University of Southern California Top Questions

USC classmates are warm, generous, intelligent, and energetic.

My classmates come from very diverse backgrounds and express their intellectual and analytical perspectives in a respectful and understanding manner, encouraging an environment for open discussion and critical thinking.

You can find just about anyone at USC. There are enough clubs and groups on campus that there is some place you'll fit in. If you want to be social, its pretty imperative that you go greek (though I know some people who aren't greek and still have good social lives). You have to be prepared to run into a lot of OC types--the school has a substantial number of them. There really is no student body stereotype that can describe everyone. Well there might be one, everyone here is pretty smart or at least talented in their field of study.

USC is truly a diverse campus, and not the kind of diverse where there are Asians, white people, and not much else. We have one of the highest numbers of international students, and there are also many financial backgrounds from which students come. Because SC is a private school, there are a higher proportion of rich students, and we also have a smattering of famous people. For every rich kid, though, there is a student paying his or her way through school with scholarships and part-time jobs.

Awesome students! You will learn more from them than your professors. They will raise the bar for you and by product you will force yourself to be better-and-better.

USC is one of the most diverse campuses in the nation, and it is obvious when walking around. The student body is huge, so the best way to meet people is in the dorms or in clubs and fraternities.

The student body here is very diverse. You get a "clique" mentality from some sorotities and fraternities (some, not all), which is unfortunate because outside of that you will see tons of different people hanging out and mixing with others. There is a huge number of SC students that are from California, and there is also a significant number of international students, although the latter tend to keep to themselves on campus. In addition to these groups you have people from all over the United States that are coming to take advantage of California weather and beaches. There's atleast a little bit of everything here. The stereotype that only rich people go to USC because they're the ones that can afford it is not true; USC is very generous with scholarships, without which not many would be able to stay at school here. You do have a portion of the student body that is wealthy and wears very nice designers to class, but there are also people that wear baggy sweats and t-shirts to class. There is absolutely no reason to wear nice clothes to class unless you want to.

I have friends of all different racial backgrounds at USC. I made friends from my dorm that were white, Korean, Armenian, Singaporean, and Vietnamese. I've only met a couple people who feel out of place at USC... they didn't feel comfortable with the Greek life or partying. A lot of students have money so they dress pretty nicely every day: designer jeans, nice blouses, expensive purses, etc. However, you also find many students sporting sweats and t-shirts, especially during early classes. All students at USC are very ambitious, and people often discuss their career and money goals.

I can't think of any kind of student who would feel out of place at USC. Like I said before, it's an incredibly diverse campus (in an incredibly diverse city), so there's a spot for everyone. People who aren't serious about their studies would face difficulty, though.

USC is one of the most diverse campuses in the world, which can be good and bad. The good is meeting cool people from all over the world and becoming friends with people that have different perspectives, insights, and personalities. USC has a lot of Californians but there are students from all over the country since it's a great private school. You will find, however, that most international students are from asia and are not very exciting or outgoing. In some of my business and accounting classes, international students represent more than 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the class, and they do not talk or voice their opinions, nor do they add much value to your academic experience in classes. People come from many different backgrounds racially, economically, and culturally. Most people come from successful families, however, but this creates a strong bond at USC, and most students are very motivated to become successful and financially well off. Being financially successful is a big deal at USC. I feel like most people want to have big careers and are very motivated by success, money, and power, and they work hard because of it. This is obviously more prevalent in the business school though. Students usually dress casual in jeans, t-shirts, sandals (it's So Cal) and occasionally people are dressed nicer and don't receive any weird looks. In business classes, you will dress in business-casual clothes and suits occasionally for presentations. Students are politically aware and can engage in intellectually stimulating conversations in and out of class. You will always find more liberal people at USC, and will frequently engage in conversations in classes about politics and foreign issues. I'd say dating isn't big at USC because most people are pretty concerned with themselves and it just isn't really a big thing to have lasting relationships.