Any USC students? Forum

[Lyceum>Academy]

Any USC students available for questions?

[McRib]

USC 1L here. What do you want to know?

[gogators]

Do you wish you could have gone to UCLA or were you dead set on USC? And I'm not trying to be mean lol

[frank_the_tank]

aww that is mean.

[McRib]

I probably would have gone to UCLA if I had been accepted, but USC has been good to me so far and I don't have any regrets.

[blm09]

What can you say about the class atmosphere? How are the professors? Where do most people live (area, on/off campus, etc.), and how do you like the area?

[gogators]

I havent seen it yet, hopefully will get in (168/3.3 Engineering), but I heard conflicting things about the surrounding neighborhood. Some same its getting better, some say you'll still get fucked up if you do anything at nite. whats actually going on there?

[lsatismybitchlover]

Do you wish you could have gone to UCLA or were you dead set on USC? And I'm not trying to be mean lol

...lol

[McRib]

The area around campus isn't great. There is a lot of crime, but my experience so far is that it's not too hard to stay out of trouble. They have a lot of extra security roaming the university park area just north of campus (this is where the law school housing is) and that seems to make a difference. That being said, it probably isn't a great idea to walk around by yourself late at night. I have made some late night trips to the grocery store here and had no trouble, but people do get robbed sometimes.
As far as where students live, I think the majority of 1Ls live in the Terrace Housing just north of campus. It is about a 15 minute walk to the law school. It seems like most of the 2Ls and 3Ls live in various areas of LA, many downtown.
I don't have anything to compare it to, but the atmosphere among the students at USC is very friendly and cooperative. Everyone wants to do well, but there really aren't any cutthroat students (at least not any that I am aware of). People will readily share class notes and even outlines.
The class atmosphere is pretty laid back. Some professors use the socratic method, but it isn't all that intense. If someone is struggling they will let them off the hook pretty lightly.

[blm09]

Great, thanks!

[McRib]

No problem. Happy to answer any questions.

[legends159]

Q1: Does USC place better in UCLA than SoCal? I ask b/c I know that the Trojan alumni network is huge in SoCal and wanted to know how significant this was.

Q2: Does USC place as well as UCLA outside of SoCal?

[McRib]

I am not entirely certain about how USC stacks up against UCLA as far as job placement, but I do know that the Trojan network is for real and that USC grads have little trouble finding work with large firms in Los Angeles.
If I had to guess, I would say that USC and UCLA probably place pretty comparably in LA, but I would imagine that UCLA would place better elsewhere. Again though, that really is nothing more than a guess based mostly on what I've read here. Sorry that I can't be more helpful in respect to employment prospects.

[nobrainer]

Also a 1L USC student here.

The surrounding area was a concern for me too coming to USC, but I think any law students across the country will tell you that crime and environment are not on the top of their list once you get to law school; there's no one who says, "damn i wish i went to UCLA cuz their law building is prettier."

Btw, minor point to clarify McRib's comment (Btw, McRib, we've probably met each other, what section are u in?) : I live in terrace, where only about 20% of the one-year class lives, most 1L's live around L.A and commute to school, w/ the avg. drive around 15 mins, depending on if you're super close, so the bad neighborhood isn't an issue for most people. Even at terrace, you walk to the law building, you walk back with most of the walk being on campus, which is safe.

Anyway, placement. I will say that looking for a job this summer, I've found that judges recognize the SC name because they've had former SC students, employers know it, and you get interviews sometimes just because you went to SC as opposed to other LA schools around the area (not UCLA, which also probably has name recognition).

I agree that UCLA is probably better nationally, but in LA USC is equal if not better, from everything that I've heard. What the plan is for a lot of students is graduate from USC, get a job in LA for 2 years or so at least, and then move on to your city of choice if you still want to since now it's about your first job, not about which school you went to. Some food for thought.

The consensus around here is that if you're in the top half of the class, you should be in good shape for biglaw jobs, top 40% to be safe, but there's not really a set cut-off.

I will say that SC has a LOT of people who are originally from cali, and so a lot of the placements in LA may be self-selected. But it's not like finding a job outside of SoCal is mission impossible; it's more like you're missing out on the built-in niche that SC has in Socal if you apply elsewhere.

[McRib]

Nobrainer, thanks for the clarification. I am in section E. How about yourself?

[It'saPeaceLily]

Do either of you guys know how many summer fellowships there are and how they work? It would be pretty nice to have a guaranteed job for 1L summer.

How has the 1L summer job hunt gone so far?

Last questions (for now), where is the furthest one of your classmates lives? How long is his/her commute?

[papercranes]

also a 1L (so curious as to who the other 1Ls here are!)

One thing I've noticed in interviews:
of the 5 I've had 4/5 have said something along the lines of "oh, our office is just FULL of USC grads. I think we have... what, one kid from somewhere else?" which I would imagine gives a bit of a boost.
Now I've been sticking to PI type stuff, because I'm fairly sure I want to get into that kind of work, so I can't speak for the firm interviews (cancelled those, not really interested this year).

I will say that in comparing the atmosphere of USC and UCLA, USC is far and away more friendly and co-operative. Granted this is based on ASDs/hearsay from UCLA kids etc. But I really, truly like most of my classmates. I'm sure if NB and rib gave me a hint, I could guess who they are. We're also smaller than UCLA by 150 students.

The immediate area is not great, but I have to say I haven't really noticed. going elsewhere for a drink or dinner has never really been an issue, and I'm used to living in a big city with great public transportation.

I live downtown. It's a 6 minute commute, so no complaints. I know some kids live in like, Manhattan beach, and I imagine that must be a trek, but Palms/culver city is cheap and only about 20 minutes away.

One thing that stands out to me here is that the administration really wants to help you out. I don't feel like "anonymous law student #304". My professors know my name. Last week I sent my property prof an email with a bunch of questions. He answered them and told me that we would be going over more of what I was asking about in class. He followed up this week with an email making sure that everything was clear.

Lastly, I'm not from SoCal, but self-selection cannot be discounted in terms of placement stats.
Here, in december, I was wearing sandals. no way am I moving back north. ever.

[papercranes]

The fellowships are given as an admittance incentive. Have a good LSAT score and GPA.

It's still super early on the summer job hunt. It seems like a lot of people have judicial externships already, but there was just a PI career fair with interviews on saturday, so a lot of people should be hearing back soon.

[sbalive]

Do either of the 1Ls responding (thanks, by the way) have any feel for USC placement in the Bay Area?

[papercranes]

Can only speculate, but I know some people here have internships up north, so it does happen. I haven't had any reason to look myself. you'd need to talk to some USC 2L/3Ls RE job placement lately.

[excitedutterance]

Having been UG at USC for the last three and a half years, I can say without reservation that the area around USC is fine. Statistically, there's less crime at USC than at UCLA (both violent crime and property crime, per several professors I've had). That said, If I were staying here for law school, I'd probably live in downtown and commute 10-15 minutes to campus, but I think that's just because the area around here is so college-y and I'm pretty much over that.

Both are great schools, and you can't go wrong living in LA with a law degree from either.

(p.s. I didn't apply to UCLA because it is for ugly people )

[deliciouspork]

How well does USC place into norcal, specifically SF and south bay firms? Are there a good % of grads who move to the bay area for work?

If most students commute does that undercut the social life amongst students?

[papercranes]

The first Q is probably for someone in the office. Or someone who is/has tried to get those jobs. I can't help you there.

BUT
The social life here is great. The commute doesn't seem to mean anything. Ultimately, everyone has a cell phone and a car (because it is LA) so it has never felt like an issue. and I come from a city with a tight downtown core and great public transportation.
honestly, I genuinely adore a lot of my classmates. I see them outside of class, over the weekends, over break etc. MLK weekend about half the 1Ls went to Vegas and the another half went to Mammoth.

One of things that sold me on USC was how friendly everyone was. When I came for the ASD, I had a 2L offer to help me find a place, since I wouldn't be able to come back and look for apartments. She offered to check out a few places for me if I had decided on any to make sure they weren't sketchy.

I think exam period was far less stressful than it could have been because of the people. I didn't notice anyone bragging about studying for hours, or how many practice tests they'd done. Exams still sucked, but people didn't go crazy here the way I've heard they do at other schools.

[blbs]

Do either of the 1Ls responding (thanks, by the way) have any feel for USC placement in the Bay Area?

How well does USC place into norcal, specifically SF and south bay firms? Are there a good % of grads who move to the bay area for work?

So key... especially as I weigh the respective merits of USC v. Hastings, knowing fully that I intend to practice in San Francisco.

The California Bar website has some good statistics:

This shows that SF is USC's 7th largest market, but that only 2% of graduates end up there.
http://californiabar.globl.org/report.p ... 0&g=2&pp=5

In San Francisco almost 20% of attorneys are from Hastings, while under a percent are from USC. For me at least this is data I find hard to ignore, despite how strongly I like USC.
http://californiabar.globl.org/report.p ... 0&g=2&pp=5

The website lets you change the fields and shows all sorts of data.


Also I thought I would offer my opinion on USC v. UCLA. I initially was not at all interested in USC. I have many close friends at UCLA, both in UG and LS, and until I visited USC recently had no previous interaction with the campus. When I went to USC to tour I did it as an almost afterthought, thinking to myself why would I want to go to there with Westwood as an alternative.

Well... I couldn't have been more uninformed. I've sat in on about half a dozen classes at UCLA law and students at UCLA, while undoubtedly intelligent, gave off a very different vibe than USC students. In the classes I sat on UCLA students seemed indifferent, unengaged, and basically down on life. The classroom environments that I experienced at USC were polar opposite. Students were thoroughly engaged in discussions about the material and the learning environment was much more participatory. UCLA classes in contrast feel more like UG lectures. Furthermore, after two visits and conversations with many students and several professors I experienced a friendliness and approachability that I have not found at any other law school.

[papercranes]

Do either of the 1Ls responding (thanks, by the way) have any feel for USC placement in the Bay Area?

How well does USC place into norcal, specifically SF and south bay firms? Are there a good % of grads who move to the bay area for work?

So key... especially as I weigh the respective merits of USC v. Hastings, knowing fully that I intend to practice in San Francisco.

The California Bar website has some good statistics:

This shows that SF is USC's 7th largest market, but that only 2% of graduates end up there.
http://californiabar.globl.org/report.p ... 0&g=2&pp=5

In San Francisco almost 20% of attorneys are from Hastings, while under a percent are from USC. For me at least this is data I find hard to ignore, despite how strongly I like USC.
http://californiabar.globl.org/report.p ... 0&g=2&pp=5

The website lets you change the fields and shows all sorts of data.


Also I thought I would offer my opinion on USC v. UCLA. I initially was not at all interested in USC. I have many close friends at UCLA, both in UG and LS, and until I visited USC recently had no previous interaction with the campus. When I went to USC to tour I did it as an almost afterthought, thinking to myself why would I want to go to there with Westwood as an alternative.

Well... I couldn't have been more uninformed. I've sat in on about half a dozen classes at UCLA law and students at UCLA, while undoubtedly intelligent, gave off a very different vibe than USC students. In the classes I sat on UCLA students seemed indifferent, unengaged, and basically down on life. The classroom environments that I experienced at USC were polar opposite. Students were thoroughly engaged in discussions about the material and the learning environment was much more participatory. UCLA classes in contrast feel more like UG lectures. Furthermore, after two visits and conversations with many students and several professors I experienced a friendliness and approachability that I have not found at any other law school.

That's what landed me here. We are a very friendly bunch.
Which classes did you sit in on?