USC (Trustee Scholarship) vs. NYU Stern (BPE) vs. WashU in St. Louis

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey everyone, </p>

<p>I'm in quite the predicament. I received a Trustee Scholarship (Full Tuition) from USC, but I never really liked the school that much. I hate the area, and the school is way too close to home for me. But really how could I turn down so much money? I haven't really heard about competition at USC, so I'm assuming it isn't that rigorous(?). I like having the flexibility of choosing what I want to learn and not having a core that I need to take.</p>

<p>At NYU Stern, I got into the new Business and Political Economy program. I love the idea of having a business/political science degree, and traveling to London for a whole year then Shanghai for a semester! There would be a ton of options for me if I had a degree like that, but it is new and there might be some glitches along the ride. I'm thinking of going into either Pre-Law such as in International Law dealing with corporations or Pre-Med (I know this would be insanely difficult if I went to this school since it is the Biz school haha) , and maybe even take some time off when I get a job out of Stern, before applying to law school and/or med school. I love the city, and I don't mind at all that there is no campus at NYU. Though I've heard people are pretty competitive at Stern, and I hate cut throat people. And there is also the dreadful core that everyone has to take. I'd have to pay full tuition, so is it really worth all that money?</p>

<p>WashU - I visited the campus over the weekend, and it was pretty great. From the teachers to the advisers to the dining staff, everyone was friendly and helpful. The food is amazing, and the dorms are top notch. I love the architecture of the campus, and the flowers and trees are spectacular. Students are so friendly and open. They'd help you with any question you'd have. I've heard from everyone at the campus that students are competitive, but they aren't cut throat. They are more collaborative than anything, and it seems like that. Classes are insanely tough though, and I don't really want to risk having such a low gpa at a great school. I'd rather have a great gpa at a good school. It'd be easier for me to get into law school or med school, since I'm not limited by the business school like at NYU. Though I would not have that guaranteed job out of college like NYU would have, since there is heavy recruiting from top biz firms at NYU. I'd also have to pay full tuition here also, but for the academics, I'd say it would be worth it.</p>

<p>Any comments/advice? Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>If money really isn’t a problem and you don’t feel guilty making your parents pay $200,000 when you could have a comparable education at USC; go for it. When you have a lot of money, you can’t put a price on happiness.</p>

3

<p>i think you need to learn a little bit more about USC, especially since you have the rare opportunity of going there for almost nothing. don’t live under assumptions.</p>

<p>but like above said, if money isn’t an issue, id probably go with NYU for its business prestige in new york.</p>

4

<p>Yeah you can’t dismiss USC like that. I would go there.</p>

5

<p>When you say that “I will have to pay full tuition” do you really mean it or do you mean your parents will have to pay it?</p>

<p>If the former, go USC.</p>

6

<p>If you don’t like it don’t go there, you will be miserable.</p>

7

<p>I don’t know how you can turn down that much money.</p>

8

<p>You have no idea what you want to do … business, med, and law are three very different fields… Don’t think that getting a higher GPA at an easier school will be good for admissions into law or med school. The admissions board knows the rigor of your transcript and the competitiveness of the student body of each school and take your GPA and averages it with the mean MCAT or LSAT score of your school… so it in the end… it’s not going to be that simple…</p>

9

<p>Looking at your career goals, USC is actually a pretty good fit. USC’s alumni network is beyond awesome, and for business… Yeah, I think that’s worth a lot.</p>

<p>Don’t enroll in NYU’s BPE program if you are seriously considering Premed, you’re closing a possibly important door there :)</p>

<p>I’m a big fan of WUStL, premed there is excellent.</p>