The University of Southern California

USC is a great school to have graduated from. The good/bad thing about it is that the diversity is too much (I dont mean ethnic diversity). This is the thing holding USC back from being Ivy-like.

USC has too many stereotypes, many of which are untrue. What I mean by this is that there is a good mix of smart ambitious successful students - as well as students who do not fit into that category. So while there is a good 40% of students who are highly competitive and motivated and will do very well for themselves, there is a large group that are not like this. These slackers are the ones that are holding back the success of USC.

The good thing is as a student you cannot go wrong with going here as long as you want to suceed. I personally like that atmosphere - where you can do your work and hence learn from some of the best teachers of any university (USC has good professor recruiting) and yet live in a relaxed social environment. As an engineer I did not want to go to an MIT or Stanford where I would be sacrificing some of my social life to only end up getting the same job as someone who went to a more relaxed school like USC. (Not to say that MIT or Stanford students don't have A social life.)

Point is, the presence of "not-the-best-students" doesn't make USC a bad school, it is just holding it back (in terms of rankings) from being a really really good school.

Academically it is a good top tier school, but not the best - at least not yet. Overall, I would say I would go back again and again (which I already did!)AND - there are many erroneous myths about USC - for instance that all the students are rich. If you think this then you have not been to the campus or you are just blinded by jealousy.

4th Year Male -- Class 2004

Education Quality: A+, Perceived Campus Safety: C

USC is a great school. The professors and TAs are friendly, helpful, and easy to talk to. Most of the engineering professors really really care about the students. The professor and students all stand together to compete with UCLA in both academics and sports. As you notice in other spirit ranking, USC students are ranked #1. It's graceful to be one of the members in the Trojan family.

4th Year Male -- Class 2005

Education Quality: A+, Perceived Campus Safety: B-