This week we hit up the West Coast as we examine the two hottest schools in Los Angeles- the University of Southern California and the University of California- Los Angeles. Amidst the beautiful SoCal climate and a city rife with movie sets and superstars, private USC and public UCLA compete to find out which is most elite in the City of Angels.

1. Superior Sport

USC – The Trojans are known as “the football school” and have been awarded the NCAA national title in football eleven times, including back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004.  They are perennially ranked in the Top 10 football programs in the BCS by ESPN, USA Today, and other publications. And Trojans have taken home the Heisman Trophy seven times.
UCLA - Meanwhile, the Bruins are known as powerhouses in basketball–also earning eleven NCAA titles. Seven of these championships were won consecutively, from 1967-1973.  UCLA is also the all-time leader in total NCAA national titles across all sports.

Meanwhile, the Lexus Gauntlet is an annual all-sports competition between the two schools sponsored by Lexus. Points are awarded for every victory (particularly in head-to-head match ups)  in NCAA-sanctioned competitions, with the school with the most points declared as the winner. (There is also a separate Lexus Gauntlet awarded to the winner of the Stanford-Berkeley rivalry.)  In the eight years of Lexus Gauntlet tradition, USC has walked away with five titles.

Three credits to: TIE.  The two schools pulled a draw in NCAA titles in their respective predominant sport.  On the one hand, the Lexus Gauntlet record gives the Trojans the edge, but UCLA also has the most NCAA titles of any school. Too close to call!!

2. Terrific Traditions

USC – Trojans can’t withhold their affections for Traveler, the magnificent white horse ridden by a student in full Greek armor at every football game, and Tommy Trojan, the iconic statue of the school’s mascot found on campus. But Songfest, an annual talent show in which frats & sororities compete against one another to benefit the charity TroyCamp, is a highlight of the social calendar. When it comes to hatin’ on their crosstown rivals, some USC students once set loose thousands of crickets on the UCLA campus.
UCLA - Like the Trojans, UCLA also has its own child-oriented charity called UniCamp.  Students donning blue and gold love exhibiting card stunts (flashing the university logo, for instance) at basketball games and occasionally dousing Tommy Trojan with UCLA-colored paint.

Three Credits to: USC, for the campus-rockin Songfest.

3. Hottest (LA) Hood

USC - Located in University Park, USC is adjacent to the Los Angeles Coliseum and sits on Figueroa Street, which connects the school to the Staples Center and historic Chinatown.
UCLA - The Bruins are located in the Westwood Village section of Los Angeles, a wealthy and scenic section of town that is home to several vintage movie theaters and stretches of beautiful homes.  Oh, and the Playboy Mansion is just a hop, skip, and jump away!

Three credits to:  UCLA - who doesn’t want to party with Hef?

4. Ass-kicking Alumni

USC –  Neil Armstrong, Will Ferrell, Whitney Port
UCLA – Lo Bosworth, Francis Ford Coppola, James Franco

Three credits to: Let’s see…Whitney is SO much cooler than Lo on The Hills, and while Will Ferrell can make me pee my pants, I’d rather have James Franco in them. It’s another close one, but I’m going to have to go with UCLA because others have walked on the moon, but only FFC could have directed the masterpiece The Godfather with such genius.

5. Acceptance Rate Agony

USC- 22% of over 35,000 applicants were accepted for the class of 2012.
UCLA-  22.7% for the university with the largest number of applicants in the United States (over 55,000!)

Three credits to:  USC…by a nose!!

And the diploma goes to: …its a TIE! Seriously, its too close to call who wins this rivalry. Both schools boast terrific academics, athletics, and high-profile alumni–how can you choose? For all of you Angelenos out there, what do you think?

Heck, I can even dig the change from heels to flip-flops and gladiator sandals. It’s so much easier to walk back to your room at four in the morning when you don’t have to worry about stepping on broken glass. However, there are a few fashion statements that I can never understand.

1. Wearing scarves when the weather drops below 70. I’m from NYC, so I thought I understood scarves. You wear them when it’s ten below zero to keep you face from freezing off. Or, on the off chance that you forget your concealer and turtleneck at home, you wear it to your Monday morning class to cover up the massive bruise on your neck. But nothing in the world will convince me that the thin piece of fabric wrapped three times around your throat is doing anything to keep you warm. Especially when all you’re wearing with it is a miniskirt and Uggs. This brings me to my next fashion complaint.

2. Uggs. Has anyone ever actually looked at these monstrosities? Everyone constantly complains about the loser who wear Crocs, but no one says a word about these bad boys. And I hate to break it to you, but they do not make your feet look cute. In fact, they are down-right hideous. I realize that they’re comfy. Flips-flops serve the same function. I understand that they’re warm. Wear comfy sneakers and toe socks, or even fur lined boots. Only please, could you wear shoes that don’t resemble a cross between something out of a Tolstoy novel and a six years old drawing? Uggs. Ugly. See the resemblance. Please don’t wear the shoes.

3. Tights (and leggings) as pants. I’m not sure who started the trend, but suddenly tights stopped being the geeky thing your mom told you to wear to your fourth grade Valentine’s Day party and started becoming a fashion staple. And I couldn’t be happier. I could wear dresses in the winter in NYC and not resemble an icicle. However, I have never once considered them as a substitute to pants. Why didn’t anyone else get this memo? I’m sure you’ve seen this before -  you’re in line at your cafeteria and you hear something crash. You turn towards the sound and you see a girl bending down to pick up her tray and you can see every curve of her ass through those tights.

Believe me – it’s not flattering. In fact, it’s like watching a train wreck. You know it’s going to scar you for life, but you just can’t look away. Why are girls doing this? We spend years trying to find those perfect jeans that minimize our butts while making our legs look longer. Then, in one fell swoop, you destroy any illusion that your thighs were naturally that skinny. Tights as pants do not look good on anyone, regardless of your size. They maximize every calorie and show off the body parts that you’re squeamish about showing in bed. So here’s a new rule: if you would never wear a top without the tights, please don’t wear it with them.