Hi! I’m a current high school senior and am currently in the process of deciding which school to attend as a prospective biochem major. Having just received all my decisions, I’ve narrowed it down to four options (which also happen to be my cheapest options!), but have found myself absolutely stumped. I was planning on going to the admitted student days this month, but unfortunately the coronavirus has gotten in the way of these plans 
These are my options (ranked from cheapest to most expensive):
- University of New Hampshire
- My instate option; nice campus and also offers a 5 yr masters
- SUNY Binghamton
- A little far at 5 hrs away, but had nice dorms and I was accepted into a really cool program that would allow me to be a part of research as a freshman
- University of Vermont
- Gorgeous campus with a lot of renovated academic buildings & dorms, and I loved the area of Burlington; also offers a 5 yr masters
- Fairfield University
- I haven't visited campus but it seems like a great location on the beach and not too far from NYC. Also accepted into their honors college which offers some smaller classes/nicer dorms. To put the cost difference in perspective it is around 10k more per year than UNH.
As I’m trying to narrow this down, I would really appreciate any input on anyone’s personal experiences or impressions of these schools. For some background on me, I went to a public high school in southern NH where I was pretty involved in clubs and have always tried to take honors/AP classes.
Thanks again for any advice/input, it’s definitely a big help!
Try to think about what factors are most important. Quality of dorms and being near the beach are not super important. Academic programs, financial aid, graduate opportunities, etc. are all important things to consider. Once you eliminate some factors, it’ll make the choice clearer. Congrats and good luck!
THink about which school can the easiest land you top jobs.
Think about the location, which college is at the best location especially if you want to find a job there after four years.
I’d vote for any of your top three if they are all affordable. Fairfield is going to feel very “suburban” (which it is) compared to Burlington, will not have the opportunities that a large research U is going to have. I know a lot of kids at Fairfield, and they get to NY maybe once a semester-- it’s not next door, and the train is an extra expense plus the fund stuff you want to do once you get there.
The money label may be true in most cases but the aid office differs by school to school too. Like a state uni thats less competitive in terms of rank likely has a less financial aid package for you. School with higher ranking may has a higher financial aid for you and cancels more and left less in its amount.
Think about each’s national level ranking which affects tons.
Definitely very important! When I visited Bing and UVM my tour guides praised the support programs for internship and job placement which was really reassuring; however I plan on doing more research on similar programs at my other options since other tour guides honestly just didn’t explain this as well. While I don’t know exactly where I’ll be in four years, I know that UNH has ties to biotech companies in southern NH and near Boston which is also a plus. Lots of factors to weigh in!
Bing and UVM sound good for landing jobs, location matters onlyif you want to work around there after college too, now only the national ranking remains for your decision
national ranking on usnwr, it can help you make your final choice
If you think grad school is in your future I would stay w a lower cost school, Suny Bing has a very good rep and UVM is in a great location.
Cost differences? Run the numbers here: https://finaid.org/calculators/awardletteradvanced.phtml
What would that master degree be in? Anything at all that the institution offers? Or just in some specific program(s) there? Do you need a master degree for the career you are thinking of now?
If UVM is within $10,000 per year of the in-state cost at UNH, then I assume that you must have gotten the presidential merit scholarship there. These are the two schools that I know the best of your four. It is not an easy choice.
UVM is very good and Burlington is a great small city. It is also the last place that I was ever carded (I was older than the parents of the guy who carded me).
I do not know Fairfield at all. Other than that I do not think that there is a bad choice as long as you would not need to take on any debt to attend any of these schools.