Is USC worth full tuition?

Chelseaaa217
Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:47:35 +0000

I just received my financial aid package and USC gave me no need-based aid. I will have to pay roughly $53,000 a year to attend, and that does not include plane tickets. This is the worst package from all of my schools.

If I attend USC, I run the risk of emerging from my undergraduate education about $60,000 in debt. At any of the other schools I got into, which I do not like as much as USC and do not fit me as well, I would emerge debt-free. I intend to go to medical school, so I will inevitably have a significant amount of debt when I enter the work force. But the difference is that if I go to USC, I will have to tack on additional debt from my undergrad years.

My dad has told me that he may be able to finance the additional $60,000 from money he has invested in our house, but this would leave him with virtually nothing in the way of retirement funds. I of course appreciate this very generous offer my dad has made, but I worry that perhaps USC is not worth $200,000+ over four years.

Any input? I am majoring in biology, possibly switching to global health and focusing on international research for cancer. I also am considering minoring in biotechnology. USC is one of the best international institutions, and has connections across seas that none of my other undergrad options have. USC is a great fit for me academically and socially, but I’m not sure that it’s lackluster reputation in the East (I am from CT) makes it worth the tuition cost. It would be entirely different if this were Harvard, where obviously the degree is worth the financial strain and the debt.