USC Not Just for ‘Spoiled Children’

Although I was charmed by the whimsy of Pamela Warrick’s Nov. 6 article, “Cross-Town Cross-Fire,” I was disappointed by the way it perpetuated the outdated stereotypes of USC as a school for rich kids.

The median family income at many of our flagship public universities is higher than it is at USC (source: California Student Aid Commission). More than 55% of USC’s students receive financial aid averaging more than $17,000 per year. Also, 60% of our student body, which is among the country’s most ethnically and culturally diverse, volunteer for community service in the USC neighborhood. So much for USC as the “University of Spoiled Children.”

I also believe that the Dec. 6 Letter to the Editor about Warrick’s article stepped over the line of good-hearted rivalry by asserting some remarkably incorrect information.

To set the record straight, most current USC freshmen are from the top 12% of their high school class, and 94% were in the top half.

USC and UCLA have always competed and, in balance, have been better for it. The fact that USC enrolls, on a per-capita basis, more National Merit Scholars than UCLA helps take some of the sting out of losing that football game. But the real winner is Southern California, for having both institutions.

DUNCAN C. MURDOCH

Director of Admissions, USC