<p>Im having a little bit of trouble picking between these two schools. I know it's passed the May 1st deadline, but I was given a waiver because BC didn't give me their FA package until last week. </p>
<p>I received a Full ride (tuition, R&B for all 4/5 years) to NEU because of a scholarship which they offer to Boston Public School students with "exceptional academic and personal achievement". As part of this scholarship and most others, they have a Civic Engagement Program which is basically 100 hours of community service, which is pretty cool. They're also paying for a study abroad if I decide to do it.</p>
<p>Boston College is giving me 30K in aid w/o loans and 35k with loans, which is not that bad considering what I have been seeing other people get. My mom and dad are both pitching in about 15k so I'd still have to take out a considerable amount of private loans. </p>
<p>As of right now, Im leaning towards Northeastern, obviously because of the full ride and it's exceptional co-op program, but I can't help and keep in mind BC's prestige and focus on undergrad learning unlike NEU's "experiential learning". If it helps any, Im a bio major for both schools. </p>
<p>As crazy as it sounds, is 40k debt worth a BC education or would a full ride to NEU be a better opportunity? Would one or the other give me an edge in the med school/job process in the future?</p>
<p>Prestige doesn’t get you a job after school and prestige doesn’t pay your bill off. Many loaners are paying off their bills for 10 years or more. I don’t remember the thresholds, but 60K in debt (which is what you would be) might be paid off over 20 years. </p>
<p>Overall you would probably enjoy the BC experience and prestige more throughout your life but only you can decide if it is worth the extra cost for you personally.</p>
<p>CC is so inconsistant… In some posts, people scream that College X is better because it beats College Y by a mere 5 or 10 spots on USNEWS… but apparently, there is no perceived difference betweem Boston College (Ranked 34th) and Northeastern(Ranked 80th). I am not telling the OP to choose BC because of his/her financial situation but I do think BC is the clearly the better school.</p>
<p>Fair point. Yet there are others of us that see US News & World Report as meaningless self-propagating drivel based on the idea that college officials have informed opinions as to the merit of other schools (what a laugh). </p>
<p>If the applicant goes to BC ( a fine school) is he going to have a more enriching experience? Will that translate into better opportunities for grad school or the job market? I don’t know and you don’t know. What I do know is the dude will be in debt to the tune of 60K+ following ‘I don’t know.’</p>
<p>^ I don’t disagree with you. I think he is probably better off going to Northeastern unless OP is not very well off and 60 k difference is a lot to him. I was merely pointing out the inconsistancy within the CC community. Its almost as if… after rank 25 or so, every school is the same, which is not the same.</p>
<p>No brainer…take the free ride. If you borrow that much for BC, you’ll be in debt trouble when you need loans for med school. Save your borrowing power for med school.</p>
<p>BC will not do a better job at preparing you for med school - I don’t care what its ranking is. Getting into med school is up to YOU. Do well in school, do well on your MCATs. That’s what will get you in - not BC.</p>
<p>it’s not as if Northeastern is some podunk U.</p>
<p>Tough call. Either will prepare you well for med school.</p>
<p>Besides the prestige factor – med schools don’t care about a few spots, BC offers a more national alumni network. BC is also a self-contained community – good for some, but not really urban which others prefer. BC also offers D1 sports and school spirit.</p>
<p>If any of those items are of interest, $10k/yr might be worth it to you for that type of collegiate experience. But only you can make that call.</p>
<p>I dont think BC is the clear winner at all in any instance. I was accepted to BC and chose Northeastern over it and i don’t have a full ride here at NEU. What programs are better at BC than Northeastern? even for business i would argue that Northeastern is better than CSOM.</p>
<p>Being ‘very well off’ applies to too few families to be relevant. Unfortunately, I see a lot of posts which go ‘well if your family can afford it, I’d go here.’ This is such poor advice as it does not consider the opportunity cost associated with the decision. </p>
<p>60K (I worded it incorrectly before) would be coming from the parents and black<em>ice believes his debt would be 40K. So, we’re looking at 100K in parent/child cost. If I were Black</em>Ice I would have the conversation NOW with my parents about that 60K. Specifically, would they be willing to commit that 60K to other things down the road (such as grad school, purchasing a first home, cash for a start-up opportunity or retirement funding)? If they aren’t, then B.C. becomes a lot more appealing as black_ice would be leveraging his parent’s money. If they are willing to tag that 60K for future use … my goodness, that becomes a huge factor. </p>
<p>60K over 45 years at 8.1 percent return is nearly 2 million bucks upon retirement. Even factoring in inflation, that’s a pretty nice start. So, that’s just one potential viewpoint on opportunity cost for his BC education. Now, as Black_Ice believes his own debt will be 40K, that’s about 425 dollars per month for 10 years (at 5 percent interest) - that’s the debt side of the equation. </p>
<p>With my own kids, I provided the cash to more than fully fund their college education, even if they didn’t get a cent in merit or financial dollars from the school. The BIG difference is that I told them that it was THEIR money, not mine. When it’s gone, it’s gone and it is up to them how to use it. It’s amazing how stingy they became when it’s now THEIR money. ;)</p>
<p>How so? I see you’re from California. Northeastern will have more kids from California than BC will. Plus, with about 5,000 more grads coming out each year, it’s the equivalent of the alum network of BC and Lehigh University combined.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your great and interesting comments. It’s all been very useful.</p>
<p>I submitted by deposits to NEU today, so I’m definitely going to be a Husky next year!</p>
<p>I’m not “well off” by a long shot and my parents are divorced, so ultimately this was a financial decision, and I don’t regret it one bit. </p>
<p>I think this was a very important discussion to have and personally I think that, after living in Boston for 17 years, having my own personal experiences with each, and talking with friends who are going to both colleges, there is literally no difference between NEU and BC. The only difference that I can see that would sway me towards one or the other are the environments (NEU=urban & large student body, BC=traditional & relatively small student body). My uncle went to BC and he is currently attending NEU Law so it’s not like BC graduates are leagues ahead of any other local schools. I do plan to work in the Northeast after I graduate so both will have a great rep with employers.
In the end, NEU seemed to fit my urban lifestyle a bit more and who can turn down a free ride to a great school?</p>
<p>I didn’t expect so much of a response to the thread but thanks again for all of your opinions.</p>
<p>You touch upon a tremendously important point with regard to parent contribution. In most cases, the parent will not and does not commit X dollars to be used as student sees fit. If Y college saves student Z dollars over the four years, Z dollars do not appear in student’s bank account or toward graduate school if student chooses Y college. In effect most parents are telling the child that they will pay more for the higher ranked college, but only if the money is used for the higher ranked college.</p>
<p>I even see reports here that between two schools ranked very closely (let’ say within 10 ranking positions), the money the student would save by attending the cheaper of the two does not accrue to his/her bank account or future educational expenses, even when the parent is willing at this time to pay for the more expensive of the two.</p>
<p>I really think this is muddled thinking on the part of the parents.</p>