What University of Southern California has that no one else does

cademic and social st university of southern california

The University of Southern California is a renowned private research institution that fosters both a stimulating academic environment and a vibrant cultural community. Through the years, USC has come into its own as a center for the arts, technology, and communication. USC students enjoy solid academics and a lively social scene.

 

Part of those solid academics is the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. This undergraduate degree program seeks to promote original thought in self-driven students via networking with professors and fellow students, interactive learning, small class size, and mentorship, with the the hopes of creating breakthrough products, systems, and technologies. By offering lectures, presentations, discussions, tutorials, and trips throughout the year, the Iovine-Young program fosters a culture of constant learning and empowers these exceptional cohorts to change the world.

 

Academics

A core curriculum at USC requires students to take nine courses: six general education, two intensive writing, and one diversity. The school offers a “thematic option” to those students with high GPAs and test scores which allows them to be in smaller classes with some of the university’s best teachers and writing instructors. USC also strongly encourages pursuit of double majors, and offers a wide variety of choices within their seventeen professional schools.

 

USC’s global connections allows for unique study abroad experiences. The Global Leadership program invites academically talented first-year students to travel to China after a year-long seminar and meet executives from regional and international companies. Another program, Learning About International Commerce, features a two-unit course with eight day trips abroad to meet with business leaders in Budapest, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, New Delhi, Santiago, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and Tokyo.

 

Additional quick facts about the University of Southern California

Acceptance: 17%

Freshman retention: 96%

Freshmen from out of state: 44%

4-year Graduation rate: 77%

Most popular majors:  cinema arts, business, engineering, communication

 

Social scene

USC has a diverse student body with 115+ countries represented on campus, which offers a wealth of cultural value and global connections.

 

Since University of Southern California has one of the top football teams, a lot of student life is centered around sports. Trojan athletics, which competes in the Pac-12 Conference, has won more than 115 team national championships in men and women’s sports ranging from baseball to water polo.

 

Housing

30% of USC’s student population lives on campus, with freshman guaranteed a spot in luxurious dorms, equipped with swimming pools and tennis courts. Since there isn’t enough space in the dorms, the other 70% live in nearby apartments or fraternity and sorority houses.

 

Similar colleges to consider

UCLA, UC-Berkeley, Stanford, NYU, Boston University

 

Financial aid and Scholarships

Although tuition and fees are about $72,000, the average financial aid package is $51,000. 56% of students get need-based financial aid, 49% get need-based grants, and 24% receive merit scholarships. 80% of students have their need fully met.

 

What do you think about University of Southern California? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

Why more students want to go to Tufts

tufts harder to get in

With its small size and dramatic increase in applications, Tufts has become one of the more selective colleges in the country. Tufts attracts students through their three major focuses – global, research, and undergraduate.

Tufts is among the top 10 research universities for the percentage of undergraduate students who study abroad (42 percent!). No wonder given that students at Tufts can choose from 170+ semester and year-abroad programs and a full-immersion program in 9 countries around the world. Additionally, Tufts is among the top universities with graduates entering the Peace Corps.

The Carnegie Foundation ranks Tufts as an institution with “very high research activity,” its highest classification. There are a wealth of opportunities for undergraduate students to join faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers on research across all disciplines. About 67% of classes have fewer than 20 students, and are taught by professors who are praised for being “knowledgeable, engaging, and caring.”

 

Academics at Tufts

Tufts students have the freedom to take classes across the 3 different schools – School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Course requirements are distributed across disciplines and include a World Civilization course in addition to art, English, foreign language, social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, and math for liberal arts students. Engineers must take six courses in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, with one of those fulfilling a writing requirement.

Tufts offers a popular and unique program that allow students to develop and teach courses (which may, in part, offset the fact that the education majors are only offered at the graduate level). One is the Experimental College (affectionately known as “ExCollege”), which offers more than 100 nontraditional, full-credit courses taught by students, faculty, and outside professionals in the Boston area. The interdisciplinary approach of ExCollege promotes student-faculty collaboration, opportunities to teach, explore and incubate new ideas. A sampling of courses include: American Witches; Baseball Analytics; Self-driving Cars and Podcasting.

 

Additional quick facts about Tufts

Freshman acceptance rate: 14%

Freshman retention: 96%

Freshmen out of state: 80%

4-year Graduation rate: 87%

Most popular majors: computer science, international relations, biology

 

Social scene at Tufts

Tufts has a host of social activities on campus organized by student groups and the university. Artistic programs include concerts, free movies, a cappella groups, and plays. The largest campus-wide group, with more than 1,000 students participating each year, is the Leonard Carmichael Society, which oversees community service initiatives for 40 groups, with projects that include support for adult literacy, blood donations, domestic violence victims. Less than 20% of guys or women at Tufts participate in Greek life. The university organizes Halloween on the Hill, a carnival for children in the community, and Spring Fling, an outdoor concert before final exams. Though Tufts is located in the suburb of Medford, the nearby “T” metro system allows students to take an easy trip to Boston for work or play.

Tufts’ Jumbos compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference, with their softball, men’s lacrosse, and men’s soccer recently capturing national titles.

 

Housing

Freshmen through seniors may choose from 40 residences ranging from traditional dorms and shared apartments to small special interest houses, which give students a chance to live with others who share their cultural or academic interests. Freshmen and sophomores must live on campus in the dorms, while upperclassmen compete in a lottery or move to affordable apartments near campus. (A fun fact that I heard during my campus tour was that the freshman roommate matching survey focuses on music!) Those students who reside in residence halls organize discussion and study groups and may bring in guest speakers for special events.

 

Similar colleges to consider:

Boston University, Brown, Cornell University, Georgetown, NYU, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis

 

Financial aid and Scholarships

Tufts offers need-based aid only, i.e. they do not offer merit or academic scholarships. 100% of need is met. Although the tuition and fees are $69,000 a year, the average financial aid package is $43,000, with 41% receiving need-based scholarships or grants.

 

What do you think about Tufts University? What about this college is a good fit? Please post your comments below.

Should my teen visit a campus in the summer?

The campus visit – even in the summer – is the best way to learn if a college is the right fit. Summer campus visits can be worthwhile, but families must weigh the tradeoffs of visiting when there may be few students on campus. However, when I toured Williams College in the summer with my oldest son, there were so many students on the campus visit that we took separate tours with student guides. If there are few students on campus, prospective high school students can still have the opportunity to learn about what the college offers.

Campus visit options

Many colleges offer summer visit schedules and the planning should be done weeks in advance. Here are a few different campus visit options that may be available in the summer:

  1. Individual visit – includes an information session and campus tour.
  2. Open House – comprehensive visit which may include faculty/student panels, financial aid presentation for parents, dorm tours, and/or eating in the dining hall.
  3. Self-guided tour – the short description of this . . . “you’re on your own!”

How campus visit matters

While it may be more ideal to visit during the school year to see the campus in action, the summer may be the only time that parents are available to visit with their teen. A summer campus visit is still better than no visit at all. For colleges that track “demonstrated interest”, the campus visit is a clear indicator that the student is interested in attending. This is especially important if a student lives within a 4-5 hour drive of a campus.

Summer campus visits can be most important for high school juniors. As juniors are finalizing their college list, a summer campus visit can be considerably helpful for writing applications in the fall. Likewise, given how busy the fall of senior year will be, it’s usually not enough time to go on a campus visit, especially if a teen plays a sport or participates in marching band.

When not to visit in summer

For one of my junior students, however, I did recommend a visit during fall of senior year, rather than the summer. She’s a tennis player and will have a couple rigorous AP classes and an Honors course in her busy schedule. Here’s why I made that suggestion . . .

The college she would visit was a small campus in an even smaller town. I have personally visited that same college in the summer and there was not even a student guide available to give me a tour. The campus was extremely quiet and the nearby downtown area was quieter, even on a sunny afternoon.

There’s a strong likelihood that if she visits this college in the summer, it will be hard to picture herself there. That first impression may be hard to overcome and cause her to falsely decide to not apply.

It can be a tough call, for sure, when teens and their parents are already so busy. Traveling a distance to visit college campuses can also be expensive.

The investment for college will be far greater so it makes sense to get the list right the first time. When a student has a strong impression of a campus during the summer, it will still be valuable to get a feel for how spirited a campus may be during the academic year. That visit during the academic year can be done after the student has been admitted, which will be even more telling if that college is the right fit.

Where are you planning to visit this summer?

How to have a Stress-free Campus Visit

how parents have a stress-free campus visit

Many families who take their teen on campus visits, usually visit several colleges at once to make the most of their time away. While it may save time to do these marathon visits, seeing several colleges in a 3-5 day time span can be draining. (Been there, done that!)

Top 5 tips for a stress-free campus visit

  1. Avoid bringing friends or others who may influence your teen’s perspective. It can be a distraction. Sometimes, you may not have a choice in whether you bring your teen’s best friend, family members or a neighbor. I understand so . . . keep reading to tip #2.
  1. Take separate tours. For some campuses, there may be more than one tour guide, especially when you visit during their
    columbia campus
    Concerned about safety? Visit campus at night!

    busy summer or fall months. If you have choice I would encourage you to go with a different guide than your teen. The tour guides bring their own unique experiences and backgrounds to the tour. You may hear different facts and figures about a campus that you can compare with your teen later. Also, when your teen follows a separate tour guide, it gives them the freedom to reflect and take in the tour for themselves, or ask questions that they not ask in front of you! 🙂

  1. Attend the information session even if you think there’s nothing new to learn. There will be some nuances that you will learn during the information session that for whatever reason, you haven’t already read or heard before. (I do these tours year round and some colleges I’ve visited 2-3 times. Each time, I learn something totally new.) Foregoing the information session compromises the purpose of visiting the campus.
  1. Avoid dominating the Q&A session. Most information sessions will have a Q&A session. It’s OK for parents to ask 1 or 2 questions, but please avoid asking too many questions. If you’re on a separate tour, perhaps that’s a time to ask additional questions in private. I would especially discourage parents from asking a lot of questions of the admissions officer. That’s what your teen should be doing!
  1. Check out the neighborhood surrounding the college campus. If there’s time, you may want to walk through the nearby “town” area, check out a restaurant or browse the retail shops. When your teen goes away to college, it will be their home away from home so they should feel comfortable either on campus or off. If you are concerned about safety in the area, I would also even suggest checking out the area at night.

Ultimately, the campus visit is about your teen . . . from making the reservation to deciding to apply or not. These tips are meant to keep the focus on them, their reflections and impressions.

How were your visits? Where did you go and for how long??

How to avoid overpaying for college

overpaying

If you are the parent of a college-bound teen and your family is likely to not qualify for financial aid, then there are three lessons from this most recent admissions cycle that you must know. Applying these lessons while your teen is in high school can help you avoid overpaying for college. I will give you a brief background on this current class of seniors so that you understand better how to apply these three important lessons.

What happened this year in college admissions

This recent class of seniors that I worked with started on their applications by August at the latest. The average number of applications was 8, which is similar to the national average.  A selection of colleges where my current class of students applied included:

Dartmouth

Furman

Georgetown

Harvard

High Point

Howard

Loyola of Chicago

Northeastern

Pomona

Seattle Pacific

Spelman

The Ohio State University

UC Berkeley

University of Michigan

Villanova

My individual meetings with students occurred every 1-2 weeks, based on their application deadlines. Over a six- month period, we met about 20 times. Just as a “back of the envelope” estimate and based on my conversations with students, each senior spent about 100+ hours working on college applications!

Many of these hours occurred earlier in the fall as 80% of my seniors submitted one or two applications by an early deadline. I encourage students to consider applying Early Action (EA) to a couple colleges, which means that they will typically get an admissions decision by December. Given that there are plenty of colleges with January deadlines, if students learn a deferred or denied decision in December, then they still have time to submit additional applications. Furthermore, with EA applications, students have time to compare financial awards and weigh their college decision.

This year a few client families chose an Early Decision deadline. This option means that if the student is admitted then they must attend the college regardless of any financial aid. Therefore, if the parents do not qualify for financial aid, then the parents could be paying the full cost of attendance, i.e. $65,000+ per year for college.

What to expect next year in college admissions

If you want to pay considerably less for college and position your teen to qualify for merit scholarships then here are three key lessons:

Lesson 1: Campus visits matter

A campus visit signals to a college that your teen is interested in attending. Oftentimes, parents may not want to invest the time and money for a campus visit. However, investing $200-$500 to visit a college can have a return of $10,000+ in scholarships.  Colleges want to invest their scholarship dollars in admitting students that a) will enroll in that college and b) will contribute to the quality of life on campus.

Your teen may want to apply to a college because of their chances of being admitted. That’s all well and good but as a parent who doesn’t want to overpay for college, you also want a financial award to come with that admission letter. Investing in the campus visit can help your teen both get in and get money for college.

A campus visit was the most important factor in helping students write a compelling essay, which leads to the second lesson.

Lesson 2: Essays matter

Your teen will have essays to write for their college application and often for scholarships. A common question on many college applications is “Why this College?” Certainly, if your teen has not visited the campus, then it can be a challenge to respond to this prompt. Two of my students in this senior class were not able to do a campus visit due to athletic obligations. Their essays relied extensively on website research and these students spent considerable time working through the essays. Although the admissions decisions are not out yet for the current senior class, in the past when a student applied without a campus visit, she was admitted to the college. However, the college offered $0 in scholarships or aid. The signal from that college was “we’ll admit you but we’re not investing in you”.

In the essays that students write for college applications, the message they are conveying is “Why admit me”. It’s not always about how “good” of a writer your teen is, but how well your teen can communicate how they will contribute to campus life. That’s not always easy for a teen to communicate, but there are thousands of teens who do so every year. . . . which brings me to the third lesson.

Lesson 3: Competition is strong

Last year saw a 7% increase in the number of college freshman applications. Additionally, colleges are ramping up recruitment through social media and more ways to apply so, in turn, the volume of applications is expected to increase again. Current juniors should therefore expect that the competition for certain colleges will be stiff. When greater numbers of students are applying to the same colleges, it is more competitive.

For the remainder of high school, it’s important that your teen is positioning themselves to stand out in their applications. And as they are developing their list of colleges to consider these two questions:

Why am I special?

Why is X college a fit for me?

As a parent, you may want to answer these questions for your teen. But the answer must come from your teen. Admissions readers can easily detect any response that is not from your teen. Your teen’s genuine response to these questions can make all the difference in which colleges admit them. And . . . which colleges will offer scholarships so that you are not overpaying.

Question: How is your teen helping to pay for college? What are they doing in high school to position themselves for top dollar scholarships? Please comment below.