USC Marshall great school and rising in rankings, for what the rankings are really worth, given all the schools play the ranking game, Univ of Chicago is notorious for gaming the system; not to say it’s not an excellent school because it is, just rankings are BS in many cases. In business networking and contacts are the key. USC Trojan network is not a myth, no BS there. Both great schools, look beyond rankings, do a cost/benefit analysis, and for business, SC is a no brainer.
“…just rankings are BS in many cases.”
Sour grapes? If not, can you expound?
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I have 4 friends who were in a similar situation to you. 3 of them picked Chicago, and one of them picked USC. All 3 who picked Chicago were fairly wealthy, and the extra price was not a significant difference for them (even though they had no FA). The one who did pick USC did so primarily because of the price difference.
I think UChicago definitely has much better academics, and probably better job placement. However, whether it is worth forking over an extra 100k depends greatly on your financial situation.
^ Definitely better academics. Not sure about the job placement claim.
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Historically, job placement has not been that strong out of UChicago although the current administration is trying to change that. On the other, USC is known for its alumni network, particularly for business and engineering majors.
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UChicago’s job placement is probably better than USC for finance, at least out of California. Not sure about management consulting. However, I don’t think its a big enough difference to justify making a decision of one over another. I think for the academics, however, there is a significant difference. Not only in the faculty and the classes, but also in the students’ attitude towards academics, and the environment that stems from that.
Also, USC is a better place for most aspiring engineers. I think the exceptions are when the engineering student wants to work in quantitative finance, or wants to go to grad school before industry.
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I don’t usually comment, but as someone who was in your shoes a few years ago, I might be able to offer some helpful considerations. Full disclosure: I am someone who chose UChicago over USC and has not once regretted my decision.
My situation back then was a bit different than yours. I was a trustee scholar for Viterbi School of Engineering as a chemical engineering major, so I can’t really comment on the business side of things.
Unlike USC, at UChicago there are no entering concentrations-- everyone comes in listed under “common year” and declares during the end of their second year. I have found that this has given many students flexibility in choosing classes and pursuing interests unrelated to their decided academic majors.
The trustee scholarship will take you far, at least in Southern California, where you can throw a rock and hit a car with a USC bumper sticker. But USC lacks the prestige and raw academic power that UChicago brings to the table. I am also uncertain of how USC ranks up against UChicago in terms of recruiting. But I do know of MANY people here placing at the top consulting/I-banking/wealth management etc. firms in the country. UCIB/Blue Chips/Eckhart Consulting tends to help a lot in these cases.
Greek life was a consideration for me when I was making my college decision. At UChicago, greek life is there if you want it, but not big enough that it runs the entire social scene on campus. Because it isn’t too big of a deal here, it’s more of an extra-curricular than a college identity. Personally, I have enjoyed my time as a brother. It does help with networking, though, and many alumni of my chapter have gone on to wall-street or the bay-area.
Of course, there are some people who did not enjoy their time here. It’s hard here and that’s a simple truth. Two hall mates actually ended up transferring to USC after their first year…though they were more interested in arts (which, USC has stronger programs for than UChicago).
I would say to think about the decision without putting too much weight on finances, unless they are a key consideration. There’s always more time to earn money, especially as a future finance person. But you can only do college once…
I will comment that having Trustee Scholar at the top of your CV sets one apart, and will open just as
many doors in the future than an UG degree from Chicago. It will matter to companies and people FAR beyond S Calif. DS, a USC Trustee Scholar, was accepted at all the top PhD programs he applied to- Caltech, Stanford among them.
Not having to spend $ 200,000 in order to get an UG degree and achieve the same end result makes the most sense. Its the smart decision for most families lucky enough to have the choice.
And given that parents are the ones who usually have to pay for college, not the student, and that $$ can’t magically be drawn from future potential earnings to pay for 4 years of tuition, it may be harder to justify paying all that $$ for a hope and a dream…
ymmv
Schools try to manipulate data to increase their rankings. CMC overstated SAT scores couple years ago, Tufts syndrome, Northeastern openly tried to figure out how to game the system to move the school up, and UofC has a reputation for sending out invites to any high school student with a pulse to increase their # of applicants/lower addmission stats. That said, certainly use the rankings as one component in your decision making process, however, in my opinion, other factors should be considered as well. No sour grapes just a bit of a cynic. Great problem to have as they are both great schools!! Good luck…
The ‘advice’ to me has been that UChicago is a great school for academics in general. One answer to seek is: What are the chances of getting a merit scholarship at UChicago, how good should the stats be? That could also be a factor in the school selection.
@fgw805 Agree about the rankings. USNWR includes factors that make less wealthy schools fare poorly. In this case, however, I’d think carefully about going heavily in debt. USC is an excellent university. $100K is a LOT of money. It must be repaid. And if you go to graduate or business school, you’ll have those loans too. Believe me, starting out with $200K or more in debt isn’t fun.
@qsearcher I would strongly advise you not to count on merit aid. Very unlikely Chicago will give you merit aid to rival what you can get at USC. It would be a different case if you were low income, where Chicago has very generous need-based financial aid.
An MBA would be kind of a waste of time if you go the BBA route.
USC for free vs. UChicago is a great problem to have. You sort of can’t go wrong here. USC vs. UChicago is like the difference between being in the National Guard and being a Navy Seal. Our local high school is a top feeder for USC. It attracts a certain kind of kid, a kind of kid that is smart, athletic, and generally really impressive. The one or two kids a year who get an offer from UChicago are in a whole different league though.
Oh, give me a break. I chose UChicago over several highly selective schools, and would choose it over HYP, but I haven’t fully drunk the kool-aid. We’re not geniuses or superhumans.
The difference between USC and UChicago is like the difference between Anthony Wiggins and Stephen Curry: maybe one looks better than the other in the NBA, where the difference between the 99.9th percentile of human ability and the 99.99th percentile is vast, but either one is an exceptional player. Anthony Wiggins is no Stephen Curry, but he can still dribble around, over, and under anyone on these boards with one arm tied behind his back. USC isn’t as high in most people’s arbitrary ranking of prestige as Chicago, but that’s largely meaningless.
@NotVerySmart I wasn’t implying that the students are super human or genius. It’s more about the level of dedication and willingness to work hard. If I was looking at those two schools for my 18 year old former self, USC would have been an obvious choice. Pretty girls, SoCal weather, reasonable prestige, and plenty of time to enjoy being a student. UChicago on the other hand, was like come on board, we’re all smart but we want to know more, a lot more. And we’re going to study til we’re blue in the face because that’s what we want to do. Maybe you don’t appreciate it, but that sort of mindset is pretty rare in 18 year old kids.
@computerage - wait until after you’ve visited UofC before you agonize about this any further. Plus you are still waiting for other admission decisions that may alter your perspective.
That said,USC offers incredible opportunities for students to intern or study all over the world - not having to pay tuition may give you more flexibility to take advantage of these programs.
As an aside, @notveryzen, not a fan of your analogy, “USC vs. UChicago is like the difference between being in the National Guard and being a Navy Seal.” Hoping you didn’t mean to offend either USC or the caliber of the amazing men & women who serve in the National Guard.
“…or the caliber of the amazing men & women who serve in the National Guard.”
What a story.
Check plus, @jmek15.
@jmek15 sorry for offending you, any USC fans, and our dedicated National Guard members. The analogy was meant to point out the difference between " one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer" and a 6-8 year commitment to get shot at or eaten by a shark at any moment. There is a difference. It doesn’t mean USC or the National Guard isn’t awesome. I think it’s a great analogy. I would pick the National Guard or USC every time. And I’m still in shock that my oldest chose otherwise.
“There is a difference”
There is not THAT much of a difference between the students at USC these days and those at UC.
Apology accepted by a USC Trustee MOM whose son was also accepted at UC- twice in fact- and decided to go to USC.
“There is not THAT much of a difference between the students at USC these days and those at UC.”
This is very true in regards to academic ability. The problem is that, among top students, there is very little spread in GPA/SAT scores, so admissions to universities depend on a rather arbitrary selection process.
From my experience, the difference you will find between UChicago students and USC students is less about ability, and more to do with the students’ culture. Chicago students tend to be more focused on academics and are constantly working to balance their studies with career opportunities. USC students aim for a different kind of balance; while they do study, there is also a huge culture around partying + sports. Not to say that there aren’t many exceptions.