Hello!
With May 1st looming, I have yet to make a final decision between two universities. I plan on majoring in international business and finance. I have been accepted into honors colleges for both schools. For University of Delaware (which is my state school), I have been offered the Eugene Dupont Distinguished Scholarship, giving me a full ride (tuition, books, room and board) plus $2,000 enrichment stipend. At UofSC, I have been given the McKissick Scholarship (giving me instate tuition plus $2,000 per year), amounting to a total of $100,000 over four years. At UD, I don’t have to pay any money and have the prestige of being one of the top scholars at the university. At UofSC, I will be going to the best international business university in the country and second in the world. The opportunities are better at UofSC, and I like the atmosphere and culture. I plan on specializing in East Asia, particularly China. UD doesn’t have a strong international business program for Asian countries (doesn’t even have a study abroad program in China), so I am not even sure if I will major in IB (which is my true passion). UofSC, on the other hand, has a great language program and has tie-ups with the best universities in China like Tshingua and Peking University.
My heart is telling me to go to UofSC but my mind is telling me UD is the smarter option. I am also bombarded with the thought of what would happen if I don’t succeed/don’t like UofSC when I get there and just payed a lot of money for nothing. On the other hand, what if I go to UD and am always left with the feeling of resentment that I let money cloud what I wanted out of my college experience. My parents will be paying for my undergrad eduction but stated that any money that they don’t pay, I can use my grad school education (not sure if I will pursue that route but I might in the future). What should I do? Any and all advice would be extremely helpful! Thank you!
You have certainly done your homework on these two choices and congrats on your accomplishments to get you to this decision! As a parent, I can tell you from my perspective, but it would be good to hear from students as well. The cost is an issue of course, as USC will be more tuition and more $ spent on travel to and from Delaware for you and your family. I am not sure if money is tight, but because you said that any extra would be for grad school, it sounds like you do have some funds to use which is great. If you were to end up going to grad school, does USC have an international business grad degree? That could be an option if you went to U of D and then went to USC for grad school. But if you have your heart set on IB and China route, it may be that USC will get you farther along in that journey than U of D as an undergrad. But I’ll tell you what I told my son (who will be a freshman soon at USC), which is to Go With Your Gut. You can let your head weigh in, but since you have done a lot of thinking up until now to get down to these two options, maybe let your gut make the tie breaker. I can’t wait to hear what you choose. Either way it will be good! Just keep that in mind. Oh…and a good phrase that helped my son (and me lately on occasions) is “Almost every decision can be undone”. This can help relieve the stress that you might make the wrong choice. Good luck!!
@x2018x Thank you so much for your advice!
To everyone, please keep any advice coming! I would really, really appreciate more outside perspective on this 
@HermioneGranger101 Congrats on your fine choices. You really cannot make a wrong decision here. I would ask you how much you want to spread your wings and try something different. UD is your state flagship and I’m sure it will be very familiar to you and convenient to your family (and free!). If you are looking for something different, perhaps USC would be right for you. Your passion (at this point in your life) is IB and in particular, your interest in China. USC has both traditional IB programs where you spend a semester studying abroad, as well as IB cohort programs where you spend a year or more studying abroad. Also, as you probably know, the Honors College at USC is also rated the highest in the nation. FWIW my son turned down full tuition at another SEC school in favor of USC. It costs us about 12K per year in OOS tuition at USC (vs 0 at the other school) but he is doing great at USC and we are very happy with all of his first year accomplishments. One other factor - non-academic - is sports. USC has crazy school spirit and a ton of support for the sports teams. Also, the climate is not too bad during the academic year!
Best of luck to you. You’ve earned the decision you are facing… and again - you only have great choices here - no bad outcomes!
@Mac001 Thank you for your advice! May I ask what your son majored in and what type of opportunities he was offered at USC?
@Mac001 Also, I am pretty open (actually eager) to go out-of-state and have always be independent. However, I am very close to my family and have gone to only one school (with a graduating class of 75) for all my life, so this will definitely be a huge transition.
@HermioneGranger101 Congrats on two great options! Normally, I would recommend taking the the full ride versus paying the additional cost to attend USC. However, since your parents are able to pay for your undergrad education without taking loans, I recommend going to the school that is the best fit and offers the best chance for success.
My son recently graduated from USC with a triple major in IB, Finance and GSCOM. His focus was Spanish rather than Chinese, but he received an excellent education and had numerous job opportunities. In addition, since you are interested in Finance, you should look into the Finance Scholars Program which is a competitive program that you apply for your sophomore year. They take approximately 20 rising juniors and prepare them for top finance jobs.
As you mention in your post above, USC has an excellent study abroad program and a majority of the SCHC students study abroad their junior year. My son was in the IBA cohort program and studied abroad in Spain for a month after his freshman year and spent 10 months in Santiago, Chile. It was a once in a lifetime experience and it really helped him grow as a person.
I definitely recommend USC and the IB program. USC does a great job of helping their students excel.
However, if you decide to attend U of D, please note that USC’s IB graduate program has ranked in the top 3 for several years.
Good luck with your decision.
@atlkaw6 Thank you for advice! I was wondering how much not being a Top Scholar plays into getting certain opportunities such Finance Scholars and Oxford scholars?
Based on what you say, USC is clearly the best academic fit. You’ve worked very hard-working it’s affordable, and it really sounds like their offerings match your career aspirations best.
In fact, you should apply to either the Innovation cohort (China and Australia) or the Chinese Enterprise cohort. Both would be fantastic experiences and right what you want. I hope the deadlines are still open.
@MYOS1634 Thank you for the compliments and insight! Unfortunately the applications for the cohorts are over, but after discussion with my parents, the traditional track seems to be a better fit for me.
To everyone, please feel free to give my suggestions! I am hoping to collect as much insight as possible to help me make a decision. Thank you!
@HermioneGranger101 Most of the Finance Scholars are not Top Scholars. You will have the same opportunities as everyone else. Selection to these programs is based on your accomplishments/resume while at USC.
In a separate thread, @thejane mentions that her son is a Finance Scholar and is not an international business major or in the SCHC. He had two internships and is graduating with a job in investment banking.
@atlkaw6 Thank you for the information! That is very reassuring
Have you looked at the Academic Common Market to help bring the U of SC price down? It sounds like the programs may be different enough to qualify. Or you could also call the Scholarship office at Carolina and explain your position. Can’t hurt!
@katedot Thank you for that great suggestion; I will definitely look into that more! Also, my dad did call financial aid but they unfortunately stated that all offers were final.