USC or Syracuse University

[Amir.Man]

I am an international Student and I have been admitted to M.S in Engineering Management. I need to decide which one to go :

1. Syracuse University, 50% tuition reduction scholarship, Rank 63 : USNews

2. University of Southern California, no funding. rank 23.

The living expenses in LA is obviously higher than syracuse.

please help which one to go ?

[addola]

USC is a better school indeed. I have finished my Master's degree in USC. I loved it.

I have been around the Syracuse area, driving from Buffalo, NY through Ithaca and then to NYC. I didn't like it very much.

But that's just me!

Money was not an issue for me, as I was on a scholarship from my employer in my home country. But if I have had found an admission from an equally good university in a cheaper place (say Georgia Tech, University of Wisconsin-Madison... etc) I would have definitely ditched USC, because I was only getting $1300/month from my government, and I used to pay $750/month to rent a room in a two bedroom apartment.

When you talk about an expensive city, usually you worry most about rent and gasoline (if you're planning to have a car). Usually, groceries aren't that expensive, and are comparable to most cities in the United States. I lived in the Augusta, Georgia area (on the border with South Carolina, on the South Carolina side). Rent is much cheaper than California. It's like $400 or so. But grocery wise... or if you compare Burger King vs Burger King or Starbucks vs Starbucks, it's almost the the same price regardless.

Keep in mind that USC is also an expensive university, and it's not easy to get assistantship for Master students. I love Los Angeles and Southern California the weather is awesome year long. Not too hot not too cold. Syracuse is in upper state in NY, which is frigid in the winter. I don't like cold weather and wouldn't live there unless I have to (my country is a hot arid desert)...

But if I was in your shoes with the same condition, I would just go to Syracuse. I wouldn't want to stretch out my budget, and with both universities in the top 100, I would go to the cheaper one if I didn't have much funds (or if I want to save my money).

I have a brilliant friend who works in my department as an associate professor. He went to an average university "University of Alabama-Huntsville" (Ranked 190 in US News). He told me his story : He went for a cheap city and cheap but reasonable school to finish his PhD because he didn't have a lot of money.

This is my first post, I wanted to give you the best of my knowledge. I will be applying for PhD in Computer Science myself, so good luck to the both of us!

Edited December 6, 2011 by addola