Hi all,
I’ve come to a rather weird time in my college picking process. I have been accepted as a transfer to UT and USC for Mechanical engineering (undergrad). Financially, both schools basically ended up costing the same for me, and it seems like housing and living costs between LA and Austin are similar. I’m absolutely torn on which way to go. Tons of Trojans in my family out in California (they’re proud of me) and tons of friends in Austin who tell me the tech scene is expanding rapidly. However, some USC students have made the point that USC is good for tech startups as well. Can anyone shed some light on this? I know UT undergrad is ranked higher than USC but does that matter for this caliber of schools?
First off: wow! Congratulations! I will bet everyone is proud of you!
Second: I know relatively little about start ups so I may only be marginally hepful.
I would question the assumption about living expenses being the same in LA and Austin. You might see apartments online for the same price but I can pretty much guarantee you’ll get more for less in Austin. LA is expensive - for good reason, mind you but “affordable housing” in LA is pretty much an oxymoron.
Since you seem to know where you want to go - let me ask you, will you be likely to start up something you will sell or develop into a company? LA is tough for new businesses because of the aforementioned cost of living issue.
I give UT the edge in reputation and affordability and ability to nuture a local start-up. Plus you have friends there and I think most students would rather be near friends than family. But yeah - you really can’t make a bad choice there.
Look at the Incubator projects that are supported at each university and city.
This article just popped into my inbox and it points you to the next link.
Incubator:
https://ati.utexas.edu/