Alumni share their experience with college scholarships

Alumnus Amin Mirzadegan is now a freshman at Yale University, one of the most prestigious schools anywhere. It also comes with an annual price tag of $44,000 per year.

It’s money his parents are paying gladly, but Mirzadegan admits his decision to go to Yale was an agonizing one for a main reason: The University of Southern California had offered him a substantial scholarship.

Mirzadegan is one of dozens of seniors every year, forced to make difficult decisions and weigh money and ideal academic environments when accepting a college offer.

Mirzadegan, a class of 2013 graduate, received a merit  scholarship from USC. Mirzadegan was also accepted to Yale, without a scholarship. He decided to enroll at Yale instead of USC this past fall in favor of a “non-California experience” and a Yale education. 

“Sure, turning down that much money [from the scholarship] was a difficult decision,” Mirzadegan said. “But I figure that the educational benefits of choosing Yale outweighed the monetary value of the scholarship.”

Class of 2012 alumnus Anshu Siripurapu faced a similar situation. He received the Trustee scholarship to USC after applying for the scholarship before its Dec. 1 deadline. Siripurapu was invited to be interviewed for it in February and found out he had been granted the scholarship in late April. 

Siripurapu was also admitted to Cornell University, but without a scholarship; Siripurapu chose to attend USC.

“It was definitely a difficult choice, as I think it is for most people,” Siripurapu said. “I tried to visit as many of the campuses as possible to get a feel of the place, but in the end I think I decided to go to the place that I felt wanted me the most, which was USC.”

At Cornell, Siripurapu had been accepted into the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, which he says is “an excellent program for pre-law students.” However, he felt that he would have more academic flexibility at USC, where he is majoring in political economy but also has the choice to take prerequisites for medical school, which he finds “awesome.”

He also feels that the location of USC gives him more opportunities to experience different things.

“There are advantages to USC's location vs. Cornell. Cornell is in Ithaca, New York, which is a beautiful place but also pretty isolated,” Siripurapu said. “At USC, by virtue of it being in Los Angeles, I've been able to hear talks by people like Vince Gilligan (creator of “Breaking Bad”) … which is only possible due to the school's location and connections to the film industry.”

 Like Siripurapu, class of 2013 alumnus Neil Prasad was also accepted to Cornell without a scholarship offer. However, Prasad was also accepted to Georgia Tech with a general scholarship.

“At Georgia Tech, they pay for my tuition, housing and food so I don't pay anything, while Cornell is $60,000 [per year],” Prasad said. “Money was the main factor for both my parents and me.”

To obtain this scholarship, Prasad applied to the school early and completed two rounds of interviews.

“[The choice] was difficult at first but eventually I realized Tech was a better fit for me anyway and I liked the campus better,” Prasad said.

Ultimately, for many students, money is an enormous factor in the college decision process, and scholarships often prove to be the key element in students’ decisions.

“I didn't really have my heart set on any particular school and the fact that [USC was] willing to make such a big investment in my education said to me that they probably knew I would do well there,” Siripurapu said.