I’ve been having a lot of trouble deciding which college to commit to and I don’t have a lot of time left. I have not decided on a major and will be attending the arts and science schools of all of these colleges.
Tuition is definitely large factor:
BC: 68,000
Rutgers: 30,000
NYU: 72,000
I’ve visited all these schools but I’m still not sure what to do. I definitely am interested in going into business (probably management) for grad school. In undergrad, I want to minor in theater.
Also, what are the strongest programs at each school (esp. BC)?
Thanks!
How much can your parents afford?
I cannot imagine that NYU is worth $168,000 more than Rutgers over the 4 years.
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/the-expensive-romance-of-nyu/278904/
If you want to go into business, surely look into he Return On Investment at each
You haven’t told us what is comfortably affordable to your family. And if you have not been admitted to the b-schools, it is not at all certain (and a bit unlikely) that you will be able to do an internal transfer and study business.
My dad says that the choice is up to me, and he is comfortable with the tuition for all of the schools (although money will be tight if I attend BC or NYU). I would only like to go into a business school for grad only.
Rutgers is obviously the weak link of the three, and NYU’s prices are insane. I would advocate Boston College, but if it seems like money will be tight as you said, then I’d choose Rutgers.
Does it matter whether you attend school that has a traditional campus or not? If your parents can afford these schools then I would choose BC if you want a typical college experience and NYU if you have a burning desire to be in the thick of things in a major city. I would skip Rutgers, personally.
I’m stuck between BC and NYU as well. From my experiences BC definitely has less diversity but a stronger religious and ethical integration in the classroom. (Which is fantastic in my opinion.) NYU is a lot more diverse and more in the thick of the city but Boston is a fantastic town to go to school in as well. BC has a T stop practically on campus so although it isnt downtown its a 20 minute ride to the thick of downtown. BC is more athletic and has a stronger sense of school spirit. NYU is more artsy and has less school spirit from what I hear. (I’m torn between the schools personally because I like the BC education better but am afraid I won’t fit in as well because I’m more of an artsy sort of kid.) Good luck! I may very well see you next year!
See if you can determine which school will give you an advantage for grad school admissions. Perhaps call the grad schools you might want to attend and ask them whether they give preferences to candidates from one or of your choices.
Good luck!
Most people seem opposed to Rutgers, why?
Rutgers. The other 2 are definitely better, but not over twice the price better.
What makes the other schools better than Rutgers?
@rachel113 Rutgers isn’t popular among NJ students because it’s too big, the campus isn’t very nice at all, and too many of our high school classmates go there. Plus, NJ higher education in general is pathetic.
I don’t believe that either NYU or BC is worth an extra 160K over four years. If you were talking Harvard or Columbia, maybe.
Full disclosure - Rutgers grad here. My choices were RU $0 or Amherst College $10K per year (1980s dollars). I followed the money and got full rides at Cornell and JHU for grad school. I still have great friends from RU. And for what it’s worth, I thought that the main quad of Rutgers College within the University was rather attractive. New Brunswick is MUCH nicer than it used to be and Philly and Manhattan are just a train ride away.
Forbes ranks RU #39 among research universities and #49 among best value colleges. USNWR ranks it #60 of universities globally
- That can be both a positive & a negative. True, it is a pain to always navigate using buses, but There's lots of diversity, & parties, etc.
- True, there are nice parts & other parts are outdated looking. It's average overall.
- Once again, it can be a positive or negative. Since it has a large amount of students, you will meet a lot of new people
- NJ higher education pathetic? Not even. Academically & Value wise they are definitely above average, & among the top states in terms of academics. NJ schools are underrated tbh.
But I do understand why OOS students overlook it, NJ schools do not have the “greatest locations”, & there are better school in other states for party/sports/frat.
Overall NJ is a great place to live/education, but isn’t great for a visit/vacation.
@ASJackson923 if they were academically above average and had any sort of decent value, why the heck do 60% of our students leave each year?? My own school OOS is BARELY more expensive than Rutgers, TCNJ, or even NJIT in-state, but with far better value (Consumer’s Digest rated us Top 10 in the country for public university value). If you’re talking about K-12, NJ is certainly among the top states academically. But they’re not even anywhere close to respectable at the collegiate level.
Which schools do you think are underrated? The only one that could even make a case for that title is Stevens IT.
I would say TCNJ is under rated.
Op: ask your dad - would he be paying from income/savings, or do you have a college fund ? If your doesn’t need to take a loan for you and can afford the out of pocket, thank your dad profusely, honor that investment by taking your studies seriously, take on a job 8-10 hours a week to contribute and not take money for granted, and go wherever you prefer.