#1 school

<p>Bama is my #1 school and I am in love with it, but I got a lot more money to go to USC. I was just wondering for current students or parents if it would be worth paying the extra money to attend Bama since I am going to have to go to grad school eventually & there is nothing wrong with USC but I just love Bama and would hate to have to give it up but at the same time I have to be practical. I know it is my decision but I just need some opinions to guide me since this is going to be the toughest decision I have to make ):</p>

<p>Have you compared the actual out of pocket costs in addition to the award $?</p>

<p>yeah, i got instate to USC and only $3500/yr to Bama so in total with room & board USC would be around 23k and Bama around 38k</p>

<p>When you say USC I assume you are talking about Southern Calf and not S Carolina??</p>

<p>That said you need to consider your major, your overall cost of attendance (including things like travel expenses), how much your parents are going to help, etc. </p>

<p>Maybe call or email your local rep to see if they can be of help getting a larger offer from BAMA…what did Bama and USC offer? what is your EFC? </p>

<p>I wouldn’t recommend getting into alot of student loan debt for undergrad if it can be avioded. Good Luck :)</p>

<p>I’m assuming based on the fact you said you got in-state tuition that SC is South Carolina and not Southern California. Unless finances aren’t an issue and you can easily afford an extra $60,000, or unless there is a huge difference in the programs of the two schools in your major, I would probably go with USC. There’s a lot to be said for going to the school that feels like the best fit and where you think you’ll be happiest, but South Carolina will offer many of the benefits and experiences that Alabama does, and $60,000 will come in handy when it’s time to go to grad school. Again, if you and/or your parents can afford it and you really love Alabama, then maybe it’s worth it to you to spend the extra money, but I would think long and hard about whether it’s worth that much to you. And I would definitely NOT go into debt for that $60,000. Good luck!</p>

<p>^ the reference to instate tells us OP was talking about South Carolina. Southern Cal is private, same cost regardless of state.</p>

<p>oh sorry! I am referring to South Carolina! I tried to call Bama but they just said what you get is what you get. The scholarship from SC came out of no where and I was not expecting anything which kind of threw me off guard since I had settled on Bama. My parents and I definitely do not have the extra cash and SC is closer since I am from the Philly area. Im majoring in Exercise Science for Pre-PT and both schools have good programs for that so it doesnt really affect my decision I dont think. Well it sounds like I will probably be attending SC, thank you guys for your input. Its gonna be hard to say no to my dream school, but SC is a good school too (:</p>

<p>only $3500/yr to Bama so in total with room & board USC would be around 23k and Bama around 38k</p>

<p>If you got 3500 to go to Bama, then it will not cost you $38k to attend. The tuition is about $22k for OOS. If you choose a standard double dorm and the Silver Meal plan, the cost would be about $11k more…so about $33 at most…then subtract your scholarship. </p>

<p>You could go to Bama for about $30k per year.</p>

<p>??? What was your award to USoCarolina? You’re not instate for that school, right?</p>

<p>Did you tell Bama how much USC gave you?</p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>^ if you’re from PA, how are you instate to SC?</p>

<p>Sorry since we are from Charlotte NC I didn’t realize USC was private. </p>

<p>Most people around here pretty much call them S Carolina or Carolina (for NC). </p>

<p>SC has a good exercise science program and is a very nice school as well :)</p>

<p>The danger of acronyms. Just to clarify, University of South Carolina is public, University of Southern California is private.</p>

<p>And outside of the Carolinas, USC means Southern Cal to most of the world.</p>

<p>It sounds like the student was given a larger scholarship from SoCarolina, which brings tuition down to instate (quite a large scholarship).</p>

<p>I’m a little surprised at that because it sounds like the student has an ACT 28 or so, and that doesn’t seem high enough for a big scholarship from USouCarolina.</p>

<p>Hopefully the student can clarify with specific amounts of the merit award. And, if the amount is large, maybe get Bama to increase its offer.</p>

<p>SCarolina charges $16k more for OOS tuition. Was your scholarship for about $16k per year? That seems very high for an ACT 28 (which I see is what you have).</p>

<p>“The scholarship from SC came out of no where and I was not expecting anything…”</p>

<p>Wow, out of no where? I’d be interested in knowing the name of such an award since that is one of the schools my Ds have/are also considering as OOS students. I’m really surprised as well that you wouldn’t have qualified for more at Bama while having the stats for such an award at South Carolina. Is from the school?</p>

<p>Anyway, congrats.</p>

<p>I knew SC was harder to get into so I didn’t even apply to the Honors and I committed to Bama then I got this letter its for a Woodrow Scholars Award, so tuition will be about 3k more than instate but around 12k less than OOS.
M2CK thats good news I was just going off of what mybama account said, but you are right about my stats my ACT is a 28. Over 4 years Bama is giving me 14k and SC is giving me 48k, so I am going to call Bama and see if they can give me any more money /:</p>

<p>Woodrow Scholars Award*
Annual value: $500 + reduced tuition rate
Four-year value: more than $46,500
In 2011, recipients of the Woodrow Scholars Award had an average SAT score of 1264 (ACT score of 28) and an average high school GPA of 3.84. Consideration is automatic upon admission to the University. No scholarship application is required. Recipients of this award also receive a significant tuition reduction of nearly half of the out-of-state rate</p>

<p>My D applied to USC in 2009 I remembered that most of their OOS Scholarships basically gave In State rates to students. From my sons class 6 students chose USC (we are from Ohio).</p>

<p>My only suggestion is get a dorm there asap. Some of the dorms on campus are remote .
We had a close family friend who was placeD in a dorm called the Coop? As I recall it is near the ROTC practice fields. Just not a great experience for him…though everyone else has enjoyed their time at USC. BUT NOT AS MUCH AS MY D HAS ENJOYED BAMA!</p>

<p>ROLL TIDE!</p>

<p>Okay, so I will get the reduced tuition?? Im hoping Bama will give me more $$ but if not I can’t afford to not go to SC. Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>That sounds like an excellent offer. Congratulations and best of luck!</p>

<p>Once you’re told exactly how much USC is giving you, then you can ask Bama if they will reconsider their offer by showing them what USC gave.</p>