u/Astralpirate

Hi everyone!

I recently got admitted to USC Viterbi MSCS with a generous scholarship and I'm trying to decide whether to commit. I'm an international student from Eastern Europe with a CS bachelor's (3.8 GPA) and 4 years of SWE experience - 2 years at a big tech company, plus 2 years at the largest bank in my country. I also have a competitive programming background (ICPC, national olympiads).

The scholarship means I won't need a loan, but I'll be burning through most of my savings once you factor in LA cost of living. I plan to finish in 1.5 years instead of 2 to optimize costs.

I got rejected from Berkeley MEng, Stanford, UPenn, and UCSD this cycle. Still waiting on UCLA and Columbia but not expecting much at this point.

My main reasons for wanting to go:

- Breaking into the US job market, specifically targeting SF/Bay Area companies

- Interested in computer graphics, which is essentially non-existent as a field in my country

- Honestly just need a change of environment

What do you all think?

Thanks for any input.

Hi everyone!

I recently got admitted to Viterbi MSCS with a generous scholarship and I'm now working through the decision of whether to commit. I'm an international student from Eastern Europe with a CS bachelor's and 3 years of SWE experience. The scholarship is good enough that I won't need a loan, but I'll still be burning through most of my savings once you factor in cost of living.

I have a few questions and would really appreciate any input, especially from international or grad students:

1. Safety - How safe is the USC area and LA in general? Coming from Eastern Europe, I don't have a great frame of reference for what to expect. Where do most grad students live, and are there areas to avoid?

2. Social life - How easy is it to make friends and build connections at USC or in LA? I'm 24 and a bit worried I might be older than most students. I'm not big on parties or clubs, but I'd love to get involved in group activities - team sports, student orgs, that kind of thing. What's the grad student social scene like?

3. Getting around without a car - I won't be able to afford a car, so how realistic is it to get around LA on public transit? For example, I have a close friend studying at UCLA and I'd like to hang out regularly - is that doable without driving?

4. On-campus jobs - What kinds of campus jobs are available to international students, and what's the typical pay? Are TA/RA positions realistic for MS students?

Thanks in advance for any advice - it would really help me feel more confident about this decision!