The only valid reason to live at home and commute is to save money.
You will miss out on a large part of all these schools and likely have difficulty making friends and getting involved in activities. UMass Boston would be a good choice because it is strictly a commuer school.
Well it’s not like people board in high school… I have friends in high school?
And it’s not only money. Even if I was allowed to sleep for free I would still pick home
You will be an outsider at a residentail college. UMass Boston would be your best option. At some point in your life you need to break the home ties.
Many of the schools on your list require students to live on campus, at least as freshman. BU does. Part of the reason is that schools that are not commuter schools want to foster a residential community, and ensure freshman–which is a vulnerable, often difficult transitional year–are on campus to receive support. Double check all those schools, because I bet you money they will all require you to be on campus as a freshman. So you’ll need to factor into your plans schools that are likely to offer not just full tuition, but a full ride, which would include room & board. And if you get a school who does give you that, why wouldn’t you live on campus all four years? College & high school are not even remotely comparable socially; you’ll suffer socially if you commute to a highly residential school, not to mention all the logistical difficulties/inconveniences you will encounter commuting to campus.
Agree w/ the poster who is suggesting UMass Boston, since it is a commuter school. If commuting is really important to you, you’ll need to widen your net and look for less traditional, residential schools.
Re: BU. It’s true they don’t meet full need, but they WILL offer generous financial packages to the most attractive students. Your GPA is a bit low, but not the worst, and being local, low income + Hispanic may be enough of a hook (with stellar essays, of course). Don’t bank on BU, but you never know. I know several local Mass people who came from very poor backgrounds & didn’t have “perfect” stats, but got full rides to BU (so, including room & board). Every year there are local kids they give a bit of favor to, to enable them to attend. But that said, you have to be able to work your butt off at BU if you want to be pre-med, because the academics are excellent, but grade deflation is real, and that can freak pre-med kids out. Bear that in mind when considering BU.
Take Tufts off your list, then. They require students to live on-campus for the first two years. Exceptions for commuting students who really can’t afford it, but wanting to live at home is unlikely to be considered a valid reason.
Other schools have similar requirements. I’m sure that Harvard (which would certainly be a full ride) does.
In terms of financial investment, I would say that none of these schools would be worth the money if you are not planning on taking advantage of what they offer as part of a residential community. You say that living on campus is a “waste of money and inconvenient”. It might be a waste of money, but not living on campus is highly, highly inconvenient. I spent the first quarter of my freshman year commuting by bicycle a mere mile in sunny California before I got into the dorms. It was difficult to find people to study with, to be able to stay at the library late, to attend lectures or other activities. The thought of having to do any kind of commute in a Boston winter like this past one–that’s the very definition of inconvenient.
It’s impressive that you’ve done the long commute throughout high school. You’ve worked hard, studied hard, so you can get to the point where you can apply to colleges that will further your ambitions. Continuing to do the long commute is going to take away from that.
College is NOT high school. In high school, you likely had a “set schedule” of classes, such as 8-3 monday thru friday or similar. So, you likely often traveled the same time back and forth to school. It’s not like that in college. You may have your first class on M W F at 10am, and first class on T Th at 9am, but have M and T classes end at 5 because of labs, and W, Th classes end at 3pm and Friday classes end at 1pm. You may have a big hole in your schedule on one day where you’d like to be able to return to your dorm for a quick nap or something.
And, as a premed, assuming that you’re doing some kind of STEM major, you’ll likely have times when you’ll have to do lab work during off hours, or meet with study groups during off hours.
You’ll also have research projects and medically related ECs to participate in. None of those things are conducive to commuting.
your college friends will also have a different varied schedule, unlike private high school where nearly everyone has the same schedule.
You seem strangely opposed to something that should be welcomed. We’re not asking you to spend money on Roon and Board, we’re asking you to consider schools that will INCLUDE those costs in their aid to you.
Can you tell us why you’re opposed to living on campus?
I think that you’re thinking that college will just be a continuation of high school, so the same routines would still apply. They won’t.
well to give you an idea, my sister went to Northeastern whilst living at home and survived. She has her masters in education now 
I think it’s BS that you MUST live at college, that would be ludicrous
You are looking for grades 13, 14, 15 and 16. Go to UMass Boston.
A lot of adults here have given you good advice that you refuse to even consider. That does not bode well for your future.
Well I do not choose, my parents do
^^^
What does that mean? Are you saying that your parents refuse to let you live at college…even if there was aid to pay for it???
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She has her masters in education now
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No offense to your sister, but there’s a huge difference between being premed/STEM and being an education major.
My parents basically fear the repercussions of college life and don’t allow me to live on campus. Instead of resisting them, I’ll do what I can
UMass Boston and Northeastern are good options if you wish to commute.
The rest, as explained above, are not.
97% of Northeastern freshen live on campus. You are thinking of the NU of 20 years ago.
^ Good point. Yes, I am.
Well, let’s back up a step. How much if anything can your family afford to pay each year towards your college education? And what is your family’s EFC?
What schools, if any, is your high school college counselor suggesting you apply to?
Would you feel comfortable being further away from home, or would you prefer to stay in Boston?
In fact freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus at Northeastern unless granted a waiver.
I’m not trying to go anywhere, I’ve already said I’m restricted to Boston, and I will be commuting. I’m just wondering where premed would best be done and I’m thinking UMASS right now
I’m not sure what their financial aid is like, but I know quite a few students who commute to Suffolk. It would probably be a possibility for you based on your stats.
Aren’t there about 25 4-year colleges in Boston (or Boston area)? If so, then likely this student can find some others that will work.
If he’s not going to dorm, then likely it will be easier for him to get costs paid for - even at schools that don’t meet need - as long as they don’t require dorming for frosh.
He should try to find as many schools in his area that will award him a “full tuition” award.
He needs to be wary of UMass awards. They have HIGH FEES, so even if he got free tuition, he may still get stuck trying to cover those super-high fees.
When you say that you’re thinking of UMass now…do you mean UMass in Boston?
What are your parents going to say when it’s time to go to med school???
UMass Boston is quite modestly priced. It is primarily a commuter school so being a commuter is what almost everyone does.
Boston isn’t all,that tiny…it might or might not be a reasonable commute from where this student resides.