Zoom sessions and Instagram and blogs, oh my! Researching colleges can feel like navigating a jungle: fighting your way out of cycles of negative thinking, getting bombarded with information, and being stuck at a crossroads with no hints of which way to turn. Trust me, I’ve been stuck in quicksand before–but now that I am a rising sophomore majoring in Pharmacology and Drug Development at USC, I know that the struggle is worth it. Although the content can be intimidating, you can hack through most of it with the right resources. The goal of today’s blog is to identify tools to help you learn about USC and provide some general tips about researching colleges. Feel free to take notes or come back to this blog whenever you need to!
Tip #1: Get Organized
There are a lot of factors to keep track of while researching colleges, and it can be hard to distinguish between schools. I recommend using a Google Spreadsheet to organize your thoughts. It will allow you to see all the characteristics of different universities in the same place. Below is a screenshot of the template I used while I was a junior in high school. If you have other categories that you would like to take notes on, add more columns to the spreadsheet as needed.
Tip #2: Use the USC Course Catalogue
Let’s say you’re a student who is really interested in USC’s Real Estate Finance and Development major, but aren’t really sure what to expect. What does learning about real estate entail? What is the percentage of finance classes vs. real estate classes that you’ll be taking? These are questions that can be answered by our USC Course Catalogue! All of the majors at USC are listed and, more importantly, each class that you need to take to complete the degree is listed and linked if you click on specific majors. Going back to our example, this gives you a better idea of the classes that you’ll be taking if you were to major in Real Estate Finance and Development. This can also help you choose your top majors because looking at the class requirements gives you a great idea of what you might be studying. In my experience, comparing the courses of Biochemistry (BS) against Pharmacology and Drug Development (BS) helped me decide between the two majors. I’m so happy with the classes that I’ve taken so far, so I highly recommend that prospective students look at our course catalogue.
Tip #3: Tune Into Tours and Info Sessions
Part of my job as a Student Ambassador is giving 90-minute walking tours to guests while introducing them to student and campus life! From a completely unbiased perspective (😉), I think that our walking tours are a great way to learn about USC. Spending time on our campus gives students an opportunity to feel the vibrant energy of the Trojan Family which can really make or break a college decision. Funnily enough, my USC tour guide–who is now my coworker–played a huge role in helping me choose USC. Visiting USC really opened my eyes to the type of life that I would be living. I was able to imagine myself in the shoes of the students who walked past me, which is such an important part of choosing a college. You need to be able to see yourself living on campus. So in this section, my recommendation is to come visit our campus if you’re able to! You can register for student-led tours here. They can be accompanied by an information session on the admission process or a presentation from the academic department you’re interested in. If you can’t come in-person, we also have virtual tours and virtual information sessions. Virtual information sessions are a great resource to learn more about admission or your academic programs, and Student Ambassadors give student perspectives during these presentations as well.
I hope that this blog was helpful! The key to researching colleges is to consolidate your information and find sources where that information is centralized. My last tip is to take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are capable. The process can seem all-consuming, but remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck with the process. Feel free to contact us at visitUSC@usc.edu with any questions. Remember to subscribe to this blog to get insider tips about the admissions process and hear from students like me. FIGHT ON!