<p>We received about $4000 in gift aid and left with balance due of $60,000.
We are not rich but can pay the tuition, but I am not sure if its worth the money.
If it was Stanford, I wouldn't mind paying but USC I am not so sure.
The alternate choice of school for my son would be UC Davis.</p>
<p>That really depends on a few factors.
- Class size - USC, as a private school has much smaller classes than UC Davis. Some people are fine with large classes while others really prefer smaller classes.
- Ranking/Prestige - Both schools are top 50 universities (USC is 23rd and Davis is 39th) according to the US News and World Reports. Honestly there isn’t much of a difference in terms of prestige (like you said we’re not talking about HYPS), but if you go purely off rankings USC is a “better” school.
- Future Plans - If you’re looking to go premed UC Davis has a great premed program. USC also has premed, but you’ll get more bang for your buck at Davis.
- Tuition - while you said you could pay for USC, Davis will save you about 30k per year (120k over four years).
- Environment - Davis is a great, laid back city while USC is in the middle of a rougher area of LA. Kids at Davis are also really known for being laid back.
Both schools are great. Personally I’d go with Davis since I prefer the environment and lower cost, but both schools are really good options. Considering the application pool this year -and the number of high caliber kids rejected from UC Davis and USC- you should congratulate your son (and yourself) and know that you really can’t make a wrong decision here. </p>
<p>also major: Engineering, Busines, theater, film school or liberal arts?</p>
<p>He will be majoring in Bio.</p>
<p>UC Davis is excellent for science programs. If it was film I would say USC.</p>
<p>if premed/prehealth, I’d save the money and go to Davis. (Not as many gunners.)</p>
<p>Davis, hand down! Great school for a bio major, and you can bank the extra $$ for grad school. </p>
<p>It wouldn’t be worth it considering you have Davis as an option, imo.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Based on their respective class schedules, for this term, it looks like general chemistry at UC Davis has a lecture of about 340 students with labs of 16-24. USC splits its general chemistry enrollment of 436 into three lectures of 117-183 with labs of 12-18 (though all three lectures have a common quiz time and share labs).</p>
<p>So while USC has smaller classes, its classes are not necessarily small.</p>
<p><a href=“https://registrar.ucdavis.edu/courses/search/index.cfm”>https://registrar.ucdavis.edu/courses/search/index.cfm</a>
<a href=“302 Found”>http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/20133/chem</a></p>
<p>If your S is planning to go to professional school with his bio degree (which most do), he should definitely choose the cheaper school, UCD in-state is a bargain and he will get a great education. Perhaps he could apply to USC for grad/pro school? Congrats to your S–great options to have!</p>
<p>The Davis atmosphere is more friendly and earthy and welcoming kind of vibe.
USC is more superficial, “popular.” and partying type of vibe.</p>
<p>USC has MUCH a stronger network of alumni and connections.
Rank is sort of the same general tier.</p>
<p>Both schools have med schools as well, so you can do undergraduate work and things related to both med schools. I don’t know the exact rank of the med schools, but they are similar as well.</p>
<p>Assuming pre-med, would choose Davis and save the money for med school.
Would choose USC if want business, film, many pre-professional type of programs.</p>
<p>UCD also has a vet school and an animal science program if the bio major turns into something else. Great city, bikes everywhere and fun and safe atmosphere. Son’s GF is at USC now and she is at the film school for her graduate studies. While she loves the program (internships and connections) the COL in the surrounding area and the area itself leave much to be desired. They both prefer Davis.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>USC includes hidden perks in some majors. My D has had friends travel to South America or Hawaii at the expense of the school for a week.
If your son can maintain excellent grades, USC is generous with scholarship money.
The USC network is fantastic.</p>
<p>USC wins for alumni network, but honestly, if it were me, I’d save the money and choose Davis for bio. I just don’t see USC being worth three times as much unless I’m made of money.</p>
<p>UC Davis</p>
<p>The UC system also used to gave a free library shuttle bus that would take UC students from one campus to another and back back in the 1980s. Not sure if it’s still available, but we were able to use it to get from Davis to Berkley for the day. Davis also used to have a program where you could be certified in using the observatory and could use it in the evening by signing up on a space available basis. </p>
<p>USC also has free and low cost shuttle service to surrounding areas and light rail. </p>
<p>Saving your money --$120k-- will allow you and your child a lot of great options. </p>
<p>Thanks for all your inputs, I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>The shuttle service still exists. </p>
<p><a href=“http://fleet.ucdavis.edu/bus/schedule”>http://fleet.ucdavis.edu/bus/schedule</a></p>
<p>My son has used it to get from Berkeley to Davis to watch his high school robotics team compete and two of his best friends from high school that attend Davis have used it to visit him on weekends, crash in his dorm room and take BART to San Francisco. None of them brought cars to school, but great public transit options make it unnecessary. </p>
<p>D1 went to USC film school with 1/2 tuition off. She loves USC and I do to. When D2 was offering Engineering/CS at USC with the same merit as your child, she declined and went to a UC with Regents. The rationale for that is CS at her UC is much better major than USC. However, I have to say, USC is very good for entrepreneurs. D2 is not quite ready for that so she declined USC. </p>
<p>In this scenario, I would go for Davis and save the $ for grad school.</p>