<p>I appreciate everyone’s well-thought out comments on this thread…But yeah, I just wanted to see what areas UCLA shines in. By no means did I want to bash SC, as if I did that, I would stoop down to the level of the people that seem to call me out for no reason other than the name of the university on my sweater…The info is awesome though…</p>
<p>Keep posting!</p>
<p>Hey all - I live in Maryland, and when I told a partner at a major midatlantic bussiness firm I was considering USC, she asked, “Why the f*** do you want to go to the University of South Carolina?”</p>
<p>So, um, being an East Coaster, I can say the claims about USC being a regional school are mostly true. Those who actually know USC is in California call it “U$C”. My parents were quick to tell me 40 grand a year was out of the question unless I got into Harvard!</p>
<p>I love USC, don’t get me wrong, but it is, compared to UCLA, impractical. UCLA is more widely respected, and is cheaper. Because I go to neither school, I can’t compare departments…but I’ll be applying to UCLA next Fall!</p>
<p>Another reason UCLA appeals to me is its location and campus. I’ve always been torn between the New England liberal arts school atmosphere and the experiences a place like BYU or NYU would bring me. UCLA has a traditional campus, but it’s got that “city” feel of endless possibilities to it.</p>
<p>Yes, so again, a single opinion indicates the disposition of an entire coast. Don’t take AP Statistics your senior year; it could ruin your chances for UCLA.</p>
<p>^I cited one example, but it has certainly not been the only one. Obviously nobody on CC has conducted a widespread regional survey - we’re not claiming to be statiticians. But step inside a local mall or school and ask people where USC is, and they won’t say Southern California. I’ve never met a single teenager or adult who didn’t recognize the name UCLA!</p>
<p>It’s fair to make reasonable conjectures about name recognition in a region without a multi-million dollar government funded investigation.</p>
<p>My d got into USC and probably UCLA (she got asked to apply for Regent’s scholarship).</p>
<p>So now that both schools are a reality, its time for us to quit focusing on whether she would get in, but which school is a better match.</p>
<p>Questions:
<ol>
<li><p>How many classes are taught by professors vs TAs?</p></li>
<li><p>For a person who values close friends and relationships, does the “bigness” of UCLA, USC --or both schools-- impede making close friends.</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better in terms of future networking 10 - 20 years down the road.</p></li>
<li><p>Does the bigness of the school affect students getting their classes when they want it?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it easy to graduate in 4 years, or harder because the school is so big that you can’t get the classes when you want.</p></li>
<li><p>How easy is it to have your professors know you on a name basis.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for any info or opinions.</p>
<p>I cannot answer for the evil Trojans (I kid, and if any of you get uppity over this joke, sod off), but I can answer for UCLA:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>This is impossible to answer. It depends on class standing, major, and other factors. My lower div poli sci classes were quite large. My upper-div Japanese classes sometimes had no more than 15 students. On average, I’d say around 50-100 for lectures and 15-25 for discussions.</p></li>
<li><p>All of my lectures were taught by professors. Discussions only were taught by TAs.</p></li>
<li><p>I made many very close friends at UCLA.</p></li>
<li><p>Can’t say. I’m not 10-20 years down the road. I’d venture that USC is a better “networking” school though.</p></li>
<li><p>I only had trouble getting classes I wanted a couple of times. </p></li>
<li><p>I had no problem graduating on time. </p></li>
<li><p>I have at least 3 or 4 that know me by name. Just go talk to them during office hours!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Big schools require that a student be proactive (even though I hate that word). You need to get out there and ACT. You can’t just sit with your fingers up your tuchus and expect success to fall on your lap.</p>
<p>mom of four:[ol]
[<em>]Based on my course history, the average class size was ~80. The smallest class was 28 (CS 35) and the largest class was ~320 (Econ 2).
[</em>]All lectures are taught by professors. All discussions are taught by TAs.
[<em>]Nope. In fact, the size and diversity of UCLA has made finding close friends easier. :rolleyes:
[</em>]UCLA.
[<em>]Yes. I’ve been unable to enroll in some labs because of the demand.
[</em>]Depends on your major. Letters and Science majors only require ~160 units to graduate, but Engineering majors require ~200 to graduate.
[li]Easy. Most of my Computer Science professors know me by name. :rolleyes:[/li][/ol]</p>
<p>Questions:
<ol>
<li><p>How many classes are taught by professors vs TAs?
all classes are taught by profs. occasionally there are lecturers, although i’d argue some of these lecturers are better than the tenured profs in terms of teaching ability. the only class i’ve heard that was taught by grad students is English Comp 3 (intro to college writing). TA’s do lead all the discussion sections for the classes though. </p></li>
<li><p>For a person who values close friends and relationships, does the “bigness” of UCLA, USC --or both schools-- impede making close friends.
i think almost everyone finds their niche and finds good friends at both. UCLA is a big campus, but it doesn’t really feel that way to me. the best ways to make friends are to interact with your dorm’s floormates and to get involved with campus activities and clubs. and it’s really easy to make friends that way. the only people who don’t make friends easily are those who choose not to, really. </p></li>
<li><p>Which is better in terms of future networking 10 - 20 years down the road.
most would say USC. i’d say if you are proactive, then you can find equally good networking opportunities at UCLA. there’s a lot of resources out there that a lot of UCLA students don’t know about or don’t use. </p></li>
<li><p>Does the bigness of the school affect students getting their classes when they want it?
somewhat. i’m usually satisfied with my schedule but it’s usually not the same as my ideal planned-out schedule. i’ve been able to get into most classes, and if i’m unable to get into it one quarter, i’m able to get into it the next quarter that it’s offered. </p></li>
<li><p>Is it easy to graduate in 4 years, or harder because the school is so big that you can’t get the classes when you want.
you’re expected to graduate in 4 years currently due to the Expected Cumulative Progress (ECP) policy. nevertheless, it isn’t weird to hear of someone staying an extra quarter after their 4 years to finish up a class or two. most people can graduate in 4 years though. </p></li>
<li><p>How easy is it to have your professors know you on a name basis.
difficult if you just sit in lectures and do the material. you’ll most likely get more interaction with your TA. of course, if you go to office hours, do research with them, have an honors section or seminar with them, etc., then they’ll get to know you on a first name basis. again, students need to proactively pursue these opportunities though.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Mom of Four:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Agreed, it’s hard to say. Generally at USC, and I’d venture the same is true at UCLA, the lower division GE classes that everyone is requried to take are quite large (my largest was 130), but major-specific and upper-division courses can be as small as 10. At USC, some are even capped at 12 including writing and journalism courses. I would say most of my classes have been in the ~40 range.</p></li>
<li><p>In most cases, the lectures are lead by professors and the dicussions by TA’s. At USC, for many upper div. classes, there is only a lecture component taught only by a prof – these classes are usually capped around 30 and are similar to another classes “discussion/lab,” but again, are lead by the professor with much interaction.</p></li>
<li><p>Not at all. If anything, the size of both guarantees finding plenty of people with whom you share the same interests with, etc. Besides, it’s nice to go all four years and still meet people left and right.</p></li>
<li><p>USC, hands down. UCLA alumni are active enough where I’m sure if their students sought it out, they could find decent networking, but I’ve never heard of UCLA students (though I’m from USC, so correct me if I’m wrong, UCLA-ers) being invited to monthly alumni mixers, networking events, etc. USC’s undergrad. biz school even holds a “navigating the network” event which teaches undergrads how to, well, schmooze, and name-drop and so forth at these types of events. Further, off the top of my head, USC had around 4x the number of alumni groups that UCLA has, and the 2nd most of any university (damned Notre Dame). I’m in too much of a rush to look up the exact number, but you can compare at <a href=“Blog - รับให้คำปรึกษาการศึกษาต่อต่างประเทศ แนะนำการขอทุนเรียนต่อ นิวยอร์ก UCL Alumni University College London おもちゃ 寄付 千葉 いらないおもちゃ 寄付 ใช้เงินน้อย ได้เงินคืน”>Blog - รับให้คำปรึกษาการศึกษาต่อต่างประเทศ แนะนำการขอทุนเรียนต่อ นิวยอร์ก UCL Alumni University College London おもちゃ 寄付 千葉 いらないおもちゃ 寄付 ใช้เงินน้อย ได้เงินคืน; and <a href=“http://alumni.usc.edu%5B/url%5D”>http://alumni.usc.edu</a></p></li>
<li><p>I’ve only been waitlisted twice (both times being this semester). For one, demand for a class was so high that they opened up one more section than they had intended on, and for the second, a spot opened up last minute. So no, I’ve never not been able to get the classes I needed, though there’s bene a couple of close calls.</p></li>
<li><p>The advising (at least that I’ve encountered) is too solid to let that happen. Usually when I find 5th year seniors, it’s because they decided to take a semester off, or they’re double-majoring/minoring… though even double-majoring can be accomplished in 4.</p></li>
<li><p>I’ve found that most profs are disappointed by low office hours attendance, and subsequently, are eager to interact with students if they do go. As kfc4u said, it takes some initiative, but it can be done quite easily.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>themegastud,</p>
<p>As a member of UCLAlumni, I’ve been invited to many different alumni events. I just happen to live thousands of miles away from the nearest one. Oops.</p>
<p>I think, however, that USC is definitely blessed with a more active alumni base.</p>
<p>Oh I’m sure, UCLAri. I meant current undergrads being invited to alumni neworking events.</p>
<p>Hmm… I honestly can’t remember if I was or not. I didn’t pay attention at the time, since I was too focused on classes. Maybe?</p>
<p>occassionally i do get invited to alumni-related events, and i might be lucky since i’m an alumni scholar. for everyone else at UCLA, there’s only several major campus-wide alumni events throughout the year, such as Interview with a Bruin that’s coming up.</p>
<p>(Bumping a dead thread since admission decisions are approaching)</p>
<p>You can read some of the testamonials of current UCLA regents scholars’ decisions about why they chose to attend UCLA at the following link:</p>
<p><a href=“UCLA Regents Scholar Society”>UCLA Regents Scholar Society;
<p>And to answer the questions:</p>
<p>Questions:
<p>They vary in size. The science classes I’ve taken for lower division courses range from around 100-300 students. They start to shrink when you’re taking the upperdivision. I’ve grown accustomed to the large lecture hall, and I personally prefer it over the more smaller classes- it has more of a collegiate feel for me.</p>
<ol>
<li>How many classes are taught by professors vs TAs?</li>
</ol>
<p>Professors teach the classes. TAs teach the discussion sections, which generally meet once a week where graduate students give you a different approach to looking at what’s taught at lecture, and they summarize up what was taught that week and attempt to do problems generally.</p>
<ol>
<li>For a person who values close friends and relationships, does the “bigness” of UCLA, USC --or both schools-- impede making close friends.</li>
</ol>
<p>If anything, it should help you out in making friends. There are so many people from so many unique backgrounds that sit right next to you in class. Reach out and initiate the contact- become proactive because this is where you’re spending your next four years so get to know those around you. </p>
<ol>
<li>Which is better in terms of future networking 10 - 20 years down the road.</li>
</ol>
<p>That depends on what you do. USC is known for its networking, but it still would not matter if you clam up when you attend either schools. The UCLA alumni association offers some networking opportunities throughout the year (like “dinner w/ 12 strangers” where you meet 12 other random undergrad at the house of an alumni who has agreed to be a host or dinner w/ a faculty member- although I’m not sure the second one is hosted by the alumni association) so you can look out for those. Go to the on-campus job fairs (really great opportunity to pick up internships and immediately build up some networks right there) and actually go down to the career center of the university you attend to utilize the resources. You can join a fraternity or sorority which are also notorious for their networking no matter where you go. You can also join clubs and find out plenty of resources through them such as internships. Read the flyers on the bulletin board as well- I used to ignore them because I thought they only contained ads from people selling their used textbooks, but they let you know of lots of opportunities like research openings. There are resources at both universities, but they are meaning less to YOU if you don’t do anything about it because it won’t just come to you. </p>
<ol>
<li>Does the bigness of the school affect students getting their classes when they want it?</li>
</ol>
<p>It can get in the way, but you can (and always should) have alternative plans to fulfill other requirements for graduations along the way. Also, there are plenty of unique classes that you can always take if the ones you want are filled for the quarter, which you should take even (and especially) if it has nothing to do w/ your major- it’s part of the college experience and you’re only here for 4 (or 5?) years so make it worth your while. If its a class you need or it’ll really impede your progress if you aren’t able to attend, you can always contact the counselor of the department to try and work something out about enrollment (especially since they are hired to do that stuff for their specific department).</p>
<ol>
<li>Is it easy to graduate in 4 years, or harder because the school is so big that you can’t get the classes when you want.</li>
</ol>
<p>UCLA actually forces you to graduate in 4 years through their ECP rule (expected cumulative progress- which sets down a set of units you have to have completed by every even quarter to ensure you graduate in 4 years). They also cut off your grant/aids after 4 years so you pay in full if you stay after as another incentive to make you graduate in 4 years.</p>
<ol>
<li>How easy is it to have your professors know you on a name basis.</li>
</ol>
<p>Again, that’s something that is up to yourself. You have to make yourself known- attend office hours which they have to have by the university standards. Its suprising how little students attend. You don’t have to go to office hours just to get help in the class- you can also get some advice on your future career from your professor, who has been through the decision making process that you’re currently going through, already. And you can also start to build up your letter of recommendation file early on.</p>
<p>Thanks for any info or opinions.</p>
<p>Good luck in deciding where you want to go. Both universities have their positives and negatives. It’s one thing to hear about it in some anonymous board, but its another to actually experience the university. Tour both campuses and sit in some of the classes. Talk to the students while you’re at the university and ask them about the university and their own experiences. UCLA is not for everybody, just like how USC is not for everybody- find what’s right for yourself and make sure of it by going down there: spending a couple of days visiting campuses are well worth the investment for something that you’ll be spending the next 4 years at.</p>
<p>thanks to everyone supplying information on this thread, it’ll help determine what my life will be like for the next four years…I am having an extremely difficult time since looks like my choice will come down to choosing between USC and UCLA. I like ucla’s housing options better, but i’ve heard the GE requirement at usc is smaller therefore it is easier to complete a double major or major/minor in four years than it would be at a uc. even with all this information, I still feel like something is missing. is there anyone who had trouble deciding between ucla and usc??</p>
<p>well i have been through both systems. i transfered form a uc very similar ucla (uc irvine) to USC, ive seen both sides and i can give you direct comparison of both. PM me, so i dont have to post something that will make verybody mad.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’ll make anyone mad. At least not me. And who else counts anyway? 
:p</p>
<p>Why not post, MrTrojanMan? As long as you back up what you say when you can, and you accept that certain things may have been true of Irvine but might not be true of UCLA, then post away.</p>
<p>yes i can back up the things i say with strong examples from my experience, yes i do accept that ucla is different than uci (as long as yall can accept that ucla and uci are very similar in many ways)</p>
<p>i have all kinds of work to do, but ill post something up real soon…</p>
<p>you can search my previous posts too, ive talked about this before. but i think ill give a better perspective now. just hold on, ill get back at this.</p>
<p>one more thing: if your stuck choosing between USC and ucla, than you are in a very good position, as you cant really go wrong with either choice…or else there is something wrong with you.</p>