Yh luckily we have the money to cover the costs to get me there 
Thanks
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How wonderful for you that you have the offer of full financial aid to not one but two US colleges, and the family does have the financial resources to be able to take care of your very substantial transportation costs!
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rejected from stanford and finally this process comes to an end. A lot of mixed feelings but overall iām excited for the future
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So i wanted to get advice on which school would be better for career outcomes and graduate school outcomes between fisk and southern miss. Just opportunities in general
First, try to think of the things you like - because being in the best environment for you will ensure you succeed and are happy.
For instance- and some may not matter to you:
Big city or Southern town about 50 miles to a beach?
Primarily HBCU in a diverse city or primarily White institution (with about 30% Black students) in a majority-Black town?
A 1,100 student private college or a 10,000 student public university ?
Do you have access to the Fiske Guide or Princeton reviewās Best Colleges ? (We could copy some parts) You can also check out Unigo or Niche, though you need to take these with a grain of salt.
Iāll try digging a bit more because I realize it may not be easy from Nigeria.
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so I would prefer a large city- Fisk
Primarily White institution, I would prefer a school with a mixture of races not 90% black- USM
I would prefer a large 10, 000 school tho iām not really sure about the differences between private and public in america- USM
Sadly i do not have access to the fiske guide or princeton research tho iāll research with Unigo and Niche. Thanks
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Iāll copy relevant bits from my guides.
Also, Fisk creates a tight knit community so 80% students live on campus. At USM most students live off campus, though the Honors Community lives there and is also tight-knit.
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If I were in your shoes, I would want a blend of the American college experience and a chance to build a broad network. Personally, I would choose USM. In the essence of full disclosure, I really like the Mississippi gulf coast (hanging out around the beach and fishing) so I have a bias in this process.
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Iād take a deep look into the collegeās websites including looking through the course catalogues online.
Also understand exactly what your costs would be for both colleges that are not covered by the scholarships (ex. mandatory health insurance, books, etc.).
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Through research on Niche, USM looks the better choice,
Expense wise iād have to pay more for fisk.
I think so far the only thing pushing me to fisk is the big city and the 3-2 program they have with vanderbilt (tho iām not sure how competitive it is).
For Now USM is in the lead in my mind
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Yh thats the main reason USM seems to be in the lead. Due to a way higher population the chance of networking is also way higher plus i pay less for here
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If you are required to purchase the collegeās mandatory health insurance, ask them if they will provide additional grant money to cover it. It can be quite expensive (often several thousand dollars a year, based on my two kidsā schools) ā but one of those schools provided a grant to cover the full amount for students who received need-based financial aid. But the students had to ask.
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For fisk all the extra expenses the scholarship does not cover is 3,385$ but i spoke some people at fisk i know in the same financial boat as me and he said he covers most of it through on campus work there.
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For southern mississippi i think he said itās about 1,200$ per semester for health insurance tho iām not too sure if the scholarship covers insurance. Iāll email them. The person tho says itās not much of a hassle to cover while at school
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Iāve seen you mention the attraction of being near a big city. Hattiesburg is really not all that far from New Orleans. If I were in your shoes, it would be all about the beach trips to Biloxi and Pensacola.
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Itās not quite so simple: USM is a regional school, so power networks wonāt be there. The Honors College will be a network on its own but the larger number wonāt matter as much. Fisk, on the orher habd, is known as an elite HBCU. Alumni are fiercely proud and lots of companies would either recruit there or know the name.
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Congratulations on your full-ride offers!
Iām going to tag in @ChangeTheGame and @EconPop as they may have more insight on Fisk.
Looking at the number of majors who earn a degree in CS (and the depth through a PhD in the field), I suspect that USM would be a stronger option for your major. That said, however, I would not underestimate the networking capacity of an HBCU, and many prominent employers are now doing more targeted outreach to HBCUs.
Wishing you the best as you make this decision and embark on the next stage of your educational journey!
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Thanks for the insightšš¾
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Tho I just want to find out if you were in my shoes which one youād pick
For context these are what Iād want in a school
Large population
Career outcomes relative to the other school
Chance of applying to top grad schools
Nice sports facilities
Moderate political setting. Not too overly conservative or liberal
Good internship opportunities for CS because CS at the moment is over saturated
And a mix of people of different races on campus
Lastly, Academics- tho from my research USM seems to be clear of Fisk academically
Pls anyone is free to say which one theyād pick if they had this preferences
Iām not sufficiently familiar with the schools to give an informed opinion on all of these, but this is my sense (bullets added by me):
I will also tag @DadOfJerseyGirl who would have better insight from a CS point of view.