leeph84

Hi to everyone,

I was accepted for a PhD at USC, and am still waiting for UCLA (and also a few other places in the UK too). So there is a good chance I may be moving to Los Angeles in September, and I have never even been there!

I have so many questions about the place, I don't really know where to start. I guess the most basic question is what is life going to be like on the $23k stipend I would be surviving on as a grad student? I hear the surrounding area to USC is pretty rough (Straight Outta Compton ), what area could I afford to live on with only $1900/mo for everything? How much would bills/food etc typically be here?

Also what's LA like in general? for me looking at pictures/other media portrayals, LA looks really appealing. Constant sunshine, palm tree lined roads, beaches, music, mexican food! Am I in for a big wakeup call?? hehe
Also on the weather note, just how warm is LA, I googled and looked at some data, which said only around 25 C in summer, which is pretty much like a British summer? and around 13 C in December, which is alot warmer than Britain that time of year, but not really that hot?

Finally on the academic side of things, how is USC percieved? what kind of UK place would you say it's equivalent too, would be really helpful?

Thanks for any help

AdobePinon

Some combination of , with a distinct lack of

Best start and finish your degree ASAP.

(I managed on $13k, but it was somewhere a lot cheaper than LA, and 15+ years ago.)

penguinsix

USC is one of the top private schools on the West Coast. It's tops for their film program (along with NYU) and there are a degree there is nothing to write off. It's not Harvard Yale Stanford, but it's probably a top 30 school, very selective and very expensive. It's also one of the top 10 party schools, fwiw.

The football team is a powerhouse--they could basically play in the NFL and be competitive. Sports are a big thing at the University along with lots of beautiful women. Here are some cheerleader pics



LA is nothing like you've pictured. Best to just see it for yourself. The word 'urban sprawl' cannot properly be understood until you've seen LA.

Not sure on the cost of living. It will likely be just barely surviving pay so don't think you'll be buying round after round of beer for your mates. Just enough to get by I'd suspect (which will also annoy you a bit as some of your classmates come from money).

Muswell Hill

I did a molecular biology PhD at USC in 2000. You will find a lot of reasonably priced apartments within walking distance of campus. I lived on W.30th street which is accesable via the Jefferson Blvd exit on campus. The landlord i rented from has an office on the corner of W.30th and orchard. His name is Jerry and has tons of places. You will probably end up with a roommate, as he splits apartments up into two bedrooms. I paid $475/month all utilities included 9 years ago. As was previously mentioned it is a HUGE sporting powerhouse and the women there are all shallow LA types but super hot! They will really dig the English accent. The only thing to consider is that your PhD at USC or anywhere else in the US will take about 5-6 years, in the UK tops of 3. Your stipend will be enough to live on, just. LA is amazing for the first couple of years, but after that is just gets annoying.
With hindsight, I would had done a PhD in the UK.

USC is in Watts and you will see violent crime there, but USC has its own police force and SWAT team. They patrol a 2 mile radius around the campus, so it is very safe. I honestly never felt at risk, but obviously be sensible. At night the police will drive you home if you want.

If you have any more questions just PM me!

penguinsix

By the way, do you have any other options besides USC?

leeph84

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I just google imaged USC and all I got was semi naked cheerleaders , I think that could be a deciding factor, hehe.

I am still waiting on UCLA (prob be a rejection by now though unless I get lucky, I think the whole state school funding have completley died too). Also am waiting on a few places in the UK...Edinburgh/Nottingham and an MSc at Imperial. Not sure what I will do if it turns out to be Edinburgh vs USC. Really want the experience of living in LA, but then I wonder if Edinburgh is a better uni.

Yeah the extra length is putting me off a little (the amount of teaching I would have to do is pretty scary too), but then again if I like it there I may be glad to have the chance to stay longer, who knows...
How did you find a roomate/apartment exactly, did the accomodation office arrange this, or did you just use something like craiglist?

Also will I def need a car? I imagine getting insurance and stuff would be an absolute nightmere, espec as I'll be semi broke. How far are places like Santa Monica and the various beaches?

Also about the student visa itself, how long does this take to come through? I dont have to give them an answer until Mid April, but if I apply for visa then will I have enough time for it to be ready by Sept?

Sally Redux

Congratulations on your possible move to LA. It can be a fun place although my perceptions as a middle-aged Mum are somewhat different from those of a young man of course, personally I have found it very hard to settle here. My husband works a UCLA and it is well-regarded but as you say with a bankrupt state you may have a problem. USC is called the University of Spoilt Children

Life will be easier if you stay in the UK but it could be a great opportunity here, minus points will be it's expensive, you need a car, it can get very hot in summer, people can be wearing you have to deal wiith visa hassles.

Please feel free to send me a private message if i can help with anything specific.

penguinsix

One other bit is what are you studying? Will the long term job opportunities for someone with your degree be in the US or the UK? Edinburgh might be good, but if you are going to be working in the US one day (or want to) or in some other places, like Asia, a degree from USC might carry more weight and get you in touch with a stronger 'old boys network'.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I've lived here most of my life. And one daughter is a grad student at Cal Tech in Pasadena.

Here is what USC says about the subject:

http://college.usc.edu/graduate_programs/housing.html

I noticed that one of the links is no longer active.

USC is not "near Compton." It pays to note that the LA Freeways tend to serve as distinctive borders.

University Park area is nice and safe.

I suggest you look into on-campus housing. My daughter lived in graduate student housing her first year and then found what would be called a flat in other places withing biking distance of campus and has had no problems in finding room-mates.

In temperatures, US uses the Fahrenheit scale [I can think in most metric measurements, but not temperature.] Temperature in the Summer tends to be in the 80's and up. Winters tend to be in the low 70's and down. No rain in summer and some or little rain in winter. However, there are exceptions -- it can get very hot in summer and down near freezing in Winter [it is semi-tropical climate]. The summer heat is usually a "dry heat" with low humidity. The most miserable month is usually June with its "June Gloom." September and October tend to get quite hot and that is the fire season up in the hills [which you won't be living in].

The "inversion layer" moves in during the summer months which is not good for air quality. However, the improvements in smog control have been nothing short of anything but fantastic -- the pollution alerts to cease physical activity are few and far between these days.

I would look into the income taxation rules on grants and stipends. They can get tricky. My daughter found that some of her income was taxable.

UCLA is on a nicer, but more expensive part of town. Also, UCLA does NOT give any guarantee of stipends or support.

Muswell Hill

My stipend was taxed, just like regular wages. i claimed back all tax the first year, as i was in the US less than half a year.

Some good things about USC....if you are a movie fan you will LOVE it. It has the worlds first THX sound movie theatre. Friday night is student night, with a movie for $2.00. It has to be the best cinema i have ever been into in my life. The angle of the screen, the quality of the sound is just amazing. i have never had sucha good movie watching experience as there. I saw George Lucas one day who was there calibrating the sound system. We watched the movie after and the sound was better than usual. The campus health centre is really good and GP visits cost you nothing out of pocket. As part of your stipend you must pay for the USC student health insurance which is actually quite good. There are also LOADS of things happening on campus all the time like free concerts, movie shoots to be an extra in, loads of free lunches from businesses in "the Trojan family" the alumni group. The gym and fitness centre is free to join and iis olympic class...they held the 1984 olympic swimming there. If you are single and want to meet nice girls i would recommend the myriad of clubs from pottery to salsa dancing. the film school library (which you can use) has a copy of every movie ever made, so i was told, and you can take them out and watch them.

If you live near W.30th (where i lived) they used to hold the Oscars and Grammys at the shrine auditorium and on award day you can go and sit in the stands and watch all the movie stars...traffic is bad on that day as the limos clog the streets up.

There is very little on campus housing for grad students, it is all reserved for freshmen, and is over by the library near the Figueroa ave entrance.

leeph84

Thanks again for the replies.

Well I'm studying Physics, and at the moment am thinking of an academic career (but of course this may change as the PhD goes on, it's too early to say if I will eventually end up back in industry, so it's nice to know USC might open some doors in business if it came to that). It seems USC is very strong in film/business/engineering but the rankings say mid 40's for Physics, I'm not sure how this stacks up to Edinburgh since I can't find rankings that include both.

On a more practical note.I am currently without driving license, been having lessons for some time, and expect to pass in the coming months. Can I just transfer my license to a Californian one? Also since I will never of had insurance before, will I be able to get a car in the US insured, and if so will this cost me an absolute fortune? Also will I be able to buy a manual transmission car over there?

Bob

No, you'll have to do the theory and practical test again, but unless your a complete numpty you shouldn't have a problem passing, driving around the car park sort of thing, though read up on the drivers manual for penalty points system.

Insurance, you'll start at the bottom as a fresh teenager pretty much and it will be expensive.

You can buy a manual, though it'll cost you more and you'll have a hell of a time flogging it if you do and if you get second hand, it'll probably have a knackered clutch.

AdobePinon

The biggest question is: Where do you intend to work afterward? Most employers over here will only know Oxford or Cambridge. Academics will know more, but will also put most of them on a similar level to US community colleges in their minds despite whatever they actually say to you.

USC will certainly be better known in the UK than Edinburgh is here, but the snobbery / ignorance works both ways.

Bottom line: Getting your degree in the US will make it MUCH easier to find a job in the US, but probably won't help much for finding a job in the UK.

Finch2

USC area isn't too bad, it's just outside downtown. I stayed there last year for a while, was OK, but obviously a lot of students.

USC is a top notch University i'm led to believe, students there generally come from a wealthy background. It's not cheap. As for the weather, i was there 3 months last summer, not a single drop of rain. It was 90 degrees every day but little humidity, therefore it was beautiful heat. In the winter, let's put it this way, when we had the snow last month, they had 25 degree celcius weather. Trust me mate, the weather is infinately better than here.

Your perception of palm trees is a bit fake, i don't think you'll be spending too much time in Beverley Hills on that amount of dosh. Beaches are lovely, and there's plenty to chose from. USC is about 10/12 miles inland from the coast, it'll prob take you about 45 minutes to get to in car as the traffic is heavy in L.A. And yes, there's loads of mexican food.

Best city in the world IMO, plenty to do, great people, lovely weather all year round. Great coastline, nice birds :-)

Folinskyinla

Hi:

The Academy Awards are no longer held at the Shrine, nor the Music Center. Since 2002, they have been at the Kodak Center on Highland & Hollywood. I believe it is now their permanent home.