USC vs. Stanford

I'm watching the football game tonight, which compels me to ask if anyone has attended / visited either school. I'm a senior in high school, and I'm looking at both of them. I'm stuck in Wisconsin right now, so I won't be able to visit them for a while (probably early spring). Any advice or insight into any aspect of either school would be greatly appreciated.

[RDWallace]

I can say unequivocally that attending Stanford was one of the best decisions I've made to date. The academics and athletics (with the exception of football unfortunately) and of course the weather are all unrivaled. If you're at all interested in business/have some entrepreuneurial ideas silicon valley is the place to be, and it's not even close. Even as a freshman, the FAs (focus assistants) in your housing can aid with business planning and will dole out generous amounts of money to help you on your way. If you have specific questions feel free to PM me.

[okayplayer]

Fck Stanfurd. Both are yuppy, high priced private schools, so if that's your thing, take the lesser of two evils in U$C - hotter women.

GO BEARS!!!

[imported_anacardo]

If you want to go a California school you should probably go to Berkeley, all things considered, in the absence of some compelling specific program at some other school.

[RDWallace]

you have to be joking.

No way I can afford out-of-state tuition at Berkeley. All three are in the same price range, but I'm hoping for better financial aid from these two. We'll see how that goes, or else I'll just stick w/ UW-Madison.

[imported_anacardo]

I'm not. What's wrong with what's probably the best public university in America?

[Ulysses]

I can't imagine an out-of-stater who can get into both choosing Cal over Stanford.

[imported_anacardo]

Your highly J. Crew oriented lifestyle is duly scrutinized when considering your input on this matter, Mr. Diablo.

[aK13]

[ QUOTE ]
Fck Stanfurd. Both are yuppy, high priced private schools, so if that's your thing, take the lesser of two evils in U$C - hotter women.

GO BEARS!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Since I think the thread is actually semi serious, I'll make a serious post.

You can find hot women whereever you go (just have to look harder at some places...) but I assume that academics is your main concern. If this is true, then Stanford wins by a landslide -- it's not even close.

However, USC does tend to give better financial aid/scholarships just for academics, BUT if you need need-based financial aid, Stanford makes sure that if you're accepted, money isn't a problem to go there.

If all you're up for is partying, USC's scene is better for that (Stanford is mostly frat parties every thurs/fri/sat).

I'd actually be very surprised to hear of anyone that was accepted to both and chose USC over Stanford (assuming money isn't a problem).

In conclusion, Stanford owns and you can meet some other 2p2ers =) and screw berkeley.

[runner4life7]

stay in state here at madison, then go there for grad school, tons cheaper and tons of fun here. There are also lots of poker playing losers here too

[ChipWrecked]

Stanford: 'The Harvard of the West'.
USC: 'University of Spoiled Children'.

[BruinEric]

OOT might not be the best place for advice on this, but all other things being equal you should look for some nationwide advice on the value of a degree between UW-Madison, Stanford, and Southern Cal.

You will almost assuredly find one of those schools being third in every conversation on the issue.

I attended UCLA, so I'm obviously predisposed against USC on this issue -- but that doesn't mean I'm incorrect.

Best of luck to you.

[lapoker17]

[ QUOTE ]
and of course the weather [is] ... unrivaled.

[/ QUOTE ]

Uh, yeah.

[ QUOTE ]
If you're at all interested in business/have some entrepreuneurial ideas silicon valley is the place to be, and it's not even close.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you in a time warp?

[Shilly]

Are you sure that you'll be accepted to both? It's not exactly a walk in the park...

Oh, and go to UW.

[lapoker17]

And, FWIW, Stanford is obviously the correct answer, just thought your hype-level was a little high.

[pokerdirty]

hope you like asians.

[Tron]

I go to USC, and you should go to Stanford. There are a lot of good things about USC: The academics are excellent and only getting better, the football team is great, and Los Angeles is a pretty fun place to be. However, Stanford far excels in academics and their sports and locale aren't too bad either.

I'm only here because I was following the money.

[smurfitup]

i'm a junior at yale and when i was going through the decision process, i was really lost in the woods... sometimes i regret choosing yale over stanford since i'm originally from cali and because i don't really mesh w/ the lifestyle here... how is this applicable to your question, you ask? until we know something about you and your interests, passions, etc. we can't be qualified to say "choose this school over that school." it's COMPLETELY dependent on you and the kind of person you are and what you want your college experience to be. visiting the schools will be the only way for you to really know which you want to attend. personally, all the people i know at usc are spoiled and shallow, but it definitely has a lot of hot girls... a loooooooooot more than stanford does.

[pokergrader]

I'm a current USC student. While it may not be the most academic school in the world, you can get something out of it you try. Combine that with an excellent atmosphere and it is a pretty decent place to go.

Of course you can take advance of the low academic standards and just have good time, which is the most fun of all the available options.

[goofball]

[ QUOTE ]
I can't imagine an out-of-stater who can get into both choosing Cal over Stanford.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can if they got into the graduate physics programs

[pudley4]

[ QUOTE ]
stick w/ UW-Madison

[/ QUOTE ]

[ISF]

If your looking at these two you should really add ucla. No one in their right mind would go to sc that can get into ucla.
The women are as hot as at USC, plus its in a way better area and is a better school academically.
It would be tough to turn down stanford, but depending on they type of person you are palo alto isnt for everyone. I spend two year up there and absolutly hated it, but many disagreed. When I lived up ther there were seriously like 5 decent looking women in a 50 mile radius.

[Publos Nemesis]

Stanford is not only a better school, it goes a lot further in reputation.

If your concerns are about financial aid, then you should consider rich schools like Harvard / Princeton which give you a ton of aid. More than half of the students attending those schools get some sort of aid.

Princeton is only a short drive away from AC. . . . so I think I made the right choice going there.... anyways you should definitely visit USC b/c the girls are much hotter than any you will find at Stanford, Cal, Harvard or Princeton.....

[pokergrader]

[ QUOTE ]
If your looking at these two you should really add ucla. No one in their right mind would go to sc that can get into ucla.
The women are as hot as at USC, plus its in a way better area and is a better school academically.
It would be tough to turn down stanford, but depending on they type of person you are palo alto isnt for everyone. I spend two year up there and absolutly hated it, but many disagreed. When I lived up ther there were seriously like 5 decent looking women in a 50 mile radius.

[/ QUOTE ]

Im not so sure about this. UCLA is a very good school, but so is USC. It is a lot easier to get money from USC than to get money from UCLA. I got into both UCLA and USC and after visiting both schools, I decided to go to USC. And having worked at UCLA over the summer, I'm very happy with my decision.

I would say that as a high school senior I would certainly have gone to stanford over USC. However, once you realize that most colleges are very similar, it doesn't matter as much. I have friends at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Stanford, UVA, UCLA, all sorts of "top" schools, and when I talk about my experiences and they talk about theirs, we are saying pretty much the same things.

Even at the best places, there is so much grade inflation that *undergrad* is more about showing up than actually being intelligent. So while it seems like this massive important decision, remember that academically they are very similar (however this can change a lot based on specific majors), but their locations and campus life are incredibly different.