Should I transfer from USC to Temple?
About six months ago I was admitted to USC as a spring admit with half-tuition National Merit Scholarship. I am currently doing GE courses at a community college, preparing to move in to LA this coming January.
Would it be a waste of an opportunity to transfer to Temple instead as Temple is ranked so much lower than USC?
I would save about 60k over my last three years of college. Approx. 160k for USC and Approx. 100K for Temple.
I am looking to go into Biomedical engineering for either school on a pre-med track. I’ve read a lot of posts saying undergrad prestige doesn’t really matter that much for med school, so I was thinking of saving as much money as possible by transferring to a local in-state school. But then again, USC Viterbi is such a prestigious engineering program.
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3 answers
College students change their major about 3 times on average before graduating.
You are taking a large risk in assuming you know what your graduation major is going to be and if you are even going to apply to med school. Therefore, you should go to the college that offers you the most flexibility in changing majors. I think doing a 3-year future forecast of what your debt load would be is very short sighted. USC not only has a great engineering school, but it also has a great business school, communication school, architecture school, journalism school, film school, etc etc. It will always be a better college than Temple in many dimensions.
Students go to prestigious colleges not only for academics but for networking, professional connections, better jobs, and other intangible things. So how can you value an opportunity cost for all those reasons over a lifetime? Is the difference between USC and Temple valued at $60,000 over a lifetime?
If you are making your decision purely on a money factor, then it makes perfect sense to continue community college for another 1 1/2 years or until you have completed all your core requirements and transferable electives right? Then transfer to a private univerisity. That would save you the most money.
I agree with the other responses here. The additional resources and prestige that USC offers make the extra cost worth it. Since acceptance to medical school is not guaranteed, and you may become passionate about a different direction later on, having a top biomedical engineering degree would be a great backup option for you. USC's brand name will still help you in the medical school admissions process too. Hope this helps!
Unless the money is something you genuinely can't afford, please don't go to Temple. USC is an amazing school in many different ways, including campus, student life, and program for your major, while Temple isn't so good. I don't live in Philly but I've walked through the Kensington area, it can be quite dangerous and the drug abuse situation there isn't talked about enough. Much better to graduate with an additional $60k in debt but more connections and a better job than go to Temple.
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