Hi! Of the schools I have been accepted to, I am currently debating mostly between Boston University (dormer) and Fordham (Rose Hill campus dormer), as these are my top two choices.
I’ll lay out the pros and cons of each school regarding my own needs(there are pros and cons to everything in life, and I love both schools regardless).
Boston University pros:
-Higher rank (take it with a grain of salt. rank isn’t everything but might indicate something)
-They specialize in many different programs, so I could pursue any of my interests (business, psychology, and computer science) without fearing that the school may not have a good program.
-Boston is an amazing city and I’ve dreamed of living there one day.
-Students ranked among most employable in the nation (Starting CS salary is $80K! Not sure if I want CS yet, but if so, that’d be the place to do it.)
- Was always one of my dream schools, but now I don’t like using the term “dream school” (another conversation for another time)
- Sorority life!
BU Cons:
- $6-7 K more than what my family is willing to spend
- My family has advised against taking out loans
- Far from home so I’d have the fun of being independent, but may get home sick
- The program I got admitted to would start in January of freshman year, which I don’t particularly mind, as students admitted to this program fit in and become close, but I’d probably just be working to save up money during this gap semester.
-No traditional campus, although I love city life and wouldn’t mind.
Fordham University Pros:
-AMAZING scholarship. Almost full-tuition and would be the same cost as attending a state school, but clearly it is a private liberal arts school. One of my cheapest options, and if I attend, money would not be an issue for my family. Loans would not be given a thought, and I could probably even work a bit to help out my family, even though this wouldn’t be needed.
-Gabelli school of business is amazing, and has high internship rates and great starting salary of about $65K a year on average (although business is one of my top choices, I’m not positive I want to do it just yet)
- NYC is a great place for internships and whatnot
- Beautiful traditional campus and a liberal arts education with a well-rounded core curriculum
- Well-connected alumni network
Fordham University Cons:
-very close to home, so I wouldn’t feel as independent.
-I’ve read that their computer science program is apparently lacking (CS is one of my interests), and I don’t know enough about their psychology program, so there’d be less freedom to pick a major since I’d likely be influenced by the most successful Gabelli school of business. I would’ve preferred being free to explore any major without worrying about how good the programs are, but every school has their better and worse programs.
-No sororities or Greek Life.
-No exploration of a new city, since I am from NYC.
The cost between both schools is roughly $11K a year. Fordham is below my EFC and BU is about $6-7K over it.
Where should I go to school? Would BU be worth the extra money, and if so how could I fund this? (I’d really prefer not taking out loans, and my family is against it). I was thinking about working during the gap semester, but with the current epidemic, there may not be high demand for someone with as little experience as me. If I could find a job and work full-time, this could cover the cost difference for freshman and maybe sophomore year.
Also (not required) if anyone has any experience attending any of these schools (or knows/heard about someone who did), I’d be interested in hearing about that, too.
Thank you!
