Oh, the hard choice

College Search & Selection
1

<p>A friend went through the college admissions process two years ago and always talked about how much cc helped her out. I'm hoping that you guys can do the same for me :)</p>

<p>I was accepted to both Pomona, Northwestern's Medill Journalism school, and USC (college of arts and sciences). I was nominated for USC's trustee scholarship (full tuition) and found out today that I recieved it. It was a shock, let me tell you, finding out good news from a slim envelope :)</p>

<p>In any case, this recent development only served to place me into a deeper state of confusion. Before, I decided that either Pomona or NW were the schools for me, and I spent days stressing about which school I was going to attend. I didn't qualify for need based aid and had accepted the fact that I was going to have to pay the full ticket price at whichever school I ultimately ended up attending.</p>

<p>The bottom line: I do not love USC as much as I love Pomona or NW. Don't get me wrong; I like USC, and when I did an overnight there as part of my trustee interviewing process I could slightly envision myself there for four years. I was born in LA, and I always planned on returning to California for college. but I don't love it, no matter how I try to angle it.</p>

<p>I don't believe that I want to be a journalist (my career aspirations change daily) but I will always be interested in writing, and I think an education at Medill would be remarkable and challenging, even if my focus is not entirely on journalism. Pomona is just this beautiful, amazing liberal arts college that would give me the intimate education I've always wanted (and in california!). I have been thinking about attending law school, and I know that both Medill and pomona have decent reputations at sending students to prestigious law schools. I'm not sure about USC--I know it's a ridiculously good, fun-loving and exciting college with an amazing alumni network, but I've never heard anything concerning its grad/law/medical school placement. Either way, I don't believe that these statistics should make or break my decision--I can make what I want from my education--but it's something I think I should consider.</p>

<p>I have no idea what I want to do, but I know that I want to explore my education, write, and continue my music somehow (I play the violin). I also attend a high school where I've never felt too much school spirit, and I have to admit that I would love to attend a school where this would not be a problem and I could fully experience the screaming, genuine spirit I often see at places like USC, NW and Pomona.</p>

<p>I guess I just want your opinions on this. Do I attend a school I only like but save myself 136,000 dollars? My parents have told me that they are only paying for either undergrad or grad, but at this point I'm not even sure what I'll be doing and thus, grad school is only a possibility and not a definite.</p>

<p>any comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks! (and sorry for what I'm sure was an extremely long, loquacious post).</p>

2

<p>I would go where you want to go, but USC (Southern Cal I assume) is an awfully good school. If you like USC a lot go there, don't just go there if you don't like it because of the money.</p>

3

<p>If you don't like USC as much as your other options, don't go there just because of the money. You'll kick yourself later, even if the tuition is completely paid for, because money doesn't always equal happiness.</p>

4

<p>Is there anyway you can visit the schools again, at least USC? If you're going to turn down the full tution then you should at least be 100% sure it's not for you, you know?</p>

5

<p>It would be very difficult to walk away from that kind of $$.</p>

<p>Having said that - you should give this careful consideration since you are going to spend the next 4 years of your life at whatever place you choose (plus, you only get to do college once - for most people, that is).</p>