Northwestern vs NYU vs USC

College Search & Selection
1

Here are the schools I was admitted to:
-NYU: Gallatin Individualized Study
-Northwestern: Medill Journalism
-USC: Annenberg Journalism
-UT Austin: McCombs Business (I would probably transfer to journalism though)

After receiving financial aid, here’s what I would be paying per year at each university after taking into account tuition, room and board, meal plans, books, and transport:
-New York University- $0
-Northwestern $4000
-University of Southern California- $16000
-UT Austin: $0

My parents aren’t paying for anything, so any cost will be covered by loans and will be my own debt. They said they would give me money for some basics though, like clothes, extra food money, etc.

I’m not entirely sure what I want to do with my life, so I’m not dead-set on becoming a journalist or business person, even those are the schools I applied to. I just know that I really don’t like the STEM field, and I enjoy planning, organization, the arts, public speaking, and advocacy. Part of me doesn’t want to go to UT Austin solely because they require me to take math and science.

I’m interested in politics and broadcast journalism.
I’m interested in film, directing, and acting.
I wanna write books too.
I loveeeee music and would be interested in becoming involved in that field somehow as well.

I feel like NYU is a good fit for me in terms of the student body (summary of me: I would define myself as an eclectic, outgoing, liberal, lover of the arts [that sounds so pretentious- I’m so sorry]) and the individualized study, but I have a few problems with choosing it:

  1. Northwestern is ranked higher/more prestigious and everyone (and my subconscious) keeps telling me I shouldn’t pass that up. I love Northwestern except for the Evanston area and the fact that I hear the college is really stressful and doesn’t have the best student life.
  2. NYU doesn’t have a centralized campus, and I heard that it’s sometimes hard to make friends there. Also I’ve never been to New York, while I have been to the Evanston/Chicago area before.
  3. I don’t think I want to live in New York when I’m older, and many people say to go to college wherever you want to live and work after you graduate. If that were the case, I would love to be in Austin or LA.
  4. I don’t know anyone in New York. UT Austin is the only school I know people at.
  5. I wanna start getting more involved in the film scene during college, but I know that LA is a big hub for film, and a city like Austin would be good for an individual who is just starting to get involved (since austin has a pretty good indie film scene and there’s not as much competition).
  6. There’s not a lot of nature in New York at all. I dunno how I’d feel about that.

I don’t know why I’m writing so much about myself and my thoughts here. I guess I’m just afraid that I’m going to make the wrong decision. I just want to be happy and successful and satisfied with life. Any thoughts? Like literally any thoughts at all? Which college do you personally prefer? What city is better to live in? Is it important to have a good student life in college or to just get a good education?
Even if you don’t know anything about any of these colleges, if you are currently or have gone to college and are satisfied/happy, please tell me how you made your choice and how to be happy in life please and thank you.

2

To clarify - are the $$ numbers quoted above including loans?
If so, how much are the loans? What about transportation costs?
There can be a huge difference in total cost of attendance (without loans). You do not want to be saddled with large loans, particularly if you’re not quite decided on your future. Large loans will inhibit your life choices.

Beyond that, from your comments above, it sounds as if you’re not too excited about aspects of NYU. Since you’ve got some terrific choices, perhaps take it out of contention.
Will weather be a factor?

All are great schools and you’ll make friends regardless of if you’ve been there before or not.
If it was me (YMMV) and money was not an issue, as a potential Journalism/Business major, I’d rank them in this order: USC>Northwestern>UTAustin>NYU
If money is an issue, I’d rank them as follows: Northwestern>UTAustin>USC>NYU

Good luck with your choice.

3

All are great schools. I’d pick the one that is most financially doable since you will be pursuing journalism. I think the goal here should be to minimize your debt, so you don’t inhibit any growth in your career. (Also consider where you want to live for the next four years…)

4

The numbers above are not including any loans. Thanks for your input by the way!

5

Your life is what you make of it and life is all aout tradeoffs so there is no wrong choice, but it’s easy to transfer within Northwestern and I think USC is too expensive. And transferring in to NYU’s prestigious schools like Tisch and Stern is hard.

To me, there is one obviously best choice.

6

NYU’s film program is well known across the country. If your parents aren’t paying for anything, you should minimize your debt by all means possible. USC is definitely way too expensive so it narrows down to Northwestern, NYU, and UT Austin. It really depends on what you think is a good fit for you. Northwestern is more prestigious than NYU but not by a ridiculous amount. All the 4 schools you got into are prestigious so it’s just down to fit/price for you. I say NYU but good luck!

7

All amazing schools and programs. I agree with PurpleTitan…USC is probably too expensive. $64k in debt at graduation is a lot of money, especially when you consider the fact that journalism/acting isn’t a high-paying career…not initially anyway. I would go with Northwestern. Great journalism school and excellent drama/film departments, but you cannot go wrong with NYU and Texas-Austin.

8

I also second on Northwestern.

9

first time i’ve seen NYU be the cheapest/most affordable option on a persons list lol!

10

It sounds like your heart is mostly telling you Northwestern-- so go there. $4000/year is negligible – you can easily earn that between a summer job & part-time work during the year. Just be sure you understand the terms of your financial aid if there is a merit scholarship involved.

USC is simply not affordable for you, given the fact that your parents aren’t contributing. So it is off the list one way or another.

11

Agree with above posters. Cross USC off. It isn’t affordable whatsoever and doesn’t compare academically to Northwestern. Head to northwestern or NYU!

12

@jpls23: The OP isn’t admitted to study film at NYU and unlike at NU, it may be difficult to transfer in to the school that has the film major there.

13

Agree with the crowd. USC should be off the table given cost, NYU as well given weaker academics (as above, not in film program). Northwestern is clearly the superior option in academics and opportunities post grad in your areas of interest - top notch offerings in journalism, theater/RTF and music. The cost differential is important to consider but acceptably modest and, I’d argue, well invested in your future.

14

if it will only cost you $4000[ !!!] a year to go to NW- then GO THERE!

15

Go U Northwestern!