I remember around the spring time of my senior year of high school I was figuring out where I wanted to go to college and what was important to me in a school. I had already been through the process of visiting campuses twice because I have two older brothers. So, I had seen countless schools and it was time to really focus in on what stood out. The most important factors for me were that the school have a both a rigorous engineering program and offer opportunities to study subjects outside of engineering. I have been in theatrical productions since elementary school, and I wanted to go to a school that had great theater and music programs in addition to engineering. The thing I initially loved about the engineering school at USC was that they encourage engineers to explore their interests outside of engineering whether that be through a minor or double major or by participating in student organizations.
Because I had seen so many schools over the years I kind of knew whether I liked a school just by going on the campus and getting a feel for what the students were like. Of the numerous school I visited, I ended up only applying to six of them: USC, three ivies, and two Virginia state schools. What really sold me on USC was my visit in February for the Explore USC program. I had already been to campus once before to visit friends from high school, and I loved the social atmosphere. At the Explore USC program, I was very impressed with the presentation Viterbi gave. Additionally, getting a chance to stay overnight in the dorms gave a me a taste of what it would be like to actually live on campus. I ended up getting offered a Trustee Scholarship, which made my parents a little more comfortable with sending me across the country to USC.
Now that I am in my junior year at USC, I more confident than ever that I made the right choice. USC really held true on its promise that engineers can really do it all.
As a freshman I auditioned and was accepted into the USC Troy Tones, an a cappella group on campus.
I have participated in various independent student theatrical productions and School of Theatre shows (for theater minor credit!).
Additionally, I have studied abroad in Rome with the Viterbi Summer Abroad Program…
and in the fall at the University of Edinburgh!
So in the end, I chose USC because the campus life felt right to me and I knew I would be able to be active both within engineering and outside of it. Check out my post from last year about why I chose USC for more information!
Good luck with the college decision process and fight on!
