Reserve Scholarship at USC or Put Down Deposit at UT Austin? Forum

[Zeeguy91]

I know I've created a few threads already, but this isn't really a final choice, so much as me choosing to reserve a place at either USC or Texas as I wait for other admissions to roll in (that is, if they do).

Long story short, USC is giving me $75,000 guaranteed ($25k a year). I have always wanted to go to L.A./California for the long term, and I'm just really drawn to USC as a school. I'm officially touring the facility tomorrow (I'm in L.A. btw). Will let you all know my thoughts. And I'm trying to get a feel for L.A. as a city and place to live (approve so far). Also, I think being in L.A. will be beneficial for some of my career goals.

I haven't heard anything about money from Texas, but I can do a "scholarship match," but even then, there are no guarantees. I am flying to Austin for a visit this Thursday to get a feel for the school. But from what everyone tells me, it's a very good school and Austin is a great city.

The deadline for both is April 15th.

Se side notes that are worth mentioning:

- I will not be taking out loans. My parents are paying tuition. Though it would be nice to be as cost effective as possible for them, they keep telling not to worry about it.

- I have been placed on the Preferred Waiting List or Georgetown. I am still waiting to hear from Northwestern (another top choice), Duke, and Cornell.

[chuckbass]

If you want LA, then USC 100%.

[cron1834]

If school is free, and you really want LA, then put in at Gould.

Protip: USC's actual deposit deadline isn't until May 1. You can reserve the money and give it back if UT comes with an offer before the end of April. The scholarship reservation is NOT binding, and there's no reason you shouldn't deposit at UT, spend the next 3 weeks trying to get money from them, and deposit at Gould by May 1 if you strike out. If money were tight I'd suggest you not waste several hundred dollars, but if your parents are telling you "not to worry" about tuition and COL, then I'm imagining that somehow you can come up with a few bucks to DOUBLE your options before May.

tl;dr: reserving the scholarship is not binding at USC, only the deposit.

[Zeeguy91]

Thank you both so much for your advice. I will definitely take it under advisement in making my decision. And sorry for being absent from my own thread. Like I said, I'm traveling, so I'm a bit scattered.

Anyway, I've left L.A. and really liked it. Not as much as I was expecting to, but the parts I went to close to USC were all really fun, downtown especially. I also liked the school itself and liked the tight-knit feel of it. Right now I'm headed for Austin (currently on a layover in Phoenix). Will let you all know what I think of it.

However, there is one update I should mention. I have just been awarded a scholarship from UT. Its broken down between a merit scholarship of $8,000/year ($24,000 total) and a non-resident tuition exemption of $48,000. So, in total, they're giving me $72,000 essentially. Now I really am having a hard time making a decision.

[cron1834]

Thank you both so much for your advice. I will definitely take it under advisement in making my decision. And sorry for being absent from my own thread. Like I said, I'm traveling, so I'm a bit scattered.

Anyway, I've left L.A. and really liked it. Not as much as I was expecting to, but the parts I went to close to USC were all really fun, downtown especially. I also liked the school itself and liked the tight-knit feel of it. Right now I'm headed for Austin (currently on a layover in Phoenix). Will let you all know what I think of it.

However, there is one update I should mention. I have just been awarded a scholarship from UT. Its broken down between a merit scholarship of $8,000/year ($24,000 total) and a non-resident tuition exemption of $48,000. So, in total, they're giving me $72,000 essentially. Now I really am having a hard time making a decision.

You have similar (effective) offers from similar schools that are prominent in their region and not elsewhere, and your parents are picking up leftover costs. At this point there's nothing that anyone here can help you with - pick the region you'd prefer to work in and go there. If you're not comfortable with a 70% of being a lawyer and a 30-something% chance of biglaw, then retake for the T14.

[BigZuck]

I go to UT and as a general matter I wouldn't go here without TX ties. I would think Los Angeles would be more accepting of an outsider than any TX markets. Again, as a general matter.

[El Principe]

I'd take LA over a faux-Cali (Austin). At least they have sports teams and a beach.

Oh and the money of course....

[Zeeguy91]

Hey, so, as it turns out, I don't have to make a choice until May 1st.

As to my reaction to Austin: I liked the city. It seems really cool. I my opinion, UT also probably has the better facility between that and USC: larger library, larger building, etc.

I'm trying to look into UT's placement in LA and San Francisco (either of which I'd like to settle in for the long term).

Also worth noting, I am going to try to transfer to Berkeley my second year, regardless of where I go the first year, so would it make more sense to go to the higher ranked school to increase my chances at transfer?

Also, I have been placed on the wait list at both Georgetown and Vanderbilt, both of which I plan on riding unit the end.

[milkandcheerios]

The ranking difference between UT and USC is completely irrelevant. At the end of the day, they're both solid regional schools. Pick which one you like more or which one is cheaper and don't count of transferring when you make your decision.

[WokeUpInACar]

Hey, so, as it turns out, I don't have to make a choice until May 1st.

As to my reaction to Austin: I liked the city. It seems really cool. I my opinion, UT also probably has the better facility between that and USC: larger library, larger building, etc.

I'm trying to look into UT's placement in LA and San Francisco (either of which I'd like to settle in for the long term).

Also worth noting, I am going to try to transfer to Berkeley my second year, regardless of where I go the first year, so would it make more sense to go to the higher ranked school to increase my chances at transfer?

Also, I have been placed on the wait list at both Georgetown and Vanderbilt, both of which I plan on riding unit the end.

LOL USC must really have shithole facilities if UT's are better. I'm glad I came here and the facility quality isn't terribly important, but compared to almost every other law school I've seen, UT is ugly as shit.

Also this:

The ranking difference between UT and USC is completely irrelevant. At the end of the day, they're both solid regional schools. Pick which one you like more or which one is cheaper and don't count of transferring when you make your decision.

But if you want to settle in California, just go to USC man. It's not like it's impossible to get back to Cali from UT, but USC is a way better choice if being in California longterm is any kind of priority.

[Big Dog]

UT is awesome if you want to practice in Techsus. But since you do not, the Trojan Family is a no-brainer.

[cron1834]

There's literally no good reason to go to UT if you want to end up in CA. If you want CA, go to USC/UCLA with $$ or retake for the T14.

I think you're going out of your way to make this difficult. The choice is USC vs. retake for T14. Vanderbilt and UT are irrelevant here.

[SemiReverseSplinter]

USC does have a pretty unimpressive building. The rest of the campus is beautiful. I found it funny.

[BigZuck]

If I read it right, is the OP not even from CA? So they want to go to UT and then get a job in CA without ties to CA?

That's crazy.

Planning to transfer to Berkeley is also crazy, you would probably have to be at least top 20% and that is no easy feat.

If you want to end up in LA, enjoy USC.