<p>Hi all. My little sister was accepted to both Santa Clara and USC earlier this month, and she's having trouble deciding between the two. From talking to her, I think she would be more excited to go to USC, but she's worried about the cost. She has received financial aid from both schools, and it looks like at USC she would have to get around $13,000 a year in loans, whereas at Santa Clara she would only need to take out $5,000 a year. If any current students could talk about their experiences with engineering at either school, she would really appreciate it. Specifically, she's curious about the quality of the departments, availability of research/internships, undergraduate atmosphere, and career prospects. Thanks in advance for the help!</p>
<p>They are both so different. USC has a large campus in bad part of town. Place is nice but I don’t think always feels so safe. Santa Clara very small and in many cases smaller than the high school kids come from. Very small town, white, not as much to do unless you go to SF. I would go to the cheaper one.</p>
<p>Santa Clara has 5300 undergrads, so is bigger than any high school. It’s in a suburban neighborhood, adjacent to San Jose with easy freeway access to San Francisco and East Bay cities. Not a small town like Moraga, where St Mary’s is located. </p>
<p>The lack of ‘big time’ athletics and smaller student body compared to USC makes Santa Clara seem less exciting than USC, but it’s a beautiful campus with nice weather, new dorms, libraries, and dining facilities. Opportunities for internships abound in Silicon Valley. There’s definitely more research at USC.</p>
<p>I’d visit both places and decide which school is a better fit, because the feel is quite different. She’d get a solid engineering education at either school.</p>
<p>@evertheoptimist, What did your sister decide?</p>