May 1st is approaching and I have only 2 weeks to decide and commit to a school. I am stuck between two and haven’t made any progress since decisions were released. Currently I am stuck between UMD and USC. At USC I received the half tuition scholarship and paying the rest of the tuition will be manageable. However, I received the banneker/key scholarship from UMD and will not have to pay for tuition, boarding, or books. Paying off USC’s tuition will be difficult, but I loved the school and they have a great biomedical engineering program. I am not especially interested in attending UMD, however, it is hard to pass up a full ride. If anyone could help me narrow down between these two that would be great.
USC isn’t really a more prestigious school for engineering. You are getting an amazing deal from UMCP!
You don’t mention housing or food costs for USC. Would you commute from home?
What do you ned to do to maintain the scholarships? Can you afford either place if you would lose the scholarships?
What would your travle costs be like?
Who is responsible for covering the difference between USC and UMD? Will anyone need to borrow more than the standard federal loans?
Finaid.org has a number of useful financial calculators. Run one for comparing award letters, and one for loan repayment, and see what the numbers look like.
The housing and food costs would add up to about 12,000 and the rest of the tuition would cost about 27,660. I live in Maryland currently, however, I am not intimidated by the distance. In order to maintain the scholarships I would have to maintain a specific gpa. Im pretty sure UMD’s required gpa is 3.5 while USC’s required gpa is 3.2. My parents said they would cover my tuition and accomodations at USC up to a certain point, but I would have to work an on campus and summer job for the 4 years I intended to study there. I would have to borrow minimal loans to go to USC, but I could probably pay them off in a year.
You would be wise to attend Maryland. It’s ridiculous to take on debt for an undergraduate degree when you have such an excellent option which will allow you to save for grad school as well as to graduate debt-free. It would cost nearly $40k per year for you to go to USC and there is no way a degree from there or anywhere else is worth $160k more than one from UMCP…
Thinking that out of state options are always better is very common in high school seniors and IMO reflects a very limited perspective.
Do you have any younger siblings? I’m sure your parents would appreciate your not putting them in a more difficult position financially if they need to help any younger sisters or brothers with their college expenses.
This should help you narrow down the choice 
I replaced the college with “new car.” Enjoy!
May 1st is approaching and I have only 2 weeks to decide and commit to a car. I am stuck between two and haven’t made any progress since decisions were released. Currently I am stuck between a brand new free Lexus and buying a BMW for $80k plus interest. The BMW is half off of $160k and paying the rest of the 80k plus interest will be manageable, maybe. However, the new Lexus is free. Making my BMW car payments will be difficult, but I love BMWs and they have great gas mileage. I am not especially interested in a free Lexus, however, it is hard to pass up a new Lexus if it’s free. If anyone could help me narrow down between these two that would be great.