University of Southern California Top Questions

The introductory classes of any major and the general education classes have large class sizes, typically 200-250 students. In those classes, I don't talk to my professors unless it's related to my major. There are too many requirements to fufill the USC core. Students tend to fill the library during midterms and finals weeks. It's hard to find a space in Leavey Library during the nighttime hours because everyone is study their asses off at that time. Students in Marshall are very competitive due to the bell curve that school has. I don't know about other schools, but my major doesn't have a bell curve which is great. My problem is that students don't have intelligent conversations outside of class, but I only see that with the cinema students. They are always talking about films. For the most part, the classes in my major are interesting, but I don't feel that are preparing me for a job. I don't think that all majors are like this.

It's difficult to generalize all academics together so I would advise caution in reading my analysis and others. I haven't been to another college so it is not relative. A lot of people (especially those outside of the general Arts and Letters school I am in) dislike the GE requirements. I frankly love them. They are not boring general survey courses. They are taught by some of the better professors at SC. Students generally participate during lecture but not always in the discussion sessions. A friend told me this was because of apathy but I'm not quite sure. I've discovered that hot sorority girls are smarter than you think.

All my professors know my name which is incredible! I don't have a favorite class but I can tell you what my least favorite class is...Love and Desire in Medieval Mysticism. It is the worst class I think any campus can offer! I enjoy class participation. I like being able to meet with my professor outside of class and ask question and get help. They are always willing. The music school at usc is fantastic. The faculty members are brilliant and enjoy teaching students about the theory of music.

I participated in TO...aka Thematic Option Honors program. Best decision yet at the school. GEs are decent, my friends all had good experiences, and TO was even more interesting. Major classes are also very stimulating. Professors are fantastic and very accessible, for one of my final projects we all had dinner at the prof's house before delivering our presentations. Classes are also much smaller than at other 'big' schools. I initially was looking into the Ivy system and some smaller North East schools because I wanted small, challenging course material--and I definitely got it here despite the fact that I didnt anticipate it. I am in the accounting and business schools. Leventhal was pretty much the best decision of my life. Every semester they arrange with the Big Four a series of socials, meet and greets, case competitions, and Meet The Firms. they also send out a book of every student's resume to any company that calls asking for one. Literally, I kid you not, one week I had calls from 6 Fortune 500 companies asking me for an interview--and all I did was go to class.

i'm premed so the classes are large and difficult, you have to work hard and go to office hours a lot and stuff for the profs to actually know you. students are competitive but never mean in my experience...i'm a neuroscience major so i really liked my intro to psychology class. overall the academics here are top notch.

How well your professors know you depends on your major and if the class is a general education course or for your major. As a Science major all of my classes were 100+ and up to 300 people. The professor only knows you if you make it a point to go to his/her office hours or ask them questions after class. This means that you should get to know them if you want a letter of recommendation down the line. My favorite classes were Ballroom Dancing, Tap, Exploring Cultures Through Film, Film, Power, and American History. How much students study depends on their major. Science and Engineering kids have to study a lot to keep up, but most other majors can study right before midterms. Pre-health students can be competitive. Dance As An Art Form was the most unique class I took because I learned about dance from a world prospective instead of just a Western perspective. Neuroscience is pretty cool because there are only 5 classes that you absolutely have to take and the other 6 are up to you. 11 classes allows you a lot of room to do another major or a couple of minors. I think the education is geared towards learning for learning's sake> They try to make us well-rounded individuals, so you can't graduate without learning a little history, science, sociology, etc. I think the Social Issue requirement is good because it requires privileged people to at least learn about what life is like for the less privileged and it just might stir up some compassion in them.

When meeting many USC students, outsiders presume we are just a bunch of stupid "Laguna Beachers", but what many don't understand is our immensely large intellectual side. Students are extremely competitive to get the best grades but are eager to help each other out. The teachers do for the most part know your name, the only classes that don't are the large lectures, but your TA's do. USC prepares all of its students for success in the outside world and with its huge Alumni program, finding a great job will not be extremely challenging.

I do not like the fact that we are required to take General Education--even though I went to this school to get a broader experience. You have to take a lot of them, they're like a harder version of your least favorite high school classes. Especially Writing 140 (that's a bitch). Most of the professors I've had really love the material they teach, and the TAs are committed to their fields. Grades always depend on the TAs, who grade the work (in large classes). I've had some pretty tough graders...but with General Education, I'm willing to let a few Cs slide by. I am an animation major in the cinema school. I've taken 7 years of animation before I came to the school, so there isn't much for me to learn (I am not being arrogant). I was a little disappointed in my professor, who isnt an animator, and who really doesn't know much about animation. This is probably a singular case, because this year is the first year for animation to have a major (took them long enough!). However, I did like my class, and the friendly atmosphere it engendered.

Great variety of classes to take, taught by those at the top of their professions.

Academics are serious here. All of my classes have discussion sections with TA's who have taken the course before and who are very skilled in the classes. The large lectures usually have smaller lab sections, so it is normal to have TA's who know your name and are interested in your work. The students at USC are vocal and well-spoken, and because we have such a variety of students here, somebody in a discussion can provide an outside point of view that exceeds the usual arguements of the class. Both professors and TA's are required to hold "office hours," which are at least 2-4 extra hours a week where they make themselves available for the students and their questions only. Those are also good opportunities to get to know the professors. For such a large university, we only have 6 categories of general education requirements that everybody has to take, and there are hundreds of options for those classes, so students generally end up in GEs that they really enjoy and were interested in.