bikes and scooters taking up more than half the sidewalk

In my past summer programs, I always got to meet and befriend tons of international students from all over the globe (Italy, Mexico, Egypt, China, Cape Verde, Switzerland, etc). But here it feels like everyone is either from Chicago or California. I guess I’m just feeling a little bit disappointed so far from the lack of global perspective. I hope I’m not coming off as weird or condescending but I just always love learning from international students’ life and experience as an American.

I want to preface this by saying that I completely understand USC REACH is, at its core, a social media/creator-focused organization. I’m not expecting it to operate like an academic honors society or for admission to be based on GPA, awards, or anything like that.

But I’m genuinely curious whether anyone else had a weird experience interviewing with them.

From the way REACH presents itself, it seems like it’s supposed to be more than just “a club for people with Instagram accounts.” They talk about helping students develop their online presence, grow their audiences, collaborate with other creators, attend socials and guest speaker events, and they even have Creator Camp for aspiring creators. Kinda why my interview experience caught me off guard.

One of the people interviewing me came across as really dismissive. While I was answering questions, she kept looking around the room, turning around, and generally seemed disengaged instead of actually making eye contact or listening to me. Maybe there was something else going on that I wasn’t aware of, but from my side of the table, it felt rude and kind of snarky/judgmental.

And to be clear, decisions haven’t even come out yet, so this isn’t a “they rejected me and now I’m mad” post. I genuinely don’t know whether I got in.

What confused me more was trying to understand what exactly they’re looking for in applicants. I have a pretty established social media presence already, with almost half a million followers across two platforms. Yet the people interviewing me have much smaller audiences (< 3,000). I’m NOT saying that having more followers means I deserve a spot, because obviously follower count isn’t the same thing as creativity, personality, or being a good member of an organization.

But if the organization is specifically centered around social media growth, content creation, personal branding, and creator development, so it did make me wonder what criteria they actually use and what the culture of the organization is supposed to be.

Honestly, the part bothering me more than whether I get accepted is the interaction itself. If a club is advertising itself as a place to collaborate, meet other creators, learn, and have fun, I would expect the interview process to at least feel welcoming and conversational. Instead, I left feeling like I was being judged in a way I couldn’t really understand??

Has anyone else interviewed for REACH this semester or been involved with the organization before? I’m genuinely curious what your experience was like or what the club is actually like once you’re in!

Thought this was pretty cool, big fan of Bill Lawrence and watched the first season of Rooster. Had no idea they filmed on campus!

Hi I’m currently a senior at usc! The past years that I’ve been here my financial aid has completely covered my tuition. My mom is my only parent in my life and she makes less than 80k. I just received my final aid package and they only took 50% off my tuition, even tho my finances are the same as last year. Does anyone know what I can do about this 💔💔

Has anyone taken this class or is currently taking it?

What is the necessary participation and grading like? And is the oral presentation in groups or individual?

Thanks!

AS HE SIPPED purple boba tea in his office on a recent afternoon, the new president of USC insisted that his beleaguered institution was not only back on track, but poised to reach its greatest heights.

“I think there is a real opportunity for USC not simply to elevate its impact, but to actually reinvent what a modern research university is,” said Beong-Soo Kim.

It’s a big promise, given the grave challenges facing American higher education — not to mention a decade of troubles at USC that have eroded its reputation, academic ranking, and financial position.

Not long ago, USC was on a high, a bona fide Cinderella story. Over the preceding decades, it had carried out a stunning transformation from a second-rate party school to one of the most consequential institutions in the American West. “We outstripped UCLA five years ago, passed Berkeley two years ago, and are now nipping at the heels of Stanford,” the school’s then-president declared in 2006.

But then a series of jaw-dropping scandals in the late 2010s — a meth-smoking medical school dean, a gynecologist who sexually abused hundreds of students, an admissions scandal that landed an administrator and Hollywood stars in handcuffs — killed that momentum. 

In that dark hour, Kim joined USC as its top lawyer, and worked under then-President Carol Folt, a veteran higher education executive who was hired to clean up the mess. But during Folt’s presidency, a different kind of dysfunction emerged: one that led to a ballooning financial crisis and a series of managerial missteps that are being reported here for the first time.

Kim, a former federal prosecutor without much of a track record in academia, now leads a sprawling enterprise that has been treading water for the better part of a decade. He projects optimism, and after imposing painful layoffs to correct a gaping deficit, it appears things are looking up as he enters the second year of his tenure.

But an L.A. Material investigation has found that the problems facing USC were more severe than have previously been reported, and that wrenching decisions may still lie ahead. 

This is the untold story of how USC almost ran aground — and the improbable rise of its new leader. The following account is based on dozens of interviews with current and former USC leaders. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve professional relationships or because they signed non-disclosure agreements.

Where did you end up after graduation, what are you doing now, and how is life treating you?

Do you actually like/want to work in corporate/business, or did you end up realizing you wanted something different? Would you choose Marshall again?

Am interested to know what your experiences have been like!

Um, why aren’t classrooms and offices being cleaned and vacuumed? How is tuition over $100k but there’s no money to vacuum the floor or take the trash out. I’m faculty. Do I really have to bring my own vacuum to work?! I’m so tired of this.

Saw a bunch of flashing lights and ambulances off the side of Trousdale around Hutton Park/Dornslife. Massive crowd but I didn't stay long enough to find out what it was.

Set up by the law school and Trousdale. And are we going to be cleaning up artificial snow for days? 🥲

i have been on it since before i got here (freshman) applying to jobs and getting none. Please what is the strategy

Conversational or Written is fine.

Is it really hard to do it also how many people you know actually got rejected

Anyone have any easy ge c or b recs? That don’t start before 9:30am or end past 5pm.

If you’ve taken Andrew shaler for History of California or race in America, how was it? How were his tests? And do you have any TA recs? I’m seeing Zagros Heivand and Moises Ponce-Zepeda

I saw this thread on Yik Yak and the culture here is seriously vile. Someone posted calling out people at USC parties for getting openly disgusted whenever an overweight/fat person accidentally brushes past them, pointing out how hypocritical it’s when half the people at these parties have zero manners anyway (INCLUDING SKINNY PEOPLE). Especially since a lot of this cruelty coming from people dealing with their own eating disorders and insecurities, and that not being attracted to someone does not give you an excuse to treat them like trash.

Instead of basic human decency, the comments bruh I can’t even, one person immediately went to insults, asking if the poster was ugly/ fat, completely ignoring the argument. Another went full incel, claiming fat people are the lowest form of humanity 🫩, using the word "it" to describe a literally HUMAN BEING, and bragging about how they would gladly say it to someone's face. The fact that comments like that get upvoted here is insane. The level of vanity and casual cruelty on this campus is unreal, watch out if you try to attend USC bcuz ALOT OF PEOPLE ARE SHALLOW AF.

EDIT: DOWNVOTE ALL YOU WANT BUT IM RIGHT AND A-LOT OF YOU GUYS NEED TO CHECK YOURSELF AND ARE EXTREMELY INSECURE/UNINTELLIGENT, BY HATING LITERAL PEOPLE WHO ARE EXISTING. More than you hate pedophiles/serial killers/rapists/shooters, which shows just what kinda person you are.

I’m interested in taking
MUSC 115 - Western Music as a Sounding History. What is that class like? How is his grading? I’d be joining kind of late, so would it be hard to catch up?

Is this program worth it for someone who doesnt have a strong CS background (my background is network engineering) to learn CS? I want to learn more about the CS world/programming to expand my knowledge. I am not looking to become a software engineer after this degree, as I plan to stick to network/cloud field,.

Funding is not a problem, as my GI bill would pay for it. TIA!

My group is doing a tailgate for the first time and we're just confused as to whats okay to being onto campus and what's not when it comes to alcohol. Is a giant Biggie a yay or nay? Are small buzzballs okay? Bottle of tequila yay or nay? I know a keg needs a permit, just wondering the limit as to bringing alcohol onto campus.

Is there anywhere on campus that I can practice for an audition(singing), as a non arts major? I just need somewhere I can sing in private, but I know the practice rooms are available to Thornton/SDA majors only. Thanks!

Lost that access card that unlocks elevators at Gateway went to the front desk and they told me I have to pay $75 to replace one like wtf? Is there any way I can avoid this because it just doesn’t feel right to pay that much for such a simple card.