<p>I have been accepted for undergraduate admission to both USC and University of Miami. I am coming in undecided, but with a focus on Biology, Psychology, and possibly Neuroscience. At USC was invited to apply for the Thematic Option but have not yet been notified of acceptance or not. I received the Dickenson Scholarship at UM for 20,000 a year and was chosen to go into the PRISM program which is an honors program for science and math students. </p>
<p>Luckily, I am in a situation where I can afford full tuition at USC, though the $20,000 discount is clearly a huge draw. I am from the Northeast, so both locations are far away. I am just looking for some opinions on the subject. Any help is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>USC and UM were the top two on my last child’s list a few years ago. We visited UM twice and I already had one going to USC at that time, so we knew both schools well. The schools are similar considering the range of all universities, but in every important factor I would rate USC significantly higher. Where UM is an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10 for just about everything, USC is a 9 or 10. </p>
<p>We were actually in the middle of a spring break trip to Miami, where our second, multi-day visit to UM was part of the agenda, when USC’s financial aid offer went up on its web portal for us to see. (We already had UM’s FA package, which was very good.) That’s the moment we found out it would be possible to pick USC. I had to insist that we complete our look at UM, but no one’s heart was really in it. Never a tinge of regret or doubt that choosing USC was the right decision.</p>
<p>Like you, we live remote from both locations. Unlike you, one sibling was already at USC so that was a strong draw. Another difference, I think, is that with FA the out of pocket costs were going to be the same, if not slightly less at USC. I read you as saying UM will be $20000 less than USC. That would have been a deal killer for us.</p>
<p>So to summarize I would say you have to decide whether the extra $20k/year cost justifies picking the 9 out of 10 choice versus the 8 out of 10. You only get to go around once in life, but that is a lot of dough.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input. I still have yet to see USC or have an in depth visit to Miami (I am going to Miami next Monday and to USC the following week), so it is hard for me to make an educated decision. I feel like it is the cost/location/surroundings (with my brother in Orlando and my father about 30 minutes from the Miami campus) vs the academics and “Trojan Community” of USC. I also have UMass Amherst Honors program which would be even cheaper than Miami.</p>
<p>Let us know how it goes. Right now son is leaning towards USC, but he has gotten merit aid from Miami of 24k/yr which is great. But we felt that USC even without aid would be a better experience for him. Still in deciding stages.</p>
<p>Will do, and I would appreciate it if you let me know as well! Are you planning on going out to see the campuses? What part of the country are you from?</p>
<p>I am a parent. We live in Asia as expats. Went for college tours 2 weeks ago in the spring break, visited Santa Clara, Gtech, UT Austin, Washu and USC. Did not have time to visit Rice, Vandy, CMU and Miami. Regret now not going to Miami. Have heard good things about it.</p>
<p>Son was deferred then rejected at GTech so we wasted a trip I feel although son really wanted to see it. I did not like it at all. </p>
<p>Santa Clara/USC/UT/WashU were all awesome - different yes, but still you could easily like what they each had to offer. </p>
<p>Son did not attend class or visit the dorms so I am not sure about that. My favorite was Santa Clara Campus because it is just so beautiful and easy to navigate. Plus it location is superb. It was a nice and crisp day, really brought out the beauty of the campus and the buildings.</p>
<p>Sure, will do. What are your top choices as of now? I think for son weather was the biggest issue at first (no cold) but now he is slowly getting open to it. Missouri is not as bad as say Chicago I guess. Still, it will be cold enough to dress up and wear gloves etc. </p>
<p>Please let us know how you like USC/Miami, good luck!!</p>
<p>My friends’ d goes to WashU and loves it!! But I must remind you all that St. L is freezing cold. Her heavy wool coat just didn’t do the job and she wears a full down parka, wool scarf, double socks, gloves, fur-lined boots from Nov-mid-March. This past winter was one of the snowiest and iciest in years–so you may want to check out the actual temps. Many SoCal kids visit WashU on spring break and they don’t understand the full and long blast of winter they signed on for until they are attending.</p>
<p>^^ We were there end of March, it was a cloudy and windy day, we were just wearing a normal jacket with short sleeve shirts inside and we were sooooooo cold!! I told son, imagine this weather and subtract 20 degrees from that and it will probably be this cold in winter!! haha</p>
<p>Someone just told me that in the movie ‘Up in the Air’ majority of the scenes were shot in St Louis, incl the snowy one. Wow!! That looked cold for someone who lives on the equator!!</p>
<p>S1 graduated from Miami last December and S2 and I just visited USC as part of his school search, (he’s a junior). From what I know of Miami and what I saw at USC the schools are amazingly similar.</p>
<p>S1’s experience at Miami was sensational. He got to know a number of his professors extremely well, took part in numerous Marine Science research projects and is now employed by the Rosenstiel School of Marine Sciences. Every aspect of the info session and tour at USC echoed the same opportunities there.</p>
<p>As for the student body, outside of the college logos on the T-Shirts, I’d defy anyone to describe any dramatic difference between the two campuses. Both have hugely diverse campuses. As for how “monied” they are, it is impossible to tell. My son is a down-to-earth, live-on-the-beach-and-do-research type, he had no problem finding like-minded types and partied as much or as little as he wanted.</p>
<p>Finally, much is made about the area immediately surrounding USC; after having visited I am totally clueless as to what people are talking about. We deliberately got off of the highway and drove down Hoover and some of the other surrounding streets, I never once felt even vaguely uncomfortable. The further away from campus you get the poorer the area becomes, but low income does not equal high crime. If you walk around alone at 3AM with earbuds and playing with your iPhone you’re at risk anywhere in any city. But I have NO concerns about the surrounding area.</p>
<p>In the end the schools are very similar; there are certainly differences between the two cities, there is most definately an LA-Vibe and a Miami-Vibe, only you can decide which one you like. Both are very urban (USC a bit more so) in very vibrant exciting locations, it’s hard to imagine how you could go wrong at either. That said, I’d be hard pressed to say that one is $20K/yr “better” than the other. My only disagreement with dt123 is that having lived Miami I’d say both schools are 8.5s; the extra half point will come from your own personal taste and situation.</p>
<p>We did not find the surrounding area near USC dreadful at all. Heck, we lived in the happening part of London, yet our HS kids were getting mugged on a daily basis, so much so that the morning assemble used to have an update on the latest muggings!! Starting freshman year kids were allowed to go out on the high street to buy lunch and the kids used to go out in groups to avoid trouble. My son refused to go out the first few months because he was so scared.</p>
<p>Although we have not visited U Miami, it does seem to have a lot in common. Son’s good friend who is football player will go to Miami as he did not get into USC and he has visited both. He grew up in San Diego before coming here.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input vinceh. I just got back from my trip to Miami and I must say I loved it. I still have not seen USC (I am going this coming Saturday). I hope that once I see both schools the decision will be clear. Then I just have to wait for my returns from the waitlist.</p>
<p>Yes, I was definitely pleasantly surprised. What helped was that I was put into contact with someone who set up this great day for me full of meetings with people in high places at the University. They made me feel like they truly wanted me to come their, and gave me the types of personal contacts that are priceless. For example, I met with a senior vice provost who told me that if I ended up at Miami I could count on him for support. I know it sounds kind of corny, but it is a nice thing to know.</p>
<p>I ate on campus, but not in a dining hall, at the food court. I had pizza for the classic Sbarro, so it was just like a typical Sbarro.</p>
<p>I just got back from LA and I did the Explore program for the day at USC. It was a nice general overview of the school (walking tour/neighborhood bus tour) but I felt like it was not really all that personal. I would love to talk to a current student (preferably an upperclassman who has been there a while) in my department. Though I am coming in undecided, I am most likely going to major in either Biology or Neuroscience. If there is anyone who wouldnt mind taking the time to talk with me, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>