~ February Issue ~
 

Leaving the Nest: Football Pac 10 Leaders
By Lauren Stabile, Managing Editor

There’s nothing like college football season.  Networks air games almost 24/7, people rearrange their schedules to watch the clashes and procrastinate necessary tasks to catch every minute of the crazed college students cheering alongside even the most stoic alumni.  Colleges are often most known for their teams, aerial views of stadiums show blocks of cardinal and gold battling blue and gold while America is glued to the TV hoping for a miracle win while singing their alma mater or tracking their favorite teams hoping they qualify for the final two. 

University of Southern California

        USC – some people love it, some hate it and almost everyone on the west coast knows its fight song.  The Trojans did well this football season, with an overall record of 11-2, crippling the best teams in the conference and losing to the worst.  These defeats cost USC a chance to win BCS, but despite its loss to cross-town rival UCLA, USC came back to beat Michigan in a spectacular game at the Rose Bowl.  As the season ended a few months ago, football is probably on the back burner for all but the extremely dedicated fans.  It’s a good thing for USC that its reputation is based on more than football alone.  Ranked 27^th best national college in 2007 by U.S. News & World Reports, USC is an academic force to be reckoned with as well.  It admits only 27% its applicants, the majority of which held an SAT Reasoning Verbal score between 620 and 710 and a 650 to 730 in SAT Reasoning Math, on the 1600 scale.  Many of these students major in Business/Marketing and Social Sciences, but USC offers over 90 majors from Gerontology to Polymer/Plastics.  With its varieties of majors and numerous extracurricular activities such as choral and music groups and, USC caters to both academic and social needs of the students.  If the campus ever gets boring, there is a wide range of activities in the surrounding areas of Los Angeles.  Located three miles from the center of downtown LA, USC features 4 art galleries, a marine science center on Catalina Island, permanent facilities for study in Sacramento, a special collections library, the Gamble House designed by Greene and Greene, the Freeman House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, an integrated media systems center, and a center for digital arts.  USC no doubt has a lot to offer, but it comes with the price tag of around $34000 per year for tuition and about $11000 for room and board.

Cal
        Also known as the University of California Berkeley, Cal was runner-up in the Pac 10 Conference with an overall record of 10-3.  Though its record is not as outstanding as USC’s, it did have an exceptional season.  Like USC, Cal is also a leader in academics as well as football.  By U.S. News’ standard, it’s number 21 in comparison to other colleges in America.  Located in the Bay area, Berkeley offers a host of activities like boutique shopping on College Avenue or the Hearst Museum of Anthropology.  College, however, has the main meaning of earning a degree, and Cal offers almost 90 majors ranging from Art Criticism to Toxicology.  While this may seem like an ideal school, it is one of the most difficult schools to be admitted to, with the average SAT Verbal and Math scores on the 1600 scale varying from 580-710 and 620-740 respectively.  Unlike USC, however, Cal is comparatively inexpensive, only around $6700 for in-state tuition plus around $13000 for room and board.

Oregon State

        Oregon State is the lesser known school of the top Pac-10 teams, but it still pulled off an amazing season.  With 10 wins and 4 losses overall, the Beavers no doubt surpassed everyone’s expectations for the 2006-2007 season.  This Division 1 giant hosts a variety of intramural and competitive sports along with its70 or so majors which include everything from Fishing/Fisheries to Nuclear Engineering.  Alumni may say it nurtures the mind as well as the social needs of students with its 253 organizations ranging from dance, film, and vocal groups to its newspaper The Daily Barometer.  While it is much less selective than the other dominant Pac-10 schools, with a 90% acceptance rate, Oregon State still maintains average SAT Math and Verbal scores of 470 to 590 and 490 to 610 on the 1600 scale, respectively.  At around $18000 for out-of-state tuition, it is more expensive than Cal but still costs a significant amount less than USC. 

UCLA

        UCLA was unimposing for the last few years, sitting out of the limelight of its cross-town rival USC.  This year, however, UCLA won an impressive victory against USC; some call it an end to USC’s football complacency, some say it was a fluke.  No matter how or why they won, UCLA ended USC’s winning streak and forever ingrained its victory into the minds of all Pac-10 fans, even if it won only 7 of its 11 games.  Despite the rivalry, USC and UCLA have a lot in common academic wise.  It admits 27% of its applicants and also offers over 90 majors from the exotic Bacteriology to the unique East Asian Languages. Its average SAT scores are somewhat lower in both categories, with the average student scoring between 570 and 690 in verbal and 600 and 720 in math.  With the traditional activities and exciting town of Westwood, UCLA is sure to keep anyone occupied after class.  For only $6500 for tuition per year, UCLA is an inexpensive, yet academically rigorous college that’s close to home.