Hello all,
I am in a bit of a conundrum in regards to where to attend school next (Fall 2016) semester. I have been accepted to a few schools as a transfer student, but have narrowed my choices to UF as a physics major, and USC as an Electrical Engineering major. I know this seems exceptionally late but the timeline for transfers is different than for freshman. The primary issue I am coming to is the cost difference, with financial aid taken into account USC looks as though it will run me into approximately 35k more debt than UF. I am of the opinion that as an EE major at USC I will not have an issue paying this off upon graduation, and am also partial to the more broad range of opportunities at Los Angeles. As a first gen this is rather new to me, so advice is greatly appreciated!
USC is an excellent school but it is not worth $35k more(!) in debt. UF has a great engineering department so I don’t understand why you would be majoring in physics there. Can you explain that? An entry level engineer from USC will not be paid more than an entry level engineer from UF, which also has many national recruiters pursuing their graduates.
I’d choose UF, to minimize debt. It’s a great school!
I think we cannot simply look at the schools at this point, but also the degrees. For some reason, the OP is not going into the same degrees at both schools. If it was EE at both I think it would be a pretty easy decision of UF, however it sadly isn’t. For EE, the entry level average salary is $64,981 per year which shifts to $97,340 mid career. For Physics, the starting is between $59,000 and $65,000 so average of $62,000 a year which shifts to $87,682 mid career. So with this we see that both are extremely similar with EE being slightly higher. I would say that if the OP is passionate about EE he should do it, but if he feels equal about both fields then Physics may be the better one because of the 35k difference right out of college in debt. But in all honestly you can’t go wrong with either one.
I agree that the major has to play a part in this decision.
What state are you in OP?
I’m imagining that there is a difference in the cultures of the areas where the two schools are located.
Gainesville, Florida is going to be a heck of a lot different than LA. (cheaper to live, that’s for sure).
My son is going to UF, but we are in Florida. I have another son looking to live in LA (not for school) so I have scouted both areas (LA to a lesser extent).
I would not go that far into debt for USC. UF is an excellent value imho. But you do have to accept that there will be appreciable differences in a whole bunch of ways, some good - some not, perhaps. Depends on your perspective.
ETA: OP, just peeked back and noted that you are in Florida. IMHO I would stick with UF. Have you visited USC or the LA area? It is crazy expensive to live out there. And the traffic is worse than Gainesville. 
To me it doesn’t seem worth it to take on that much debt to go all the way to CA and deal with all that, as much as I love CA!
The reason for the difference in majors is that the deadlines for the two were several months away, and I shifted my priorities between them. I’m kind of kicking myself for applying for physics at UF as my reasoning was illogical. My plan at USC would be to pursue a Petroleum Engineering minor with an EE major. I felt that this, along with experience in heavy equipment repair and fabrication, would make me competitive to work in the petroleum industry while not limiting me to it. I don’t want to make an unwise decision by obtaining a pe whilst accumulating debt for fear of not finding employment in my field. I noted that PetEngineer commented, as someone in the field is this a rational thought process?
Regarding UF, having researched where physics majors end up working I found that a large amount end up in software, which is not something I am interested in, leading me to think that graduate studies(in engineering?) would be requisite to be competitive in a field of interest to me. UF does not offer a PE minor, or major. To be clear, I am not opposed to graduate studies, but if I could start my career sooner I would prefer it. I suppose it is somewhat apparent that I am leaning more towards USC, but I think that may also be from pride. I pushed myself fairly hard at the local college, but my friends who didn’t all got into UF just the same which is less than motivating. Is it naive of me to think that USC, having a slightly more stringent admissions process, will yield a more challenging/motivating environment?
I appreciate you all having taken the time to respond!
How much total debt are we talking about here?
Some thoughts:
USC definitely has a stronger freshman class academically than UF, but USC also accepts many more transfer students than a typical private school. UF also heavily relies on transfers, but overall the student body at USC will be stronger than at UF.
Payscale will show that USC grads out earn UF grads, but that is largely because the cost of living in California is significantly more than Florida. In fact, Florida has one of the lowest cost of living in the country, and that translates generally into lower salaries.
Where do you want to live when you graduate? USC probably won’t open too many doors back in Florida, and the reverse is true as well.
For an engineer, $35,000 is not that much in additional debt to take on. If you think an EE with PetE minor is a better fit for you, and you have no firm plans to move to the southeast post-graduation, USC may be the better choice. Otherwise, save the money and go to UF.
Who is co-signing these loans of $35k over two years?
A rough estimate for my COA at USC is 34k annual, and at UF 17k annual. I intend to eventually settle in the West or Midwest, am I to understand a degree form USC would yield more opportunities in this area? Thank you all for the advice! I am gathering that both options are secure, and the choice has more to do with my preference/desired career path. The advice is appreciated!