Does full = room and board.
For engineering, take the $$. Is there a discipline he’s leaning toward?
I’ll admit - passing up Stanford or MIT for engineering is crazy - but given most outcomes in engineering are relatively similar, I don’t see how you can pass it up.
The reward for hard work is saving nearly $400K.
USC is very respected and will still have fantastic outcomes.
There are some folks that will go to Stanford, invent a product and start a business - but I"m conservative - and it’s just an awesome achievement for your son (and you).
Best of luck.