I am currently a UCSD first year international student studying in computer engineering(BS) and applied mathematics(BS), and I am admitted to USC for the computer engineering and computer science major. If it were a year ago, I would go to USC without any hesitation, because it’s more famous than UCSD for sure. But now I am not sure, since UCSD’s education actually really impresses me. Here are my reason to stay at ucsd or go to usc:
Stay at UCSD: 1. I could graduate in 3 years 2. The tuition is 10kUSD lower per year, although it does not make big a change since as an international student we also pay a lot at ucsd. 3. I like the way courses going, really rigorous and good lab facilities, while I don’t know if USC courses are on the same level as UCSD, as I have seen some saying that USC does not take CS as priority.
Go to USC: 1. Reputation and rank. USC has a better reputation and higher rank in general. 2. Atmosphere. I love sports and movies, and a campus with more vibe and more diversity rather than at ucsd, where I feel like 9 out of 10 are stem major( e.g. in my college writing class, the whole class are in Stem major). I like stem students, but I feel like I want more diversity. 3. Alumni network, Trojan network is really famous, but I am not sure how it goes and how it applies to international students. 4. More available resources per student since we pay more tuition. 5. I have 7 high school friends at USC and many at UCLA, while only have one in ucsd.
I want the college to be where I could find myself. Currently, I want to be a tech innovator, and I like to stay with people who have the same spirits and are well equipped with skills. I just feel like the UCSD the whole atmosphere is more layback and I cannot keep pace with the changing world outside here. But maybe I am thinking too unrealistically, and I really need some advice from you, about academic rigor in USC( I like challenging and interesting CS class), network, social life.
Thanks!