Transferring, and all the gritty details

[ilovesf]

Hi,

I'm thinking about transferring from my current program, for which I have a great deal (full funding, assistantship, stipend), to one that is ranked higher, more prominent internationally, and in the state I want to live and work in (it's USC, and I REALLY want to live/work in California eventually, especially the Bay Area). I was accepted to USC last year, but did not receive any funding as they didn't receive my GRE scores on time. I reapplied this time around and got half-tuition. That still leaves about $17-18,000 per year that I would take out loans for, plus living expenses.

How do you guys view this situation? Is it worth it? My deal here is great, cost of living is low, I have a good group of friends in the program. However, both the city and the school just turn me off, and I know that USC has a great alumni network that will be very helpful for finding a job in California. I am currently searching for summer internships to fulfill my current program's requirements, and the professor I'm working on has hooked me up with a great opportunity...but...I need to make a decision soon and don't want to turn back on any decisions I've made. How would you approach the professors in the current program? Advice? Is it completely crazy? I'm 23 so I don't feel any pressure to hurry up and get a degree, plus being in school an extra year would insulate me from the current economy/job situation...but the debt...I'm hoping I'll be able to get an assistantship or extra funding after visiting in a week, or after the first semester. Thanks!

[rising_star]

Without knowing what field you're in, this is pretty difficult to answer. Are you in a master's program or a PhD program? What kind of job are you hoping to get after you finish?

[ilovesf]

Without knowing what field you're in, this is pretty difficult to answer. Are you in a master's program or a PhD program? What kind of job are you hoping to get after you finish?

The field is urban planning, and I'd be looking to get a job in a municipal planning agency or metropolitan planning organization. I'm currently in a master's program.

[rising_star]

That's usually a two year program, right? So you'd have one year left? How many valuable contacts in SoCal do you think you can make in one year that you wouldn't/couldn't make other wise? How able are you to afford payments on the loans for the tuition and living expenses?

[ilovesf]

Thanks for the reply, risingstar! Yes, planning programs are 2 years. Those are exactly the questions I'm having a hard time answering right now. I'm hoping to gain a better sense of whether or not the USC Trojan family thing is all it's talked up to be, and just to get a feel for what advantages the program there might offer. My fear is that after getting a degree from my current program, it will be much harder to get a position in California as I'll be competing with planners from California schools, particularly Berkeley, UCLA and USC which are top 10 programs in planning. Money is the other big concern. If I end up getting no funding at all throughout my stay at USC, I'd end up with around $36,000 in debt for tuition alone, and more for living expenses. I would hope that I could find part time employment, ideally as a GA at USC...but it would be a gamble to give up what I have now.