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martinet · 04-20-2006, 07:05 AM

Hi guys,
I am in a dilemma. I hav got admit in USC MS VLSI design. But i hav heard that it is not a as good College as it should be according to its rank. It is a money making university. Classes are overcrowded. If anybody of you have any information regarding USC, please give opinions. Does anybody knows job opportunities after completing the degree?
I am waiting for any suggestions... Good or Bad....

Eddie_The_Head · 04-20-2006, 08:16 AM

read my earlier thread at

http://www.urch.com/forums/admission...44317-usc.html (In at USC)

hope that helps!

LostInLA · 04-20-2006, 11:15 AM

I go to USC. I did my undergrad there and am in the process of finishing my Masters.

I don't think it's over-crowded. If you look at the schedule of classes:
http://www.usc.edu/academics/classes...lasses/ee.html
The average class size is like 40. Add to that, most of the classes are 'webcast'-enabled. So, a lot of people don't go to the lectures.

In a way, it's a money-making university because the standards of admission for Masters and Phd is totally different. I think for the masters the engineering school has like ~40% admission rate but the engineering phd programs are super selective with less than 10% admission rate.

In terms of Job opportunities, I think it's really good. The engineering department has it's own 'career fair' each semester. So each semester there's the USC general career fair and also a separate career fair organized by the engineering dept.

Here's a link to the list of companies that participated to the engineering career fair last Feb.
http://viterbi.usc.edu/assets/002/25102.xls

housingquest · 04-20-2006, 05:30 PM

I will be attending USC in the fall as a grad student. Do you have any advice on housing? Is it hard to get a spot in the grad apartments? For off campus housing what are the better areas to look in? Lastly, what is the best way to go about finding a place. Thank you.

LostInLA · 04-20-2006, 07:06 PM

With regards to housing, my advice is to apply for USC housing early! It gets filled early. I think they allocate a certain number to new graduate students but you have to really apply early.

As for off-campus non-USC owned housing,
You can refer to these websites:
http://www.conquesthousing.com/
http://www.calstudenthousing.com/home.html

If you're willing to commute to school, you may also want to consider apartments in Downtown LA(more expensive) or in Korea-Town(cheaper).

Generally, the north-side of the campus is better. I think the best way to finding a place, if you weren't able to get usc-housing, is to come earlier and search the places near USC.

LostInLA · 04-20-2006, 07:07 PM

With regards to housing, my advice is to apply for USC housing early! It gets filled early. I think they allocate a certain number to new graduate students but you have to really apply early.

As for off-campus non-USC owned housing,
You can refer to these websites:
http://www.conquesthousing.com/
http://www.calstudenthousing.com/home.html

If you're willing to commute to school, you may also want to consider apartments in Downtown LA(more expensive) or in Korea-Town(cheaper).

Generally, the north-side of the campus is better. I think the best way to finding a place, if you weren't able to get usc-housing, is to come earlier and search the places near USC.

tiger81 · 04-27-2006, 08:39 PM

Yes USC's ranking is indeed misleading. If you are looking at the US News ranking their peer assesment score and recruiter assesment score is pretty low among the top schools. If a job after graduation is important to you then keep that in mind. They only have a great Phd program which is very difficult to get into. Their Masters program seems to be pretty mediocore. Its the amount of research money they have that bolsters the rankings, and this money seems to be reserved for Phd students. Even if Phd is your ultimate goal, remember their qualifiers are a real b**** and MS will be your terminal degree if you dont clear those qualifiers. If you are however admitted to an MS Phd program at USC definately go for it.

04-20-2006, 07:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
martinet Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2	USC dilemma... Hi guys, I am in a dilemma. I hav got admit in USC MS VLSI design. But i hav heard that it is not a as good College as it should be according to its rank. It is a money making university. Classes are overcrowded. If anybody of you have any information regarding USC, please give opinions. Does anybody knows job opportunities after completing the degree? I am waiting for any suggestions... Good or Bad....

04-20-2006, 08:16 AM	#2 (permalink)
Eddie_The_Head Within my grasp! Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 102	read my earlier thread at http://www.urch.com/forums/admission...44317-usc.html (In at USC) hope that helps! _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ Relativity SUCKS!!

04-20-2006, 05:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
housingquest Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 3	To LostInLA I will be attending USC in the fall as a grad student. Do you have any advice on housing? Is it hard to get a spot in the grad apartments? For off campus housing what are the better areas to look in? Lastly, what is the best way to go about finding a place. Thank you.

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04-20-2006, 11:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
LostInLA Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 29	I go to USC. I did my undergrad there and am in the process of finishing my Masters. I don't think it's over-crowded. If you look at the schedule of classes: http://www.usc.edu/academics/classes...lasses/ee.html The average class size is like 40. Add to that, most of the classes are 'webcast'-enabled. So, a lot of people don't go to the lectures. In a way, it's a money-making university because the standards of admission for Masters and Phd is totally different. I think for the masters the engineering school has like ~40% admission rate but the engineering phd programs are super selective with less than 10% admission rate. In terms of Job opportunities, I think it's really good. The engineering department has it's own 'career fair' each semester. So each semester there's the USC general career fair and also a separate career fair organized by the engineering dept. Here's a link to the list of companies that participated to the engineering career fair last Feb. http://viterbi.usc.edu/assets/002/25102.xls

04-20-2006, 07:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
LostInLA Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 29	With regards to housing, my advice is to apply for USC housing early! It gets filled early. I think they allocate a certain number to new graduate students but you have to really apply early. As for off-campus non-USC owned housing, You can refer to these websites: http://www.conquesthousing.com/ http://www.calstudenthousing.com/home.html If you're willing to commute to school, you may also want to consider apartments in Downtown LA(more expensive) or in Korea-Town(cheaper). Generally, the north-side of the campus is better. I think the best way to finding a place, if you weren't able to get usc-housing, is to come earlier and search the places near USC.

04-20-2006, 07:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
LostInLA Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 29	With regards to housing, my advice is to apply for USC housing early! It gets filled early. I think they allocate a certain number to new graduate students but you have to really apply early. As for off-campus non-USC owned housing, You can refer to these websites: http://www.conquesthousing.com/ http://www.calstudenthousing.com/home.html If you're willing to commute to school, you may also want to consider apartments in Downtown LA(more expensive) or in Korea-Town(cheaper). Generally, the north-side of the campus is better. I think the best way to finding a place, if you weren't able to get usc-housing, is to come earlier and search the places near USC.

04-27-2006, 08:39 PM	#7 (permalink)
tiger81 Trying to make mom and pop proud Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2	Yes USC's ranking is indeed misleading. If you are looking at the US News ranking their peer assesment score and recruiter assesment score is pretty low among the top schools. If a job after graduation is important to you then keep that in mind. They only have a great Phd program which is very difficult to get into. Their Masters program seems to be pretty mediocore. Its the amount of research money they have that bolsters the rankings, and this money seems to be reserved for Phd students. Even if Phd is your ultimate goal, remember their qualifiers are a real b**** and MS will be your terminal degree if you dont clear those qualifiers. If you are however admitted to an MS Phd program at USC definately go for it.

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