Hello! I am currently trying to choose between UVA and USC and I am torn because they are both such great schools. I am planning on double majoring in Neuroscience and English. I have no received my financial aid from UVA yet; but I think it would be similar to USC’s offer but probably a bit more generous. UVA would be a 9 hour drive from home while USC would be a 4 hour plane ride. My parents aren’t totally cool with the idea of moving to California so that would also take a lot of convincing. I just want to know which school will provide the best opportunities and how my future will be different with either choice. Thank you 
My daughter faced the same choice, but after visiting the schools, she quickly eliminated UVa from contention. She is now a sophomore at USC and loves it. She is very thankful that she made the decision to travel from FL to USC. With UVa, she felt that it was too isolated and also preferred that USC was private vs public. The opportunities at USC and within the greater LA area are almost endless. The USC alumni network is also amazing. To me personally, I would have only encouraged my daughter to potentially consider Stanford, Yale, Princeton and Brown over USC. My younger daughter, now a HS junior, has already decided that USC is her first choice. And I am very thankful regarding her decision. As a parent, my impression of USC has only grown over the last two years. They are excellent at all of the things that are important to parents… from communication to financial aid to all of their various online portals related to registration, assistance, tracking, housing, etc. They are just quite simply a well-funded and well-oiled machine. USC has mastered the college experience, in my opinion, including everything related to the exchange of information. My final suggestion would be to look at the survey details provided by students themselves comparing the two colleges at https://colleges.niche.com/rankings/best-colleges/ I have found their rankings and parameters to be far more useful than other college ranking services. Good luck with your decision… either would be a great choice. So choose what is best for you…