<p>UCLA likes to sell itself as more prestigious, because 20 years ago it was. Well, in the present, USC and UCLA are near equals and USC has MUCH more forward growth and momentum than UCLA. The current ranks of the schools are USC #26 with a score of 72 and UCLA #24 with a score of 73. The two spot difference is solely due to another university, UVA, that scored a 73 and was tied with UCLA. Thus, the differences between the two are very marginal. However, USC is in a better position. USC, being a private university, is not subjected to the state budget cuts. It is no secret that USC has generous donors and it is very well represented by the abundance of donor buildings, plaques, and dedications around the beautiful park-like campus. Further, in the past 20 years-aka the Steven Sample era-USC had progressed more than anything other University. USC had climbed from the high 40’s in the 90s to 26th in 2010. Also, USC has the resources to keep up forward growth. On other hand, UCLA is losing professors to higher paying universities (privates), USC included, and experiencing an unprecedented financial loss with government funding. The UC budget cuts are making class sizes larger, diminishing financial aid, and forcing admin to cancel courses, majors, and facilities. This will largely affect ones educational and social growth. Lastly, the USC Trojan Family dominates the job market in SoCal. The Trojan Family is not limited to just SoCal, but spans internationally.</p>
<p>Edit: USC is VERY VERY generous with financial aid. Because of its financial position it is able to provide 100% need to students. This allows USC to lower the total cost of attendance at or below UC levels. For example, I come from an upper-middle class family and I received around 30k each year in the forum of University grants. That 30k was able to lower my total cost of attendance to 24k. Note that the current cost of attendance of UCLA is now over 29k. With cost being equal, why would one attend a public school, especially when the academics are equal? USC offers better resources and is more student oriented.</p>
<p>If you would like to see the latest alumni donation, below are pictures of the Ronald Tutor Campus Center. It is set to open Fall '10. Ronald Tutor is one of our 9 billionaire alumni. USC is in 9th place, tied with Cornell, Berkeley, and University of Texas, for Universities with the most billionaire alumni in 2009 (post financial crash).</p>
<p><a href=“http://joelzink.smugmug.com/USC-Scenes/USC-Construction/5804313_WJ4Nx#810998821_nnZUK[/url]”>http://joelzink.smugmug.com/USC-Scenes/USC-Construction/5804313_WJ4Nx#810998821_nnZUK</a>
<a href=“http://people.forbes.com/profile/ronald-n-tutor/63030[/url]”>http://people.forbes.com/profile/ronald-n-tutor/63030</a>
<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/02/billionaire-study-harvard-stanford-business-billionaires-colleges-09-wealth_slide_13.html[/url]”>http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/02/billionaire-study-harvard-stanford-business-billionaires-colleges-09-wealth_slide_13.html</a></p>