<p>Hello all,
I was wondering if USC is the type of school that curves classes? Meaning, are the professors only allowed to give a certain amount of As or is it open to anyone that deserves the A? I am just worried this is the case. In the end would it harm your GPA? I am coming from a school that allows you to earn your A without the worry about your competition. What is the benefit of going to a school that only lets a certain amount of student earn high marks. My intention is to get As and why go if that is not possible?</p>
<p>My other question is for those who have lived off campus. What are some affordable and comfortable apartment complexes outside of USC that you would recommend to live in? I plan on living off campus, but close enough to walk/bike (or to take the campus cruiser/tram) to school. On that note, is anyone still looking for a roommate? </p>
<p>I am looking for a roommate. What type of living condition were you looking for? I have a 2 BR, apartment. One of the rooms is open, comes with your own bathroom, huge closet, new hardwood floors. 900 a month. Any other questions, please contact me at <a href=“mailto:eozturk@usc.edu”>eozturk@usc.edu</a>.</p>
<p>I don’t think there was a curve in any of my classes last year. I earned As in the classes where I deserved As, and A-s and B+s in classes where I earned those grades. A few professors/TAs gave me lower grades than I thought I earned, but I don’t think that was because of a curve, just a TA that hated me for some reason and a ridiculously hard class for people who didn’t already know the curriculum going into it (but don’t worry about that class, it’s THTR 130, and it’s only for theatre majors/minors).</p>
<p>I haven’t looked too much into off-campus housing, but I know 27th Pl will be popular next year, along with a new complex at Fig & 30th, but I can’t remember what it’s called. I’ve heard mixed things about Gateway, but it looks really nice. Tuscany is supposed to be nice, too, though it’s pretty detached from everything else. Menlo St is also a popular place to live, especially for the partying types, same with Ellendale. Look at websites of people who lease in the USC area. Try Googling “usc apartments.”</p>
<p>you’re welcome. I should let you know that I’m a theatre major, which isn’t difficult in an academic sense, though it is obviously challenging artistically. But to give you an idea of my classes, I took my Arts & Letters (great professor, but challenging class. Not too bad, though), MUSC 400 (class about the history of Broadway, fulfilled diversity requirement and required for one of my minors), THTR 101 (Intro to Acting), THTR 130 (Intro to Technical Production, I think), and THTR 125 (Text Studies for Production, reading plays and then writing papers about them) first semester, and then this spring I took WRIT 140 (great professor, challenging class/grading scale), LING 115 (ridiculously easy class, not wasn’t a fan of the professor), MPVA 301 (private voice for music majors/minors, TA said she hardly ever gives out As but I got one anyways?), CTCS 190 (Intro to Film, I was great at the class but my TA graded me very lowly–I went to the professor and got my grade raised), and THTR 210 (history of theatre, reading & writing about plays again).</p>
<p>None of my classes were too difficult. In some classes, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten a better grade with a worse professor, but I’ll gladly take a lower grade for a better learning experience. I’ve unfortunately experienced the other way around (easy A, bad professor), and I didn’t enjoy it at all.</p>
<p>So I’ve taken classes in the School of Theatre, the College (now Dornsife I guess), Thornton School of Music, and SCA and I haven’t noticed any curving in those schools, or at least those classes.</p>
<p>hi monzaaay,
my roommate and I are still looking for a female to take over the 3rd room in our apartment. it’s 2 blocks away from school (30th street) and it takes me about 10 minutes to walk to class. email me at <a href=“mailto:pamelata@usc.edu”>pamelata@usc.edu</a> if you’re interested :)</p>
<p>well the GEs do. But those all vary so much from teacher to teacher, unfortunately. I lucked out with amazing professors for ARLT (cat V) and WRIT 140.</p>
<p>Although I am a pre-law student, I may know some things that apply to you because my girlfriend is a pre-med student majoring in biology. In her biology course last semester, only the top 25% were awarded A- and above. You can expect this out of any pre-med course, as the pre-med track is designed to be very tough and competitive in order to weed out the less qualified students. Only about 50% of people who apply to medical school are accepted (<a href=“https://www.aamc.org/students/considering/gettingin/[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/students/considering/gettingin/</a>). You may or may not be pre-med, but since you are majoring in biology, you will be taking a lot of pre-med courses and can probably expect this type of grading in most of them.</p>
<p>^If someone knows that this is wrong, then please correct me.</p>
<p>The average GPA of USC students is about 3.25 (note that this is for students attending USC, not entering freshmen). USC is strongly against grade inflation, and I have heard that professors are frowned upon if they give out too many A’s. While I’m sure that some professors will give you an A if you deserve it (but this largely depends on your major), I think that usually you’ll have to excel based on both the professor’s standards and how well your fellow students are doing in order to get high grades.</p>
<p>Competition is a fact of life at all top-30 universities. So why attend them if it’s harder to get A’s there? Because tougher competition forces you to unlock your full potential. Not only that, but the best students/professors tend to gather at these universities and create truly intellectual and brain-stimulating environments. Dealing with competition may be horrendous sometimes, but if you overcome the challenges it presents, then it’ll be worth it.</p>
<p>However, some people thrive on competition while others do not. So be sure to choose the college that you feel is the best fit for you. Good luck!</p>
But those all vary so much from teacher to teacher, unfortunately. I lucked out with amazing professors for ARLT (cat V) and WRIT 140.</p>