Make me hate USC. Please.
I take it you mean university of Southern California and not South Carolina? My son, who is a freshman at tufts, was admitted to USC early last year because he was a finalist for the full-tuition merit award. It came in about two weeks before he heard back from tufts ed2. And let me tell you, that was a tough period, going back & forth on deciding whether to call tufts to ask his counselor to convert his app to RD. We are full pay, so potentially giving up $180,000 was very tough. ultimately my husband and I made the decision that we wouldn’t put pressure on him to take the merit $ bc we didn’t make his older brother’s college decision about the merit $, although he wasn’t awarded a full ride at a school like USC.
These are two very different schools, equally excellent but different in multiple ways. For my son, those differences…size, vibe, ways students socialize, emphasis on sports, campus aesthetics (one a quintessential New England campus, the other a stunning Southern Californian Romanesque campus), obviously huge difference in location, sense of safety…were seriously considered. He also thought that he might like to attend USC or UCLA for grad school, so he wanted something different for undergrad.
There is nothing to hate about USC or tufts. You have to focus on what aspects of the schools suit you more at this stage of your education/life. You aren’t yet admitted to both, right? The admission committees may make this decision for you. But if you’re fortunate enough to be accepted by both, there is no bad decision here. Just follow your brain and gut. Think through the pros/ cons to each school based on your own needs, but also listen to your instincts. Good luck! It’s an exciting time, even if nerve wracking.
Just wanted to add a postscript: after a semester, it’s clear my son chose well for himself because one of the things he most appreciates about tufts is its size. He has gotten to know his advisor and multiple professors well. And he’s already taken on some leadership roles in his ECs, which may have been more difficult at a bigger school, but maybe not. And truly, one nevers knows how it may have worked out if a different choice were made. As for husband and me, we still dream about that money, lol, but we worked/ work hard to afford our kids’ tuition and we feel blessed that they are both happy and working hard.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply. I am in the shoes of your son, being offered merit scholarship early from USC but being ED2 to Tufts. I was probably an hour from calling Tufts to cancel the app on Feb. 6th, a week+ before their “mid february” estimate, but some cosmic being decided otherwise and Tufts emailed me their decision early. I hold the two so highly that truly the only thing between the two is Money vs. Integrity.
Do I take the money and break my word to Tufts, or do I do the honorable thing and stay?
Unless I am mistaken, when you applied to ED2, you and/or your parents had to sign an agreement in which you stated you would withdraw all other applications if accepted to Tufts. Again, unless I am mistaken, Tufts would have to let you out of your agreement once they accepted you ED. I do not know this personally, but have been told/read that any school which has had an ED agreement renegged (sp?) can contact other schools to let them know of this. If so, again, I have read there is a risk the other accepting schools can withdraw their acceptances. This could leave someone without ANY school acceptances.
What kind of aid did Tufts give you, and can you afford it?