University of Southern California
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Computer Science and Business Administration dual degree
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: South Asian Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m part of student government and am on the funding board, so I help determine whether or not to fund organizations’ philanthropic events. I also [have a leadership role] in the Association of Indian Students.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: South Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in Anaheim, CA with a graduating class of about 750 students. There was a culture of going to college there.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Computer Science and Business Administration dual degree
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of student government and am on the funding board, so I help determine whether or not to fund organizations’ philanthropic events. I also [have a leadership role] in the Association of Indian Students.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience so far?
The Indian Club has helped me meet a lot more people who I wouldn’t normally meet if they weren’t in my major.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
The Computer Science curriculum at USC the first two years is pretty rigorous and, even though I’m a junior, I’m still in my first two years of coursework for the major. I’m still going to graduate on time, I’m just taking the harder classes later than most people. Each assignment takes roughly 30-40 hours. There are classes in the major that are meant to be that difficult, but when you get through it, you can code. Once you finish those really hard classes it’s smooth sailing. The homework assignments make up the bulk of your grade because if you do them well and then fail the exams, you can still get a passable grade in the class. They encourage you to actually learn and it’s not the end of the world if you fail the exam.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Because some of the Computer Science classes are really tough, we have a place called the Salvatori Computer Lab (SAL). For each class in the curriculum, there are Course Producers (CPs) staffed there during the day so whenever you need help you can go to that place. I personally just do all of my work there because if I do it at home, I’d have to wait when I get stuck, whereas there I can just ask a question. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to finish the homework assignments if it weren’t for SAL, so I think the system they have is really good.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I think it’s pretty collaborative. Most people are willing to help, especially if you’re sitting in the SAL and working on your homework and ask the person next to you. I haven’t encountered a scenario when somebody hasn’t wanted to help me.
How accessible are your professors?
They’re pretty accessible, but people rarely reach out to the professors for help just because there are so many CPs and TAs available. They have office hours and will respond or meet with you if you email them.
What’s been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
One of my business courses called Organizational Behavior and Leadership. They teach us how to think like the person we’re talking to and the psychology behind business. It was really interesting.
How was transitioning academically as a transfer? Were there any resources available that helped you adjust?
In terms of academically, the same resources that are available to everyone helped me and were enough.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I didn’t want to do just computer science or just business, I wanted a blend of both. USC is one of the only schools that has this combination, so that’s what motivated me to transfer.
Reasons to Attend
1) The social environment and culture are something you won’t get anywhere else. USC’s known for social life for a reason. It’s so fun.
2) The resources available are so good because we’re a private school and have such a strong alumni network.
3) Given that it’s L.A., the food is amazing. You can get every cuisine in a small radius.
4) We have free Lyfts that are so convenient and are a great way to make sure students are safe.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The campus itself is really nice, but the area around it is not the greatest. I can see people who might think it’s unsafe and not like it.
2) The cost. [Total costs for 2019-2020 were $77,459.]
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Sophomore: I lived in the Shrine apartments, which are literally as close to campus as you can be while still being considered off-campus. There were three bedrooms with two girls in each and two bathrooms.
Junior: Element apartments, which has more amenities than Shrine but is farther away from campus. We had three bedrooms shared by six people.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Within a certain radius there’s a campus security person on every block, so you can see them. That helps in terms of feeling safe around campus. Also, being in South Central Los Angeles, we have USC Safe Rides where the school partnered with Lyft and we can get free rides from 7PM-2AM within a certain radius of campus. It’s super helpful because no students are walking around at night.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at USC?
There is a local bar called the 901 Bar – we call it “the 9-0” – and there are a lot of other good places on Fig Avenue. That’s where everyone goes starting Thursday night and it’s always fun. A lot of people travel into Downtown L.A. because it’s a quick metro or Lyft ride and there are a couple of bars people frequent there. Clubs will rent out venues and host parties as well. Greek life will host exchanges there, which are invite-only. Greek life and other organizations will host events where you just have to buy a ticket, so it’s open to everyone as long as you pay the ticket price, which is like $15.
What nights of the week do you tend to go out?
A lot of people start on Thursdays, but I have class on Friday morning so I don’t go out until Friday. Then everybody goes out on Friday and Saturday.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Girls are allowed anywhere if the fraternity is holding the party. Guys have a tougher time getting in unless they know a brother and are put on the list like a week in advance, which is tough because how are they going to know the frat’s hosting a party that far in advance without being in the frat. But, there’s always something else going on.
A nice thing about USC is clubs will also have houses that they throw parties in, like, dance teams will have their own houses. Those will usually be free for girls and $5 for guys or something. We have two apps now, one is called Highkey and another is Fetti, and it’s where you can see what parties are happening and where they are.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
There’s so much fun stuff to do in L.A. There are escape rooms, movies on the beach in Malibu and Santa Monica, you can go shopping in Fairfax, in Downtown L.A. there are fun places to eat, or you can go to Koreatown and Little Tokyo for good food. Being in South Central is nice because we have access to so many things.
How happy are you with the weekend options at USC? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I’m extremely happy with them. If you’re craving the beach, you can do that. If you’re craving a night out or a movie, you can do that. There’s a lot of options.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through classes and then mutual friends. At least in Computer Science, it’s so difficult that if you don’t make friends and work with people it’s too hard. Being in Computer Science, you make a lot of friends within your major, but that might not be true for all majors.
How was transitioning socially as a transfer?
I’ve heard a mix of opinions. For me personally, my transition was pretty easy just because I had a lot of friends here going in who were already here. I would visit them during my freshman year, so I kind of got the freshman experience at USC through my friends that were already there. But, I’ve also heard the flip side where people have trouble making friends as a transfer because everyone from freshman year already has their groups and cliques so, they struggle and end up coming home every weekend. If you get involved and join organizations, then it’s completely fine. As a transfer, you have to make a little bit more of an effort. For most people, as long as you put in the effort, it’s not a big deal.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
Everyone’s always going out. USC is known for being really fun and outgoing, and that’s true. Because of football, we have tailgates every other Saturday in the fall and those are always a fun time.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I don’t think that’s an issue at all. I think it’s pretty mixed and there are a lot of people who are different races in all majors. The only thing is there are some fraternities and sororities that are predominantly White and have a token ethnic person or two, but that’s only a couple of the “top” fraternities and sororities. It’s not on purpose, it just so happens that it’s predominantly White. The rest are very welcoming to everyone. [The undergraduate population is about 21% Asian, 39% White, 15% Hispanic, 4% Black, and 13% international.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I don’t think that’s an issue at all. Last semester, I lived with four sorority girls and I was the only ethnic person in the apartment and I didn’t feel excluded at all. They would always introduce me to their friends in their sorority and it didn’t feel like a big deal that I wasn’t in Greek life.
How do you like the size of USC in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has that impacted your experience? [USC has about 20,000 undergraduate students.]
Because it’s a private school, I haven’t had a class with more than 100 people. It’s a much better student-teacher ratio. Your professors can actually get to know you and my Computer Science professors know me by name. That also helps with research positions and letters of recommendation in the future. [There is an 8:1 student-faculty ratio.]
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
The USC network in general is so vast that companies that have good relationships with USC reach out to USC directly [for job candidates]. My internship this upcoming summer was through a company’s accelerated recruiting process that they have with USC. A lot of companies do cater to USC and recognize that relationship and there are a lot of companies that have [those accelerated recruiting processes]. There are also some companies that are “cultish” about USC where a lot of alums will work together. The network is really strong and there is an insane amount of Trojan pride.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
Each school has their own career initiative. For Viterbi [School of Engineering], I will go to a job fair directly for them where the tech companies will be. Whereas with the business school, they’ll have business-specific career fairs and events going on. The school-wide career fair is generally non-tech, so I don’t go to that one. The career center is really helpful, but if you’re in a technical field I think you’re better off going to just the Viterbi career fairs. The career center has resume workshops and other career workshops and whatnot.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be especially helpful to you professionally?
Being a Computer Science major, I have learned Python, C++, and next semester I will have learned HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Java. There is a business class that’s all in Excel, so I’m going to take that the semester after next semester. After that class, most people are really good with Excel. There are also specific classes that you can take on 3D modeling or artificial intelligence, so in those classes you’d learn the corresponding software.