<p>Sounds like a fantastic deal.
Why not look into study abroad options-- like doing 2 semesters, that will certainly give you an alternative experience. Sometimes universities have reciprocal programs with other colleges, so you could have an experience elsewhere.</p>
<p>Yes!!!</p>
<p>The list of tuition exchange schools has a lot of depth - are there any safety schools for admissions on the list? Even Villanova is not a slam dunk for admissions.</p>
<p>USC is terrific, but I can’t blame you for wanting to check out options outside of L.A. We know someone that could go to a BIG-10 for free as family works there. However it is so much the same-old same-old that he wants to look at other options.</p>
<p>A lot of the schools on the Tuition Exchange list are members of the Colleges That Change Lives consortium. These are going to offer a very different experience than USC–far smaller, not in SoCal, often in rural areas. </p>
<p>Is it “worth it” to consider other schools? Depends on your tastes and on your family’s finances. Some USC professors send their children to other top universities (e.g. one USC faculty friend has a child at the University of Chicago; another sent children to Yale and Wesleyan). Others take the free tuition ride. </p>
<p>And one anecdote: my (not at USC) college freshman daughter reports that a high school friend turned down a big (half or whole, not sure) scholarship at USC to go to Columbia. The friend isn’t too happy at Columbia, and is now planning on transfering to USC.</p>
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<p>Exactly. For example, think about studying English in the UK for a year.</p>
<p>My S and D recently graduated from USC. I also have a freshman daughter at Villanova. She likes the small classes (25 students) at Villanova. Even though Villanova’s business school is highly regarded, I would recommend that you seriously consider USC with the free tuition. USC offers so many opportunities for students that you can really find your niche. Look up Thematic Option, Visions & Voices on the website. There is active recruiting to bring high caliber faculty into the Dornsife School that could bring your education to a higher level. The peer group is truly exceptional with many international and out of state students. Living on campus will give you a totally different feeling about USC. Without the financial burden of tuition, you can take advantage of study abroad, especially relevant if you want to study liberal arts. My D had to have a 3.5 to maintain her scholarship. I don’t know if there is a GPA requirement to maintain your tuition benefits.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your responses. You all make a lot of sense and help my thought process as I begin to look at colleges. </p>
<p>Honestly, I’m torn between Boston College and USC. I’m always going back and forth between the two. USC obviously gains an edge financially and with the connections I have there to help my experience, while I loved the city of Boston and it’s proximity to Boston College. I also like the Jesuit aspect.
…And as safeties I like Villanova and Santa Clara. </p>
<p>I always feel like I’m being stubborn when I dislike the option of USC solely because it’s in the same atmosphere I go to high school…My HS is one of the top feeder schools to USC.</p>
<p>this is a post in which i wish to bump this thread to gain attention and responses. thank you kindly.</p>
<p>There are over 30,000 students at USC. How many are from your high school? Over 40% of newly admitted undergraduates are from out of state.</p>
<p>I went to college 12 miles away from my home town at a University that then had about 5,000 students. I saw some, but only a few, of my high school classmates. They had no impact on my college experience.</p>
<p>Hi, I was a tuition exchange applicant as well last year. My advice is apply to a bunch of schools on that list bc just bc you get into a school doesn’t mean you get the scholarship. Apply to a couple higher ranked schools if you like, but you’ll probably end up finding the cheaper ones more appealing. Depending on the schools the scholarships can be very hard to get so pick a couple options and don’t bank on getting it from USC.</p>
<p>I am in the opposite situation - I work at USC and my kid is considering other schools. Wants a small LAC outside SoCal. USC is the best school on the list, but there may be others that are a good match. We are considering schools off the TE list too with the idea of spending the money now and using the tuition benefit for grad school at USC. If you can get into SC, you may have a good shot at the TE + other merit aid at the TE-list schools…</p>
<p>USC has about a 43% admit rate for children of faculty/staff vs. 23% in general, so it helps but is not a guarantee of admission.</p>
<p>I know what you mean about the area. You’ve lived there and now want a different experience. Makes sense to me. As a student, I went 2,000 miles away because I wanted a different experience. As a parent, I want my child to do the same if enough financial aid comes through and if it is right for him. </p>
<p>It seems to me that much of the decision comes down to finances and acceptances. Yes, the USC name opens doors. But college is more than that. It is an opportunity to expand and mature while getting an excellent education. </p>
<p>I agree with posters who suggest applying to a variety of schools, then see where you get admitted and what the FA looks like. Ask your parents what they are comfortable with, then make your decision based on the resulting options. </p>
<p>Best wishes to you.</p>
<p>Here on the East Coast, Villanova is considered a better school than USC, so the opinions are all regional. I’d say USC is about the same, if not a tad better, than Villanova from a statistics standpoint. However, it’d be nice for you to get out of the same old.</p>
<p>Connecticut College and Bucknell are both good LAC’s on that list, in addition to Villanova. If you crave to go far away, it’s not foolish to turn down USC. And like ArKhAiK mentioned, Nova is considered at least on par with USC up east.</p>
<p>It seems there are quite a few USC people here. I think most would actually consider Boston College a better school than USC nationwide. Honestly, USC is far better known even here in California for sports rather than for academics. Santa Clara is considered to be just as good in Northern California. It doesn’t surprise me that people on the East Coast consider Villanova to be a better school. I say all this to curb the permeating “USC is everything” thought on this thread, not to deny that it is a great school. Fit is by far the most important thing in undergraduate education. You will not get a drastically different quality in education at any of those schools. USC and Santa Clara are very different. USC is more competitive and less friendly. More students are at USC, so it depends on the size you feel most at home at. The environment around Santa Clara is nicer and safer than what is around USC, but it is urban and ultimately not terribly different. I can’t say much to Villanova unfortunately. Boston College is in a great place in the suburbs of Boston. It is probably a good mix between Santa Clara (and I would imagine Villanova) and USC. It has the various themes of inclusion, wholistic education, and dedication to service that come with a Jesuit education, but also is a bit more competitive and preppy (not necessarily in a negative way) than you would find in laid-back Northern California. The best I can say is to visit the schools and decide where you are most at home. No school on that list is heads and shoulders above the others for education or post-graduation opportunities. You will do great wherever.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody. Just saw this thread after some time.
Got my SATs in, got a 2120.
I’m going to be a senior this upcoming school year, so I still have some time to decide. Everything seems right at USC, except for the location. Seems stupid of me to worry about a location. But still, I do. It’s 15 minutes from my HS.
My reach school right now is Notre Dame, with my targets of USC and Boston College.
I want to be a writer after college, if that helps at all.</p>
<p>The only ‘renowned’ undergraduate creative writing program that I know of is at the University of Iowa. </p>
<p>Statistically, entrance profiles at BC are very similar to USC’s. If anything BC is a slightly easier due to it’s higher admittance rate (USC 18% admit rate, BC ~26% - based on the most recent reports). Furthermore there is virtually no merit aid awarded at BC. Assuming you got into BC (or any other private school) you’d be paying, in one way or another, tuition of $42,400+ per year for four years for a total of $169,600 (assuming no rate increases - Ha!). </p>
<p>Putting it bluntly, there is nothing you are going to experience or learn at BC (or Notre Dame, or Villanova or anywhere else) vs USC that is worth an extra $169,600. Frankly put, writing jobs aren’t that plentiful and they certainly don’t pay exceptionally well. IF you get into USC and IF you get the tuition waiver go to USC. Maybe you can convince your parents to give you one year’s worth of tuition and you can spend a year and $42K bumming around the US and the world after graduation. That might be a useful education.</p>
<p>It is a decision you can put off til April, but IMHO, take USC and do study abroad. A lot less $ and you will still have the opportunity to live somewhere else.</p>
<p>USC is large enough that you can easily meet new friends and not feel like you are reliving high school.</p>
<p>Right… I wouldn’t necessarily try to become some freelance writer right after college. I was more thinking of majoring in English/PolySci while minoring in USC’s screenwriting.
But I really do like the point that vinceh makes: no education is really worth 170k more than USC’s.</p>
<p>Are you guaranteed admission to USC? If not, then you should find another financial safety school, because USC would not be if you’re not assured of admission.</p>
<p>Your SAT is still a little on the low side for USC…it has rejected kids with those stats in the last couple of years.</p>
<p>what is your Math + Critical Reading score?</p>