I am not sure what the student’s intended major has to do with it?
USC is expensive, but not necessarily a tremendous financial burden. Just like any other school, either the family is wealthy and can afford it and it’s not an issue… or the student gets sufficient merit and then the family can afford it… or the student gets sufficient FA to be able to afford it… and there are plenty of families in those three categories.
Of course if the family can’t afford it, it would be prudent for the student to cross USC off the list. My S23 was deferred from the first (scholarship-eligible) round, we can’t afford full price for this school and would not get sufficient FA, so he chose not to be considered in RD. Not a complicated decision for him or our family!
My friends son went to USC and after one and a half year in engineering decided to change major. He switched to Psychology and ended up spending 5 years at USC and the parents ended up paying for much more that anticipated. That’s what I meant when I said sometimes students are not sure about the major and you could end up paying even more.
Honestly, that can happen with any student at any school, even if they seem really sure about the major to start with. So the possibility of the student taking 5 years to graduate is something we are including in our financial planning for all schools.
I live in SoCal, in a $2M home, have 2 $60k cars, and there’s no way in heck I’m paying that much for my kid to get that degree when there’s just as good if not better options at 1/2 the price. And if you go to USC and want to be social, $90k is just the entry price. Grad and MBA are different stories.
I personally do not see the value for money for the undergraduate degree. So we will not consider going to USC. USC ‘s ranking in the value for money is very very low. My two cents.
I disagree that USC is mainly for the elites as you describe it. More than two-thirds of USC undergraduates receive some sort of financial aid, including need-based grants, merit scholarships, Federal Work-Study and loans. So, by definition, less than one-third are simply writing a check for the full price to attend. Granted, if you are in that category, paying out $320-380K over a four-year period in terms of the total cost to attend is rather insane in my opinion. Most would likely decide against such an expenditure. But, it is still projected that 800-1000 of the new freshman class of circa 3K will be agreeing to do so. They clearly deem the investment to be warranted.
For the other 2000-2200, it will be a mixed bag, as described by @tamagotchi. Among the 2022 entering first-year class, more than two-thirds received some form of financial assistance. Of those, 22 percent received a USC merit-based scholarship and 22 percent also qualified as low-income and received Pell Grants. Such students may still have loans and work study, but their total cost of attendance is more likely in the range of $0-80K over the span of four years. So, most at USC are far from full pay.
Additionally, every cycle, the percentage of URM and FirstGen enrollees among the new freshman class rises, while the percentage of legacy enrollees and those from non-URM or non-FirstGen declines. So, the percentage of the total USC student body that can be characterized as either elite or wealthy is also declining cycle after cycle.
I personally concur with the sentiment that no college or university should likely be this expensive, but USC is also countering the rising costs in other ways. Ultimately, it’s a family’s decision to either enroll or decline after gaining admission. The projected yield rate remains 40-43%, so clearly 57-60% of those admitted to USC will opt to enroll elsewhere most likely by May 1st. And there is little doubt that the total cost of attendance and the perceived affordability will be among the key determining factors in many of those family decisions.
I’m not sure of your source for your citation. The Niche college rankings, for example, put USC at #163 out of 1,498 in terms of the best value among colleges in America. But, more importantly, USC is also ranked #1 out of 1,521 colleges in America in terms of the Best Student Life. That factor and the school’s general reputation in terms of student satisfaction likely contributed greatly to the 80K+ applications received this year.
Are you trying to convince those on this thread that USC is not worth the price for any family? I think most here would agree that it is very expensive, but if a family can afford the price, it’s an individual decision whether the value is worth it.
We made the same choice as you did. But some families will feel differently, and that is totally up to them… as long as they are aware what they are getting into. While other families feel that much less expensive schools than USC are not worth the value either… some don’t see the value in paying $50K COA per year, for example, for any school. YMMV.
I do not hear/see any sense of threat, just differing opinions on value, which every person is entitled to. If USC and its costs are not your cup of tea, then that point has been made and it’s time to move on.
Just to share one thing we did given the choice between USC and UCLA engineering for two of our students, we had them take out Stafford loans which are in their name only and most they can be is about $27k total over the four years, so it graduates from 4k - 7K each year over their time there. Of course it’s like a flea on an elephant’s bum as they say in terms of covering costs, but it actually did help with a chunk of incidentals and they had skin in the game which we felt important. Also, it’s a loan they pay off, so I assume that helps with their credit…
Each one paid it off within a year of graduating from internships or their first job, except the recent grad who is in pause mode.
Likewise, I had both of my daughters take out the max in student loans. And each paid them off within 24 months of graduating. Their credit scores seemed to be aided greatly in the process.
Most private school tuitions are in the $56k-$66k per year range. USC is not cheap but it is worth the money. Many students have merit based scholarship. Life is great there and many find classes challenging and rewarding. Many folks here are hoping to get the good news from USC on ~March 24. If you don’t think USC is worth your money, you are free to attend other university.
I also had one that changed majors 5 times (and in different schools - Dornsife/Marshall/Dornsife/Annenberg/Thornton) and was still able to complete a double major in two different schools in 4 years. She did use summers and Maymester. However, because of covid, she downsized credits on purpose in her 4th year to stay an extra semester to have some of senior year on campus. It took precise planning, but optimizing every class credit is important, especially at the prices colleges are these days.
It really should not take 5 years for a single undergrad degree even if changing majors unless there is some bad planning going on. The student needs to really understand the requirements and use the advisors! So many requirements overlap - all those GE’s is an entire year’s worth and if they plan well, they can double count some of them across degree requirements then have more room for fun or exploratory classes. And the good news is, it is easy to change majors, as evidenced by mine, ha.
Someone pm’d me the question of why USC over another, so seems like a good time for this…
I had two get into UCLA & UCB engineering (and USC), among others. And another in a liberal arts major and a USC athlete (no brainer, USC all the way on that one). Lots of kids, lots of money on college, so we were really looking, it wasn’t just a USC or bust approach at that time (except for the athlete). UCLA is gorgeous and a great school, no question. UCB has an amazing reputation, (although not a fan of the campus), but for us, it all came down to a few key factors that pushed us to USC over other choices:
We like private education. Did public schools up to high school then went private. So we learned the difference there and liked what we paid for.
Being able to change majors (nearly impossible at some publics) and the ease to double major and/or add a minor. As mentioned above, one of mine changed majors 5 times (yes 5 times, her advisor knew her well). But it wasn’t till that 5th one that I got the call with tears of joy, knowing she was now in the right major (and now works in said industry). My biggest fear was for any of mine to spend 4 years in a college (and that we were paying for) and stuck in a major they didn’t really want to be in. Two double majored and one did major and minor. Not everyone goes to college knowing what they want to be. I wanted them to be able to explore and if they found a passion, be able to go for it.
The Trojan family network thing - it is real. Connections matter when they get out. I just wasn’t that familiar with grads from some of the other schools actually helping each other out. They didn’t have that family helping family feel that went beyond the four years. Every one of mine uses and has very close Trojan connections that have been amazing from watching a game together with alum they just met when across the country or getting a job and everything in between.
California is crowded and fighting for resources is a daily struggle, didn’t want my kids having to do that in college (getting classes, lunch, opportunities with profs, etc).
We found the cost wasn’t as big a difference when factoring in being assured you can graduate in 4 years (versus paying for more for another year at UC) and bonus of getting 2 majors or major/minor, which can be done (when well planned for) at USC.
And last one, sounds dumb (and helicopter parent kind of thing) but it was big for us at the time, including my student. Room mate selection was random at UCLA, meaning my studious engineer could be placed with two, let’s call it “more party type” major students (no judgement just different). And having to leave room to study seemed a pain. USC had great room mate matching (worked fantastic) and limit 2 to a room in most dorm situations.
But gosh oh golly, both are great educations and experiences, we just wanted the bit more flexibility that we felt we could get at USC, and believed it was worth paying for. It was. And I do still enjoy getting the fight on sign when traveling somewhere in the world or driving on some interstate when we have something USC visible on us or the car. Little bonus.
