BU vs UCSD

College Search & Selection
1

Hey CC scholars,

I apologize for a misleading title, but at the moment I am trying to decide between UCSD, UCSB, UCI (honors), Northeastern NU.in program, UW, and BU. (but mainly considering BU and UCSD)

I want to start off that I am honored and grateful that these schools want me to join their class for the next four years, but I have forever dreamed of an undergraduate education at UCLA or USC which I have both gotten a fat L (submitted appeals so join me in praying).

Big things to consider at the moment is that:
I have gotten an offer to the USC Trojan Transfer Program so that might be where I want to head towards, yet do not want to try CCs to fill in that one year
My parents also are strongly against me leaving California and I am trying to convince them otherwise for now
I am blessed that tuition is not a problem for me but it would always be better if I have less of a price for my parents - I actually got no aid from any of my schools
I really am looking towards studying after undergrad and hope to impress people with school names (still a little conflicted since most of them are about the same ranks yet some school names are worth more to an employer by where they are stationed at)

I am pursuing a global health major and want to emphasize on policy + research but willing to practice medicine and still pursue a pre-med route if global health is something I end up not following. The backup plan is to try a finance/econ route if I end up not liking medicine. At the moment I am very convinced to follow through with the USC Trojan Transfer plan, but if I really enjoy my first year I would like to commit a school I can see myself spending all four years there.

Somethings I have in mind right now is:
If I commit to UCSD I already have a roommate, while everywhere else I do not
I got admitted into UCSD’s ERC and kinda intimidated by their GEs but it does align with my major
For some reason, I can’t get over BU, I do not know where to pinpoint it but living east coast does not seem too bad and their academics sound great
I really like NU’s COOP curriculum but I am really against studying abroad freshman year that they force on students who got into the program
I am not really attracted to UCI in a couple of reasons, the honors program is also pretty new so I am not really sure if I want to opt in
Estimated tuition per school per year I will have to pay is: BU 70k, UW 51k, UCSD 31k, NU 70k, UCSB 37k, UCI 34k.
I am trying to convince my parents to visit Boston so I can see both BU and NU at the same time, I have already visited UCSD (which went pretty well) and going to UCI this Saturday

Thank you for reading over what has been running through my mind the past few weeks, please leave some advice, suggest a place to study, or anything that I should consider!

2

Do your parents a favor, and eliminate BU and NU. The nearly 40k difference each year between them and UCSD is a huge amount of money over the course of four years. Pick one of the CA universities. With the money you save, you can cover part or possibly even all of the cost of a master’s degree program - or a couple of years of med school if you go that route. You also will have a lot more flexibility in your choice of starter job because you won’t feel that you have to take the first decent offer. Depending on the major you do end up choosing, and where that leads you, Boston could well be in your future - just a bit further on.

3

Happymomof1 is absolutely correct: you’ve gotten into a superb university (UCSD) which is a dream school for thousands of students and which will cost at least half of what you’ll pay at BU or NEU. This is a no brainer. Go to UCSD, and then, to get your fix of Boston, apply to a summer school program at BU… or Harvard. If you still want Boston, or the East Coast, you could shoot for grad school there. Or a job there. Either will be attainable with a degree from UCSD, one of the top institutions in the country. Congrats!

4

The advice above is very practical. However your parents may be more than comfortable in their ability to pay for any of these schools. If you got into USC would you pay the extra. Sure. I would probably not choose Nu.in. The extra cost and transition for someone to travel to Europe as a first year and back to campus is lot of moving around. Especially when you have med school or finance as options. Both finance and medicine are particular benefits to school in Boston. If you love it and will thrive, it may In fact be worth it. Maybe you get into med school because you are so motivated happy and into it. I don’t know. The UC schools are many kids dream schools for sure and too notch. They just might not be yours and your parents might very well want that for you.

However if any of these financial implications would cause hardship or sacrificing your parents economic futures in any way. I agree 100% with the other contributors.