University of Southern California Top Questions

kind of, there are lots of rich people running around. i would say that some of them are not smart enough to be here, but there are also a lot who are. my best friends here are all on financial aid

I'd say they are maybe about 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} accurate.

The stereotypes exist for a reason: there ARE these types of people and unfortunately, I've encountered them. I've yet to find someone whose family doesn't have a certain amount of wealth, but then again, I haven't looked that hard. USC has a lot more diversity than anyone gives it credit for. I hear at least one language other than English from passersby daily. Many foreign students, especially around the engineering buildings. I live in Philadelphia, not exactly the 'small rural town' type, but there are still a lot more Asian-Americans here than I would encounter at home on the east coast.

You will find people like that, but there are many other groups of people that do not fit the stereotype at all.

For the most part, no. A lot of USC students have full or partial scholarships.

The USC stereotype is true. The stereotype regarding USC students being smart is more often true than not. As for being rich and spoiled, there are some that fit this description, but I think the majority of students at USC are not this way.

Not really. There are some annoying rich kids, sure, but the school's so big that it doesn't become an issue. There are definitely plenty of kids here with loans and scholarships. The classes vary, but I've had some (good) challenging ones.

To some extent, although I think that it becomes less true with each incoming freshman class. USC is a private school and is very expensive, with the cost of living in Los Angeles tacked on to the already high tuition; so it will always be the case that there will be a number of students who are there because their parents can afford it. But the average SAT score, GPA, etc. keep rising with each incoming class as Steve Sample and the administration continue their push to get USC into the top 10 of the US News rankings, so ability to pay is becoming less of a factor. However, the school is big enough (more than 15,000 undergrads, if I remember correctly) that for every spoiled kid you meet, there are likely to be 2 or 3 kids that worked hard enough to take advantage of USC's significant pool of scholarship and grant money. The problem is that those students tend to be less outgoing, and therefore on first glance it seems that everyone at USC is rich and spoiled, while it's really only the ones that you'll see on a first glance that are like that.

Some are, it is expensive and we do love our Trojan pride but we are also a very diverse and progressive campus and I love that about it.

No! They are totally not like that, especially if you have friends from the different schools, and not only teh College of Letters, Arts, & Sciences. I have friends from Viterbi as well as the School of Theatre and we all get along great.

it is true the greek system is big on our campus, and us southern californians are the most beautiful people in the world (haha just kidding), but it is definitely not true that USC is the university of spoiled children. i know tons of people on huge scholarships, financial aid, and who are working their way through school.

Like any school there are wealthy students that attend USC, but a little known fact is that USC is one of the top ten schools in the nation for giving financial aid to students from the lowest income bracket (lowest 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}). It is the ONLY private university in the top ten- all the others are public. While USC isn't in a rural collegetown, it is in one of the most diverse and different cities in the world- Los Angeles. Like any city there are good parts and bad parts- but USC is by no means in Compton. In my personal experience I have never had a problem- you just have to be smart- don't go walking around alone at 2 am listening to your ipod or talking on your phone. Be aware of your surroundings.

Some of them. It has been my experience that students at USC are intelligent, hard-workers who dedicate a lot of time and energy to their schoolwork but also enjoy an exciting social life that includes membership in a wide variety of clubs and organizations as well as a lot of partying. I have noticed that the majority of students here are highly academically competitive and did not earn at spot at USC because their parents are wealthy, but rather because they demonstrate commendable aptitude in a number of areas, including academics, athletics, leadership, etc. While some students at USC are more materialistic than others, I have not noticed any remarkable fluctuation between the quantity of these students at USC and at other universities in the area - both private and public. And finally, we go to a private school, of course we're spoiled! I think that just having the privilege to attend such an amazing school makes me spoiled, and frankly, I'm honored that my parents have spoiled me enough to allow me to study here!

Like all stereotypes, these descriptions have some validity in minorities.

To a certain extent, yes. Because USC is a private university in a state with high-quality public education, many kids who attend USC are rich. The campus overall is very well dressed and fashion-conscious, and the Greek system here is highly prevalent and influential. Diversity, however, exists at USC. Ethnically, culturally, and economically, the students here range from the white Malibu yuppie to the New York hipster, and as every year passes USC veers farther away from its title of the "University of Spoiled Children." What once was true no longer is.