Is it worth paying full tuition?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I would love to go to USC and I've been accepted so, even though it wasn't one of my top choices, I will probably be going there since I wasn't admitted to my reach colleges. </p>

<p>BUT the cost is worrying me. My family can afford it and it won't be a burden to pay, but i don't want to be throwing money around. We don't qualify for financial aid and I didn't really pay attention to scholarships when I was applying. Now most of the merit scholarship deadlines have passed :S I just need reassurance that paying 50k+ for USC will be worth it. How beneficial is the alumni network? Is there anything else (opportunities) that USC may have that other schools don't?</p>

<p>This is mostly for my peace of mind. If the cost isn't worth the education, then I could go to UIUC which is my next choice, but I'd rather go to USC.</p>

2

<p>Since UIUC is your other option I’m guessing you’re going for either business or engineering, right?</p>

3

<p>no actually, international relations is the plan now. and then law school.
but i had originally applied to uiuc and usc with a different major in mind.</p>

4

<p>Ohh, I don’t know much about International Relations but I’m sure a more qualified poster will pop in in a minute to give you some info. :)</p>

5

<p>I’m not sure either, but you could always apply for external scholarships, and try to get some scholarships next year as well.</p>

6

<p>'SC is definitely worth the money if it doesn’t create a burden.</p>

<p>You may want to double major in IR and Public Policy, Management and Planning, with both of those degrees the benefits will definitely exceed the cost.</p>

<p>Here are a few reasons why:</p>

<p>[Office</a> of Globalization - USC Globalization](<a href=“http://globalization.usc.edu/office/]Office”>http://globalization.usc.edu/office/)
[USC</a> School of Policy, Planning, and Development](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/)
[USC</a> again has most foreign students, followed by NYU [Updated] | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times](<a href=“Archive blogs”>Archive blogs)</p>

7

<p>Thanks so much! I’ll definitely consider it. Anyone else?</p>

8

<p>Btw, do you know if this is an actual possibility? Meaning, has someone you know double majored in these two areas? I’ll check up with USC tonight anyway.</p>

9

<p>USC actively encourages students to double major, major + minor, major + double minor… They even offer special recognition to students who do so in widely disparate areas [USC</a> Renaissance Scholars](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/programs/ugprograms/renaissance/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/programs/ugprograms/renaissance/) . There is also a brand new program to allow students maintaining a strong GPA and double major/minoring to take some extra units without paying for the extra units. (Search for a recent thread by madbean on the subject.)</p>

10

<p>ill trade u ur USC admission for my UC Berkeley admission : ]] this was the only school I< was accepted to outta all of my reach colleges. USC is definitely one the two top choices i have. and i’m appealing. it seems like berkeley is waaay too hard and teachers dont really care about u. nor do students unless u join greek life. ugh.</p>

11

<p>letstalkcollege, </p>

<p>Yes. I would say that 60-70% of PPD students double major in IR. It is very common to double major at USC and is often pushed by the university to do so. It’s part of the Renaissance Ideal created by President Sample.</p>

12

<p>Yes, USC DOES strongly encourage double-majors, including very different fields. That’s something it prides itself and its students in! It makes for a fascinating student body, since many are studying very different fields at the same time.</p>

13

<p>Did you say law school? If you are going to law school, just make sure that you don’t have to go into too much debt in undergrad.</p>

14

<p>Yeah, I know. Thanks for the information everybody! I won’t be in debt I’m guessing, since my parents will (hopefully) be able to pay it all.
I was wondering…since I missed the scholarship deadline for entering freshmen, are there more scholarships given out for continuing students? Not as huge, of course, but nonetheless…
I checked up on the website and all of the scholarships that were not for entering freshmen required you to be a legacy or have some sort of connection with alumni.
But then I called USC and the counselor said that they do give out many scholarships depending on your department. She wasn’t very clear though and didn’t give much more information.
Does anyone else know anything about this?</p>

15

<p>[Continuing</a> Student Scholarships > USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences](<a href=“http://college.usc.edu/css/]Continuing”>http://college.usc.edu/css/)
[Scholarship</a> Descriptions > USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences](<a href=“http://college.usc.edu/scholarship-descriptions/]Scholarship”>http://college.usc.edu/scholarship-descriptions/)
[University</a> Wide Scholarships > USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences](<a href=“http://college.usc.edu/university-wide-scholarships/]University”>http://college.usc.edu/university-wide-scholarships/)</p>

<p>Time to dive in and start learning your way around the USC website!</p>

16

<p>I went to USC about a million years ago. As you may know, USC has a lot of meaning in Southern California. I met the most amazing people at that time in my life and made contacts with people that never would have come into my world. The most influential people in town want to get their kids in there and it can introduce you to a new world. It’s really fun when I’m out with friends and some big famous important VIP comes over to me with delight and greets me with a big hug. The friends’ eyes bug out that I know such a person. You can only make friends like that in college. It’s something I didn’t appreciate when I was young but it really paid off in the long run. In SoCal you will always be viewed with different eyes by future social contacts and employers for being an alumni. If you have the money, it’s definitely worth it.</p>