Pros: USC takes further Education seriously in that they tried to get lecturers who hadnt just studied their subjects but had applied their studies and practised. They also encouraged diversity with study and if you could approach them with a way to complete extra study, then they were more than happy to help. Which is how I managed to graduate with majors in English, creative writing, and history, instead of just English and History.
USC has over 50% mature age students, and then the remaining 50% of school leavers has a high number of ESL students from other countries. This means there is a LOT of diversity of experience and knowledge to be shared within tutorials and subjects. The knowledge pool of the students is phenomenal and when you have an English and Creative writing lecturer who also designs video games you end up with a learning experiences that encourages you to enjoy learning.
There are a number of groups on campus and from what I saw they try and make sure every student has a group they feel they can connect to... even if they dont go to a lot of the social events. Its just nice having a place to go you know is a safe space.
And lastly, it is still a smaller uni, so lecturers know students by name and frequently have students in their classes throughout each semester of their degree. This familiarity means students get more personal instruction or support when necessary and are less likely to be overlooked because classes are too large.
Hope this helps answer your query?
And thank you for reading Harmony of the Spheres. It will be finished at some stage but I havent been writing it while life has taken me down a different path. I go back to uni (again, this time for my Masters) next year so will return to writing HotS when I need a creative break during study.