How should I compare the total cost of attending Duke and USC?

Compare Duke and USC using each school’s official net price, not the published tuition figure. Put the two financial-aid offers side by side and calculate what your family must actually pay after grants and scholarships, separating that amount from loans and work-study. Duke’s Durham location often creates a different travel and off-campus spending pattern than USC’s Los Angeles location, while USC can carry higher day-to-day costs simply because of its urban setting.

Duke may fit a student whose aid package makes its residential campus model affordable. Check the Duke award for renewable grant aid, health-insurance charges if applicable, books, personal expenses, and the cost of getting to Durham from home. Estimate transportation for realistic trips rather than relying on the school’s generic travel allowance.

USC may fit a student whose scholarship or aid package offsets the higher cost of living in Los Angeles. Price housing and meals carefully beyond the first year, since apartment choices, summer leases, parking, rideshares, and eating off campus can affect the real total substantially.

For each school, make a four-year spreadsheet with tuition and mandatory fees, housing, food, books, health insurance, travel, personal spending, and an annual cushion for price increases. Then subtract only guaranteed grants and scholarships. Treat federal loans, parent loans, and work-study as financing or earned income, not as reductions in cost. The more useful comparison is the four-year amount your family can pay without taking on uncomfortable debt, not which initial sticker price is lower.