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My friend got into both, which school should he go to?
Which school has a better politcal science program?

By Candyice (Candyice) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 01:58 pm: Edit

I think USC. I don't know that much about UC Santa Barbara,except that its a party school...not that its bad.

By Lovewriting (Lovewriting) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 02:23 pm: Edit

USC is in the middle of gang-infested "downtown" (really South Central) L.A.

Very dangerous to many. Please keep that in mind. UCSB is a much safer and prettier area.

I can't venture an educated guess on the programs...but UCSB is a top tier school. Not sure about USC. Plus UCSB is cheaper.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 02:27 pm: Edit

UCSB in a flash.

Note: TheDad's political science degree is from UCSB. That said, I'm not up to date on the department but it was very good for American Government and International Relations when I was there. I even did a foreign policy seminar in Iraq, this back in the mid-Seventies. I also did a quarter in Washington, D.C. on an internship and did well enough that I parlayed the experience into my first job out of college being on a U.S. Senate staff.

By Erin (Erin) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 04:36 pm: Edit

I think USC carries a slightly higher degree of prestige in the LA area, but overall UC Santa Barbara would be a better choice; more people outside of LA are likely to consider a degree from UC Santa Barbara a better qualification. Plus the campus is far prettier and it is way more laid back.

By Vizious (Vizious) on Thursday, April 10, 2003 - 06:39 pm: Edit

USC is not dangerous LOL, its in the hood but it aint like freakin hood movies, if u arent an idiot u should be fine.....although i wouldnt recommend rockin all blue with a blue rag and yelling "•••• slobs, this is damu killaz fo life" near USC...

By Crackcorn (Crackcorn) on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 02:40 am: Edit

USC isn't really known for Poli Sci. I guess I'd give the edge to UCSB on that one.

By E40 (E40) on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 03:34 pm: Edit

Without a doubt USC is a better bet, many times more prestigous, better ranked, better academics, UCSB has little prestige or name recognition outside of California, USC is just a much better school a degree from USC would be held in much higher regard than a degree from UCSB without a question.

By Thedad (Thedad) on Friday, April 11, 2003 - 05:42 pm: Edit

Outside of SoCal, "USC" is most often interpreted as "University of South Carolina," a fact which has lead to some hilarious conversations. As for prestige, a few programs like film and music to the contrary, USC has delusions of adequacy.

By Northstar (Northstar) on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 - 11:27 pm: Edit

Choosing between USC and UCSB, if your friend is planning on working in the Los Angeles area when they graduate I would definetly recommend USC. The alumni connections and loyalty are amazing in the LA area and it would definetly be more beneficial entering the workforce with a degree from USC. Although, if your friend has plans to work outside of LA area or plans to attend graduate school, then I would recommend that your friend also consider other factors like tuition (18,000 vs. 38,000) and lifestyle (public school, small city by the beach, party school vs. private school, big city, downtown, large greek population). Just have your friend research each school from all angles and see what fits him best!

By Samia (Samia) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 11:56 pm: Edit

Lets go strictly on stats...k?

USC: gpa 3.97, SAT 1335, acceptance rate for 2003: 25 to 30%

UCSB: gpa 3.71, SAT 1172, acceptance rate: 49%

As far as Poli Sci is concerned, I think that the private school education at USC is a far better deal, as the UC system is known to have extremely large classes with minimal focus on the individual.

By Tsdad (Tsdad) on Friday, April 18, 2003 - 08:03 am: Edit

Thedad:

You're letting your dislike of Southern Cal get in the way of your otherwise good sense. The only place that USC is considered to be the University of South Carolina is in South Carolina, which is why I wouldn't wear an SC or USC cap when we go to Hilton Head. I always put on my UNC hat.

The question once came up on the insidecarolina.com athletic discussion board which deals with athletics at the University of North Carolina. Nearly all the posters considered USC to be the Trojan, Fight On, USC.

Tsdad (father of T., USC 2007)

By Tsdad (Tsdad) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 07:50 pm: Edit

Bump for TheDad

By Troy (Troy) on Saturday, April 19, 2003 - 08:55 pm: Edit

First of all, I went to SC so take my biased view for what it's worth.

Second, thedad comes from a 'ucla home' and he would love nothing more than to see usc burn and crumble (note the sarcasm/ I'm not being seriouse)...it's just hard for him to admit that SC's placement stats in the private and public sectors are just as respectable as UCLA's (and they should be since co.'s that recruit los angeles area kids go to both schools)...I would even go as far as to say that he would be a 'tad' irked if his daughter ever decided to attend SC (which will never happen but it would still irk him if it hypothetically did)

Anyway, the poli-sci program at SC is not very strong...I'd recommend the international relations major (or a poli-sci, IR double major) if your friends goes to SC. The IR program is one of the oldest and most IR programs in the country. The majority of governmental agencies recruit kids from the IR program due to historical roots with the school as well. It's not to say that ucsb isn't a fine school (cuz it is) but the IR faculty is very solid and very well connected.

By Uclanerd (Uclanerd) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 01:45 am: Edit

woah I don’t know where that person got their UCSB stats but let me tell you, that is way off, I am pretty sure that this year UCSBs average admit had a 3.94 GPA and SAT of 1239. . still not as good as USCs I guess, but I think right now each school will end up doing the same for you, and in the long run, the UC system is becoming stronger by the day. Don't be surprised (considering current trends)if within the next 5 years UCSB surpasses USC, choose wisely.

By Tsdad (Tsdad) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 08:14 am: Edit

"Don't be surprised (considering current trends) if within the next 5 years UCSB surpasses USC"

Highly doubtful given the economic problems at the state-level in California and USC's ability to raise money; 2.6 billion during the last decade. USC will be devoting $100,000,000 to hiring world class professors and will be cutting the size of their undergraduate enrollment (or so they told us at the admitted students meeting a couple of weeks ago.) Further, I believe that the average SAT for admitted students this year was 1370. Could be wrong though.

By Uclanerd (Uclanerd) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 04:18 pm: Edit

The economic problems have not really plagued the UC. The entire UC was only cut by roughly 74 million I believe, leaving each school to come up with approximately 7.4 million on their own (an incredibly small portion of the total fiscal budget). All I am saying is that considering current trends (as long as they continue), whereas UCSB's average GPA and SAT have been on the increase and USC's have remained relatively stagnant, UCSB should surpass USC at some point in the future. I know Tsdad and I each have our own personal agendas considering where we have our ties, but personally I really don't care all that much about USC or UCSB. Most of my best friends are at USC and UCSB so I really like both schools, I am just trying to get the person to consider all aspects of his/her future and not just the current standings. Where will the school be in 10 years when he/she is getting out of grad school? That is what I want them to be asking. . .. Oh not to try to discredit and I know this might provoke an angry response, but USC’s average SAT this year was 1351 with a 30.4% acceptance rate, just so we are all clear on the stats.

By Mzinn (Mzinn) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 04:30 pm: Edit

here's a Daily Bruin article concerning the effects of budget cuts:

http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=23797

By Samia (Samia) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 05:08 pm: Edit

Heh, for anyone who wants to know where I got the stats from...they were just copied and pasted from each school's profile at princetonreview.com. I didn't want to sound biased... even though I too am attending SC beginning in the fall.

By Vizious (Vizious) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 05:59 pm: Edit

They are both good schools, and people do fine coming out of each one. But cost plays a factor, and thats why I might have to choose UCLA....

By Vizious (Vizious) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 05:59 pm: Edit

But this topic is about Santa Barbara, so please disregard the above post

By Uclanerd (Uclanerd) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 07:09 pm: Edit

As you will all soon find out (for those of you who have not graduated high school), you can get the same education at any school, all you pay for is reputation. Books are books. This quarter I have one of the top 5 psychology professors in the world, and he sucks at teaching. Having brilliant professors does not make a school any different. Most of them can't teach anyway (and for everyone who will say that is something at UCLA only, no, my friends at USC and UCSB say the same.)

By Uclanerd (Uclanerd) on Monday, April 21, 2003 - 07:12 pm: Edit

To let you know how my last post tied in to the whole topic, just because the research at a school was cut back by a few million really will not change the quality of education at the undergraduate level.

By Haley (Haley) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 02:05 am: Edit

My grandparents went to USC, and my dad went there for ortho, but I'm choosing between UCSB and UCLA. If you want connections, go to SC. According to my grandpa, "You can be a Bruin (or any UC mascot) for four years or a trojan for life." And it seems true.

By Uclanerd (Uclanerd) on Tuesday, April 22, 2003 - 06:02 am: Edit

I know plenty of people who are bruins for life (or any UC mascot), and plenty of people who were trojans for four years. There are people who think college is the time of their life and there are people who think that life after college is what matters most. The experience is subjective (either or).

By Vballcourt (Vballcourt) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 04:35 pm: Edit

The facts on UCSB are this:
Enrolled: 1172 and 3.71
Applied: 1239 and 3.94

That's just the difference between what Samia and Uclanerd had. One was the facts of who Applied and then who Enrolled. I got the numbers from their website and from the information packed you get when you are admitted.

By Kintaro (Kintaro) on Thursday, May 08, 2003 - 06:20 pm: Edit

USC is ranked much higher (31) as opposed to UCSB (48)..... is it really that hard to pick??? do your math here