University of Southern California Top Questions

The student body at USC is very diverse--racially, ethnically, religiously, economically, musically. We have a large international student population, so you'll come across someone who's not from America. Even with all this diversity, the problem is that these groups do not interact. This school tends to be quite segregated. I wish that could change. Go to the website or attend a tour at USC for statistics.

SC has a very large population of International Students, especially from India. They come from all over the world though. I feel, however, that most are grad students or engineers or both that stay in their own cliques. I say going to parties, dining halls, and social events...it feels like a predominantly white campus. There are many Asians as well, but I feel like many minority groups are "Americanized" any way so there are not many racial differences or stigma. Most SC students are more affluent that your average college student. This may or may not reflect on the individual and on how they dress and act. A LOT of girls go to classes in dresses and pretty shoes. I think some are pretty, but a lot wear those ridiculous bug-eye sunglasses. Maybe it is just an American girl thing not an SC girl. Needless to say the student boy is very attractive. Greek guys currently wear 80s sunglasses and hang out with Greek girls. And getting into their parties can be a a friend issue. I'm not a fan of the business students. But, most of the people I have met are awesome...some of the best personalities of anyone I have met or could aspire to meet in my life. I feel proud to be a Trojan and I give fight ons all the time.

There is so much school spirit on this campus and I LOVE it! Most of my friends are from out of state which allows for cultural diversity. In the dining halls, the tables are all filled with different groups of people who have different majors and likes and dislikes. It is great!

Diverse is the key word. As opposed to other 'big' schools like UCLA, UVA, or Michigan, USC has a broader of a socio-economic range with trust-fund babies from New York and scholarship kids who are from Compton. Surprisingly, there is not a segregated social network despite this. Because everyone loves the school so much, people become family because of that. The people who might feel out of place at USC are people who are bent on being anti-social. There are some people who are really just looking to be intellectually challenged and spend most of their time in their books. USC is not a place for that--people will try and drag you out of your dorm to a game or to a event of some kind (Obama and Natalie Portman came last semester). Politically, I would say most students are conservative, but generally speaking the school is moderate, with a lot of different groups representing both sides of the fence.

i've found with the people that i live around, people in my classes, and people i've made friends with, that for the most part there's very little judgement happening. mostly everyone is accepted...i mean, of course there's drama, but if you really don't want to be a part of it, you don't have to. students are from all over the place, which i think is neat because everyone has had unique experiences.

There are people from EVERYWHERE at USC. I could hear 3 different languages walking to class my freshmen year. I think we are #1 in the country for having the most diverse student body and international students in the country. The majors however are not as diverse as the overall school. The Schools of Engineering and Computer Science are mostly Middle Eastern. The Liberal Arts are mostly white kids. The School of Social Work is mostly African American, and you can find Asian people just about anywhere. All the ethnicities have their own student body assemblies and have centers they can hang out at. The Row (where all the Fraternities and Sororities are) are mostly white. They only let black people into their really big parties if they are athletes. Most of the people who are greek on The Row are white except for an Asian house and a few other non-whites sprinkled into some houses. I don't think anyone can feel out of place at USC. There is a niche for EVERYONE. Whatever interest you, will also interest at least one other person. Another thing about SC is that people wear everything under the sun. It's not like high school where everyone looks like a clone and they got to wear brand X. People have style hear. Some styles I don't really understand, but they all have their own flavor. The girls put together outfits I could never think of. Others though keep it simple and wear USC sweatshirts everyday (USC sweatshirts and gear are a MUST HAVE no matter what your style is). People interact, especially freshman because roommate assignments are random and this exposes you to many different types of people. Most Students are from California, but there are students from everywhere here. Texas is well represented and so are the other surrounding states. There are a lot of kids with money here (parents who are big in the entertainment industry, etc) but I think there are more well-off kids than poor kids and more middle class students than all of them. Some students are more politically aware than others. Quite a few are apathetic. But there are a lot of political organization like CALPIRG, who are always out petitioning for one cause or another. The business students talk salary a lot.

USC is not an extremely liberal college. Many of the students are from the more conservative part of California but there is so much diversity here it won't phase you at all. There's something for everyone, seriously. Because the weather is pretty much perfect around the clock, most of the student body will wear flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt. USC apparel is ubiquitous around campus. USC students are known for being very aware of what is happening in the political and financial worlds they are about to enter.

The girls spend A LOT of time deciding what to wear to class and how to wear their hair. Guys walk into class with their balls hanging out of their shit-stained pajamas and smelling like doodoo. Indian engineering students don't use deodorant. Film students don't use razors. Fraternity boys don't use condoms. Typical stereotypes. But you can't take anybody down a peg whose parents make millions of dollars more than your own parents. It's just like that.

Of my ten closest friends here at USC, two are from California. Seven are on academic scholarship, and all of them received some amount of financial aid. USC has really popular student groups that range from groups for Chicano students interested in medicine, to the black students in business. I feel that USC is very open and accepting of LGBT students because at our university, there's really not much that can bother us now, because we are making the best of our time. Most students have the mind set "If that's what you like, then go for it" for the wide range of social groups on campus. I have personally had success in finding a spiritual group that suits me, and there are even fraternities that value spirituality as a criterion for their members. USC students are pretty laid back, less preppy than the east coast. It is normal to walk by a grassy knoll in one of our quads and see a sea of bodies laying around, soaking up the sun or playing frisbee on a beautiful spring day.

USC has a very diverse student body. There are a lot of student from out of state and out of the country. Everyone is friends with everyone. People come from a variety of financial backgrounds.