to stay for an extra quarter because they can’t get into the classes that they need.</p>

<p>It doesn’t look like the state budget it going to get any better. Imagine what it would be like if budget cuts like these continue for just a couple more years.</p>

<p>USC on the other hand has come out relatively unscathed. Yes, our endowment was one of the hardest hit in the nation. However, USC operates mostly independently of that endowment so it hasn’t really affected us.</p>

4

<p>Is USC’s journalism school a place for someone wanting to get into entertainment journalism? I’m trying to make a decision weather Los Angeles or New York City is better for entertainment journalist?</p>

5

<p>GossipAngel,</p>

<p>You can’t really go wrong with either LA or NYC if you’re looking at entertainment journalism. They are the #1 and #2 media markets and both have PLENTY of opportunities for motivated and qualified students.</p>

<p>Annenberg is one of the best Comm/Journalism schools, and nearly everyone that I know in it has a solid internship by the summer after their sophomore year. For example, one of my friends has had internships at Us Weekly and now People magazine. </p>

<p>I would put more emphasis in my decision on how you feel at the school, the weather, and finances.</p>

6

<p>The perception of USC at my son’s NorCal HS is that it is the university for students interested in frats/soriorities, drinking, football, nice cars, and dressing just right. S is drawn to USC due to its honors program, music offerings, and academic vitality, but his HS’s steriotype of USC has him perplexed. Could you put this rep into some perspective for us? Would a kid who is not into drinking,fashion, football, or fraternities (you get the picture) be happy at USC?</p>

7

<p>momofgrowingkids,</p>

<p>That perception of USC would have been spot on–20 or even 10 years ago.</p>

<p>Stereotypes of schools most likely persist because those students at your son’s HS are influnced by their parents’ opinions. I doubt most people that aren’t strongly interested in USC realize just exactly how far USC has come in the last 20 years during President Sample’s term. At his Student Leaders Party this past December, he gave a short speech that talked about the progress of USC under his leadership. When he assumed presidency 20 years ago, a student could walk into the admissions office, pay for tuition, and walk into class that same day. The admission rate was over 80%. Today? USC is now one of the most selective universities in the nation and according to President Sample, our average SATs and GPAs are higher than both UCLA and Berkeley. I don’t mean to sound like none of those stereotypes exist. They definitely do to some extent. I personally like USC because it isn’t just a great academic institution. I like how the students here are able to manage and balance healthy lifestyles with both academics and their social lives. </p>

<p>Your son sort of sounds like me my freshman year. I’m not into drinking, fashion, or Greek life. I wasn’t that into football either, until the contagious school spirit got to me, lol. The benefit of being a large university with people from all over the country and the world is that you’ll meet all sorts of people. I guarantee your son will not be the only one like that. He will be happy at USC if he immerses himself in his studies and meets some cool people (which I can guarantee will happen) either around his dorm or in clubs. It’s true that a lot of students pay close attention to their what they wear, but you’ll also find an equal number of students who are fine in jeans and tshirt or sweatshirt (I’m one of them lol). </p>

<p>Let me know if you want any more specifics answered!</p>

8

<p>"Would a kid who is not into drinking,fashion, football, or fraternities (you get the picture) be happy at USC? "
Yup! My son, a top student at his elite private HS, NMF, and USC Trustee scholar, who also had no interest in any of the above, and has been to only 1 USC football game in 4 years, is very happy he chose USC over the Ivy’s and other “more prestigious” colleges he was accepted at. It had the combination of programs he wanted- a great seismology program with one of the top earthquake scientists in the US, the Thorton school of Music where he could continue his music studies and meet other students interested in all kinds of music, small class sizes in the Honors programs, great Calif weather, relatively close to home, etc. etc. He also loves wearing shorts, jeans, t shirts and flip flops all year long. As do most of his friends-of both sexes.
The “old” stereotype of USC- “university of spoiled children”- is as out of date as the Edsel. USC is now known as the “university of stolen colleagues”, as they are using their huge endowment to aggressively recruit top professors and scholars from across the country, as well as attract thousands of top students with their generous merit scholarships. Son took advantage of the Honors classes, which believe me were hard, and where he met most of his friends at USC, including many other merit scholarship students. As a Northern Calif native, and Stanford wife, all of the changes that USC has undergone in the last decade have transformed it into a “near” Ivy experience for students lucky enough to attend. I would have NEVER thought I would feel this way about USC 4 years ago. But I do now!</p>

9

<p>^^^We’re like a bunch of USC converts, but everything menloparkmom says has been true for my son, too. And I NEVER thought I would feel this way–I teach at UCLA.</p>

10

<p>What dorms did they stay in as freshman and/or what dorm would you guys recommend?</p>

11

<p>How is the premed advising at USC? How are the science classes, professors, research opportunities, med school acceptance, all the jazz involved in pre-med? Also just curious, what schools did you decide not to attend for USC?</p>

12

<p>My son stayed at Arts & Humanities–loved it. Met a great roommate and they have an apt together this year. </p>

<p>pumpfake, my S turned down Duke, UCSD, UCSC, Vassar, Carnegie Mellon (with merit $), WashU (w/merit $) and others for USC.</p>

13

<p>"Also just curious, what schools did you decide not to attend for USC? "
Son decided against Chicago [he was uncertain he had made the right choice his freshman year and transferred there for 1 qtr his sophomore year, then hi-tailed it back to USC!], Brown, Dartmouth, Wash U, Pomona, and a bunch more I can’t remember at this point. Kids at his HS could NOT understand his decision at the time, but they do now!</p>

14

<p>threetreasurs,</p>

<p>I was in Marks Tower as a freshman and I loved it. Personally I think Birnkrant, Pardee Tower, and Marks Tower are the top 3 freshman dorms. New/North is ok but it’s too loud. I am personally not a fan of suite-style housing for freshmen, as I feel like it isn’t social enough.</p>

15

<p>pumpfake, </p>

<p>I honestly can’t tell you much about premed advising. I’ve been to the advisement office a few times over the past 4 years and they were fairly helpful, but I couldn’t tell you how they compared to another school.</p>

<p>Science classes are tough. The curves are brutal in the standard classes and I would strongly recommend that you take FSH courses if at all possible. 60% of students get a C+ or lower in the standard intro biology and chemistry courses. In FSH the curve is roughly 50% As and 50% Bs. As with any university, you have good and bad professors. I’ve had some really great science professors, especially Dr. Travis Williams for Ochem and Dr. Angel Tabancay, Jr. for Biochem. Dr. Don Arnold for Cell Biology is great, too. There are plenty of research opportunities at USC if you just go and and ask. Many science majors have done some sort of lab research while at USC. I’m not sure about med school acceptance rates, but all of my close friends who applied last year were accepted to at least one school, and I already have several friends who know what med school they will be attending next year.</p>

<p>I chose USC over Emory, the University of Washington, Pepperdine, and Occidental. All of them offered me significant money, too.</p>

16

<p>Do I directly apply to SAC or do I select my first/2nd choice colleges at USC and they centralize their selections like that?</p>

<p>Also, in regards to SAC, do they look at portfolia/writing examples/etc over academic material?</p>

17

<p>Is USC still a good choice if you’re not really into football and all? Are the people as mean and stuck up as everyone says they are? Also, how bad is South Central L.A.? How do you get into downtown… I don’t have a car and I probably won’t get one? Is the grading curve at Marshall harsh? Also, what is this “Explore USC” day? Do you think I have a good chance of getting in with a 2000 on the SAT and straight A’s (8 AP’s… but also failed Chem and U.S. History exams)!!! Please help because USC is my first choice, but I have many concerns.</p>

18

<p>@Martyjones</p>

<ol>
<li>Yes it is.</li>
<li>Every school has mean and stuck up people. You are referring to an old stereotype that USC has mostly outgrown.</li>
<li>South Central LA is to the South and East of where the campus is. The area around the campus is a working class neighborhood and not that bad unless you’ve only lived in a secluded upper middle-class suburb your entire life. </li>
<li>You can take the LADOT public bus, the expo subway line when it opens(2011?), the Dash F line bus (runs all around campus and then heads into downtown every 10 minutes), use zipcar, find a friend with a car etc.</li>
<li>There used to be a mandatory curve but it is now optional for professors to use it. From reading the syllabus at a number of top undergrad business programs, it is not any harsher than other business grading curves.</li>
<li>Explore USC is an on-campus visit/tour day for admitted freshman that occurs in the spring.</li>
<li>Sounds like your SAT/gpa is decent enough for a chance but it would depend on the rest of your application.</li>
</ol>

19

<p>How hot are the girls? Elaborate with as much detail as possible.</p>

20

<p>^ Haha, USC has been known to have one of the best looking student bodies in the country, but unfortunately, as the quality of the school goes up (academically wise) the overall attractiveness of the student body is going down. The Greek system is going through a tough time but there are still PLENTY of gorgeous girls and guys around. And we’re all smart which is awesome. :)</p>