Why you should commit to USC

As of now, I have several friends that are high school seniors currently trying to make the life-changing decision of where to spend the next four years of their life. This is for you guys—well, you and the thousands of others facing the same decision.

By now, universities have sent their offers of admission to thousands of eager high school seniors across the country, USC being one of those universities. If you were lucky enough (read: worked your ass off for four years) to be offered enrollment to this fine university and are unsure if this is the place for you, you have landed on the right page. First, let me say this.

USC is not for everyone. But it is for most people, and it is for me.

As a college freshman just finishing my first year at USC, the college admissions process is both new and foreign to me. On one hand, less than a year ago I was facing the exact same decision. On the other hand, the past nine months have been such a drastic change that I barely feel like my 12^th grade self anymore, and I say that in the best way possible. My point in articulating the juxtaposition is this — I understand where you are, but I also have the unique vantage point of being able to answer the question most of you are asking: is USC the right place for me?

I can’t answer this question for everyone, but I can answer it for me, and I’m going to try and answer it for most people.

USC is a place like no other. It’s so much more and so much greater than any advertisement or brochure could possibly show. It’s not just beautiful buildings filled with smart (and beautiful) people in the heart of a major metropolis. It’s a weird conglomeration of people who come from all walks of life, who are passionate about all different subjects and ideas and issues. The reason I say that USC is for most people is this: I cannot imagine a person who would not find a place here. People care about things, and that may be the best thing about USC. This is certainly not to say that people don’t care about things at other universities—that is both preposterous and untrue.

What I believe makes USC unique is the vast range of interests our student body has and engages with. Perhaps the best example I can give of this is the Involvement Fair (one in the fall, one in the spring). One day a semester, all of Trousdale is packed from Jefferson to the metro station with tables side-by-side without enough room for a mouse to pass by let alone a person.

The sheer size of this event is breathtaking, students standing there, anxiously trying to beckon you to their table so they can talk to you about children’s literacy or racquetball or meditation or the business fraternity. You get the picture. People care, they care deeply about a lot of different things.

Perhaps the best part (my favorite part) about USC, however, is the chance to become part of a life-long family. Okay, I see you rolling your eyes now. I would be too if I weren’t a part of it, but this is the pure, unadulterated truth. There is nothing more special than everyone dancing to “Tusk” at a football game, than when the SC fans at the Berkeley game this past October literally chanted the Berkeley fans out of their own stadium, or than the resounding “We Are SC” everyone chanted as our football team fought to victory against UCLA in the fall.

There is nothing more special than being in the airport and getting a “Fight On!” from a random stranger who spots your USC apparel. There is nothing more special than talking to an alumni whose eyes light up when they learn you are a Trojan too. It’s a family that can’t be broken and can’t be beat.

USC is not for everyone, nothing is. But it is for me, and I think it may just be for you too.