HI, I am planning to enroll for Master in Financial engg 1 yr course . I have 2 options for this 1. UCLA; The college is good , but getting through is a lilttle diff 2. USC LA: They hav recently started the course, so wanted to know if it has good brand name, do they hav good placement record? I also kept MBA as an option in UCI(Irvine /) or USC Fullerton, can anyone tell me which is a better option UCI or Fullerton?
I can't speak for the status of financial degrees from these schools. But in terms of prestige I would rank the universities overall as follows: 1. UCLA 2. USC 3. UCI 4. CSUF Perhaps UCLA is the best known of these universities throughout the USA and many parts of the world. For So. Cal. I would rank 1,2, and 3 about equal. CSUF is a good school but its status is far less than that of the other three universities. Of course if cost is in your definition of best then CSUF is the lowest cost school.
Keep in mind that the Financial Engineering programs in the UC system (UCLA, UC Berkeley, etc) are all part of each university's business school. So the focus will be a little different from USC's Financial Engineering program, which is actually part of the Electrical Engineering (!!!) department (so you can imagine the level of mathematics used and the electives you will have to choose from...mostly high-level math or EE courses). Out of the UCs, Berkeley has the best FE program but UCLA should be comparable...it's pretty new though (only been in place for 2 years or so). USC is the most expensive but also probably easier to get into than UCLA. I guess if price isn't an option, you should decide if you want more of a business focus or mathematical/engineering focus.
UCLA is the only California university ranked (7th) in the top 25 B-schools in the U.S. by Bloomberg Businessweek; CS Irvine is ranked within the top 25 West schools. UCLA (Anderson) is ranked nationally 15th and UCI 36th (three-way tie with Vanderbilt and Purdue) by U.S. News & World Report. Financial Times top 100 B-schools … UCLA (31st) and UCI (53rd). Nonetheless not even close; USC or CSF … as regards collegiate baseball programs...:icon16:
I see U.S. News having USC #23 and UCLA #24 in the National Rankings (talk about rivalry!). I also see that UCLA's Anderson is 15th on U.S. News and USC's Marshall is 20th. For Engineering, USC's Viterbi is ranked 10th and UCLA's Samueli is 20th. So UCLA and USC are really neck and neck through the rankings. Of course CAL destroys all of them through the rankings and programs, but that shouldn't come as a surprise. I guess since USC's program is through the engineering department, it is ranked slightly higher nationally than UCLA's, which is through the business department.
Historically, UCLA was considered an academically stronger school than USC. But this gap has been narrowed or eliminated in recent years, because of the following factors: ***** (1) The entire UC system, including UCLA, has been hit hard by cutbacks in state funding. The UC schools have tried to compensate by encouraging private donations from alumni and other supporters. Unfortunately, these schools simply don't have a strong tradition of alumni giving (as is typical of public universities), and so their private support has not made up for the drop in public support. USC, on the other hand, is a private school, does not rely on state funding, and is not as affected by state spending cutbacks. USC has always had a strong tradition of alumni financial support, and they are one of the top universities nationally in terms of private donations. So the current recession has left USC in economically better shape than UCLA. This situation is not likely to change until the California state budget returns to a healthy condition -- and that could be years away. ***** (2) The UC system, including UCLA, gives preferences to in-state residents in terms of admissions and tuition (again, this is typical for public universities). Over 90% of the undergraduates at both Berkeley and UCLA are in-state residents. But USC, as a private school, is not expected to give preferential treament to California residents. USC can actively recruit top students anywhere, both nationally and internationally. Currently over 40% of USC undergraduates are from out of state. So while Berkeley and UCLA recruit top students from throughout California, USC is actively recruiting top students from throughout the world. ***** These trends have clearly worked to the advantage of USC in recent years, and they are likely to continue. In terms of SAT scores, for example, USC is now ahead of UCLA, and approximately on par with Berkeley. The current USN&WR rankings have Berkeley at #22, USC tied for #23, and UCLA tied for #25. USC has risen by 28 places since 1991.
I worked in Colorado some years ago and most locals thought USC was University of Southern Colorado (since changed to Colorado State University-Pueblo)
Everyone knows the real USC is the University of South Carolina. It was a school before Colorado or California were even states.
Technically true -- but it wasn't "USC" at that time, it was "SCC". The school was founded in 1801 as "South Carolina College". It wasn't renamed as the "University of South Carolina" until 1906. So the original "USC" is the University of Southern California (est. 1880). The trademark rights to the initials have actually been the subject of a long and costly legal battle between the two schools. In 2008, the U.S Patent & Trademark office ruled in favor of the University of Southern California. The University of South Carolina then appealed, but the original decision was upheld in 2010 by a Federal appeals court panel. The University of South Carolina then attempted to take the issue to the US Supreme Court, but could not get a hearing (it's almost like they had more important issues on their plate). So the University of Southern California is now the legal winner.
TheHound doesn't know what he is talking about. The average gpa is around 3.7 I do not know how you are going to do 5 AP classes next year. If you are taking 5 AP's next year, you must be dumb, no offence, but that means you are smart. You are worrying way to much. 5 AP classes.
Back when my duaghter was going to USC, the saying was that "friends do not let friends go to Westwood!"
