HOLLYWOOD!

Introduction
I think the Communications school here is amazing. All the professors here are so knowledgeable because communications is a broad field to study. So I’m really lucky…they have an entertainment school, a journalism school, and business communications. There are tons of different kinds of classes to take. I really like it a lot.

I love the school. I’ve taken tons of classes…it’s not hard to get classes even though the school is kind of small, it’s one of the bigger communications schools in the country. I think it’s one of the top ten communications schools in the country. It’s very easy to get D-clearance to classes. I was able to take Communications classes my freshmen year. Most of the core classes are pretty big, 200 people, but you still get really close with you professors. They have office hours every week, so you get a chance to talk to them. You get a really good relationship with your professors. The classes cover a lot of different areas. I have an emphasis in entertainment communications so it’s really cool for me to study media but also take classes that have to do with business communications and things like that.

Campus Life and Social Life
I think it is unique because there are so many different things you can study within the school, and it is a big school. Most schools don’t devote an entire building to their communications school. It’s really nice for people who don’t really know what they want to do. But they can experiment with different things before they commit to business, or journalism, or anything like that. I think it’s great that the school is so big so that it allows you to explore new things while also having a concentration. It has two different sections—communications and journalism. Those are the two major concentrations in the school. Beneath that you can pursue a certain emphasis. You can do entertainment emphasis, business emphasis, and rhetoric emphasis. In the journalism school you can do broadcast and print journalism. So within the majors you can further pursue what you want to do. Academics
At first, I was a little scared of being in LA. I mean, downtown is right down the street. And also being a little further south of downtown, some people might think that is kind of scary. But it doesn’t bother me at all, I mean, this is really a college community. It is unfortunate that is labeled as being in the ghetto. I think it’s good we are in LA, we have the chance to read out to the community and make it better. We have more opportunities to do philanthropy, and help with lower income families and help the children. I like it a lot. The campus is a great place. It’s beautiful. I love it.

I think it’s pretty diverse. I don’t really know. From my experience, I’m Greek, and I’m usually surrounded by a lot of Caucasian part of the population. I’m part of a Panhellenic sorority; it’s mostly Caucasian kids because there is also an Asian Greek Council and a National Panhellenic Council that is for Asian or Black groups. There is also MultiCultural which is Hispanic. So that divides us a little bit since I am Greek but I think walking around on campus, you don’t even notice it. Everyone gets along really well. Our campus is super diverse.

Student Body
I think it’s pretty separated as far a wealth goes. I would be labeled lower to middle class, and I’m here. I mean, I know it costs forty-thousand dollars to go here, but I wanted to be here so I’m willing to take out loans. Tons of my friends work so they can go here. I would not say that USC is a predominately rich school or anything like that. The school body is very diverse as far as income; I don’t think it’s a big deal.

There is a great financial aid system. They give student loans like no other. If you go here, you are almost guaranteed to get a staffer loan, which is great, it helps a lot. It gives a little bit of responsibility too. They also give out a lot of grants. I have a couple of friends who are on full scholarship to come here. I think it’s safe to say that USC funds a least have the students that come here with a least half tuition.

In Closing...
Pretty fun. It’s all students, of course. There are lot of things to do. There is a little restaurant called La Barca that is like a little Mexican hole in the wall that is so fun. They have Happy Hour from like 3 pm and it’s a great place to hang out. We are one of the only campuses in the country to have a bar sponsored by the school but good luck getting in if you are not 21. It’s very strict. But a lot of juniors and seniors go there. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a huge hangout, on weeknights only, not weekends. On weekends, there are fraternity parties, any anyone can go. You do not have to be Greek. Which is great. Sororities don’t have parties because we are not allowed to. That okay because we have like 20 fraternities that are on the Row which is where all the Houses are all put together on one Street. It’s just a fun place to hang out. There is also across the Street from the Row, there is the 901 Club, which is fun and kind of crazy at times. The 901 club has been a tradition at USC which has been here for 50 years or something. It’s called the nine-o. They have happy hour every night. It’s just a place where students hang out and have a good time. There is tons to do. If you don’t want to hang out on campus, there is a mall 20 minutes away. There are movie theaters within 15 minutes. You can go clubbing in Hollywood, it’s not far at all. There are endless possibilities.