Competitive Schools
UCLA and USC share a well known rivalry. When the two schools play
against each other, headlines are inevitable. But which school
ultimately wins? When deciding between schools, many students use both
the academics of the institution and the cost of attening the school.
UCLA is the better overall college in both areas, but USC is still a
fine college.
In the admissions
process, UCLA is on top. UCLA accepts 24% of all applicants and 97% of
the incoming college freshman are in the top 10% of their graduating
class (University of California Los Angeles 2008). USC accepts 25% of
all applicants, which is comparably to UCLA but they only accept 86% of
the students who are in the top 10% of their class (University of
Southern California 2008). These records show that UCLA is a better
college academically because their incoming freshmen have a higher GPA
and it is a more competitive school in its admittance standards.
However, UCLA does not determine its freshman class by numbers alone.
“UCLA's admissions philosophy rightly invoke other important factors
that the numbers alone cannot capture -- factors that we know are
crucial to the success of the state's future leaders” (Hunt 2008).
UCLA is also an
economically a better choice. For a California resident to attend
UCLA, the tuition is $7,554 but an non-resident still pays only $20,021
(Fees 2008). The cost of attending USC, however is much higher. Each
year, both residents and non-residents must pay a tuition of $37,693
(Kravi 2008). The extra cost of a USC education will leave most
students is severe debt on graduation day. However, graduates of UCLA
will have debts that are a fraction of the cost and will be able to
begin their life without much financial baggage, making a UCLA
education a smart choice in the poor economy faced by Americans today.
The rivalry between these two California schools has been on-going for decades. However, UCLA is the clear winner in both is high academic standards illustrated in its admissions processes and its overall cost. USC however, charges an intolerable tuition that will leave many graduates with huge debt. However, the ever increasing competition in these schools may cause evolution of USC to beat out UCLA.
Reference List
Hunt, Darnell M. 2008. "UCLA's new admission policy rights a wrong". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-hunt7-2008sep07,0,4419624.story. (accessed November 19,2008). Kravi, Kati. (2008). "Tuition expected to rise again in 2009 as colleges cut back, the College Board said: Tuition expected to rise again in 2009". USC. http://www.dailytrojan.com/news/tuition_expected_to_rise_again_in_2009. (accessed November 19,2008)."University of California Los Angeles: At a glance". 2008. College Board. http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search /CollegeDetail.jsp?match=true& collegeId=992searchType=college&type=qfs&word=university%20of%20california%20los%20angeles. (accessed November 19,2008). "University of Southern California: At a glance". 2008. College Board. http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com /search /CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3341&BannerID=393&AffiliateID=moreexplor. (accessed November 19,2008). |