<p>“He’s leaning towards USC mostly because he got a better “vibe” while visiting USC. The laid back atmosphere of the students and campus, the facilities and city setting are more attractive to him at USC .”
And thats important. He should listen to his gut. Don’t worry about the distance mom, its not a big deal to take a plane ride cross country, especially for young people. You can ask him to Skype you so you can “see” him more often.
I predict that in the next 4 years USC will continue to climb the rankings, and you DS will have no problem with name recognition there by the time he graduates.
I don’t have any knowledge about RAing. But I will tell you that USC offers many opportunities to earn extra money doing research both during the school year and during summer through the SURF and SOAR programs. The TO program is worth coming to USC by itself- the best Humanities profs teach it, and you get the chance to meet other really smart kids in those small classes. When you get to upper division classes all class sizes are small.
When is he going to do orientation? Don’t let him wait until Aug.when he comes out for classes. The TO classes will be filled by then. FYI ,He really needs to do it earlier, which means a flight to LA in June or July.</p>
<p>what is the closest large airport to you? have you checked out Southwest fares from Raleigh/ Durham to LAX?</p>
<p>Don’t live in NC. He’s OOS. Airports would be NYC area airports. Also, being an RA wouldn’t be so much for the $ as it would be for the ease of living on campus. He also wants to do a study abroad semester which at most schools (UNC included) means that he just doesn’t sign up for a dorm that semester. At USC he’d have to sublet his portion of his apt (roommates willing of course) or pay housing at USC and simultaneously at the abroad loaction. Kind of an expensive proposition when considering a semester’s rent is about 6k.</p>
<p>read this re study abroad/ USC housing:
[Study</a> Abroad Frequently Asked Questions > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://dornsife.usc.edu/study-abroad-faqs/#aid1]Study”>http://dornsife.usc.edu/study-abroad-faqs/#aid1)</p>
<p>"Students who live in housing that is both “owned and managed by USC” [ which is ALL on campus housing] rather than only “managed by USC” and are accepted to participate in a USC-approved semester study abroad program are eligible to be released from their university housing contract for the semester they are away provided they meet all deadlines set by USC Housing. Such students are eligible to particpate in the USC Housing Renewal (UHR) process; however, there is no absolute guarantee that students will be able to reenter university housing upon return from an overseas program. Students in USC housing who go on a year-long study abroad program are not eligible for UHR.</p>
<p>son’s housemates never had problems subletting his room when travelling abroad. There are always lots of kids leaving and coming back to campus, transferring in[ over 1000/year!] , new Spring admits, etc., etc.</p>
<p>there are also lots of study abroad scholarships available.see link
<a href=“http://dornsife.usc.edu/usc-and-outside-overseas-scholarships/[/url]”>http://dornsife.usc.edu/usc-and-outside-overseas-scholarships/</a></p>
<p>those listed above are only for CAS students. there are others availabe as well</p>