When will we be hearing from USC?

[skemp]

They say early- to mid-March, so I'm expecting it to be this week, or next week at the latest.

[spacezeppelin]

Can anyone here comment on just how good of a program USC actually is? I believe it is technically ranked 6th (or maybe 7th...not sure). Is this number widely believed to be accurate? It doesnt seem to be usually included in the discussion of top schools, so I'm not really sure where it actually stands.

 

Basically, do you think it can compete with the widely known "top programs". I know its not as good are Berkeley or Georgetown, but I think a 6th rank program should be at least in the same ball park. I have two other schools offering fellowships for a much lower cumulative tuition.

 

Do you think a degree from USC would lead to better employment prospects than a degree from a lower ranked / new program? In case anyone has any idea where these places are, I have significantly funded offers from UC Irvine and Mills (MBA/MPP combination). I’m struggling to decide...

[dyavrom]

Can anyone here comment on just how good of a program USC actually is? I believe it is technically ranked 6th (or maybe 7th...not sure). Is this number widely believed to be accurate? It doesnt seem to be usually included in the discussion of top schools, so I'm not really sure where it actually stands.

 

Basically, do you think it can compete with the widely known "top programs". I know its not as good are Berkeley or Georgetown, but I think a 6th rank program should be at least in the same ball park. I have two other schools offering fellowships for a much lower cumulative tuition.

 

Do you think a degree from USC would lead to better employment prospects than a degree from a lower ranked / new program? In case anyone has any idea where these places are, I have significantly funded offers from UC Irvine and Mills (MBA/MPP combination). I’m struggling to decide...

 

im curious too, but just remember that the 6th place ranking is for the MPA program, the MPP falls at around #12.  also from my understanding, the USnews rankings includes alumni donations, which works in favor of USC.  

[muro0901]

im curious too, but just remember that the 6th place ranking is for the MPA program, the MPP falls at around #12.  also from my understanding, the USnews rankings includes alumni donations, which works in favor of USC

Although this is far from being an endorsement of the US News ranking methodology you should take a look at what they say about their ranking system:

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/articles/2012/03/12/methodology-graduate-public-affairs-rankings

It solely based on surveys of deans, directors and chairs from public affairs schools. They rank all the programs out there that they are familiar with and then the ranking is generated based on those results. Again, I try not to put much stock in the rankings.

 

I too would be very interested to hear more thoughts on the USC MPA/MPP programs though.

[CharKel27]

Thanks to this forum, I was able to log on to the camel link a week or two back but still hadn't received my packet.  Then I logged on again when I started getting impatient and realized they had my address in Ukraine from when I was in the Peace Corps, so I called and changed that.  Two days ago I received the packet with Dean's Merit Scholarship for 1/2 tuition.  Woohoo!  Good luck everyone!

[skemp]

Can anyone here comment on just how good of a program USC actually is? I believe it is technically ranked 6th (or maybe 7th...not sure). Is this number widely believed to be accurate? It doesnt seem to be usually included in the discussion of top schools, so I'm not really sure where it actually stands.

 

Basically, do you think it can compete with the widely known "top programs". I know its not as good are Berkeley or Georgetown, but I think a 6th rank program should be at least in the same ball park. I have two other schools offering fellowships for a much lower cumulative tuition.

 

Do you think a degree from USC would lead to better employment prospects than a degree from a lower ranked / new program? In case anyone has any idea where these places are, I have significantly funded offers from UC Irvine and Mills (MBA/MPP combination). I’m struggling to decide...

 

I don't personally put much stock in those rankings, and I doubt employers do either. I personally stayed away from newer programs because I'm completely switching my career focus, so the depth of alum and connections with the school was important to me. I was a little surprised by the ranking in US News as well, cause even though I don't know anything about the relative prestige of Public Policy/Admin schools, when I think "prestigious" USC is definitely not one of the first schools that come to mind. That said, it's got a great history, great location and faculty for what I'm interested in, and offered me free tuition so there's a very good chance that I'll be attending. I'd say it's more important what you make of your time in the program than its notoriety, so all things being equal I'd look very hard at how good a fit it seems to be for you. A good fit will probably lead to great opportunities, and the more you can learn and accomplish while you work on your degree the more successful you're likely to be after graduation.

[ZacharyObama]

I finally got in! Letter dated March 12. Woot! No mention of funding though...I'm going to have to hustle and beg, but dammit, I'm going to find a way to make it work. That was a long-ass month of waiting. I still can't get into camel - maybe it's only if you were offered $. There's a form in my packet to accept or decline. Did other people get that? I was invited to the admitted student event on April 5th - http://priceschool.usc.edu/admission/admitted-student-event/

 

Edited March 15, 2013 by ZacharyObama

[muro0901]

Well congratulations! And yes I also received the accept or decline form in my packet.

[ZacharyObama]

Thanks muro! Did they send the official offer packet from grad admissions soon after? If they did, what was in it? Trying to decide if I should go out of town or wait for the other packet.

[muro0901]

The only thing I have received was from Price. I was sort of expecting a packet from the graduate school, but then again they provided me with all the pertinent information in the Price one. The point is I don't think there are any other packets coming (at least not for the time being).

[ZacharyObama]

Cool! People in prior cycles mentioned receiving two packets in rapid succession and there was some lack of specificity/inconsistency as to what they contained. I couldn't quite decipher from all of the comments what exactly it contained. Is there a separate Dean's Merit Scholarship event like previous years? Or will I be seeing y'all on April 5th?

[muro0901]

There is a separate event. It's March 27th but the schedule of events is exactly the same as the April 5th event.

I have purchased my tickets and will be heading out for the earlier event (I live in Minnesota).

 

I would love to hear who else is planning on attending.

[ZacharyObama]

I just got a separate regular sized envelope from general USC admissions and financial aid telling me to go to camel to find the packetesque information, which I still cannot access. This must have replaced the packet of previous years. Also, if anyone has any basic LA questions I'd be glad to answer.

Edited March 15, 2013 by ZacharyObama

[acast032]

Hey guys,

 

I had a few questions (specifically for ZacharyObama, since we seem to be in the same situation). I received my letter of acceptance and the welcome package on April 2nd & 3rd, respectively. However, I did not receive any information regarding funding or events (i.e., the dean's merit event and the admitted students event). I'm worried about the funding part because that would deter me from attending SC due to the hefty price tag. Can you guys please let me know what you guys think or know concerning this issue. Thanks!

[acast032]

I noticed I didn't actually ASK a question on the previous post lol Sorry about that! What have you heard from them with regard to funding?

[ZacharyObama]

@acast032 - I sent you a private message. If you look at where your username is at the top right of the window you should see a red exclamation mark over the envelop - click on it. For the reference of future applicants, I still can't access camel - the way the system works i think is that if you've been offered a Dean's Merit or City/County Management Fellowship then you would be able to access it since you already have a partial aid package. The camel accounts seem to be controlled by the main USC admissions office. So if you can't access it that doesn't mean you're not accepted, you just haven't been offered an entrance scholarship - BTW - USC Price does not offer RA or TA at admission, but they can be had.