<p>Hi, I'm currently deciding between USC and UTD (The University of Texas at Dallas). </p>
<p>UTD offered me a full ride, and USC's cost is manageable (with a lot of sacrifices/strain on my parents' end). I'm hoping to do pre-dental, which is a very expensive route. I'm not sure if I should take on loans for undergraduate, but at the same time any loans I take on at USC would be a drop in the bucket once I enter dental school. </p>
<p>I'm leaning towards USC because I feel like it would provide me with an overall superior college experience (for one, UTD doesn't even have a football team and only one dorm on campus), but when I think of it that way I just feel very selfish.</p>
<p>UTD actually has 2 dorms now if that makes a difference. I feel that UTD is superior for the pre-dental route educationally, I’ve even read that they’re adding coursework that allows Pre-Dental students the opportunity for hands on experience. Is USC better in the context of college experience? Of course it is, I actually was about to go there before I chose UTD. What I see in UTD is the ability to receive a top of the line education for free, and enjoy college not having to worry about money. Going to USC, you are going to make friends with some one America’s wealthiest people. Good for networking, yes; hard to do, also yes. Your recreational and spending costs will add on to the already high costs of going to school there. One thing that could motivate you to go to USC is the fact that as a dentist, you can easily pay off all your loans in a year since they make so much. But on the other side, if you decide to change your major; something MANY people claim they won’t do but they do once they take an elective and fall in love with a particular subject; you will have a hard time paying those bills. In my sincere opinion, I think you should go to UTD. The school is defiantly changing for the better. Its rank skyrockets every year, and the only way it goes is up. I say give it a try, if you hate it transfer, but I think you may be pleasantly surprised. UTD’s alumni seem to go far. And on the bright side, you’ll have plenty of money to do fun stuff on the weekends to go to restaurants and shopping, etc. Dallas is a great city too; and it’s close to home for you since your from Austin.</p>
<p>A full ride is hard to turn down. This is anecdotal, but i’m currently going to the dental school at UCLA and the dental student assigned to me is graduating in a few weeks, but he did his undergrad at UCSD and majored in philosophy. My point is that, in theory, you can go to a good dental school with any major. Take that statement with a grain of salt though.</p>
<p>USC’s a great school and will no doubt provide you with a great education, and many other resources i don’t think a school like UTD would even come close to being able to provide. Also realize that you can easily pay for your parents sacrifices after you become a dentist. However, you should note that, as stated above, many people do change their major, and if you don’t end up going to dental school then you might end up stuck with your parents in a bunch of debt, and no way for you, or them, to pay it off well.</p>
<p>my advice is check out USC’s campus if you can before making a decision. If you fall in love with it, go there; if you don’t, then go to UTD.</p>