I have received one of the full-tuition scholarship from USC, which I’m enthused about. I was 80% set on attending when my dad brought this up.
I am planning on majoring in international relations, or something in that area like political science or public policy. I have received offers from Georgetown and Duke but I will most likely be paying close to full pay. However, my dad brought up that they are stronger in my field (Gtown specifically… foreign service program is amazing). If I were going to med school or something, I would have no qualms but I feel like when you do something in the social sciences you need to have a lot of connections on the East Coast or something. My mom did bring up that I am probably going to law/grad school and that I can specialize and go to an East Coast school then with the money I saved from going to USC. I kind of agree because I find it hard to justify $200k+ on Georgetown or Duke when I have this great offer. And going to USC will not harm my chances of an East Coast grad school, right?
Has anyone/anyone’s child gone for Trustee over other top private schools for the social sciences? What are they doing after graduation? Which grad/law school are they attending? How did they find their classes, professors, and were there ample research opportunities? Research opportunities in my field is very important to me, and I do think USC can provide me that, but want to know some first-hand experiences. Thanks!
Back in the day, when USC and most privates were much easier to get into for A students, you could attend without amassing thousands in debt. Be very careful. Grad school is uber expensive and you likely will get zero aid. IMHO, and I have friends who went to Duke and Georgetown, you should be grateful you have this opportunity and go to USC, which, btw, has the oldest IR school in America and a strong DC presence and very reputable DC semester program. I have a couple of USC friends who got into and went to Gtown Law as well. Regarding law, I got into Penn, Northwestern and Columbia Law but chose Michigan, and that was decades ago. Some of my closest friends got into H, Y, S, C. and Chicago Law as well. We all were poli sci, econ. and philosophy majors. USC has departmental honors programs that require theses which promote original research (opportunities are plentiful) and build strong faculty relationships that translate into letters of recommendation. Even if you don’t go that route, the classes are very small, some with fewer than 10 students. The cream rises to the top and as long as you get at least a 3.6 and 95th percent LSAT, you’ll get into a T14 law school. P.S., I turned down Stanford to attend USC and was on almost a full scholarship. (Two of my other USC friends, one a Trustee and the other a Stanford legacy, also turned down the Farm. And of my roomies, one turned down Harvard and the other Princeton. All of us were in an honors residential college. You’ll spend hours with other Trustees and top students discussing where you got in:-)) I left USC with $5,000 in loans. Congratulations and Fight On!
I am a Duke grad and alumni interviewer, so I’m a bit partial, but I agree with SeattleTW - take the money, make the most of your opportunities at USC (which isn’t exactly a slouch of a school), and good things will come to you in the future. Even if your parents can easily afford it, save their money, get a high quality education and keep your powder dry for a great grad school. Congrats and Good Luck!!
The school you attend has essentially no effect on your application. Its all GPA and LSAT unless you have a major hook. So by that standards, it really doesn’t matter how strong the social sciences are in terms of top school admissions. Considering that (and the fact that law school is super expensive), I would definitely go with the financial advantage of USC. As a Presidential Scholar who plans to go to law school, USC is almost a no-brainer for me.
USC’s political science is nothing noteworthy and definitely no where near Georgetowns. I would suggest their PPD major. The Price School of Public Policy is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the country. (I believe Georgetown just established their public policy school a few years ago) They offer a semester abroad program in DC for those wanting to pursue politics. And it is a small school and you get to know everyone in the major. If it were me I would take the money and go to USC. Also a visit is a must. Make sure you like the campus and atmosphere before you make a decision that will affect where you live for the next 4 years. All 3 are excellent schools and none of them will prohibit you from attending a great grad program.
@FriendlyNerd888 Not very heavily at the moment, but my parents are convinced I’m going to go to law school. I know I will end up pursuing advanced degrees so if not law, a Master’s/PhD program.
@taka89 The only school I haven’t visited is Georgetown, but that’s likely out of the option since it’s 67k a year for me. It’s probably just between Duke, Rice (just cause it’s close to home), and USC. I really did like USC when I visited. I stayed in Birnkrant and clicked with my host’s floor pretty well. Hoping it’s like that if I enroll – I am not interested in Greek life and none of them were either.
Also @SeattleTW / taka89 / anyone else: this kind of breaks the realm of USC but my mom’s been telling me that it’s best to get a broad undergraduate degree because it’s grad/law school when you specialize? I guess she was saying public policy is too specific but IR is alright (my intended major right now). Just wondering what your thoughts are and how that applied to the majors at USC.
I’m a corporate lawyer for a Fortune 500 company. I was a poli sci major and specialized in Southeast Asian politics and Chinese history at USC. (I was influenced by the book, “In Search of History,” by Theodore White.) My professors are well known in their respective fields. I’ve never heard of Gtown having a great poli sci department, and that might be true, but when I was at USC, Michigan had one of the best programs in the country, especially for election analysis.
And yes you are right – Gtown does not have a particularly strong poli sci program… SFS is their gemstone. I have ruled it out because my estimated COA is 67k/yr and even if I ask it won’t be brought down significantly. Going to visit Duke next week and looking into the intellectual atmosphere of USC!
Thought I would update: ruled out Duke because of cost but was notified of a half-tuition scholarship from Rice. Rice is still 20k more but I’m so confused. Anymore opinions/any current students in the social sciences would be helpful!
Anecdotal evidence: Friend who attended the same high school I did (who was a recent graduate and band assistant when I was a freshman bandie, which is how I know him) went to USC, then to Yale SOM for a PhD in their finance program. 2 other people I know (family friends) who both did USC undergrad (class of '06) and then went on to Duke Law and did a combined JD/MBA with Duke Fuqua. There are no dearth of opportunities at USC
Honestly, if its between a free education at USC and ~35k or so at Rice, I’d personally lean USC. The alumni network is MUCH stronger for USC, and in fact, you might even have a infinitesimally higher chance @ getting into east-coast grad schools, as grad. schools tend to sliiiiightly favor applicants that aren’t already in their own respective undergraduate systems (same for almost all types of grad. schools, including med. school).
This seems like a no-brainer to me. A USC degree will take you wherever you want to go, bar none. Beyond that, YOU are the ingredient that will get you into a grad school of your choosing. Top grades and testing, a USC degree in hand, and the sky is your limit. And…for (virtually) free? If you were my son/daughter, I would be severely disappointed if you were not “fighting on” this fall.
