Thank you very much!
College Confidential is a great resource for information!
I would never trade a walk to work for a three hour round trip commute. Never. And certainly not for a salary cut. The tuition benefits are not enough of a carrot to lure me away from a good thing.
I had to attend the university where my father was on faculty because it was free (nothing for other schools). People thought this was great because it is an Ivy (not HYP). It was a terrible fit for me. I survived it but I swore I would never do that to my child.
I currently work for a university and I also get tuition benefits for all instate public universities. Nonetheless, my daughter did not apply to any instate public schools and I didn’t think she should. Now if she is unhappy at her current college, the instate schools make a good Plan C (another school, again OOS, is Plan B). In other words, we found there was no financial need to limit our child to “free tuition” colleges.
So, if I were you, I would say “No” to USC.
How much is 700 hours of your time worth? That’s about how much time you’ll spend commuting each year. How much will commuting cost - gas money? depreciation on a car?
Who will pick up the slack at home for the things you do in those 3 hours each day? If the kids now have to make dinner, how will that impact their ability to do their homework or get the sleep they need? If it’s 3 less hours you’re spending with your husband, how will that impact your marriage? If it’s 3 less hours of sleep, how will that impact your level of stress and your relationships?
I’m with SlackerMomMD. I would say No to USC.
You east coasters and your public transportation, lol…
A 3 hour commute is way too long IMO, especially since you will undoubtedly have to drive yourself. Heck, I get burned out after driving just 15 minutes in LA traffic, and I only go down there a couple days a month! I can’t imagine doing 3 hours of that every day.
The free tuition bonus only works if your daughters actually want to go to USC. Granted, since you have the money, you have more say in the matter of where they go, but still.
Personally, I don’t think it’s a wise move, unless you were able to move closer, which it doesn’t sound like is an option.
Also, there is no guarantee that if you accept this USC job you will still be there when your daughters are college age.
Thank you very much for advice! Really appreciate !
A man I know recently took a job at a state university specifically because his two children (now in elementary school) would eventually be eligible for free tuition. But that free tuition applies to any school in the state system–not just to the school where he works. He and his wife know that they will be restricting their children’s college choices, but at least they’re not restricting them to a single college that might not meet their educational needs.
I have a friend that did the commute to USC 3 plus hours roundtrip on the train and bus for 5 years. She was able to work from home 2 days a week. They are a USC family and her D is a happy senior at USC so it worked for their family although I could never do that commute.
It seems like USC also has another program called “Tuition Exchange”. It would possibly allow your kids to go to one of many other schools besides USC at far lower tuition. Have you looked into this? (However, if you’re currently working at a university you may already have access to this program, so it wouldn’t be a net benefit to taking the job at USC).
I commuted from Pasadena to the airport on an airport bus one summer for an architecture job. I’m pretty aware of what traffic is like in the LA area Actually when we went on college visits and were whizzing down the car pool lanes after visting Caltech with my two kids to go back to the airport in rush hour I was amazed at how much easier the drive was than anything around here. I even job searched one summer without a car, though that was the summer I insisted my boyfriend (now husband) get himself a car! There actually are more transportation options from Pasadena now than there were then.
My current commute is downstairs and while I often have to drive to clients (never more than 40 minutes) I avoid rush hour driving whenever they will let me.
I assume you get just free tuition, not room and board.
That’s $45k times four years times four kids. That’s $720k tax free if all four kids can get in. So basically (as Dr. Evil says) $1 MILLION DOLLARS!!! pre-tax. I’d commute for that. Think of how many extra years you would have to work to earn that million another way.
Plus USC is a top 25 school. If my kids could get in, I’d make them go there no hesitation.
Only question I would have is whether my kids could actually get in. Is there any break for admissions for faculty kids? The gambit doesn’t work if the kids can’t use the benefit.
Does USC offer a vanpool that would make the commute easier?
You would drive in CA traffic, weaving in and out of traffic, for 3 hours a day commuting? Seriously?
The job sounds good, but don’t take it if your main reason is for tuition for your kids. Take it because you want to do it.
A three hour a day commute would be a non-starter in this household. No way would that happen.
Bank the money you woild need for a decent car and gas…and use it to fund college.
Is free tuition tax free? Friends who used Tuition exchange tell me that a portion of this, at least is added onto their incime for tax purposes.
yes it is. at least it is for merit scholarships.
we paid no taxes on DS free tuition scholarship from USC
@menloparkmom…merit scholarships (at least for qualified educational expenses which tuition woild be) are not taxable.
Did your son get tuition exchange money? That isn’t really a scholarship. Where my friends work…on the college level…this benefit was added to their income in part, and therefore was taxed.
he got the Trustee scholarship.
Agreed…a tuition scholarship is not taxable.
But this poster should check to see if money received from tuition exchange is taxable. The university here considers it to be an employee benefit, and my friends paid tax on a portion of it.
ETA…I just looked on the tuition exchange website…and they mention publication 970 which deals with qualified educational expenses. Since tuition IS a qualified educational expense, it would seem this award should not be taxed. Usually the awards are for $33,000 or less…so .would,that cover the full tuition at USC?
According to the USC webpage https://benefits.usc.edu/education/
"Tuition Assistance granted for undergraduate work is not taxable if child qualifies as the employee’s dependent under applicable IRS provisions. "
This webpage also says “Every child who is eligible for Tuition Assistance is also eligible to compete for scholarships in the Tuition Exchange program, which is not a benefit, strictly speaking, but a selective and competitive scholarship program that allows children to earn their degree from another institution at greatly reduced cost.”
Maybe this is a dumb question, but have you even discussed this with your kids? Do they want to go to USC?