FIRST IMPRESSIONS ON CAMPUS: What were yours?

Colleges & Universities University of Southern California
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<p>Well… please don’t take this the wrong way, but this is coming from someone who wanted to go to USC but chose UCLA for a variety of reasons, mostly financial…</p>

<p>I toured UCLA first and then SC a week late (went to SC for admit day)…</p>

<p>First got to SC - Holy *<strong><em>, how nice, FREE PARKING!!! (High Five to my mom!) a stroll down the main walk yields a wierd attraction that I was underdressed… tshirt, shorts, and sandals while many were in, at the least, jeans and a polo/sweater/dress-shirt, etc…
Also, DAMN, all these fine ass women - they ALL looked very mature, very confident (almost arrogant in their “walk”), lots looked rich, but definately HOT… I get there, they were all very nice, we sat down, the band played, and then I went with the group to Marshall for the lecture on the business school…
WOW! these kids are getting internships and *</em></strong> in China and all over for major Fortune 500 companies - they were really trying to sell the “Trojan alumni link”, that infamous “pipeline to a job” thingy… It was all well and good though, they also gave us this laid out 4 year plan which i really liked, and how typical graduates do and such… then, I left early because it got repetitive and boring, walked around a little to see nothing new… a beautiful campus with not a leaf out of place. I went to the FA office to beg for more aid, they gave me 3k, and eventually I lauged (I accepted as a springy though, so I keep getting their literature, they are still blowing postage on me :P)… we then went and grabbed the complimentary lunch (MORE FREE ****, more high fives with the mom) and then we left… I saw what I needed…</p>

<p>In comparison to UCLA, I liked both, but UCLA was just financailly easier on my family (my dad is terminally ill). When I went on the tour at UCLA, they really didn’t try to sell anything, more or less just the fact of who they were (they’re prestige and such)… It was really kinda informal (which i liked - ie, not everything was perfect), but we did blow 10 bucks on parking (My first statement - oh **** this mom, I cant go to a place who charges you to even think about it!) </p>

<p>But actually, alot of my motivation for UCLA came from my dad’s (and my boss for the summer)… I was talking to him and his one kid went to George Washington U and then law school and is now some lawyer on the east coast… his other son is a USC… He told me the first couldn’t get into UCLA and had such great stats and such, so I felt like he respected UCLA more than USC, so with that in mind, I kinda blew off the USC mantra for the business school thing about the trojan alumni link = pipeline to a nice job.</p>

<p>Sorry for my rantings, and I do love SC, i really do, I’m just studying across town for now… there’s always grad school for SC!!!</p>

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<p>tbh i didnt get in ucla
i woulda gone due to financial reasons as well
oh well :)</p>

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<p>My first impression came after seeing UCLA. We liked the UCLA campus a lot, but were slightly turned off by all the trash littered everwhere - the bathrooms, the outside staircases, all had paper cups and food wrappers that no one seemed to clean up.</p>

<p>When we arrived at USC, the campus was clean, and the landscaping nice and well kept, so it was obvious that someone cared. The students and administration all seemed to be the same as the campus - friendly, well kept up, welcoming. There’s a real sense that there’s a bright future.</p>

<p>The other impression was that USC wasn’t a one-dimensional school. At another uni we visited, you hear constantly from them how great their international program is. At another place, they talk endlessly about engineering. Great schools, but you almost get the sense that they don’t know how to discuss all the aspects they offer. At USC, we got a sense they’re not focused narrowly - they talk about engineering, business, film, anthropology. They have some scholarships for students who excel in two or more unrelated fields, too. The whole sense was that they are a multi-dimensional university.</p>

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<p>@binks, I personally know plenty of people who got into USC and UCLA (and some that got into UC Berkeley and other prestigious schools too) and in the end chose USC. So if you chose UCLA for financial reasons, that’s fine. But if you chose it because some people may consider it slightly more prestigious than USC, that wouldn’t be a very good reason, IMO. </p>

<p>In fact, my mom has several friends–all well-educated, wealthy, the type that may be like your boss–and when she tells them where I’m applying, every single one of them so far have been more impressed when they hear I’m applying to USC than UCLA, even though most have no personal connections to either school. Of course, UCLA is ahead of USC in rankings–by two slots. And I’m sure you’ve heard many comment on the fact that UCLA is stagnant in their rank while USC is rapidly moving up each year. So it’s extremely likely that USC may beat out UCLA in rankings in the next few years, rendering a lot of people’s opinions of the two schools’ “prestige” changed. The Trojan alumni link is real too. Two of my friends who go to USC have found jobs through alumni by the end of junior year.</p>

<p>Of course, aside from general prestige, there are many differences between the two schools. Class size, majors available, classes available, quality and prestige of certain departments (for instance, USC Film is easily more prestigious than UCLA Film. I thought USC Business was much more prestigious than UCLA Business too? But you’re the business major, so you’d be the one to know! :P), the type of people who generally go to each school, the campuses, the overall “feeling” or ambiance of the schools, school spirit, sports, location…For me personally, the only one of these categories in which UCLA is superior to USC is location. For the rest, USC beats out UCLA easily in my eyes.</p>

<p>Of course, no one else’s opinion should matter but yours. So if you truly feel UCLA is the better school *for you<a href=“or%20it%20really%20was%20just%20because%20of%20financial%20reasons”>/I</a>, then never mind my above comments. It’s all about what school is best for you. :slight_smile: And if you do think USC would be the right school for you (and it seems like you do), I hope you do get to go there for grad school!</p>

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<p>^^^ i still think that alumni thing is bull… IDC if two of your friends got jobs through it, it means nothing… EVERY SINGLE COLLEGE HAS AN ALUMNI LINK PROGRAM! USC just broadcasts theirs, especially for business, as the “guaranteed 65k a year job out of college with the opporunity to move up very quickly”.</p>

<p>and on the business note… UCLA doesn’t have an undergrad business school… but it seems like the people who put USC first are those who really don’t know anything and are being mislead by the widely broadcast “Trojan link” thing… UCLA’s management school is more underground, more subtle, but definately very well respected… Once I told someone (who is in business and a USC grad) I was going there, his first words were… “Great job, I’m so happy for you… are you gonna take classes at Anderson (the management school)?”
I really don’t know what school is better and don’t care… each school is different and caters do a different persona. I wish all of these rankings and arguing would just stop… honestly, you would think that the great minds at USC and UCLA should combine more often, right?</p>

<p>Good Luck w/ apps eiffel</p>

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<p>^Uh…you obviously missed the entire point of my post. You say you wish that comparing USC and UCLA would stop? Yet you–as a UCLA student–continue to come to the USC boards? You decide to come to a USC thread and state why you chose UCLA over USC? </p>

<p>You say you wish the talk of “rankings” would stop? Yet you’re the one who said one of the primary reasons you chose UCLA over USC is because your boss seemed to “respect” it more; you’re the one who was citing UCLA’s supposed superior prestige as a reason to choose it over USC. All I was doing is countering the argument you already started.</p>

<p>Maybe you should reread this paragraph of my post:</p>

<p>“Of course, no one else’s opinion should matter but yours. So if you truly feel UCLA is the better school for you (or it really was just because of financial reasons), then never mind my above comments. It’s all about what school is best for you.”</p>

<p>And yes, both cater to different personas. Like I already said, there are many more differences between the two schools besides “prestige”. I hope UCLA is right for your persona.</p>

<p>And also, yes, every college has an alumni link program. But some ARE better than others. It’s like saying “every college has a campus, so every college campus is equal”. Which obviously isn’t true.</p>

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<p>hey binks09! Glad to hear you are happy at UCLA. And that you still have a fondness for USC. Your post didn’t sound like a rant to me. You seem to have a whole new perspective compared to just a few months ago. Best wishes to you and your family.</p>

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<p>Anyway, binks, I don’t think there’s any cause for us to argue over it. The thing is we agree on the main point: the “better” school is largely dependent on what the individual thinks of it, which schools fits his or her wants and needs. I already acknowledged that–while people can talk about prestige all they want–the truth is that USC and UCLA are different in many other ways; the “better” school depends on the individual and which school appeals to that particular person more. Hopefully UCLA is the right school for you. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Oh! Forgot to put down my first impressions. USC was my FIRST college tour, and I only toured because we were in the area visiting UCLA on our way to UCSD. The FREE parking was great - made me feel like I was their favorite applicant. We had two guys for tour guides, in dress shirts and USC ties with shiny shoes. (I felt like a slob in flip flops and wondered if I was supposed to dress up for college tours???) They were PERFECT. Like a comedy team going back and forth. They knew everything. I hadn’t planned on applying to USC, but after the tour it was definitely on my list. Except for the HUGE price tag…</p>

<p>At UCLA that same day, we had to pay for parking - I felt just like binks09… we have to pay just to LOOK? The tour guide was wearing Birkenstocks and had JUST pulled a UCLA T-shirt over her tie-dye shirt. She said “Um…” about 1,000 times and talked so fast I could barely understand her. The contrast was so funny. At that point I liked the UCLA campus a bit better, mainly because the price tag was much better and I didn’t think we could ever afford USC.</p>

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<p>^So did you get financial aid and end up at USC? You have to tell us the ending to the story! :)</p>

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<p>Haha! Oh, sorry, Eiffel! By the time I was deciding where to go, UCLA had dropped to my #3 choice. My top two were UCB (I loved the location near San Francisco) and USC. USC gave me a Presidential scholarship plus a big grant (yes binks, they “threw away” a grant on me!) so it actually cost a bit less than a UC for me. I ended up deciding on USC because of Thematic Option. I liked the idea of small classes and personal attention for GE, as compared to the huge first-year GEs at UCB.</p>

<p>I was very unsure at the time if I made the right decision. NO doubts now. The opportunities are endless here. I love USC!</p>

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<p>Binks: Watch your language, “USC alumni network is bull…” This is simply not true. The UCLA alumni network is fantastic and a selling point of the school, particularly in today’s economy when networking is very important to help find a job. My husband’s first job after graduating USC Engineering was via USC alumni during an era when Engineering jobs were few and hard to find. There is tremendous loyalty to USC. Yes…other universities have alumni networks, but I hear that the USC alumni network is alive and working. Just read on College Confidential about kids whose parents spent $50,000. X 4 years (i.e. $200,000) for prestigious Ivy league type of schools and whose graduates are looking for jobs in this terrible economy. For some people, USC alumni network is a selling point to help land a job.</p>

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<p>Correction: The USC alumni network is fantastic.</p>

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<p>^^^ Sorry, I should of expanded… yes the USC alumni network is strong, just like any others, but the “feelings” I got was that the USC alumni network was a guaranteed job and that this “special notion” was only available at USC… basically, if you go to USC, you get a good job (easily!), if you go else where, good luck! —thats just the kinda vibe I got IMHO</p>

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<p>binks has never had a way with words, but I think you are being too hard on him. Just like the other applicants posting here and on the “obsessed” thread he really, really wanted to go to USC. He was good enough to be accepted and he was stoked. Then he found out he couldn’t go and he was really, really disappointed and kind of mad. In his situation, he couln’t get mad at his parents, so he vented to cc with some negative posts about USC (one in particular bruised my feelings). Some of the enthusiastic post-ers here now will feel the same way next Spring if they are rejected or don’t get the aid they feel they need.</p>

<p>But here he is now, still hanging around the USC forum. Talking about graduate school at USC. Saying (in his binks-way) nice things about USC. Even though he is at one of USC’s biggest rivals. He still doesn’t have a way with words, but he sounds a bit like a Trojan to me.</p>

<p>Fight on, binks!</p>

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<p>Binks: If you are a California in-state student, and did not get great financial/merit aid at USC, then UCLA is a great choice in a wonderful location. I think UCLA has the better location and USC has smaller classes plus a strong alumni network. In today’s terrible economy, alumni network is a help, but nothing is a guarantee. </p>

<p>Also: sorry your father is so sick.</p>

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<p>There are going to be a lot of disappointments on the college search/acceptance time. However, I truly believe that the kids end up in great schools as long as they take advantage of all of the wonderful resources available. Every university has something special going for it as long as you look for the good qualities.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard from a friend who went to UCLA for undergrad and USC for MBA. The USC Alumni network is 100 times better than UCLA. The alumni contribution % for USC is like 60% vs 13% for UCLA confirms this.</p>

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<p>I walked onto campus, and it was weird because I could envision myself there, which had not happened at any other school I visited!</p>

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<p>Correction regarding post #38
I found the link that hawkette posted in the College search & selection, it’s 40% alumni giving for USC and 13% for UCLA.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/790267-measuring-strength-alumni-network.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/790267-measuring-strength-alumni-network.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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