The question of UCLA v. USC was addressed at the USC Dean's Merit Scholar Event. The general response painted UCLA as the more analytical / theoretical program and USC as the more practical program. The USC faculty and student ambassadors advertised the numerous internships / externships / assistantships, connections with local and regional organizations, etc. SPPD supposedly provides ample opportunity to apply the learning. However, my friend (current MPP student at USC SPPD) said that final job placement services were recently compromised by a less-than-enthusiastic career services director. That director has since left and been replaced (new director now 4 weeks into his job), but the current batch of grads were left somewhat disadvantaged. No idea how long it would take for a new director to get the career services running well again.
That being said, I have yet to attend UCLA's admit day (April 6). We'll see how strong UCLA's internship, job placement and research assistantships fare against USC's advertised strength.