My daughter was in a similar position last year… one thing that helped her make a decision was mapping out her potential course selection over the four years. The college she chose allowed her to use her AP scores to get into more advanced classes right away, and offered the language she wanted to take… The advanced class and the language class are her favorites now, so she feels she made the right call. But if there had been no significant difference in the course offerings/ requirements, it would have been a lot harder to justify the added expense. Especially since USC has the fantastic weather in its “pro” column.