<p>My daughter has been very excited about her admission to USC and has happily planned her orientation, picked out her dorm, and scoped out the sororities. Lo and behold, Vanderbilt called last week and admitted her off the wait list. Now, she is very torn. She wants to study International Relations and Journalism, and, although Vandy does not have a formal program in either area, they do have programs and courses that would work for her and interest her. She wants to go to grad school and thinks she would like to live on the east coast in the long term (probably New York or Boston), but not in the south. We have read everything we can find on CC and everywhere else on the internet and are still so torn. Please help us choose!</p>
<p>Go where they give you the most money.</p>
<p>Ok, assume she will get no aid or scholarship from either school. Also assume that we know that both schools are great.</p>
<p>A bit more info:</p>
<p>She won’t get any aid at either school so the finances come out about the same. We have looked at the pros and cons of both schools and they keep coming out about the same. I guess what I am asking is, how should she choose? Which school will position her best for grad school and for ultimately finding a job on the east coast? Would going to USC be best only for working in California because of its heavily California-based alumni network? Or, does USC have a good connection to New York and Boston? Is Vandy too “southern” in its alumni base? Or not, because the students seem to come from everywhere?</p>
<p>The social aspects of the schools seem to be a wash–both great. We are from the south ourselves, where Vandy has a great reputation–does that carry nationwide? Regarding USC, we find that lots of people think it’s a state school, despite it’s high ranking and selectivity. I can’t tell you how many people have said to us, “Why would she want to go to LA?” People don’t seem to appreciate how good USC is. Is that true of potential employers out there?</p>
<p>These are the questions we can’t answer.</p>
<p>I am from Florida too. I am not worrying about grad school at all. ( she will be a lawyer) 
Of course I want my daughter closer but she wants USC and gave up some great schools that are closer for it. I let her decide. Did I do the right thing? I don’t know.</p>
<p>USC has an incredible Journalism school! For what it’s worth, the sororities are probably more “seriously southern” at Vandy.</p>
<p>I would pick Vanderbuilt since it has much better reputation in the East. On the the other hand, USC provides a good environment for her interests.</p>
<p>PS - PM me and I will link her up with my daughter (on Facebook, maybe?). She has also chosen USC (Biology major with Music minor) and had some hard choices to make re: schools back east.</p>
<p>As you can tell by the name I live in Georgia. Both of these are fine schools. I would say Vanderbilt is “southern”. So much depends upon how she feels about the campus, social life, academics and “fit”.</p>
<p>SC is far more diverse and has the top notch art schools which lend so much to the student experience, in my opinion.</p>
<p>If your daughter will be Annenberg it is a highly respected school for communications and journalism. The Annenberg Foundation has donated $50 million for a brand new state of the art complex as well as $5 million for scholarships. For a prospective journalism major Los Angeles is ideal as it is a huge media center and those valuable internships are right in the surrounding area.</p>
<p>In an Annenberg brochure these companies had Annenberg interns: Walt Disney, World Vision Media Relations, Hill & Knowlton, Nexsun Energy , Mindshare, Sony Pictures, Quiksilver, Four Seasons, Union Bank of California, NBC Universal, American Diabetes Assoc., Anschutz Entertainment Group, Hewitt & O’Neil, LLP, Target, Lockheed and Rogers and Cowan among others.</p>
<p>Just remember that long-term plans have a way of changing. Yes, your daughter may be one of those crazy people (like me) who has their life all panned out for the next ten years or so. But stuff comes up and things change. I would say the reason to go to USC is because of the diversity and the strength of all its programs. Plus it certainly helps that we have top-notch programs in both IR and Journalism. The lack of programs of study at vandy is a big red flag. What would she major in if she went there?</p>
<p>My two cents…</p>
<p>Opportunities increase with proximity. Her ability to get a job will be influenced much more by where she goes to grad school not undergrad. USC’s Trojan Family is biggest in California, Vanderbilt’s will be strongest from St. Louis to Atlanta. There may be a situation where there is an undergrad alum in her industry living in either Boston or NYC who could help her, but simple math says that’s a long shot.</p>
<p>Secondly, as Hawkings points out, things change. She may get to school and decide that IR and Journalism aren’t for her. She may get to school and find she loves “The South” or hates Los Angeles. But the uncomfortable truth is that she’s going to have a good time at college no matter where she goes. Getting hung up on the idea that there is only one possible good choice results in spending a lot of unnecessary emotional capital. </p>
<p>Thirdly, for many years I was a hiring manager in industry and we’ve lived in many parts of the country. With a very few notable exceptions (e.g., MIT for engineering) for entry level positions we recruited locally and worked under the assumption that if you attended a major university and did well (at least a 3.3) then you possessed the requisite intelligence to do the job. Yes, there was the occasional Michigan - Ohio State, USC - UCLA “mine is bigger than yours argument”, but I never saw an instance where that was the deciding factor. After the notable exceptions we considered them to all be “good schools”; I never once heard rankings discussed and I certainly never got into a discussion of “a 3.5 from school “A” is better than a 3.7 from school “B””. We picked people who had been winners at school, who had sought out and performed well on internships etc. We hired “Who” not “Where”. Like the old saying goes, “It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, it’s about the size of the fight in the dog.”</p>
<p>Finally, the average person isn’t inundated with USNWR or CC information. Try and view your decision the same way. What is her gut reaction? Without thinking too long, which school would be better at International Relations? Well, USC is on the coast. It’s got a very diverse student body and I’d guess they probably have a lot of tie-ins to the Pacific Rim. Which school would be better at Journalism and the media? Well, USC is in LA and that place feels like it’s nothing but media. Those assumptions may be wrong or they may not matter to you, but there as good a place as any to start.</p>
<p>Sorry to have rambled on. Good Luck.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses.</p>
<p>We have visited both schools and my D loved them both for different reasons. We visited Vanderbilt first, and it became her number one choice at that time. She loved the campus, although she did not love Nashville. She thought the size of the school seemed good, and the students seemed studious but diverse and fun. She is admitted to the Peabody school for Human and Organizational Development, where she intended to do the International Leadership and Development Track, but she now realizes that is not really what she wants. If she goes there, I think she might change her major or combine it with Modern European Studies. Vandy does not have journalism at all, so she would have to fulfilll that desire by working for the school paper. </p>
<p>When she was wait-listed at Vandy but admitted to USC, we visited USC and really began to study it. She loves the diversity of USC, in addition to all of the opportunities it seems to offer. She thought the campus was beautiful (lots of flowers blooming). The wealth of the school is evident in the grounds and facilities. The programs offered in her area of interest are perfect.</p>
<p>She is torn now because, at least where we live, Vandy is viewed as much more prestigious. Most of our friends are so impressed that she was admitted to Vanderbilt but think that USC is a state school with great football. So, although in my heart of hearts I think that USC probably serves her interests better, she keeps drifting back to Vanderbilt because she thinks it might position her better for her future (and she does love it–don’t get me wrong). Vanderbilt would also be logistically so much better for us, as it is closer to home (could be a long drive), whereas USC is a flight across the country. My stomach is in knots.</p>
<p>USC has really strong alumni bases on the East Coast – especially with Journalism alums! Keep that in mind. Maybe look up the USC alumni club in/near your area to see if someone will be willing to answer your daughter’s questions?</p>
<p>Also, in terms of the industries she is currently interested in, LA would offer more internship opportunities than Nashville since it’s a more “global” city; many major publications and websites have offices in the LA area (journalism) and government offices and consulates (for IR) are also scattered throughout the city.</p>
<p>I’ll redirect you to the poster above me who made a really great point about schools vs. job opportunities. USC and Vanderbilt are both great schools and neither will exclude her from getting a great job. There is a reason, though, why USC’s alumni base is called “the Trojan family” (or even “the Trojan mafia!”) – fellow alums will fight for fellow alums. Former USC students will talk to other alums or current students simply for sharing that USC connection; not many other schools can say that.</p>
<p>If she is really dedicated to journalism, she’ll be hard-pressed to find a more well-connected journalism school than Annenberg.</p>
<p>Hey! I met your daughter on Facebook and already gave her my advice. Hope she choose USC!</p>
<p>Thanks, beginningofend. She has appreciated hearing from everybody on Facebook. Both schools are just so great that the decision is really tough.</p>
<p>What a wonderful dilemma to have! She cannot go wrong. In my (admittedly biased) view, the school that offers majors and minors in her areas of interest would have an advantage over the school that does not.</p>
<p>But whatever she decides, the key will be to dive in to that opportunity and not look wistfully back thinking about the other choice. Halfway through freshman year many (if not most) students become a bit overwhelmed and think fondly of how perfect things would have been if they had made a different choice - don’t be surprised by that or think it is because of an error in the choice - it is normal regardless of where she goes.</p>
<p>Good luck, and let us know what she finally decides - there are great things ahead!!!</p>
<p>Thanks, alamemom. With some sadness, she gave up USC today and decided on Vandy. Although the head kept telling her that USC was the way to go, the gut check kept pulling her to Vandy. She seems very relieved and happy with her decision. We’ll have to put away all our USC t-shirts and stuff and get them out again when we feel better about the whole thing. Right now, we are embracing Vanderbilt and trying to get into the swing of things there.</p>
<p>Congrats Lenny! She will be happy there! My daughter has a few good friends going to Vandy and they are all super nice!!</p>