<p>Here's my question:
I have a parent who works at USC, therefore making me eligible for free tuition. However, I can also go to any of these (Tuition</a> Exchange) schools for free. A couple that also interest to are Santa Clara and Villanova.</p>
<p>My main concern is USC being SO close to where I go to high school (15 minutes away..) and not being in a "traditional" college town. (Let's face it, it's in the hood.)</p>
<p>Should I even consider other schools? I'm really just starting my college search, any insights would help so much. </p>
<p>Yes, USC isn’t in the best area. You should think about the future though. USC is bringing in a ton of international applicants in every year (most of any university in the country.) My guess is that it’s doing so to build its alumni network, and from there, it’s international prestige. Already the USC name towers over Santa Clara and Villanova. I can only imagine that the gap will only widen significantly as time passes. </p>
<p>You should also take note of the heavy gentrification in the USC area. They plan to completely rebuild the village akin to something like The Grove or The Americana. Also, you should take note of the new rail that will travel into culver city (and eventually the beach.) which will make essentially a significant portion of the city more available to you if you ultimately decide to go there.</p>
<p>You should take notice that when people talk negatively about USC, it’s mostly due to its cost, so given that you’re getting FREE tuition there (which could save you like 160k or more in tuition at sticker price), that’s definitely a good incentive to go there. </p>
<p>You can also probably still get the college experience by living on/near campus. I’m from LA, and I did that last year in Westwood (granted, i wouldn’t have if i had my drivers license at the time though.) The college experience is certainly nice, but i’m willing to bet that most people would say that leaving college without (or with very little) debt is nicer.</p>
<p>My advice would be to go to USC if its the best school with the best financial aid package you get into. Best of luck on your decision.</p>
<p>Hate to point out the elephant in the room…but how do you know you will even get accepted to USC? It is a top university that is very selective. </p>
<p>You shouldn’t consider cutting it out when you can’t even be sure you will get in. Just because your parents work there does not guarantee your acceptance.</p>
<p>Apply to many schools and if you do get into USC, then you can weigh your options.</p>
<p>Are you considering other schools in Cali like Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, etc… </p>
<p>Do you even want to stay in Cali? Have you considered out of state schools?</p>
<p>Is tuition a make or break issue or will your parents be able to support any university you choose to go to?</p>
<p>Try to imagine it as if you lived halfway across the country, that your parents don’t work there, and that you’ve never met anyone from Cali.
Now from an outside perspective, do you like what USC has to offer? Will it give you the most opportunities for your field of interest? Is the university too large or too small for your liking? How good is the department for the major you want to pursue?</p>
<p>Basically, if you weren’t connected to USC in the ways you are, would you want to go there or is it not your favorite choice? I think you should do more research on the university.</p>
<p>Frankly, you will get an entirly different experience at USC. Even though you live 15 min away, you will be in a new environment surrounded by new faces. </p>
<p>Don’t feel pressures from your parents to choose USC. If this opportunity was not available, would USC be your #1?</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with limiting your list to colleges and universities that participate in this particular exchange. Check the websites for the majors that you are interested in, make some trips to visit some in person, and then make your final list. If you really don’t want USC, you have a whole bunch of good alternatives.</p>
<p>You should definitely consider USC and many other colleges that participate in the tuition exchange. You may also want to consider other colleges outside this group, although it would be hard to pass up such a great financial benefit. BTW FWIW-- Santa Clara is really in the middle of San Jose/Santa Clara by the San Jose airport. Not at all a college town.</p>
<p>Check the fine print, since some of the tuition exchange schools require competitive application to get the tuition exchange scholarship, which may not necessarily be full tuition (it may be less, or it may be more). Use the search function at that site. For example, Santa Clara University only awards tuition exchange scholarships to fewer than 10% of applicants, and they are $31,000 per year, not full tuition (which is $39,048 per year).</p>
<p>Obviously, if USC is guaranteed free tuition (of course, you have to be admitted), then it has a substantial cost advantage over many other schools. Whether you will want to consider other schools depends on such factors as your major and other goals; when comparing costs, the other schools would need to come up with quite a bit of aid and/or scholarships to be cost-competitive with USC (especially if you commute to USC).</p>
<p>@usbalumnus thanks for pointing that out about limited tuition exchange scholarships, I had no idea. </p>
<p>and thanks to everyone else as well. i know i’m extremely lucky to have this opportunity, just at the moment it seems like a bit of a burden, only in the sense of being open-minded towards all schools that I would like.</p>
<p>Note that if USC is not a safety for you admissions-wise (check whether relationship with an employee actually does that, rather than assuming it), then you do need to find some safety where you will certainly be admitted and will certainly be able to afford (either at list price, or with guaranteed financial aid and scholarships).</p>
<p>USC does not guarantee admission to the children of individuals who have positions with the university. </p>
<p>Over half the students in the class that entered in August 2011 are not from California. In the class 1,449 different high schools were represented. Students come from all over the world. </p>
<p>As a poster suggested wait until you are admitted to decide. Apply to a range of colleges/universities.</p>
<p>can we just assume that I get in? I have backup ideas, of course. but just for the sake of conversation… I’m just wondering if it’s even worth considering other top-tier schools when I can go here for free.</p>
<p>You should go to USC. I get where your coming from not wanting to be near home but USC is one of the best schools in the country, definately better than SCU or Villanova. A degree from USC opens doors those schools cant, and if you can go for free you should absolutely do it.</p>
<p>It depends on what kind of need or merit aid you may get at the other schools. For need aid, you’ll need to run the net price calculator on each schools web site to get an estimate based on your family’s situation (no one else can do that for you). Big merit scholarships are pretty rare at the most highly selective schools (though some do exist, like the full ride Drake Scholarship for mechanical engineering students at Berkeley).</p>
<p>You might as well apply to other schools where there is at least a chance for need or merit aid to make the cost competitive to USC with free tuition (though this set of schools may be small or empty, depending on your family situation). Until you run the net price calculators and research big scholarships, you won’t know if that set of schools is non-empty.</p>
<p>Yes, the major reason that I want to avoid USC is it’s in the exact same city and urban environment as my high school. It’s not that I don’t like the area, but a change of scenery does seems appealing to me. I would not be commuting from home, I would want to live there as part of the whole experience. </p>
<p>I’m not all too sure what I want to major in, but it will be something involving writing, English, something where I can be creative. I consider myself good at that stuff, while I’m just average at math.</p>
<p>A lot of the answer will depend on how much money your family has to spend on your college tuition. For better or worse, finances are a part of many people’s college choice, so you would not be alone. If money is a big factor, I’d go to USC – a lot of people would like to be in your shoes I’m sure.
Any my S is at a college very close to home, but he lives on campus, has become immersed in college life and we typically don’t see him any more than if he were a school a few hours away. But, for example, when his laptop broke, we were able to meet up and give him our an laptop we had at home while his was being repaired. There are definite advantages. You can make this situation work.</p>