I’m an econ major who wants to go to a top grad school. I’ve been offered a half-tuition Presidential scholarship at USC, which is very tempting, especially with the new Honors residence college. However, I really dislike the whole partying and sports atmosphere.
I’m also looking at Wellesley, which has a more rigorous econ program, a great record with grad school placement, and a beautiful campus. From what I hear, the students tend to be more intellectual, too. However, it’ll cost me twice as much as USC.
Please help me decide.
OK, now your question in another forum makes more sense.
USC also has great graduate school placement. It’s a powerhouse school for research and innovation - USC alumni have gone on to found companies like Intuit, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Lucasfilm, Tinder, and Riot Games, and lots of technologies have been invented on campus. There will be plenty of opportunities for research. It’s a top 25 national university and a top 75 world university by pretty much every ranking system for world universities. Its business and entrepreneurship programs are well-reputed, and it has a very strong economics department overall. I wouldn’t necessarily say that Wellesley’s is more rigorous - they are both great.
USC is a lot bigger. There are 18,000 students. But think about it - even if only 10% of USC’s students are very intellectual the way you are interested in, that’s still nearly 2,000 students, which is almost as much as Wellesley’s entire student body. And I’m sure there are more than that, because USC is a very selective university and you have to be at the top of your class to get in there. Liking to have a good time and party and being intellectual aren’t mutually exclusive.
Why don’t you like LA?
Is your family very wealthy? Can they comfortably pay for Wellesley without issue? If they can, then Wellesley seems like a clear first choice for you and you should select it. You sound really into Wellesley.
But if money is an issue for your family, I don’t see a reason to turn down a large scholarship at USC (which is an excellent university, a dream school for many).
Thank you for the advice! @juillet