is it safe to say that USC is top-tier and prestigious?

College Search & Lists
41

<p>^^^Agree with DunninLA. His order looks right.</p>

42

<p>California has too many good schools for USC to stick out especially with their brand to intertwined with sports. Great school, but not prestigious.</p>

43

<p>"It’s a favorite school in HK "
I KNOW RIGHT? My mom told me that before we moved to the US, the only US colleges that she knew were</p>

<p>Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, MIT an guess what? USC</p>

44

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s a pretty fair assessment, tho I would probably put Stanford on par w/ Caltech. if not ahead (Caltech is too specialized and many top students just don’t consider going there).</p>

<p>I probably would put USC on par w/ HM, if not nipping at the heals of UCLA.</p>

<p>In many ways, USC is like NYU - large private schools w/ both having largely commuter students in the past, and over the past 2 decades having seen a significant rise in their selectivity, national appeal, academic ranking, etc.</p>

45

<p>The people who don’t think USC is impressive are the type of slaves to quantitative evidence who would say Rosie O’Donnell is hotter than Alexis Glick because she has a larger bust measurement.</p>

46

<p>USC is by all means a great school.</p>

<p>I do, however, disagree with the rankings DunninLA posted though. Claremont McKenna is undoubtedly better than USC.</p>

<p>My friends call USC the University of Second Choice or University for Stupid Chinese</p>

<p>But don’t mind them, it’s still a good school. Some of it’s graduate programs rank highly and do provide good education.</p>

47

<p>^^ Stupid Chinese? I disagree. It used to be called the University of Spoilt Children but now I think i’ll just pop in for a visit when I go to college in the US if I’m ever feeling homesick.</p>

48

<p>

I would have to disagree with your ranking though if you were to add the liberal arts colleges it would be:
Stanford
University of Southern California
California Institute of Technology
University of California Berkeley
Pomona
University of California Los Angeles </p>

<p>Though I usually do not like to compare small schools such as Pomona and California Institute of Technology to schools much larger than their size.</p>

49

<p>^^^^Clueless. Sorry</p>

50

<p>^^^^Agreed.</p>

<p>More like this:</p>

<p>Caltech
Stanford
Pomona
Berkeley
Claremont McKenna
UCLA
Harvey Mudd
USC</p>

<p>I feel bad ranking Harvey Mudd so low but I dunno how to rank it higher lol.</p>

51

<p>cluelessbreeze says USC> berk. lol. USC is debatable even over UCLA.</p>

52

<p>UC-Berkley is easily more prestigious than USC, and UCLA is slightky more prestigious. I’ll admit, I’m biased, but every time I hear USC I think University of Spoliled Children. </p>

<p>I’d say USC is on a similar level of prestige to WashU St. Louis.</p>

53

<p>[usc_application_955.JPG</a> (image)](<a href=“usc_application_955.JPG]usc_application_955.JPG (image)”>usc_application_955.JPG (image))</p>

54

<p>I think USC is a peer of NYU.</p>

55

<p>"I’d say USC is on a similar level of prestige to WashU St. Louis. "</p>

<p>That’s a really weird comparison. First of all…WashU is a lot more prestigious compared to USC…and I’m not talking about how well known the two schools are to general public. Second of all, those two schools attract different pool of applicants… u rarely see people deciding whether to go to USC or WashU.</p>

56

<p>Too funny, skittled!</p>

57

<p>Is it found in this definitive list of Top Universities? [CC</a> Top Universities - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cc-top-universities/]CC”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cc-top-universities/)</p>

58

<p>I think one of the key tests of whether a top school is elite is whether or not it has to buy its National Merit Scholar contingent with non need-based aid. If your school can attract three or four dozen Merit Scholars in the normal course of issuing need-based aid you are prestigious and on the same playing field as other top 20 schools. If you have to buy your Merit Scholars you are not. USC in 2010 still has to buy its top talent.</p>

59

<p>■■■■■ to the link on post #53…“number of slaves?” bahahaha. i really hope that whole thing is a gross exaggeration, though.</p>

<p>also, i agree with this->“I think USC is a peer of NYU.”</p>

60

<p>USC is not particularly prestigious. But as an undergraduate institution, it is as (if not more) “prestigious” as some other so-called “top-tier” schools such as Michigan, UNC and UCLA. It is certainly as selective.</p>

<p>Yes, USC is non-elite because it needs to offer financial incentives to attract top students. But that is also true of public schools like Michigan, UNC and UCLA which have built-in financial incentives, especially for their in-state students. Many of them would have chosen private alternatives if it were not for cost.</p>