Consumerism When you think of college what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, it’s the scary future of student debt. Costs depend on what college you go to and how much financial aid you receive. After conducting my own research, I have decided to compare UCLA, being a public school, and USC, being a private school. The term consumerism means the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers. With this knowledge, I can determine which school will be a better buy in the long-run. First, we begin with advertising. The University of Southern California is advertised as “a top-ranked private research institution, which offers everything you are looking for: world-class resources on a human scale, more academic opportunities …show more content…
Since USC is a private school, it is more expensive than UCLA. However, we learn that USC has options for those who need financial help in their studies. These options consist of: federal, parent, and private loans or grants/scholarships. Unlike loans, however, grants do not have to be paid back. In fact, on the financial aid website, it is mentioned that “USC administers one of the largest financial aid programs in the United States, with a long tradition of meeting the USC-determined financial need of applicants who meet all eligibility requirements and deadlines.” (Undergraduate Admission Financial Aid) UCLA brings forth a better argument when it comes to pricing. As mentioned before, UCLA is public, so it doesn’t cost as much. To add onto that, they believe in helping their students by offering grants/scholarships, loans, and even on-campus jobs to help students pay for textbooks and living expenses. On their financial aid website, they go on to say “Paying for your education should be a partnership between student, family and university.” (UCLA Financial Aid) Michael Donovan III, an alumni of USC makes a point in saying “USC is a private university funded by high tuition dollars, fees and a large endowment. UCLA is a public university, part of the University of California system of 10 total campuses and is funded mostly by the state of California” (Michael Donovan III “MD3”) We can see evidence of that in the fact that the average cost of an academic year at USC is $74,825, whereas the average cost at UCLA is only $55,373. That is a difference of