Pomona vs. USC Trustee— thoughts?

PALMOM
Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:24:20 +0000

Will go ahead and throw my 2 bits in:
We get tuition remission at USC- ie it is free

1st S went to Harvey-Mudd. It was a lot of work and no play and son did not love it but got a great education and found employment easily

2nd S went to USC and got some scholarship money in addition to the tuition remission. He loved it - partied a LOT I never heard him discuss classes or academics but he loved the big sports stuff. post college jobs were a little tougher and he joined the military

3rd S is now at Pomona - he loves it and often tells us about specific classroom experiences - I am not sure if this son is having a better classroom experience than the USC one or is just more willing to share

For both S 1 and S3, I had to add a day of work to my schedule to pay for it.
The extra work is worth it to me for these boys to attend these colleges but you need to really sit down and decide what the money means to the family and what the sacrifice will do to everyone.
These are 2 very different schools. I honestly cannot imagine a better college experience than my youngest is having at Pomona but the middle son though USC was great and from a parent’s standpoint the “free” part was quite nice.