ad from UNC(MAC),compared to USC and IU

crystalno_1

以下是引用dodowoo在2006-3-24 14:56:00的发言：

昨天刚拿了北京的驾照，请问在国外能用吗，如果不能用的话，有了中国驾照在参加美国的驾照考试又没有什么优惠阿？

听别人说国际的美国能用的，国内的要再考的，优惠好像好像没有。

weqinfo

以下是引用jadelo在2006-3-23 2:31:00的发言：

不是有意要吓各位，只是我目前就住在USC的宿舍里，在这边大概也待了快一年了，对当地的情况多少有点了解。USC周边的环境确实很不好，黑人和Latinos很多(在这里白人是minority，学校附近唯一会看到的白人大概就是USC学生了)，很多地区治安很不好。学校北边治安稍微好一些，学生大多数都住在北边，但也因此学校北面的房价贵得吓人。学校南边是个漂亮的大公园，里面有个有名的博物馆，白天是没什么问题的，但一入夜就很可怕了…听说都是帮派聚集的地方。USC的西边也有学生住，但因为大部份的居民是Latinos，听说满吵的，环境也不是很好。学校往东，过了110号公路的地方，治安也是很差，黑人很多。

总之一句话，要念USC，若要有好一些的生活品质，就不要住在学校附近，所以就需要要买车。学校周边是可以住，不过要慎选地区，最有名的一条街叫Ellendale，另外像29 或30街那一带也还行。但是比较安全的区房租就贵， 这也是没办法的事，像Ellendale那里一间studio平均要USD 900 (range大概在 700到1300之间)，one bedroom的公寓至少要一千左右。我们很幸运地住到了学校给family盖的宿舍，是850，但因为宿舍特别便宜，一般新生是很难排到的。不管住在哪一区，晚上都不要一个人走路，因为学校一天到晚email给学生所谓的”crime alert”，里面就是说哪里又发生抢案了；有时是大白天，但多数还是入夜之后，而且被抢的多数是行人，若是开车应该就会安全多了。

LA是个大都会，USC位于LA downtown 偏南，基本上downtown一带治安都很不好，1990年发生的洛杉矶大暴动就在这一带。LA以西(靠UCLA或Beverly Hills那一带)的环境就好多了，白人也比较多，但是房价更贵。学校的faculty member通常是住在离学校一小时车程以外的地方，大概不会有professor住在学校旁边。所以如果在这里念书，想要有稍好一些的生活品质，一辆车可能是必要的。如果可以开车，又不怕commute，我建议住在东边的Alhambra, Monterey Park or San Gabriel那一带，离学校不塞车的话大概开20分钟 (塞的话可能50分钟)，那里中国人很多，有国内来的，也有台湾和香港来的，要买菜或吃饭都方便，也比较安全，且房价算是合理，一般都是两个到三个bedroom的公寓，一间two bedroom apartment or condo大概在1200-1600之间，若是可以找几个室友share，会比住学校附近便宜。

不过LA这里天气好是真的，很少下雨，即使冬天也经常是艳阳高照。一点信息，希望对大家有帮助。

我公司里的USC校友说黑哥们对我们中国人很好，可能是由于都是少数族裔

jadelo

以下是引用weqinfo在2006-3-24 16:10:00的发言：

我公司里的USC校友说黑哥们对我们中国人很好，可能是由于都是少数族裔

That really depends. I have also heard that blacks don't like Asians and Latinos, because these "new immigrants" have been competing for employment opportunities with them. The 1990 La riot was mainly about the conflict between blacks and Koreans (who were supposed to be minoroties too).

There certainly are many nice black folks, and I do know some really sweet black friends personally. But I think the reason why most people have stereotypes against the African Americans is that the average crime rate among them is higher than among other ethnic groups. But here in LA, the racial group that has the highest crime ratio on average is Latinos, not Blacks. Again, this is just the "average" thing, and I think it's not a good idea to discriminate against any individual based on his or her ethnic origin just because of these statistics.

BTW, the reason I posted those articles was not to intimidate future Trojans, but to remind you guys that LA may not be not such a paradise. The neighborhood is kind of shabby and dangerous, and life here is not so interesting as you may think now. But the bottom is: what do you (do we) want at all?

Going back the LZ's question at the very beginning, if what you want is a safe and decent living environment, then LA certianly cannot satisfy your expectation unless you can afford living in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica Beach. If what you want is just to get a job in the US after graduation, then I don't think going to UNC or USC would make a big difference-- both schools have some international students who did and did not find jobs. However, if what you want is strong alumni network along the West Coast and in the Pacific Rim area, then coming to USC is certainly a right choice. You will have easy access to the Chinese business society here, and this may offer you some unexpected opportunities. Also, if you are an open-minded person, living here may be a unique experience... it's not so easy to see so many different kinds of people everyday in other parts of the US, but here in downtown LA, you can see Blacks, Whites, Asians, Latinos, white collar employees, crazy artists, homeless, haves and have-nots.... it's another life experience. Some people value it, but some don't. It really depends. I think choosing a graduate school is also choosing a life style, just as picking the company to work for is also picking a way to lead our life.

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-3-24 17:31:09编辑过]

eqw529

谢谢jedelo.真的很有帮助! Latino 是不是就是老墨啊?

vvanhuang

好喜欢jade's帖子，总是能给我们很多信息。见微识著，usc的alumni 真的都很nice.

crystalno_1

以下是引用jadelo在2006-3-24 17:29:00的发言：

That really depends. I have also heard that blacks don't like Asians and Latinos, because these "new immigrants" have been competing for employment opportunities with them. The 1990 La riot was mainly about the conflict between blacks and Koreans (who were supposed to be minoroties too).

There certainly are many nice black folks, and I do know some really sweet black friends personally. But I think the reason why most people have stereotypes against the African Americans is that the average crime rate among them is higher than among other ethnic groups. But here in LA, the racial group that has the highest crime ratio on average is Latinos, not Blacks. Again, this is just the "average" thing, and I think it's not a good idea to discriminate against any individual based on his or her ethnic origin just because of these statistics.

BTW, the reason I posted those articles was not to intimidate future Trojans, but to remind you guys that LA may not be not such a paradise. The neighborhood is kind of shabby and dangerous, and life here is not so interesting as you may think now. But the bottom is: what do you (do we) want at all?

Going back the LZ's question at the very beginning, if what you want is a safe and decent living environment, then LA certianly cannot satisfy your expectation unless you can afford living in Beverly Hills or Santa Monica Beach. If what you want is just to get a job in the US after graduation, then I don't think going to UNC or USC would make a big difference-- both schools have some international students who did and did not find jobs. However, if what you want is strong alumni network along the West Coast and in the Pacific Rim area, then coming to USC is certainly a right choice. You will have easy access to the Chinese business society here, and this may offer you some unexpected opportunities. Also, if you are an open-minded person, living here may be a unique experience... it's not so easy to see so many different kinds of people everyday in other parts of the US, but here in downtown LA, you can see Blacks, Whites, Asians, Latinos, white collar employees, crazy artists, homeless, haves and have-nots.... it's another life experience. Some people value it, but some don't. It really depends. I think choosing a graduate school is also choosing a life style, just as picking the company to work for is also picking a way to lead our life.

I don't know how to express my thanks to jadelo! Thank you very much for your information!!!

crystal0928

LZ是大四学生吗？UNC怎么来得及去上课啊？他们是五月二十几号开学的，我刚收到他们的电话面试通知

jadelo

以下是引用eqw529在2006-3-24 20:23:00的发言：
谢谢jedelo.真的很有帮助! Latino 是不是就是老墨啊?

是啊，我本来也都称他们“老墨”，但因为去年拿了一个Demography的master，发现文献中都称那些从中南美移民来的人为Hispanics or Latinos，因此久了也就改口了。另外，你也可以叫他们 Amigos，这是一种比较亲切的用法。

其实大部份的黑人和老墨都很nice和热情，只是这一带龙蛇杂处，还是小心些就是了。

[此贴子已经被作者于2006-3-25 16:16:49编辑过]

crystalno_1

以下是引用crystal0928在2006-3-25 15:13:00的发言：

LZ是大四学生吗？UNC怎么来得及去上课啊？他们是五月二十几号开学的，我刚收到他们的电话面试通知

它家是开学挺早的，MM看看以前的面经，我问到的问题和面经是一样的，呵呵，所以我当时就没好意思再发篇一模一样的面经。Good luck to you!!!