I never thought I’d have to start this thread, but I’m really conflicted now.
USC has been my first choice for the past 5 years. I was accepted to the School of Cinematic Arts, I got a full-tuition scholarship, visited campus in February and loved everything about it. I’ve already applied for housing and spoken to potential roommates, and applied to the marching band. Basically, I was really looking forward to attending, and had already opened my applicant portal to submit my enrollment deposit, when I got accepted to Penn yesterday.
Penn has been one of my top choices for really long, and although it came very close to USC on my list, it was never quite up there. Basically, as an international asking for financial aid, I was pretty sure that I would not get in. I also don’t like the fact that their Cinema Studies major is mostly theory, and as a person who cannot bear cold weather, I am really intimidated by the winters there… However, it is a top school, I could double major in Criminology there, and it is very generous with financial aid. My EFC is $500/year.
My heart is set on USC, but money is an issue and I feel like it would be crazy not to accept Penn’s financial aid offer. I’d have to pay for everything apart from tuition at USC, and since I’m international, that would be really tough. I could manage for the first year but unless I got selected as an RA, my mother would have to take out loans after that. At the same time, I feel like when it comes to Film, USC’s School of Cinematic Arts is the best option, and I could get much better internship opportunities or even job offers with USC’s connections.
I know only I can decide in the end, but I’d love some insight!
The opportunities you will have in film at USC SCA will be very difficult to match at Penn, despite the quality education you would receive there. Los Angeles is the film capital of the world. If you honestly cannot bear cold, do not move to Philadelphia. If you can manage it, go to USC…even if you do not have work/study on your financial aid, there are jobs to be had on or around campus for students.
Email USC and ask for a work-study award, even a small one. Indeed, there are plenty of jobs on campus, but for internationals it’s very important to have a work study award in order to have a shot at them. That should alleviate things in terms of costs.
You may have to sacrifice a bit too, and spend some of your summers on campus, working for a professor or/and in the library, rather than go home; but if cinema is your passion, it’s hard to pass on USC’s Cinematic Arts. It’s a chance most aspiring film makers would give an arm for.
@MYOS1634 Thank you, that’s some very helpful advice! I will email them and hope I get a positive response. Apparently they also provide financial assistance to Trustee Scholars (students who get full-tuition scholarships) when they’re really in need, but I don’t know how much of that is available for internationals. SCA also has a lot of continuing student scholarships I will probably apply for.
I wouldn’t mind sacrificing my summers, I’m already planning on staying there for the winter break, as I can work on campus full time during those weeks. That would also mean I won’t need to pay for the airfare…
Have you asked the folks on the USC forum here on College Confidential? Certainly appealing your financial aid award, with the offer from Penn in hand, is worth your time.
As others have said, for film it’s no contest. USC is the better school–and I say that as someone who went to UCs for undergrad and grad
^great idea: ask them if they could reassess your financial aid package in light of the UPenn package and your EFC $500. At worst, they’ll say no, you won’t have lost anything.
Thanks for the help everyone! The problem is that I received a merit scholarship at USC, not financial aid. That is why finding a job will also be more difficult, as most of them are for federal work-study students.
@merc81 So we meet again, kid. I know how you feel. About Hollywood, about the movies…but it was bound to happen. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.
Email USC, show them the Penn offer: can they reassess their financial evaluation in light of UPenn’s? Can they at least throw in a work study award for 10 hours/week?
“Email USC, show them the Penn offer: can they reassess their financial evaluation in light of UPenn’s? Can they at least throw in a work study award for 10 hours/week”
I strongly second the suggestion! USC does NOT give out Trustee scholarships to just anyone, so they obviously WANT you!
I think you will be able to make USC work with some additional FA , workstudy and by watching your expenses there.
So…USC would be excellent for film and I agree that it’s great that you have a full scholarship there. If USC was willing to alter their offer to match Penn then you’d have no problem.
But finances seem to be a significant concern here, and it sounds like paying the additional costs above tuition is going to be a struggle for your mother. Getting selected as an RA is not really something to rely on, since at campuses at which room & board are covered they can be competitive. (Also, you shouldn’t be an RA to primarily cover your room & board costs - I had a couple of RAs like that, and they were generally unhappy.)
Can your mom even afford to borrow the additional money to send you to USC? If you are international, she might not be eligible for Parent PLUS loans, so from where would she get the money? You don’t want to be in the position where after your first year at USC, you have to transfer somewhere else because you can no longer afford to attend. (That’s not even taking into account that you’re an undergrad, and undergrads change their minds about their major and career plans all the time.)
So I think you should give some serious thought to Penn’s offer. $500 is a big difference from the $15-20K it probably costs to pay for everything besides tuition at USC. And Penn isn’t exactly a slouch; you can get great job offers and internships through Penn as well.
USC must pass one last test. If you had been accepted to Penn first (avg. Jan high: 4C; cold but not intimidating), and had enthusiastically begun to make preparations for attending under the slim chances of a USC acceptance, and then had heard you were accepted at USC, but with a lower financial aid offer, would you have then given up Penn? The answer must be yes for USC to be the right choice.
Seems to be the deciding factor is how devoted are you to film? If very devoted, go to USC. If not, go to Penn.
I went to USC, though not for film. The film school did make a big deal about how connections matter in Hollywood, and that no school has better connections than USC.
That said, I also remember a friend who went to the film school who laughingly said it was, “Highly overrated and highly over-expensive.” He never got a job in the film industry, but he did find something he liked in the radio industry.
A merit scholarship is not a problem, it is actually much better than need-based aid because it renews for 4 years. Need-based grants can and do change every year and often students are expected to pay more of their own way each year.
I lived in Philadelphia for 20 years. My oldest child is a junior at USC. Without hesitation based on everything in your first post, USC is the better choice.
How will you manage the cost difference, and how much hardship will that cause if you choose USC?
How sure are you that you will not change your major? Most students believe they are sure, but most of them change. An advantage to Penn is the quality of its programs overall. However, if you are sure that this is your only interest area, then that will not matter.
