<p>vineh–what a great post! You are spot on. USC’s student body is fairly indistinguishable in any meaningful way on quantitative measures from the rest on the prestige cruise liner. </p>
<p>I will add to “do it”… “enjoy it”. The key for prospective students is to visit to identify the atmosphere they judge they will most thrive in. It is important to talk to as many actual students as possible, especially those you may know. While cc is extremely helpful, it is not always clear what the background or motivation of a poster is. </p>
<p>I will offer again that my daughter and I found USC students to be especially vibrant, engaging and extremely happy with their academic and overall college experience, more so than for the other schools she was accepted to. Nevertheless, I encourage each prospective student to determine which college or university environment feels best and they determine is best for them. It may be a USNWR #1, #15, #30 or #?? school, though accepted to all.</p>