What missing a day of class at USC actually costs
Thank you, three percent annual tuition hikes
At over $50,000 per year, USC’s approximately three percent annual tuition hikes have led the school to become one of the most expensive in the country. A typical undergraduate course load, anywhere between 12 and 18 units, costs $25,721. While some can bypass this by taking fewer than 12 units and paying the per-unit price — which values 11 units at $19,063 — students taking a normal, 16 unit semester are locked into the 25 grand semester.
The 2016-17 school year semester averages out to 72 total instructional days, meaning that a day of classes, assuming even distribution of classes across a five day school week, costs $357.24. That’s right, a full day of playing hooky, making it back from Coachella a day late or missing your flight back to school costs you the same as, well, a lot of things:
One Yeezy Boost 350 V2
But just one. Amazon lists Ye’s sold-out shoes at around $700, meaning if you avoid skipping two days, you can buy the whole pair!
34 burritos at Chipotle
And that’s with guac.
140 macarons at Bottega Louie
If we’re really being frugal here, go to class, and take the Expo line to the 7th Street/Metro Center stop and walk to Downtown’s best patisserie. A day of class at USC can afford you a giant tea party’s worth of sugary, French goodness. Why ditch when you can get diabetes instead.
Over 300 margaritas at La Barca — at least during Happy Hour
Under a ten minute walk from campus, La Barca has infamous margaritas, noted for both quality and price, especially on Tuesdays. Even if you wanted to grab a drink on, say, a Monday, you would will be able to get nearly 300.
Uber X to Mexico and back
Crossing the border on foot saves you hours with border patrol, so Uber to San Ysidro to quickly cross into Tijuana, a city which has emerged as a nightlife favorite of San Diego residents.
Okay, technically assuming you could use the sunk cost of tuition on shoes or burritos is an economic fallacy, but the point remains: USC is expensive. You better make the most of it.