<p>This past month has been a crazy month for me…</p>
<p>I’m an international student applying to USC as a transfer from a Ohio private college in my junior year. After I applied I was for sure I would never get in so I moved to NYC for the summer without bothering to check my school mailbox. I even planned to study abroad in Australia this coming fall, and was supposed to go July 18. So on July 16th, my current school counselor called and asked me if I want her to go through my mail for me because apparently I have had mail piling up. Without a thought about USC, I said, sure, what the hell. Turned out I got a huge packet from USC - and it was an acceptance letter! I am admitted for the spring semester of 2010, which starts in January. </p>
<p>I really want to go to USC, but all the scholarships have been given out. And because I am an international student, no financial aid is available. I am looking into taking loans, but seems like the chance is pretty slim because again, I am a foreigner. </p>
<p>I am trying my best to figure out the best way to finance my USC education, so I have a question to ask: since I applied to USC when I was already in my third year of college, I am hoping that most of my credits will transfer and that I will have to go to USC for less than two years (although I was accepted as a junior). Is there any degree requirement dictating that I have to go to USC for 2 years in order to graduate with its degree? </p>
<p>Also, if you are aware of any way that I can finance my education, please let me know. Any USC international students?</p>
<p>USC only allows you to transfer in 64 units no matter how many units you’ve completed. You are required to earn 64 units in residence in order to earn a degree from USC. I suppose you can graduate in three semesters, but taking 21+ units per semester is likely going to kill you. Of course, you can take summer classes at SC to reduce the load, but it comes out to somewhere around $5,000 per class (tuition and fees) for summer courses. </p>
<p>It looks like financing options are limited for International Students. Here’s a link to USC’s International Student Financial Aid page:</p>
<p>Thank you airborne for your reply! Would another option be taking summer courses somewhere else cheaper? Would they accept that?
Also, congrats to all the future Trojans. Good news is my mother is willing to pay for 2 semesters’ worth of tuition and I have to find loans for the rest and work to cover my living expenses. Bad news is that most of her savings is going toward my education.
With my business degree at USC, will I be able to find a job after graduation to pay her back?</p>
<p>You have to take 64 units at USC in order to earn your degree. Even if you were to take 20 units at other schools during the summer, it wouldn’t change the fact that 64 units must be completed at USC. </p>
<p>As for getting a job, there are no guarantees–especially in this economy. USC does have an amazing alumni network that spans the globe, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be recruited right out of school. It’s really going to depend on the industry, and whether you are willing to take an entry-level job. Many of the higher paying jobs in business require an MBA as the minimum education level for entry-level positions. If you’re willing to take a sales job, you will have an easier time finding employment, but it’s a cut-throat world. If you don’t meet your quotas, you’ll be looking for a new job every three months.</p>
<p>Have you considered staying where you are and then applying to USC for grad school? They actually have much better financial aid available for International Graduate Students. You can save your mom a lot of money, too. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to be a downer, but it’s important that you consider whether going to SC will be worth the extra costs and time. You’re looking at two years at $54,000 per year. You may be able to shave that down to $50,000 if you live in the ghetto and survive off of ramen noodles, but what fun is that? If you bust your ass and take classes in the summer (most summer courses only cover GE requirements), you may be able to finish in a year and a half. That’s $75,000 plus whatever summer school comes out to. You’re looking at a minimum of $90,000 and a lot of pain and heartache as you sacrifice everything in order to finish in a year and a half. Plus you are going to have to work in order to pay your living expenses. It’s almost an insurmountable amount of pressure. If you do the entire two years at SC and really sacrifice, it’ll cost you around $100,000. It’s only a few thousand more, but at least you’ll be able to breathe a little. If you stay where you are, you’re done in a year and you’ll save a ****load of money. Then you can apply to grad school and have much less pressure and a lot more fun.</p>
<p>64 units at USC? how are incoming juniors supposed to graduate on time without overloading? and most people do internships in the summer too so they cant be taking classes</p>
<p>Most classes at SC are 4 units, so you’re looking at 4 classes per semester for 4 semesters in order to graduate on time. It’s not too bad. A lot of people (myself included) end up on the 5 semester plan due to limitations on transfer units and missing GE requirements. You can also earn anywhere from 1-4 units for internships, depending on how many hours you work and whether your department approves the internship for credit (must be closely related to your major).</p>
<p>They have career fairs on campus every semester where you can find internship opportunities. They also advertise in the “Daily Trojan” and on the campus employment website. For the School of Cinematic Arts, they post internship opportunities directly related to film in the Student Industry Relations Office. I’m sure most schools have a similar office designated as the spot to find internships. You probably won’t be able to get an internship until next summer anyway, so there’s plenty of time to figure it out.</p>
<p>i have a question for those sophomore spring admits like me:</p>
<p>Where do you plan on living in the spring? Are you like me and just praying you get USC housing? I applied for housing but on the website they make it sound like the chance of actually getting USC housing as a sophomore transfer is very bleak…</p>
<p>guys who got accepted late like me- marco, glor, hopeful, some more iirc
did you guys attend transfer orientation? or are you requesting materials online?</p>
<p>I just signed up for the midyear orientation? were we suppose to request materials because now that i think about it, that makes a lot of sense lol</p>
<p>jsutherland1, yeah i’m definitely praying for USC housing, lol. i put century as my first choice…and i think i also picked cardinal n gold and troy east…i’m not sure though. i hear that they try to make it sound pretty hopeless, but they usually end up having enough space to accommodate us. not sure if that’s true, let’s hope it is!</p>
<p>kmizzle, i signed up for the mid-year orientation on 01/05, glor signed up for that one too. i actually think there is only 1 mid-year orientation for transfers and internationals. the freshman one is in december, i think. i’m pretty sure classes start 01/11 and move in day is like 01/09, so hopefully USC has somewhere to put in for those fews day…</p>
<p>ShooShuShoeShou and occ11, you definitely need to call admissions. any luck with the deposit page?</p>
<p>collegehopeful, i don’t think we need to do anything except attend orientation…we have the pre-orientation hw, but they don’t make that available until november. so we pretty much wait until then also, november is when we get our housing assignments, so that’ll be exciting/nerve-wracking!</p>
<p>Regarding the internships question, you can also ask about that at orientation. There should be a major-specific resource for you to use. Just ask your orientation adviser.</p>
<p>i’ve been calling admissions like everyday to find out whats going on and they keep being like “a few more days, a few more days” and it keeps going on and on! kajfalkjf</p>
also, november is when we get our housing assignments, so that’ll be exciting/nerve-wracking!</p>