<p>Okay.. Here is the situation.<br>
My family does not have that much money and we want the best school, best scholarship, and best experience. Please give me your input.</p>
<p>I can go to USD in the honors program with a scholarship of $12,000 a year.
--I really like USD because I surf, not sure if it is that reputable.
I can go to Santa Clara with a scholarship of $13,000 a year.
--I don't really want to go here. For some reason they have my major as Ancient Studies. Anyway, I just don't like the location as opposed to SD or LA.
I can go to Occidental with no aid at all.
--I really like Oxy but it is nearing $40,000 a year and that is too much money. </p>
<p>Thank you!!</p>
<p>i think oxy is definitely more "prestigious" than the other, in terms of general academics and ranking for liberal arts colleges. (i'm using that term with caution, however... because i know USD and Santa Clara has their strong points too.) the problem would be no financial aid from oxy. to go for the middle ground, then.. how about University of San Diego? when i did my research on schools, this is what i had on it: "beautiful campus, friendly and beautiful people, expensive tuition, some call it extension of high school, called the country club or expensive resort on a hill," if that helps.</p>
<p>USSD honors. If you could afford oxy it'd be my choice, have you asked if they can help you in fin aid?</p>
<p>Yeah. I am going to ask them what I can do.</p>
<p>USD is VERY reputable and a great school. I know many students who have turned down more prestigious schools to attend USD and they have all done very, very well in terms of grad school admissions, career opportunities after graduation, and their education. I would say that it is on par with Santa Clara in terms of academics. Oxy may be slightly more prestigious on a national basis but is not all that far above the other two in terms of academic quality (don't flame me here, just my personal opinion).</p>
<p>One thing you may want to consider is how much you value diversity. Oxy is the most diverse in terms of race of the bunch. SCU is fairly diverse. USD is not very diverse. If you are uncomfortable being around people of different races, Oxy may not be for you.</p>
<p>Seeing that OXY isn't giving you any aid, I would chose USD. You won't pay as much, get a good education, and you can surf!</p>
<p>I thank you for your opinions and advice. I am not that big on diversity. I would not go to a school just for diversity. Yes, Oxy may have some prestige over the others but if they won't cringe in price I will cower and do USD. I am complacent knowing I can surf in 10 minutes and still be at a good school. <em>I feel like dogberry with malapropisms, sorry lol</em></p>