USC vs. UCSB Regents (vs. Northeastern)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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So I got into both of these schools: for USC, I got into the Computer Science/Business Administration major, and for UCSB, I got into the Computer Engineering major (will probably switch to Comp Sci though). Now I’m stuck trying to decide between the two, because USC will cost me approximately $50k/yr and UCSB will cost me approximately $21-24k/yr with a regents scholarship. I’ve talked it out with my parents, and they say we’d need to take loans for everything. So I’m looking at a total debt of either $200k or like $86k.

USC has been my dream school for the past four years. Every sacrifice I’ve made, every late night, every AP class–all were made believing I would go to USC. I’m beyond infatuated with the school, and I’m having extreme troubles being rational about this decision.

One other option is Northeastern University, which I’d also be majoring in Computer Science at. My EFC there is about $35k/yr. after aid and scholarships. I’m not 100% sure whether that cost is worth it or whether I want to go there either, so any information would be helpful there too.

I want to go to my dream school, make good connections in the Trojan network, and get recruited at a big tech company out of undergrad, but $200k in debt is steep, even if I get an $80k or so tech job out of undergrad. So my question is, is USC Viterbi worth it over UCSB (or Northeastern)? I’m going into debt either way, and I’m incredibly dead-set on my dream school, but I don’t wanna dig my parents and myself into this hole. PLEASE HELP!

*PS: NYU’s Tandon school also gave me a $47k scholarship, making my EFC about $18k for the first year–NYU didn’t indicate if the scholarship would continue past my freshman year. Is Tandon even close to worth it, though?

-THANK YOU

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Take the least expensive path. Are your parents prepared to pay nothing for you to attend college? If so, you are stuck because their (high-ish) income means you do not qualify for strong FA grants. The money smart move may be to attend a CC for two years, live at home, save all that money, then transfer to a UC. If you get great grades, work on getting very good internships and make connections with your professors/instructors for good letters of rec, you will have no problem landing a great job post-undergrad no matter which path you take. This is really more about your dream infatuation and your financial reality, sorry to be so blunt.

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@nathan98 Dunno if you chose yet, but NYU-Tandon has great post-grad outcomes, esp. in NY. I would check that financial offer out more thoroughly (if you were interested in Brooklyn at all.) NYU has a great pipeline to “Silicon Alley” as well as Wall Street. You can also work a bit, to offset the 18k.

But 200k debt vs. 80k debt is a serious difference, even over 40 years of work. UCSB has a pretty good feed to both Silicon Valley and “Silicon Beach” as does USC.

I would say that while Madbean’s advice is financially correct, I would consider if the lower-priced options (UCSB or NYU-Tandon) might not be worth it, depending on your exact circumstances. You may be able to grab better/more valuable summer gigs from a place like UCSB or NYU-Tandon if you are there as a freshman and sophmore. Some engineering students are able to pull in 3 - 5k + over a summer of work.

You may have already made your mind up, but seems like a conversation with NYU and a serious consideration of UCSB are best ideas. Go to SC for your MBA!