<p>I am planning to major in Journalism (Medill, Northwestern) or Communications (Annenberg, USC). I also have interests in economics, statistics, and business. I see myself in California after college.</p>
<p>USC PROS:
$23,802 per year scholarship package
Annenberg is a well-recognized program/school
Good weather
Closer to home
Trojan Alumni network
Proximity to LA</p>
<p>NORTHWESTERN PROS:
More recognized (prestige)
Medill arguably the best journalism school in the country
Ability to explore other academic interests while being a part of Medill
Better neighborhood
Will accept all AP credits
Ability to get a Kellogg or IMC certificate
Proximity to Chicago</p>
<p>Northwestern, without considering financials, is my top choice. But the reality is that I would have to pay full sticker price for NU (which would be difficult for my family). The difference in paying for USC vs. NU comes to about 30k a year!
Does anyone know how to negotiate for more financial aid at NU, or has anyone been successful in asking for merit-based aid at NU after showing them other schools' offers?</p>
<p>While I do feel that Northwestern is a better school than USC, the latter is not chopped liver by any means, and if you want to live in California, USC may be better for you as you will forge local connections that may be helpful for employment.</p>
<p>alright. so northwestern is academically stronger, however both are crazy good schools.
note how reputation really doesnt amount to that much in your undergrad, especially with schools at this caliber</p>
<p>I say visit both, go with your gut on which school you feel your day to day life would be better. If I were in this desicion, I know I’d pick USC, especially with the tuition, but this is coming from someone who lives in new york and loves cali. I would really boil it down to quality of life/student experience on this one</p>
<p>sticker price of NU is difficult, and USC is 30k a year cheaper and very reasonable
USC journalism, although not on par with NU, still very strong
You want to work in California - USC brand name locally stronger</p>
<p>You can contact your admissions officer at NU, say that it is your clear and away first choice, but that the aid package is just not affordable. Ask who you should speak with in the financial aid office to have your aid re-evaluated. They might say OK send some more information. They might say, sorry. It’s up to them.</p>
<p>Just know that it is very unlikely that they will cough up $30k more. </p>
<p>$30k x 4 = $120k which would more than pay for a Master’s program if you find that the USC degree just doesn’t cut it. On the other hand, if the USC degree does cut it, you could buy a car and make a down payment on a house with that kind of money.</p>
<p>Talk with your parents about how they plan for you to cover the costs of these two institutions. If they are loaded, and love to give expensive presents, that is one thing. On the other hand, if they turn pale at the thought of shelling out for NU, you would do them a kindness by choosing USC.</p>
<p>The question here is how strongly do you prefer NU vs how much of a financial strain attending would be on your family.</p>
<p>Have you discussed the situation with your Parents? </p>
<p>If it were my child, I’d give her the choice between the two, and be happy whichever way she chose. However, personally I would never presume to say whether it’s worth $30k/yr to your family, given the choice you have.</p>
<p>I don’t know what NU’s policy is re matching aid – however, and especially if you’re going to reject NU, it never hurts to ask, the worst they can say is no.</p>
<p>Northwestern’s FA office replied to my email, saying that they don’t “match offers from other universities”. The only way, they said, to try to get more FA would be to appeal, which my family is trying to do…</p>
<p>I would not mind going to USC at all, but if money was not an issue I’d definitely pick Northwestern…</p>
<p>BUMP
I am still struggling with this debate, and May 1st is looming. Northwestern rejected our FA appeal, so, indeed, sticker price it is there. </p>
<p>I have visited both campuses and they are both very different, although I think I would be happy at either one.
I think I would fit in, socially, more at Northwestern; and, of course its prestige and academic quality is better than USC (more guarantee of a good job?). But is it worth the extra 30k/year? </p>
<p>My parents definitely don’t like the price tag of Northwestern but would like me to choose the option that’s the best in the long run.</p>
<p>I’m not sure this is even a question. Even if your family can afford NU. If this were me and I plan to be in LA post college than USC would be my choice.</p>
<p>I think you vastly overstate the difference between USC and Northwestern in terms of program quality, prestige, and other factors. Also you want to get into a hyper competitive field where prestige matters far less than in some other fields. USC is offering you $120k+ (tuition will go up from when you start college to your senior year) so use some of that money to afford pathetically paid internships that might give you a leg up in the extraordinarily competitive journalism job market. </p>
<p>Also you mentioned that Medill allows you to explore other academic interests, as if USC doesn’t. Use the gen eds to explore topics you find interesting and either double major in a totally separate field, or get a minor in an area that fascinates you.</p>
<p>This may be too late, but here are a few thoughts.</p>
<p>First - if you have any younger siblings whose college will overlap with yours, you may qualify for more aid from NU in coming years which will lower the tuition difference. We have found NU to be VERY generous with grants now that we have a second child in school, while we got none for our first child.</p>
<p>Second - if NU’s formulas say your family can afford their offer, in our family’s experience they probably can, even though in the moment it seems heart stopping. We’ve made some sacrifices in the past couple years, but seeing how much D loves NU we couldn’t be happier with her choice.</p>
<p>Third - we actually thought about this very differently that some folks above. We decided to pay the extra to send our D to NU precisely BECAUSE her field of choice (Theatre) is prone to a high level of competition and has very few high-paying jobs. In that environment it is particularly important to have every advantage after college, which in her case will include the ability to complete a double major at NU in under 4 years PLUS the alumni network of one of the top schools in the country. D is only a sophomore and already the NU name has opened several very interesting doors for her.</p>
<p>Fourth - D has a close friend who chose USC for similar financial reasons, and she is not happy there. She describes herself as a prisoner on campus without a car and she spends a lot flying home at every opportunity. I am interested to see if she finishes there or transfers, which obviously would add stress and potentially cost.</p>
<p>Good luck with your decision and have a fabulous college experience!!</p>
<p>You can’t seriously be steering someone away from a school because of one person’s experience there. The original poster said she would be happy at USC, and she likely would be. </p>
<p>Medill is a great school, but I know many journalists, and most of them didn’t go there.</p>