<p>You clearly want to go to USC and are trying to find any excuse to justify going there. So just go there. Case closed.</p>
<p>Job placement in DC is probably not a good question to ask, in that a lot of the students who go to UNC probably want to stay in NC. A better question is, will your networks help you get a job in DC if you want one? Answer is yes. UNC is a well-known, well-reputed school. If you work with career services there, they will work with you. Nobody can guarantee you a job in DC but your chances are good coming from either of those schools.</p>
<p>You’re assuming that USC will be more eye-opening for you. I say going anywhere different from where you’re from will be eye-opening for you, and honestly, UNC may be even more that since you seem to have so many stereotypes about public school kids from NC. If you’ve lived in a Northeastern suburb your whole life, going to a college town in NC will be just as different as going to Los Angeles. And if you want to live in Los Angeles later in life, you can always move there later. Your college doesn’t determine where you have to settle for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>It’s kind of sad to me that your friends are more important than anything else when it comes to choosing a college. They shouldn’t be. Friendships will shift and change over time. From my college years, I have only a very few friends that I still contact on a semi-regular basis. I’ve made new friends for new times in my life. I only graduated 4 years ago. What I DO carry from my undergrad is the excellent education I got from there - and the small amount of debt. I had the chance to go to more prestigious colleges, but they would’ve cost me a lot more money. I don’t regret my choice one bit, and never have.</p>
<p>To answer your question, no, $30,000 isn’t a lot of debt on it’s own. It’s more than $6,000. And it can quickly become more of a burden if you decide to get a graduate degree that’s not funded (like an MBA, JD, MD, most professional master’s, etc.) But the average college graduate is going to be able to comfortably pay off $30,000.</p>
<p>thank you julliet for the informative advice. The thing is, I think USC will grant me a slightly better education…along with a slightly better social life it may be worth it.</p>
<p>ultimately i know for sure that if i went to UNC i would live wondering what would have happened if i went to USC…</p>
<p>to me that seems worth the 25-30k in debt…</p>
<p>i will gladly take any critical advice</p>
<p>ultimately i know for sure that if i went to UNC i would live wondering what would have happened if i went to USC…</p>
<p>People always say that at 18, but at 25 and 4 years out of college I have yet to hear anyone wonder this to the point that it actually distracts/bothers them. Most people are focused on moving forward and building their careers, or on graduate school. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth the debt just to not wonder what it was like to go somewhere else, but I have the perspective of someone who’s come out the other side (and I did make that choice - a full ride at a tier 2 LAC over Emory).</p>
<p>I don’t think that USC will grant you a slightly better education. Honestly, IMO USC is a bit overrated. But even without that bias, I think that your perception of UNC’s inferiority is colored by the fact that it is a public university. UNC is ranked #29 and USC is ranked something like #23. 6 spaces. That’s pretty much negligible. It won’t matter.</p>
<p>But as many people have already noted, you seem pretty much set on going to USC - so why are you arguing with people here? If you want to go to USC, go ahead and go. You don’t need validation from Internet strangers.</p>
<p>As someone who wants UNC to get students who love the university and want to be there, I say just go to USC … please.</p>
<p>Go to USC…befriend lots of rich kids…that’s really what you want right?</p>
<p>Well, I don’t see how education at USC would be “slightly better”. IR/social sciences/humanties aren’t its strengths. Also, even a decade ago, USC was ranked outside the 40th while UNC was like 26th or something. Do you really think USC has changed that much? I also don’t know what kind of opportunities LA has for IR grads. At least in DC, you got the Fed and non-profits with international focus…etc.</p>
<p>ok the bottom line is-do most UNC grads stay in NC? i want to work in either LA or DC when i graduate and have friends from college. my primary fear with UNC is that most of my freinds will stay in NC while i move away to DC or NY…</p>
<p>You don’t seem to have a problem with the debt, knowing you will most likely accumulate more debt for grad school, your parents don’t have a problem with your debt, you want to be near your friends and you seem to prefer USC. USC is your answer.</p>
<p>You don’t have fears. You are simply trying to justify your already made choice.</p>
<p>Even if you choose UNC now, you will regret it for at least the next year. Go to USC.</p>
<p>Stop being a lazy horses arse and do something.</p>
<p>Call UNC career services and ask them what % of undergrads stay in NC after graduation. Problem solved.</p>
<p>I hate to break it to you but no matter where you go to college in the country after graduation friends are going to scatter. People are going to be offered jobs all over the country, go to grad school, follow a BF/GF to another city, etc. It’s called growing up. You do what every other college grad does when they get to a new area…go out and explore their new home city and make friends with people their age.</p>
<p>My advice is go to USC. I have visited both USC and UNC and I definitely enjoy USC much better. Definitely opens doors to good jobs after graduation being in LA plus you get a good diverse group of people. I didn’t enjoy living in NC as it was to slow-paced and there isn’t much to do outside of school</p>
<p>but dont MOST of the trojan family stay in LA?</p>
<p>^ Yes… or Orange and San Diego counties…</p>
<p>I don’t see how it’s necessarily easier to get good jobs in LA, considering that California has a high unemployment rate while the research triangle/Charlotte are doing relatively well (albeit more boring). DC metro is also doing better and is not far from NC.</p>
<p>@smcguy hey bro you get my message?</p>