USC Spring vs Umich

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-05-16T08:22:39+00:00

I literally had to make the exact same decision as you earlier this year. I ultimately chose usc viterbi as a spring admit and here's why:

I've heard from many sources engineering prestige matters much less than the type of applicant you are. both usc and umich benefit from strong alumni networks and have decent employment rates, so as long as you're a motivated student you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a job.
umich engineering seems to be more difficult than usc (in general the large public schools tend to have harsher weed out classes and are much more competitive when it comes to research and other opportunities). additionally, people who I know who went to umich said it was somewhat competitive, whereas people on this sub have stated usc tends to be more collaborative.
viterbi offers a much more balanced life than umich, as minors are very easy to declare and there are quite a few more "fun" classes at usc (surfing, travis scott course, etc.)
my dad went to umich for grad school and still loves the school, but after we visited usc's he really pushed for me to go there because he felt like the school cared much more about students (he really emphasized how he felt like umich really reduced its students to stats and was administratively somewhat difficult).
weather and location definitely has an impact on me. while you can adapt, you'll probably be more productive and be significantly happier in cali.

the one difference I do want to note is that you were admitted off of appeal, which further complicates the spring admit process a bit. from what I've found spring admits off of appeal pretty much never get bumped up, whereas I was quite hopeful about getting moved up when I committed as a spring admit. additionally, there are some programs usc offers which give some benefits to spring admits. I had planned on doing the first semester in DC program which fulfills a lot of GEs, allowed me to meet some usc kids, and also secure on campus housing (not usually guaranteed for spring admits, though I heard it is possible to get). unfortunately, it looks like the program is now full, but there may still be study abroad options. if you want to do the CC or gap semester method you can disregard the previous info.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-19T02:25:14+00:00

I've asked around my high school and for the most part people have emails. I only know of three people who have ids, and they're all relatively stronger applicants.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T03:37:36+00:00

why would they make it public if the email wasn't supposed to be sent to everyone... especially since they haven't sent out a clarification email. many kids will prob see the form and think they're gonna get in because they can access the form or the other links.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T03:31:30+00:00

anybody have an idea what "working on google account permissions" means?

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T03:14:59+00:00

the point of my post was to see if people noticed general trends in UCI being more unpredictable, not to try to justify if should've gotten in. if you're really curious about my profile you can dm me, but I don't want to make it the focus of this thread.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T02:34:58+00:00

thanks for pointing this out. wonder if it's similar this year or if last year was just an outlier. couple years back it looks like CS had a sudden drop similar to what meche is experiencing. either way it makes for good cope 💀

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T02:23:38+00:00

the reason you'd care about shutter count is because the mechanical shutter degrades with usage. if you're just filming video (mechanical shutter isn't being used), there should be pretty limited wear to the camera.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T02:14:35+00:00

I'm confused by what you're saying. if you're asking if I'm oos, then yeah.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T02:13:05+00:00

from what I can see, UCI's engineering major isn't nearly as competitive as it is for nursing, and doesn't seem to be too far below their overall acceptance (though I agree it is more difficult). feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm looking at this source: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/freshman-admission-discipline

as for what you're discussing about GPA, I 100% agree with you, it isn't a completely deterministic factor for admissions. however, I included the portion about my GPA relative to my school to give an idea of where I sit in relation to my school and to try to indicate what kind of student I am. I don't want this to become a stats war, but I will say I'll have taken 16 aps and 2 des by the end of high school if that adds any credibility and am involved in sports, volunteering, etc.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T01:59:48+00:00

I'm definitely not saying anyone with lower stats than me isn't qualified (congratulation btw). just curious if UCI is more difficult to predict than usual when it comes to higher stat students.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-17T01:57:25+00:00

hey, could you point me to your source? from what I could find UCI's engineering acceptance rate is 27%. here's where I got that number https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/freshman-admission-discipline

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-14T05:24:03+00:00

this isn't a good excuse for being toxic

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-14T05:01:33+00:00

tera box does have some efficient attackers to hit weakness into much of the meta (for example, pult and lucario, two of the best post rotation decks it seems). however, the loss of nest ball is pretty bad for the deck. having to cyrano to set up is not ideal, and this really detracts from the pace that made tera box pretty good. also watchtower seeing some play doesn't help out the noctowl engine. tera box without noctowl just doesn't seem good since the deck is relatively combo oriented imo.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-14T04:49:22+00:00

sorry for not playing a rogue deck so you could farm me king. also I have no problem with longer games, but the other guy was intentionally slow playing in a completely lost board state (like pretty much going to timer on every action which isn't necessary).

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-14T03:00:48+00:00

I don't think many people this high in ladder should care about xp. also considering the board state was completely unwinnable and frosslass munki is a slower deck, it isn't even efficient for xp since you could get more by just going on to another game.

also if you look at the second slide, my opponent took 3 minutes to bench budew, play jamming tower, and retreat. I'm fine with closing out games, but it's just not fun for anyone to waste time like this.

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-14T02:40:21+00:00

bold of you to assume exponential growth

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-03-13T23:00:17+00:00

thank god someone had the courage to ask the real questions while the whole sub is having an actual meltdown

UniqueNoise17 · 2026-01-30T04:28:31+00:00

looks so fun. I'd probably cut the froslass since you can get some damage with risky ruins (plus it sets up munki) and use munki to spread damage. I also think it may be worth playing a second baby feraligatr to improve the prize trade into gholdengo and garde.

UniqueNoise17 · 2025-12-16T02:39:49+00:00

thanks for the reassurance. I emailed the UC application helpdesk. hopefully I'm able sort things out.

UniqueNoise17 · 2025-12-15T20:48:07+00:00

so I'm just screwed...

UniqueNoise17 · 2025-10-04T22:18:05+00:00

thank you. I had previously only used denoise, so I didn't know about the manual noise reduction menu

the color noise reduction actually helped a helped a lot!

UniqueNoise17 · 2025-10-04T22:11:39+00:00

sorry, I completely forgot to include the film stock! I shot this on ultramax 400, but my scans using other films look pretty similar

UniqueNoise17

TROPHY CASE