USC vs. UC Berkeley?  USC vs. UIUC?  USC vs. Stanford?  USC vs. UCLA?  USC vs. MIT? USC vs. Cornell?  USC vs. CarnegieMellon? USC vs. CalTech?

The list of schools you all have been admitted to is, quite literally a who’s-who of top engineering programs.  The simple fact of the matter is that you can’t make a wrong choice.  These are all great schools…. great engineering programs…. great possibilities for success!

In order to help give you more information to chew on – we asked our faculty the same question: Why USC Viterbi?  They all had attended these institutions, yet still chose to work, conduct research and teach at USC.  Why?

Join Dean Yannis Yortsos and a few of our faculty as they explain why USC Viterbi was the place they wanted to spend their time:

Of course – this is in addition to learning why some of our alumni chose USC, and of course, why our current students chose USC.

As you work through your final decision, realize that we are here to help.  If you have any further questions, or need additional information, please feel free to contact us.  Also, you have ONE MORE CHANCE to visit campus and learn directly about our programs.  This Saturday is our LAST CAMPUS VISIT PROGRAM for admitted students.  We will all be there along with faculty, current students, and alumni….. come on by!

Hosted by the USC Admission Office, the program is geared toward assisting you in making your final college decision. During the open house you will have the opportunity to meet several current students, take a University campus tour, attend financial aid sessions, learn about our academic programs, and more.

As part of the day, the Viterbi School will be holding a special Engineering Information Session at 11:30am in Seeley G. Mudd, Room 123 (SGM 123).  Immediately following the engineering presentation, we will be hosting an Engineering Open House in Ronald Tutor Hall.  You can learn more about our academic programs along with special academic seminars with current students and faculty.  Our student organizations, as well as research and class projects will be on display for you to learn more about some of the details associated with the engineering curriculum.  All told, we will have nearly 150 students, faculty, and staff from the Viterbi School on hand to help you learn more about your opportunities here at USC.

Although not required, you can RSVP for the On Campus Admitted Student Program at http://USConnect.usc.edu.

If you have not attended one of our on-campus programs or if you would like the opportunity to ask any last-minute questions, we strongly encourage you to attend. Hope to see you there!

Additionally, the USC Office of Admission recently posted a blog, “Your (Financial) Aid Questions – Answered” with lots of details and information about financial aid.

Remember, students can always check the financial aid status or view financial aid award online by visiting My Financial Aid & Documents.

I sat down with some of our alumni recently to discuss their time at USC and what they have been doing since graduating.  From medical school to starting their own company, these young alumni have done it all. I am pretty sure you’ll enjoy hearing not only why they chose USC, but what they got out of their time here, and maybe a few pieces of advice as you start down the path they traveled prior.

“Where do engineers live?”

“Which dorm  is the best?”

“What is the personality of each dorm?”

Last year our Director of Undergraduate Admission, Paul Ledesma, discussed housing options for engineers.  It’s a very thorough post so I am re-posting it below for our newly admitted students to review below:

When it comes to selecting your housing as an engineering student – you have a ton of options. Should you live in Birnkrant?  What about Pardee?  Did you hear that Fluor Tower was the best – or was it Parkside International?  Do you have to be a Arts & Humanities major to live in the Parkside Arts & Humanities building?  What about these “special interest floors?”

This can get overwhelming, and fast! Read on for some great insight as well as a fantastic video that shows you all the types of USC housing options.

Let’s talk about the common question: Where do engineers live?

There is no Engineering Dorm.  The university does not house by major – and this is a good thing!  You will get to know all of your engineering peers in classes, student orgs, and more… no need to live together as well.  USC is such a diverse place, it would be a shame to only know one type of student.  I hope your roommate is a different major than you – a very different major.  I can only imagine the conversations and ideas that may come out of an engineering student rooming with a cinema, arts, international relations, or even philosophy student.  The exchange of ideas can be easier and greater if you are in an environment that promotes such academic, cultural and social coalescence.

You will not have a housing option that is closer-to or farther-away from your classes.  Check out a map of campus.  You’ll notice there are three areas (Parkside, Fluor/Webb Area, McCarthy Quad Area) where you have options to live as an incoming freshman.  Those three points form a triangle in the campus…. in the middle of that triangle are your classes.  Plus, your classes are not in one building, they are spread across the campus.  This is a small campus – you will never be farther than a ten minute walk away from any of your classes as a freshman.  Additionally, each of these three areas have dedicated dining facilities associated with each.  You are never far from food!

And what about the very BEST place to live at USC?

There isn’t a “best” dorm…or apartment, suite, etc.

Rumors abound: one building is better for this, one building is better for that… but think about it for a second.  Practically everyone only lives in a given building for their freshman year – you have no idea who will be in one building vs. another during your freshman year. The personalities of the people each year will determine the personality of each building.

One thing is certain – you will meet some of your best friends in your residence hall next year.  You may not like everyone, but that’s just how it goes.  When I ask our students what the “best dorm” is, I often get ten different answers… and it almost always lines up with whatever building they lived in for their freshman year.

Amenities

First – check out Housing.USC.edu.  you can see virtual tours, floor maps and more about each of the facilities – and this is in addition to the “Living At USC” brochure that was sent to you as part of your admission packet.

Ready for the secret?  Here it is:  All of the housing options are practically the same.  Yup, its true.  Now, there are big differences in styles – you should be deciding whether you want to live in an apartment, typical “dorm-style,” or a suite.  Those are big differences.  Beyond that…. here’s what you are looking at:  You are sharing a bedroom.  In that room there are two beds, two desks, two dresser-drawers, and a closet.   While some buildings may be older than others, all of the buildings are kept up to date and refurbished frequently – in fact most of the furniture in each building is exactly the same.

To help you a bit more the Viterbi Student Ambassadors made a great video to show you a little more about all of your housing options:

PLUS – each one of our Ambassadors wrote a blog post about their personal experiences in all of our housing options –

Special Interest Floors

Your best barometer for the special interest floors is your “gut.”  Does it sound cool?  It is not about your academic interests, necessarily.  Do you share a passion for that idea, and want to live in a community where that theme will be part of your programming and activities.  If not, don’t worry about it!  All of our housing options have Resident Advisors who work tirelessly to make sure your experiences in the housing communities are robust.  You will have a number of things going on in your residence hall – so much so, you probably won’t even have the time to participate in everything!

Reserving your Spot

Read your “Living at USC’ brochure for all the details you need to make the decision, not to mention the resources we mentioned at Housing.USC.edu.  You do not need to commit to USC in order to get your housing preference submitted – you can send it in now for the nominal processing fee.  Either way, as long as you get your housing forms turned in by May, you will be guaranteed housing at USC for your freshman year.

If you still need more ideas, and want to see more – you should visit campus.  Check out our previous post on campus visit programs to learn more about your options in the coming weeks.

“How can I visit campus and meet with the Engineering Department?”

“I would like to visit – can make an appointment with you (as in the Engineering Department).”

“How can I meet with engineering students, faculty and staff?”

We love that you all want to learn more about engineering at USC, and we want to help you get the most information you possibly can.  This is why we have spent a lot of time and resources planning and putting together our Campus Visit Programs for Admitted Students.  While these programs are coordinated by the university, we (the Viterbi School) spend the majority of the visit with you.  You will see Viterbi, meet with us, and see the school as part of every one of the USC admitted student events.

Each one of our visit programs is designed to answer all of your questions – really!   Every family or student that wanted a “one-on-one” with us in the past, said they got everything they needed by attending one of our programs – and more!   You will get all your questions answered, and you will get the personal attention you deserve.

In addition, at each one of our programs, we will have current students present to answer your questions and add student perspective.  In addition you will get personal tours of facilities and areas in the Viterbi School.

Honestly – scheduling an appointment outside of our scheduled events cannot compare with attending a Explore USC, Preview USC, or our large Open House at the end of April.  You will get so much more from attending one of these events! 

We have made sure that almost every day in April is covered with either an event on campus, or an event near you.  That said, I realize that circumstances may prevent you from visiting during our programs.  If you cannot visit during one of the days we have already scheduled in April – give us a call!

Schedule your visit to campus soon as sessions may close due to capacity!

If you are not sure what to do - your first best step may be to check out this webinar on USC Financial Aid.  The webinar is only about 20 minutes, and it covers a ton of information including the USC Financial Aid philosophy, types of financial aid, determining your financial aid eligibility, and how to apply.

Applying for Financial Aid

If you haven’t applied for Financial Aid (FAFSA, CSS PROFILE, Tax Information, etc) – go to our Financial Aid website for the steps you need to complete, and need to complete soon!

Completing the Process (Getting Missing Info In)

If you believe you have completed the process – login to http://USConnect.usc.edu and check your status.  If the Financial Aid Office has all of your information it is likely that your package has already been completed.  If not, you can upload any missing information…. right there, online.

If USC is missing any information for you, I highly recommend uploading all information electronically via USConnect. Uploading missing documents is the fastest way to get your document(s) processed.  Any documents mailed to the Financial Aid office may incur many days of processing before acted upon.  Uploading via USConnect gets it right in your file.

All this said – it can be a confusing process.  Please call the financial aid office directly (213-740-4444) or call us (213-740-4530).  Even better – visit us at one of our admitted student programs, either on-campus or at a reception near you.  Financial Aid counselors will be available at all of the programs!

We know it is incredibly frustrating and disappointing to receive bad news.  None of us on the admission team enjoy this aspect of our job.  It is incredibly difficult to deny admission to strong applicants.  The fact of the matter is that we can only admit a small portion of applicants and we turn away a lot of strong, interesting,  and well-qualified students.

Please know that the admission decision is not any reflection on your character.  We know that you will continue to be successful wherever you end up next year.

If you would like to attend USC, we want to help you get here. More than 20% of the Viterbi School of Engineering’s incoming class are transfer students and this is a great way to end up attending USC.  Transferring to USC is much simpler than you think.  If you do everything right, you can be joining us after just one year.

The Viterbi School of Engineering has dedicated counselors to assist students interested in transferring to USC.

Check out the Viterbi Transfer Admission page to familiarize yourself with the process.

The basics of it are as follows:

1. Check out our Transfer Planning Guides and/or Articulation Histories with other colleges around the country and figure out where you are going to attend for Fall 2013
2. Enroll in Calculus, Lab Based Sciences, The USC Writing requirement equivalent, and a few GE equivalents
3. Get good grades (As and Bs) throughout all classes
4. Apply as a transfer student for Fall 2014
5. A s a transfer applicant you will be evaluated on your college coursework – not on your previous high school career (such as your high school grades, ACT or SAT, scores, etc.).

Let us help!

You shouldn’t have to figure this out on your own.  Feel free to contact us as early as Mid-May  to discuss which courses you can enroll in this fall.  Any of our admission counselors will be happy to help you figure your personal plan for transferring.

As an engineer, in order to stay on track with the your graduating class you should enroll  in a community college or other university for the Fall 2013 semester.

Selecting Your Fall 2013 Courses

Please review the information below  to assist you in selecting classes that are likely to transfer to and keep you on track:

1. MATH
   Take the equivalent to the USC Course of MATH 125, 126, or 226 (Calculus I, II, or III)
   Note: AP Scores can help you place in certain levels at your chosen college for the fall.  As a general guideline, Calc AB with a score of 4 or 5 should enroll in the Calc II equivalent.  Calc BC with a score of 5 should enroll in Calc III equivalent. Calc BC with a score of 4 enroll in Calc II equivalent.
   
2. CHEMISTRY
   Take the equivalent to the USC Course of CHEM 105a (General Chem. I). Computer Science Games Majors should take C++ Programming instead of Chemistry.
   Note: AP Chemistry with a score of 4 or 5 satisfies the CHEM 105a course
3. GENERAL EDUCATION
   Choose equivalent courses that meet USC’s GE Requirements for Categories I, II, or V. Note: AP Scores can help you satisfy some of USC’s General Education Categories. 
4. ADDITIONAL COURSES
   Take an additional G.E. course from another category listed above.
   Computer Programming Course (C++) – Only for Computer Science and Industrial & Systems Engr. Majors.

The above courses will help you move forward towards your degree in engineering, and keep you on track for graduation. In order to find equivalent courses at whichever college or university you will attend this fall, be sure to check out the USC Articulation Histories database.

If you want to be on track for engineering it is important to follow the above instructions. The Articulation Office has put up a website and page for Spring Admits.  You will notice that course recommendations for engineers (listed above) are different from the recommendations listed on the articulation website.   Again, if you plan to study engineering at USC, be sure to follow our course recommendations above.

While you may not know your plans for the fall just yet, please know we want to help you with this process.  We understand you likely have questions and the recommendations above may not easily apply to your individual set of circumstances.

Beginning in June, students admitted to Spring 2014 may schedule advising appointments (over the phone, or in-person) with a counselor to discuss your plans.  Contact us directly at (213) 740-4530 or via email at viterbi.admission@usc.edu in June to schedule your appointment.