University of Southern California Top Questions

The education at USC defies the idea of "learning for the sake of learning". It is quintessentially pre-professional, and the quality of professors and classes vary from school to school within the larger university. I've had great professors and not-so-great professors, but many of my classes were very large. Discussion sections aren't particularly helpful as many TAs don't know how to handle their

The academics are wonderful. However, academics wherever you are become what you make of them. I have developed a personal relationship with every professor I have had. They all know me by name, they all are willing to go grab lunch, they go the extra mile (One of my professors is a good drinking buddy of mine now). USC has a lot of top programs. Marshall is a top ten business school, our film school is the nation's best, we have the oldest IR department in the country (third oldest in the world), our music school is premier, and most students double major, or major and minor. Its rare to find anyone with only one area of interest.

I will speak of the business school, because that's what I know best. First of all, there used to be a strict curve to which all the business professors had to adhere. As of last year, this curve is no longer mandatory (professors are given the discretion to move the average up if they feel their group of students was particularly bright), but as far as I could tell, almost all professors are sticking to that curve. In most cases, the curve ends up helping you more than it hurts (when you get your first 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} on a midterm you will freak out, until you realize that curved it might be a B). The students at the business school are all about getting high-paying jobs, especially those students with a finance concentration. They have their eyes set on Goldman and Citibank and will stop at nothing. I personally loved the upper-level finance classes but hated the students in them- they were fiercely competitive, not collaborative, and uninterested in putting in a lot of work. They just wanted to get a good grade and figure out what they needed to know to get an internship at an I-bank. With that said, FBE 421, a valuation class, was extremely useful- I learned so much, and from that class I feel capable of researching and evaluating stocks without having to consult Jim Cramer. Although, as I said, students are fixated on getting the perfect job, I don't think professors have this focus in mind when teaching a class. They simply care about what they do and would like to impart this knowledge to others. Students grumble about the GE system, and I agree that it needs a little work. It seems that professors often get disgruntled that they are teaching students who have to take the class, and otherwise have no interest in the subject. Surprisingly, and quite refreshingly, USC often has some of its best and most engaging professors teach GEs. I had Craig Stanford for an anthropology GE, and he is one of the foremost anthropology researchers in the world. I also loved one of the GE categories; it's called Arts and Letters, which doesn't explain much, but it includes the most random subjects. I took one on Modern Russian Art- I thought I would hate it, but it was perhaps the most interesting class I took at SC. The GEs here are really meant to stretch you- they want you to take things that will make you an interesting, worldly thinker.

The professors in the film school are comprised of two categories: 1) They are professionals, working in the industry who use the teaching position as a means to make a steady-income. You are not their top priority and it feels as though they come to class merely to "get the job done". and 2) Professors who've committed themselves to teaching, but have no worldly experience or have never worked in the industry so their lessons are one-faceted, containing no "street smarts". Their lesson are in a sense valueless because the information they feed you is directly from the text book, one in which you can buy and learn independently, without paying the $1200/unit required to take the course.

USC has extremely stimulating classes and brilliant instructors.

Engineering at USC is one of the toughest things to keep up with, as the workload tends to rival a full time job. The work is interesting though, and there are many opportunities to take engineering to the next level through paid research. The engineering students are overly smart and talented, but I can't say much about the non-engineering kids as I feel they are underworked in comparison.

Academically, SC was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I have loved every single one of my professors, they are understanding people who know me by name and want each of their students to succeed. When it comes to GE classes, as long as you're a diligent student, there is no reason why you should get any lower than a B. Professors like to see you show up and pay attention, and they appreciate your hard work. If you're a slacker you need to be worried, but if you're a good student then you're fine, as long as you put effort into your work. My major is Screenwriting, and the classes that I've taken for my major have been amazing. The film school at SC is incredible. Your professors have worked in the entertainment industry and are legitimately there to make sure you become the best writer, producer, animator etc. that you can be. The School of Cinematic Arts is part competitive, part cooperative. There is nothing like it anywhere else, and even though it requires a lot from you, it also gives a lot back in the long run. If you're decideing between USC's film school and another, choose USC's!

I'm an architecture major, so I spend the majority of my time studying and working on projects. The architecture studios are very small (about 12 people), so you become very close with your peers and instructor. Only a couple students are given A's each semester, so students become very competitive. This isn't the case for a lot of majors, though. I have a lot of friends who are only in lecture classes, where there can be 100-300 people. There usually isn't much class participation and it's more difficult to get to know your teachers. I think once you get the general classes out of the way, courses become smaller and more personal. Regardless of what major you're in, though, USC will prepare you for a successful future.

Yes, professors know my name. One can go through a class (expecially a gigantic lecture-style class like International Relations 101) without growing familiar with the professor, but for the classes in which I felt it really mattered, my professors knew each student's name, strengths, areas for improvement, and more. My favorite classes have definitely been my animation classes (CTAN-101, CTAN-102 so far). They were mostly exploratory classes, probing and expanding the animation freshman class's imaginations. We did basic analog animation assignments in 102, but we have yet to really get going with it. The first two courses have been an excellent start. I hated Writing 140, but who doesn't? It's a required class, so unfortunately just about all incoming students must take it. I had a really good professor, but the course material seemed lacking at times. The class focuses on argumentative essay writing, but some prompts were not conducive to formulating an argument.

USC is a great school with stellar academics. Business and Accounting classes and students are extremely competitive. All business and accounting classes are curved, based on the scores and average GPA of the students in each section. This can be very good or bad. If you receive 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} scores on tests and do well, but everyone else is receiving the same scores, a 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} will become a B+ because most classes are curved at a B+. This methodology in the school, prevents grade inflation, and ensures that if some exams are somewhat easy, students don't all receive A's and get by with minimal work. Usually, the exams in classes are very difficult and scores will be deviate, making it possible to receive high scores if you study really hard. In some classes, the curve has been amazing because if the average for the class was in the 70s and I received an 85 or 90, I got an A on the exam and usually in the class if I did well on all the exams while the curve remained low. People in business classes are generally very competitive, intelligent, and very motivated to get great jobs and go to top business schools. Almost all of the professors I have had, have been amazing, except for professor Mendy Fygenson, worst business professor at USC, a complete nut job and incompetent.