My parents are making me take out debt for college to help pay and I am currently in a predicament. I will graduate USC with about 80k in debt while I would graduate UCLA with about 50k in debt. I was accepted to Marshall and I am wondering if the alumni connection/small classes/undergrad business rep will be worth the extra 30k in debt. While at UCLA I will major in biz-econ. What would you do in my situation if you wanted to work in finance after college, I am justifying USC by saying I will find a job easier and get a more interactive education. Thank you.
You as a student cannot take out more than $27K for 4 years in loans. If you are talking about $80K vs $50K debt, you are taking out $27K in debt for either school and your parents are funding the rest presumably??
@Gumbymom oh my bad I forgot to clarify, my mother is taking it under her name but assuming I am going to pay for it.
I have heard (full disclosure, I have no evidence) that it’s not easy to get the classes you need in the UC schools because of all the cutbacks and many student are not able to finish in 4 years. At USC, the classes are smaller and I have not heard of anyone not being able to finish on time because they were shut out of a class they needed. USC’s strong alumni network is certainly a bonus. Whether all of this is worth $30K dollars, you will have to decide.
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This is not true of many students. My daughter finished just under 4 years. Her friends and my former students have not had a problem finishing in under 4 years. You CAN find classes, it’s just that a number of students don’t want to take 8am classes or classes during unpopular times like on Friday afternoons.
@aeskimo, if you plan to be in finance, you might as well start learning about a budget. Paying the extra dollars when you don’t need to, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Yes USC has a great alumni, but you and your mother will pay for it for a while. Your chances of finding a job will depend upon your efforts, not the UCLA/USC tag.
If you are going to be in Finance, it would be good to realize that 80K is not double 50K. 
@blueskies2day for UCLA it would be 40k after four years with what I have been given now, but I am taking into account my aid will dimish as I progress from year to year.
@“aunt bea” that is what i am currently thinking
This is just such a hard decision because I love USC and I really like UCLA too, plus USC has my major which is finance and I feel the smaller class sizes will benefit me. Its just so much money. Why cant college just be free 