<p>As someone who lives in Southern California and only 30 minutes out of LA, I can definitely relate to your conflict. I myself will be attending IU next fall, and I think between IU and USC, you should definitely pick IU. Remember that you live here, (im assuming) so during the breaks you can always come home to the 70 degree weather in the middle of december. You get your taste of winter, and possibly get a snowball fight and a snow day or two, and when you come home for a weekend, its a vacation! I also think that you would definitely adjust better if you went to IU in the fall semester instead of USC in the spring, it would just be easier to fit in while everyone is still searching for their group of friends. As far as academics go, while USC is ranked higher in USNWR overall, the Kelley School of Business at IU is actually higher ranked than USC’s Marshall School of Business. Especially if you are studying business, IU’s business school is definitely one of the best in the country. One more thing that IU has that USC doesn’t have: A college town. USC is not in the greatest of areas, but Bloomington is one of the best college towns around: the town revolves around the college (and its fun!), the greek system is outstanding, the basketball is crazy, and the football is all right (not the best, we all know)… For me it is a no brainer, but best of luck to you!</p>