Kukubean
Admitted from the wait list. Not sure what to do since I almost have a full-tuition scholarship from UCI Merage. Advice anyone?
Congrats on having such great options. Money is hard to come by in grad school so 1/2 tuition is certainly something to be proud of.
That said, I'd push for Marshall on account of its history, prestige and connections. I think the name and network is worth the difference in price but the quality of education I'm sure would be comparable (I've heard generally good things about Merage).
I was very impressed by Marshall as an applicant and chose it over some "big" names. You should reach out to current students and deeply consider the industry you want to go into. I would suggest letting Marshall know about your offer (it couldn't hurt) but would presume UCI's small size and lower rank to be enough for them not to counter (especially this late in the application season). Let us know how your research goes. If USC excites you as much as it has for me, I look forward to calling you a classmate…..
Fight on!