<p>I am sure this has been posted before but we would like to hear from some Carolina students and or residents regarding their opinion on this matter. S has decided that he wants to attend college in the south. He has been accepted to USC Honors with guaranteed in state tuition plus more and UNC at full out of state price (we do not get financial aid). UNC has more prestige but does anyone think it worth paying for or better than attending the Honors College at USC? He loves both campuses and plans on majoring in Biology. Any thoughts??</p>
<p>We are in the same boat. DS is accepted to both UNC and University of Alabama (among others). Bama is offering free tuition, he’s admitted to the honors college, in the running for a fellowship, and the campus and dorms are beautiful. We’ve considered ourselves so lucky to have such a great university right here in state (UNC) and he worked like a dog to get in. Now he’s definitely been swayed towards Alabama and is confident he will fit in there. The personalized experience he’ll get there combined with the benefits of a large university are hard to beat. As a mom, I would of course prefer than he not travel that far from home and the prestige of Carolina would certainly open doors for him. </p>
<p>He’ll be studying biology and chem (premed) and at the very least will need to attend grad school. So what wins out? - graduating debt free with a lot of one on one time with professors and other honors students or graduating from a prestigious university such as Carolina? So much to think about… </p>
<p>It depends on the honors college, I think. Many honors programs are just slightly lame attempts at creating an ‘elite’ within a relatively unselective environment. When I see someone went to Ohio university or whatever, it never really makes any difference whether they were in some honors college. The university brand name is far more powerful.</p>
<p>Just a few months ago I probably would have responded the same way. In fact, if someone had just “told” me the following facts before I knew they were true I would have assumed they were exaggerating. Alabama’s honors program is nothing to sneeze at. They actually enroll more national merit scholars than any other public university and close to 60% of their students are from out of state. This is because Bama has been “poaching” bright students from all over the country by enticing them with fantastic out of state scholarships and a truly competitive honors college. As bright as DS is he will have plenty of academic competition at Bama if he attends. </p>
<p>I am confident that Bama’s reputation will eventually be known nationally but right now it simply is not. That is the concern. Is it worth going to your second choice school just because its more prestigious?</p>
<p>Well I do think my S will receive more attention at USC Honors college and will also graduate debt free. I guess I would like to know why UNC as a university would be a better choice. We are aware of the rankings etc but if S is going to be in large classes and regular dorms at a high price…is it worth it for the prestige? If we were in state for UNC it would be an even harder choice.</p>
<p>I am in the same situation, I was accepted to both UNC and USC honors. I am a NC resident, so for me UNC is slightly higher in my mind, but USC has the best honors college in the country. Because they offer in state tuition and if he wants to go to grad school, USC Honors may be better. My dad is a physician and recently had a medical student who had attended USC Honors for undergrad and majored in biology and he said she was the best medical student he had ever seen (and he’s been doing this for almost 20 years). Both places definitely offer quality education. Good luck with the decision!</p>
<p>USC’s Honors College is exceptional, and being able to attend with in-state tuition (and probably other scholarships, right?) to graduate debt-free is a much better value than full-pay OOS at UNC. He can always go to grad school at UNC. The most important thing is to take advantage of as many opportunities at the undergrad institution and to excel at them. USC’s Honor College will provide opportunities. </p>
<p>So what is the consensus here for a NC student? All things being equal, if the USC honors program offers me instate tuition is it a better deal financially than the attending UNC as an instate student ?</p>
<p>Joe2015, You’ll probably need to wait for your specific financial aid package to compare the financial numbers. However, when my d was accepted to UNC, she didn’t get that information from them until just before the decision deadline, which can be a problem if you’re weighing other really good offers. If you don’t expect much or any financial aid as in-state student at UNC, the numbers will probably be close. Then it comes down to your specific areas of interest and the pros and cons of each university/program/quality of life. Be sure to look at the cost of housing and transportation issues beyond freshman year- on campus and off campus - when making comparisons. </p>