<p>Hi everyone! My son got accepted to his dream school: Stanford and he also got into the USC and the candidate for the full ride scholarship (Trustee, Mork, Stamps). He loves Stanford and wants to go there but we won’t, most likely, qualify for the financial aid and will have to carry the full cost. If my son goes through the USC full ride scholarship program/interviews and will be awarded full tution but still won’t want to go there, do you think the full ride there can be a leverage with Stanford? Something like, we got the full ride at USC please give us a little brake… Anybody had experience with it? Thanks!</p>
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<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/finaid/site/faq/index.html#admitted_students”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/finaid/site/faq/index.html#admitted_students</a></p>
<p>I asked that question last year - there is no leverage - they will not match or give a little break when compared to a merit scholarship.</p>
<p>As others said stanford does not offer any sort of merit aid, so these two costs just aren’t comparable. It might have leverage at another school that does offer merit aid (UChicago, Tulane, ect.) but none of the schools that are strictly need-based. Unfortunately it will be a hard choice between Stanford at full price and USC at potentially no price, although that is not an easy scholarship to get and the competition is fierce for it, so don’t consider that in the bag quite yet. Have an honest conversation with your son about the situation. </p>
<p>I am a USC alum so I have a biased position on this issue. I believe USC is a special place with a passionate and connected alumni. Decades later my love of USC has only grown stronger. </p>
<p>Our D has Stanford and USC on her list and if she were presented with this same choice, I’d metaphorically hit her over the head if she picked USC.</p>
<p>Go to Stanford.</p>
<p>If your son can graduate from Stanford with the good fortune of having parents who can help him avoid student loan debt, he will be significantly better off. Stanford will unlock doors that only Princeton, MIT and a handful of others can.</p>
<p>My D decided to go to USC on scholarship over Stanford (and the other HYPS schools she got into). This was because she knew she wanted to go into medicine and UG status is not very important at all–getting a high GPA and MCAT score are the key things and she could get this anywhere. Why not save the huge amount of $$? She was happy with her decision and we were very happy she made the mature decision as well. She will graduate UG with no debt and is well prepared for a great med school app season. Not all future careers depend on the reputation of an UG and this should be considered. </p>
<p>It’s not all about reputation, though. Stanford’s just a more comfortable place overall. Four years of housing guaranteed, safer area, even smaller student/faculty ratio than SC, & more resources available for students (in every aspect). However, if it represents a heavy financial burden, then you should take that into account. USC is still an awesome place to be at. :)</p>
<p>Stanford will not budge when it comes to merit aid. You might be able to get them to cough up some financial aid in very special circumstances, but merit scholarship is only for athletes. </p>
<p>With that being said, you still might have a tough choice on your hand.
Questions you want to ask your self in this specific order:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>how much is that $250,000 to your family? If it’s chump change, then go to Stanford. however, If this is a significant amount of cost for your family, then I would really consider USC. </p></li>
<li><p>What area is your son interested in studying? Stanford has BY FAR a much stronger engineering and especially Computer science program. However, USC has a much better journalism and performance arts program. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>If your son plans on doing computer science, the 250,000 investment of Stanford CS over USC CS should pay for itself in less than 10 years after he graduates (on average)</p>
<ol>
<li>2. What are you planning to do with your degree? Are you trying to go to professional school after you graduate? If so, then there is really no “prestige” difference in the two schools. </li>
</ol>
<p>Also, note special degree programs such as Co-terming (a BS/MS or BA/MA program) which can potentially save a lot of money (~120,000) for a masters program at a top elite school if your son can finish it in 4 years. (normally it takes 5 years)</p>
<p>I hope these guiding questions will help you answer that tough question. If you have any questions regarding the things I mentioned, feel free to ask for more details. </p>