Which is more influential in LA: UCLA or USC (Los Angeles: fit in, real estate)

[edsg25]

Los Angeles has two great, large, comprehensive universities (fully realizing that Caltech is top notch, but more limited in scope, being obviously a "tech"): UCLA and USC.

If you had to choose one (using the the broad range of categories), which one has more influence in LA/Metro LA:
UCLA or USC?

I realize that in one category, there is no contest in an issue settled ages ago: in football, LA is a Trojan town. I'm also aware that going way back (the school has deeper roots than UCLA), SC has been strongly attached to the Los Angeles power structure; USC opens doors in LA. And there is no question that USC would be one national university that is definitely trending upward (admittedly from a high place for starters) and is very much on the rise....I would venture to say at the top or near it on that list.

But UCLA has so many things going for it too. UCLA is the public school, the unarguable flagship of the public universities throughout Southern California. And UCLA, in my opinion, is generally viewed as being a part of the extremely exclusive top tier of public universities. I think there is a sense of agreement that the four top universities (in no particular order) are Cal, UCLA, U-M, UVA (Californians, I realize, would throw some other UC's into that mix). UCLA is unusual, too in the sense that the public university (UCLA) has a generally higher academic reputation than the private (USC)....a definitely reverse of the Bay Area where private Stanford gets the edge over public Cal. And, of course what can you say about a university (UCLA) that gets more applications for freshman entrance than any school in the nation. I'd say that UCLA is far more attached to the part of LA (Westwood and the westside) than the South Central/University Park area that is home to USC.

I realize that the competition is fierce between these two stellar universities and they are both sources of incredible pride, but.....if you had to pick one more influential in LA, which would you choose...and why.

[Commonproject]

UCLA - nerdy, smart contributors to society
USC - rich spoiled kids that's going to live at their parent's beach house post-graduation

not what I think but that's the general view of these two schools when I lived on the east coast

[eureka1]

Meaningless question.

[Kings Gambit]

UCLA - providing the best education for China's citizens in the world.

Walking around UCLA you'd think you ere in China. Seriously. Walking around USC, you'll find far few international students.

USC for the win in education and football.

UCLA for the win in hot chicks.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by eureka1

Meaningless question.

That’s fine; feel free not to answer it.

[JB316]

Much like a similar comparison to Stanford and Cal, you are describing a really humongous apple and comparing it to a slightly (almost insignificantly) larger apple. Or, apples that are just slightly different.

[socal88]

Both are great schools with USC in the last 10-15 years making strides to catch up to UCLA in academic rankings.

As with other UC schools, UCLA is pretty much almost purely merit in its application process. It doesn't matter if you are a good student on the cusp and your parents went there or could make a "donation" to get you in. Generally speaking, you need great grades, test scores, have taken and passed a lot of AP courses, plus some extracurricular achievements to get in. UCLA is more of a research institution that would especially prepare you well for a Ph.D. program. Overall, it's an excellent school and a serene campus in a beautiful, very wealthy area in west LA. Definitely better location.

USC is also hard to get into, but legacy helps and I've known people with decent to moderately good grades who were able to get in because their folks got in. Maybe this is less so the case now vs. 10 years ago, but it exists. Nevertheless, USC has a great business school (especially at undergrad level) as well as a few other programs, and the Trojan alumni network is very strong, which is a huge benefit in the job market. Trojans take care of their own. While I don't believe this is as much the case as it used to be, USC seems to breed a bit more of an elitist mentality. This is especially apparent at football games. USC has a nice campus, but it's in a dumpy area where you don't want to venture outside the immediate area in and around the campus.

Both are solid schools, but it depends what you want to study. I'd give USC more of an edge if you want to go into programs such as finance/real estate. UCLA is a little better for folks looking to go into engineering and computer science.

[pharmboyinSD]

Oh where to start...most of those “Chinese” are Asians from multiple cultures and counties. Since UCLA is a state school, there is usually a quota for undergrads being United States citizens. USC, being a private school, probably has a larger population of international students. Both schools have a large diversity of ethnicities, which I think you are mistaking for international students.

UCLA and USC are tied in education rankings, based on US News and World Report. UCLA has larger research facilities and institutions, compared to USC, with more research funding.

USC is ranked higher in student body attractiveness, based on surveys, magazine articles, and websites.

The only thing you got correct, is USC has a better football team, when it is not under probation.

Originally Posted by Kings Gambit

UCLA - providing the best education for China's citizens in the world.

Walking around UCLA you'd think you ere in China. Seriously. Walking around USC, you'll find far few international students.

USC for the win in education and football.

UCLA for the win in hot chicks.

[Commonproject]

Originally Posted by pharmboyinSD

Oh where to start...most of those “Chinese” are Asians from multiple cultures and counties. Since UCLA is a state school, there is usually a quota for undergrads being United States citizens. USC, being a private school, probably has a larger population of international students. Both schools have a large diversity of ethnicities, which I think you are mistaking for international students.

UCLA and USC are tied in education rankings, based on US News and World Report. UCLA has larger research facilities and institutions, compared to USC, with more research funding.

USC is ranked higher in student body attractiveness, based on surveys, magazine articles, and websites.

The only thing you got correct, is USC has a better football team, when it is not under probation.

someone went to USC

[Lily003]

I guessed USC. Just seems more...likeable.