University of Southern California
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: International Relations Global Business
Minor: Sports Management
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Male
Summary
I’m part of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, which is a networking organization that any race can be a part of. I’m also part of the club golf team and I play intramural basketball and football.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in Pasadena, CA with a graduating class of about 260 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: International Relations Global Business
Minor: Sports Management
Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, which is a networking organization that any race can be a part of. I’m also part of the club golf team and I play intramural basketball and football.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
I’d say all of them have had a positive impact on my experience. They help get your mind off of work.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
My international relations classes are mostly a lot of reading and writing and my business classes have more problem sets and exams. The problem sets are a mixture of problems with lots of numbers and word problems.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I like that my major makes me critically think and also solve problems because I think both skills are important.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
My major’s pretty small, so I think it’s more collaborative than competitive. We have a lot of group projects that I have to do.
How accessible are your professors?
They all have office hours and are pretty accessible. Meeting with them is pretty easy. It’s nice that we can go talk with them if we have any questions.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
IR366 – Mexico and its Relations with the United States. It’s an international relations class.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I chose my major because I’m interested in international relations and think it’s a very interesting subject. I chose the global business section of IR because I want to go into the business world. I want to go into sports management specifically, so I have to minor in that because they don’t have the major.
How was transitioning academically from your school in London?
The school I went to first wasn’t very academically rigorous so USC is definitely a jump up. You just have to keep yourself busy and do more with your time. This year I’ve been going to the gym more and have been more outgoing, which has actually made me manage my time better.
Reasons to Attend
1) The weather.
2) USC has a lot of connections with businesses around the world.
3) The proximity to so many cool things in L.A. and around L.A.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The costs of attending and living in L.A.
2) If you’re not a fan of big schools. USC does a good job of making a big school seem small, but if you get overwhelmed by the number of people on campus and you prefer working in quieter and more controlled environments, than maybe it’s not for you.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Preston Residential College with one immediate roommate and we shared a bathroom with two other girls.
Sophomore: The Hub at Columbia with three other apartment-mates
Junior: The Hub at Columbia with three other apartment-mates
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
With any city, there are areas that are going to be unsafe. I’ve never felt unsafe on campus. The campus is all one attached area so when you go from one place to another you’re just on campus. To get back to my apartment you have to walk through downtown. There have been times where I’ve felt uncomfortable doing that, but I’ve never felt unsafe.
How was transitioning from your hometown in Philadelphia to Columbia, SC?
There was honestly no culture shock. I had a very smooth transition to South Carolina. Even though it’s far from home I feel like I ended up in the best place possible.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
There is a big downtown scene in an area called Five Points. It’s an area with a bunch of bars and that’s the nightlife I participate in most. Students go out there on weekdays and weekends. There are also home tailgates on Saturdays which are a huge part of our social life.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out? Are there certain things you like to do on certain nights?
This year it’s Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Every year I’ve been in school Friday and Saturday have been consistent, but the regular weekday has changed because my friend group will like to go out a different night and the bar deals change. With a school this big you can really go out any day of the week and it won’t feel much different.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Being in the South, there is a stereotype that you can’t do anything without it. Having Five Points forces our social life to be a bar scene instead of a house party scene, and also Greek life can’t host parties in their houses. Everybody just goes to a party and then goes downtown, so the reality is if you’re going to a bar it doesn’t matter if you’re in Greek life or not. For boys, it’s more important socially than girls because fraternities hold events and any girl can go so it doesn’t matter for them. Also, in the fall the frats hold tailgates and any girl can come, but if you’re a boy and are not in the frat you’ll have like a thousand questions asked of you. It’s harder for boys who are not in fraternities socially in general.
How happy are you with the nightlife at South Carolina? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I love our nightlife. I think socially it’s a really fun school. If I could change anything, it’d be that I like house parties more than bars so I would suggest more house parties. At the same time, being a bar school forces a lot of people to have to do that and I think that opens up the social scene a lot which I like. It makes it so Greek life is not as important as it is at other big southern schools.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met my best friends through mutual friends. I met other people through other things, like club tennis, but I met my best friends through mutual friends.
How would you describe the social scene?
It’s a huge party. It’s constant and can be overwhelming to people who aren’t used to it. After you’re here you get a feel for it and can find a balance for your social life and academics. It’s overwhelming in that there are constantly events, but as you get older you learn that you don’t have to go to everything and you can pick and choose what you want to go to.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Rarely. It’s not necessarily very obvious that people don’t mix because it’s a diverse school. [About 77% of students are White and 10% of students are African-American.] I don’t know if going to a school in the South has anything to do with that it’s very separated. When you sit in a classroom you can see the diversity, but socially it’s not as diverse.
How would you describe the student body?
The student body has a lot of energy and a lot of heart. Everybody goes all out for any event for South Carolina, so for football there will be a huge crowd and even at a women’s tennis match there will be a crowd. I love when people visit, I try to have people down for football games because the energy’s crazy.
How do you like the size of South Carolina? [South Carolina has about 26,360 undergraduates.]
I like the size. As big as the school is I find ways to make it small. By the time you’re a junior, it gets smaller and you have a social circle that you’re consistently with and that ends up being your social life. It always amazes me that my friends who went to liberal arts schools say that it feels like high school again because they see the same people everywhere they go. You see new people here everywhere you go, but as you make friends it ends up being so small and it doesn’t feel like that it’s a big school until you’re in the football stadium. I think South Carolina does a great job of making the school feel smaller with Greek life and clubs.
Do you think people are happy with their choice of South Carolina by senior year?
Yes.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
South Carolina holds a lot of career fair so there are constant emails from whatever college you’re in sending information about a career fair or summer internships or winter break internships. There are also people here a lot for career panels.
Have you used the career office at all? If so, how helpful have they been?
I’ve been twice. I went once for help with my resume and they edited it for me which was really helpful. The second time I went was when I got advice on what major I should choose based on what jobs I wanted. They helped and narrowed it down to Public Health. I haven’t been that many times, but the times I’ve gone they’ve been very helpful.
Have you learned any computer programs that will be helpful to you professionally?
Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. I used Microsoft Excel for my science labs.