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NYU vs. USC

J

jchanrnr

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I've read multiple post about USC, but haven't heard much about people's thoughts on NYU.

I'm interested in the policy side of transportation planning, and am completely confused about which school to pick. After I graduate, I would like to work for the private sector.

I live in California, so going to USC would be a very economical choice, especially if they are also offering me a hefty scholarship.

I was extremely surprised to find out that I was accepted to NYU, my #1 school since they usually only accept people with more job experience. I only graduated last year. From what I gather, NYU is more suited for those interested in working in the public sector, but I feel that with NYU's prestige, it would offer me more network in the private sector.

Any thoughts? Any suggestion is very well appreciated.
 
location location location

One factor you might want to consider is where you want to live and work after.

NYU would be a great choice if you think you will end up in NYC or East Coast... vice versa for USC. Both are great schools, so in the end it is a win win! :) Congrats on your predicament!
 
I'm in the same situation as you but I'm on the East Coast. I prefer NYU to USC because of proximity and personal preference/familiarity for NYC over LA. It did look like I was going to USC but I secured an assistantship position at NYU with a possible upgrade in financial aid. A professor told me that they are reviewing my aid package and if they add some extra support to my tuition expenses I'll probably go to NYU but I still haven't heard anything from Wagner even though I was supposed to get a final aid decision "early" this week. The longer I wait, the more I think that the admissions dept won't budge on its previous decision.

I was also a little surprised I got into NYU, I thought the chips were stacked against me because I have a ridiculously high GRE score (which they don't look at) but barely any related work experience since I just got out of undergrad. I really like their program with its emphasis on professional development and I think the faculty is top notch and very well-connected. That being said, I think USC is very similar, but I get the sense that more of its graduates go to work in the private sector rather than for public sector/nonprofits, after talking with people there. 85% of NYU MPL grads work in public sector/nonprofits. After all it's called the Wagner School of Public Service. But USC also has a strong program with an emphasis on experiential learning and prepares you for the "real world," which I really like.

Bottom line: if I were in your situation, I would pick USC because of proximity and I assume, your familiarity with the LA area, unless NYU gives you a better financial aid offer. Both are superb programs (in my opinion) that will prepare you well for a really tough job market.
 
I am very interested in transportation planning, as well, and that's one of the reasons that I decided to go to Rutgers rather than NYU. NYU really only has one full-time faculty member that does transportation, though they do have the Rudin Center for Transportation. I'm not sure how many transportation faculty members USC has, but I remember that they also have a transportation center. NYU Wagner's reputation also seems to be better known in the northeast and NYC, so if you want to return to CA and USC is giving you money, its probably much better to go to USC. Also keep in mind NYU's 280 hour professional requirement!

I love NYU - I got my undergrad degree there - but the more I learned about the program and the other schools, it just wasn't the right choice for me.
 
hmm, I'm definitely leaning towards USC right now.

Besides, if I really want to work in the East Coast after graduation, I believe USC is well connected enough to garner me some job opportunities in the East coast. I know many argue that where you attend school is typically where you work, but I think it depends heavily on the school.
 
Did any of you looking at nyu also consider Columbia's urban planning program? It's in their school of architecture so doesn't seem to get a lot of notice.

I am a big fan of NYU's mup/mpa coursework and would benefit from being at Wagner for that reason. But I was more impressed by Columbia faculty.

Anyone know how many full-time faculty overall at NYU?
 
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