Tulane w/ 20k/year vs. NYU vs. USC spring semester admit. HELP!

nalalovessimba
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:11:05 +0000

I am SO SO glad to know there’s someone else in the same situation I’m in! I’m also deciding between Tulane and USC spring semester, and also UNC-Chapel Hill, but I live in Chapel Hill, so I don’t think I want to go there, so it’s pretty much between Tulane and USC. My thoughts so far (and I just spent my whole spring break obsessing, so this will be long)…
Tulane
Pros: [ul]
[]they gave me lots of money
[]I would be in the honors program
[]medium-sized -> not too big, not too small
[]lots of small classes
[]excellent programs in my intended major (creative writing/history)
[]meaningful community service opportunities
[]fascinating culture of New Orleans - not as in getting drunk in the Quarter, but because I’m interested in the history and also the creative environment it fosters
[]I could be on a varsity sports team[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[]lesser academic reputation
[]b/c of reputation, harder to get into graduate school, might get stuck in the south b/c/o the stigma that is attached to southern schools
[]party school reputation[/ul]
USC spring semester
Pros:[ul]
[li]also great creative writing & history programs[/li][]well-respected, graduate school opportunities
[]spring semester - I could go to Peru and teach English, stay home and work so I’d have money
[]spring semester - it’s a gap year without the typical problem of becoming an adult an not being able to relate as easily to kids who were in school
[]I could learn dramatic writing, which is really difficult to learn[/ul]
Cons: [ul]
[li]might not get bumped to fall semester[/li][]realistically, I wouldn’t end up going to Peru or anything b/c it’s so expensive. I would be staying home and working, and that would be horribly boring and awful
[]I already have all the credits I could get from going to community college from APs
[]I don’t want to miss the first part of freshman year, especially at such a huge school where it’s so easy to get lost
[]horrible part of town
[]I’m from a college town. I’m excited about living in a metropolitan area, but LA is HUGE and I’m a little scared of it[/ul]