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Wstrdg
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 05:58 pm |
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| Can you help me compile a list of schools that are similar in profile to USC, in terms of size, location, research/grad opportunities?
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DesperateDad
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 06:51 pm |
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| Perhaps bcos sports is a big part of the 'SC culture, the two colleges that immediately come to mind are UMiami (less selective), and Notre Dame. But, also Rice, Northwestern, & Vandy (more selective), and, possibly, Wake Forest (much smaller, and small town). (Assumes you weren't asking about U South Carolina.) Last edited on Tue Feb 26th, 2008 06:57 pm by DesperateDad
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 07:28 pm |
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Similar in size, urban location, and active grad research, but not as selective:
Boston U, Northeastern U
Similar in size, active grad research, more selective, but not urban:
Cornell U
Large urban public with active grad program:
U of Pittsburgh
Last edited on Tue Feb 26th, 2008 07:31 pm by Descartes
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 08:13 pm |
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D would also like it to be in southern Calif . . . that narrows the list down quite a bit 
Rice is a good idea, b/c it is urban and not in the NE. Not too sure that Nashville is "urban enough," although Vandy does look the part at first glance.
Any others?
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Descartes
Super Moderator
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 08:20 pm |
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| Emory?
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mackinaw
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 08:46 pm |
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Leaving out intercollegiate sports, I suppose one could add Brandeis to the mix. I'm not sure how "selective" the school is supposed to be.
Emory, Vandy, and WashU (St. Louis) are in a certain "class" it seems to me.
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jocelynDAD
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 09:48 pm |
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wstrdg:
If it is Southern California or Bust for your D - well frankly UCLA is the answer.
True it is not a private college, but Westwood is vastly nicer than Watts, both are in LA and UCLA has equal at least, if not better, grad/research facilities.
As you probably know, the University system in California (now greatly burdened) was so wonderful and cheap in past decades that it was difficult for private colleges/universities to develop. 
Only Stanford is a university would be a match for USC amongst private universities.
The Claremont colleges combined would be an academic possibility.
So if she loves to hear 'Conquest' and likes half-naked men riding white horses holding a raised blade, then it is Trojanville for her. 
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 10:23 pm |
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Chapman has been called the "new USC" but it's not quite as prestigious or as large, nor does it have the same grad facilities. USC is a private school but it has more in common with the eilte UCs like UCLA and Cal in terms of academics than the other private schools. It is a unique campus.
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HImom
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Posted: Tue Feb 26th, 2008 11:30 pm |
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What is the intended field of study? Santa Clara U--less urban and Loyola Marymount U (in LA), as well as Occidental are good school, tho less selective & smaller, but in CA.
Chapman and Redlands are two other schools that are smaller and less selective in LA. Somehow none of the other schools S considered "felt" like USC, which is what D feels as well & why it's her 1st choice & where S attends.
S did apply to Rice, but I believe it's smaller. Even tho for OOS, I believe it's somewhat less selective (by #s anyway), he wasn't accepted there but was accepted with significant merit aid at USC. Admissions are very confusing to me. His buddy was accepted at Penn w/o much merit aid & also at Boston U w/ significant merit aid but rejected at USC. We're still scratching our heads--USC is very selective among HI applicants because they have a huge pool of kids from HI, but it still was odd to us & the friend that he got into an ivy but rejected from USC.
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Wed Feb 27th, 2008 12:38 am |
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jocelynDAD,
She's really not into sports, naked men, or swords . . . and certainly not all three at the same time. I'm sure she doesn't know the name of the USC mascot or team or the school colors.
At this point, her number one choice definitely is UCLA, and I think she's got a great shot at it (she's only a soph right now), but she's just starting to think seriously about putting a list together, and she can't put all her eggs in UCLA's basket.
Intended field of undergrad study is ?? Eventually, she wants to be a lawyer, IP, specifically entertainment business. UCLA!
For undergrad, I'm pushing science, in case she comes to her senses and wants to do environmental law or patent or tech IP. She's got A's in everything, so that's no help picking. She doesn't particularly like humanities. At this point, who knows?
Last summer, she went to an East Coast school, and found too much class divide, spoiled twinkies or cholas, nothing in between. But we've discussed that those who go to summer programs are not necessarily those who go/get into the college as undergraduates. She also found the quaint village "boring."
She toured the Claremont colleges a few years back with big brother, and it was too dull. This kid thrives on lots of activity.
I spent a week at USC a few years back, and being inside that wrought-iron fence was claustrophobic. But D does have an older friend there who loves it, but then that girl has a car, which D won't have, and just drives away into better parts of LA when she feels confined.
HImom, how does your S deal with USC's "donut-hole" situation? Does the neighborhood bother him?
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Wed Feb 27th, 2008 03:46 am |
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Wstrdg wrote: D would also like it to be in southern Calif . . . that narrows the list down quite a bit
Any others?
USC is kind of unique in So. Cal. There really are no other private U's similar in size, selectivity, etc.
However, other mid-sized private U's in So. Cal. to take a look at would be:
University of San Diego
Loyola Marymount
Smaller U's: Chapman and Redlands
In Northern California: Santa Clara U
I would say, if staying in California is the goal, the UC's would probably be a closer fit to USC than the above privates, however.
Outside of California, try these which I don't think have been mentioned yet: Tufts, Syracuse (actually does have a very similar feel, just very different weather), Tulane, Boston College, Brandeis, U of Rochester, Georgetown, American, and George Washington. Some of the out of state publics might also work: U of Oregon, Indiana U, U of Wisconsin, U of Michigan.
Last edited on Wed Feb 27th, 2008 03:47 am by CarolynLawrence
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Lynda
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 02:11 am |
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Hi all,
USC grad here. I fell in love with the campus when I visited and HAD to go there. Son graduates from Redlands this May  when we visited Redlands I had the same feeling I felt st USC. The buildings and green made me feel at home. We used to go to Westwood at the drop of a hat when I was a student. That was before the University shopping center. Son has no problem finding things to do on or off campus, he does have a car. Parking is free and Freshman are allowed cars. I used to visit Wattt as a child. While USC is in a large city, I have no fears visiting. While I would love to see the Watts towers again, I doubt I would visit Watts again.
This is all my touchy feelly feelings-I don't feel qualified to compare programs of study.
Last edited on Thu Feb 28th, 2008 02:14 am by Lynda
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Deja
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 10:46 am |
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There are more "cholas" in the northeast than in CA? I looked up the meaning of this word, and was confused (unless you not using the top meaning).
What's USC's "donut hole" situation?
East-Coaster-in-the-dark
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HImom
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 05:12 pm |
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What's a "chola"? I've never heard that expression before.
Also, I believe USC is like many other schools--the students they want most they give all the merit aid they can to help make it affordable while the students they are less interested in, they give more loans. Several families I know who sent their kids to USC with financial need have been very happy with the aid packages their kids got at USC.
Never heard "donut hole" in connection with colleges, just drug coverage insurance.
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Lynda
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 06:04 pm |
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| In the dark ages, USC often replaced University scholarships for loans in the senior year. I haven't heard of this recently. My friend's daughter graduated in 2004 and while they had heard of this, it didn't happen to anyone she knew. I was an undergrad in the late 70's, in 81 they did everything possible to get more for us in Pharmacy.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 06:27 pm |
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I'm not sure what those terms mean, either, except it sounds like they are not like your daughter?
re: spoiled twinkies - Not knowing for sure what you mean by that, are you sure she didn't run into any of those at USC? It's an excellent school but it's also known for having a lot of well-to-do students. Any highly regarded private school is going to have a number of extremely wealthy and possibly very spoiled students. It's inescapable.
I've learned from observing my children and their friends that if your child is truly unique, they are not going to find as many students who are just like they are as they are going to run into differences. Some of those could be dealbreakers. I know one school one of mine turned down flat because of the types of students we saw during our visit. In the end, though, mine chose their schools for academic programs or offerings rather than for social reasons. That always presents some challenges. After visiting a lot of schools, we noticed that it's not always possible to find a school with excellent programs and exactly the social interactions or types of friendships they are looking for. So, they have to make adjustments, and sometimes learn to live with it.
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HImom
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Posted: Thu Feb 28th, 2008 10:38 pm |
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One of the advantages of a larger school like USC (at least from my kiddos' perspectives) is that with more bodies on campus, there's more likelihood that they'll find a group of folks that are "more like them" than at a smaller, more homogenous school. For my S, it has worked well. For my D, she's hoping USC will work for her also (if they accept her as a transfer).
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lfm
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Posted: Fri Feb 29th, 2008 03:47 am |
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| For the record - USC is not in Watts. Both Watts and 'SC are in South Central LA, but they are about 10 miles apart. The area around SC is a lot nicer than Watts, though hardly a fancy neighborhood. There are some very big houses in the area, but most are decayed. There are some rather affluent neighborhoods where these lovely houses are preserved. For instance - the house used in Six Feet Under.
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WestrnMom
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Posted: Fri Feb 29th, 2008 06:22 pm |
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As someone who spent years at USC, I have to agree with the previous message. The areas immediately surrounding the school are fine as long as the students learn where they can go, and where they should not venture. Daytimes are also usually fine. There is a huge museum complex just south of the campus, as well as a large arena for sporting events. North of the campus is a shopping center and the sororities and frats. Wandering around at night isn't a good idea. When I was there a student was killed walking alone a few miles south of the campus very late at night. But would you do that anyway near most college campuses? Probably not. Using common sense is very important for any student going to any college in an urban area.
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outwest
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Posted: Sat Mar 1st, 2008 04:39 pm |
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Just to educate the wonderful people on this board.
Chola is an extremely derogatory word used to describe female Hispanics. It evokes an image of a tough young woman with a certain style of makeup (no lie!). A cholo is used to describe male Hispanics and denotes an image of baggy pants, irresponsiblilty and gang members.
Please be careful how you use words when they refer specifically to someones heritage. Although I am not Hispanic, I took immediate offense to the use of the word in this thread. I know that none of you guys mean to be offensive in the least and attribute its use to ignorance. It is just like calling an african american a 'nigger' or a caucasian a 'pasty white' or an asian 'shifty slanty eyes'.
Please don't use it.
Last edited on Sat Mar 1st, 2008 04:43 pm by outwest
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