<p>I was accepted into NYU Steinhardt (for communications, one of my other possible majors) and Boston College; unfortunately, both gave me little to nothing for financial aid. I am a NYC resident and want to major in business (most likely marketing). While I suppose my parents could afford to pay for NYU or BC if we really consider loans, do any of you think it is worth it? (I would be paying 240k-250k for undergrad) I visited Baruch quite recently and liked it a lot, specifically for its atmosphere (yes, even with the lack of campus), the number of opportunities it offers, and especially for its cost. Coming out with debt isn't very desirable to me, for obvious reasons, and while my dad has a high-paying job I'm worried it may not be stable in the next two to three years (not to mention me worrying about whether or not I can find a part-time to help work the debt off).</p>
<p>On the other hand, my teachers and classmates have been congratulating me on being accepted into NYU and BC, and I've been told that coming out of either would open up more job offers. I've been very conflicted over whether to play it safe for my parents' sake (and my own) or take an enormous financial risk just for the "name" of the university. Any advice?</p>
<p>Baruch does well and you would save a lot of money</p>
<p>Is Baruch a lot less expensive for you? If it is by a substantial amount, then I personally think the best decision would be to go to Baruch. Study hard, do very well and you’ll be be in great shape. Also, you will certainly enjoy your undergraduate years more without that heavy burden of financial debt looming over you the entire time, not to mention for years after you graduate. Not everyone who attends “elite” schools is very successful after they graduate. What you study and how you take advantage of the opportunities offered at your college are what will help you most. Besides, there is always grad school later! Good luck and congrats on getting accepted into three great colleges!</p>
<p>Can you give us
(tuition+ R&B) - (grants+scholarships) = ?
for each school?
What’s your parents’ budget?</p>
<p>All the people congratulating you aren’t paying for college. You have to consider cost/benefits for you, not how impressed strangers are, especially since they’re not paying. You’re being very mature about this. :)</p>
<p>NYU is slightly cheaper I suppose, since I can commute instead of dorming: $49936 per year
Boston College is very expensive: I have no family/friends in that area so I must live on campus: $63,296.</p>
<p>I received nothing from NYU, and BC has some strange issue with their website, so I’m not too sure if I received anything or if their side is a little messed up at the moment (I’m hoping they can fix it soon, because I need to make my decision before May 1st.)</p>
<p>My family is on the middle class side of things, I’m an only child so no expenses anywhere else. As for budget…this will sound quite strange, but I think they’re really willing to pay full IF I really want to go (and that scares me a lot because the last thing I want them to do is dig into their retirement savings just for my undergrad, they’re even mentioning home equity loans, and I know that if we sell our house there’s absolutely no way we can get one like it again in this neighborhood) I definitely appreciate the sentiment, but like I said before, I would much rather go to a lesser known college than put that kind of burden on their shoulders if I don’t know what kind of job (or if I could even get one in this economy) is waiting for me after graduating.</p>
<p>And thanks for the input, everyone, I really appreciate this.</p>
<p>Oh and I forgot to mention that Baruch is around 12k annually, sorry about that.</p>
<p>I most likely will be able to get into at least one honors program at Baruch despite not getting the Dean’s Scholars/Macaulay (which is a shame: full tuition!) </p>
<p>I’m not really too concerned with the whole R&B thing; it would be fun and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind paying for it if I said that it would be more convenient for me, but if not I’m already used to long commutes and lots of coffee :))
**Fun fact: they only have around 4 floors in the same building as the LIM dorms, and while they’re decent housing, the only thing I would consider them useful for is a) the college life b) convenience if I have 8am classes c) the washing machines text you when they’re done. Okay, that’s not really a priority but you have to admit that’s kinda cool ;)</p>
<p>Baruch, as I stated before, is 12k annually. Without board it would be even cheaper, I think.</p>
<p>Go for Baruch with Room/board. Still considerably cheaper than NYU and if you can get Scholars or Zicklin Scholars, you’d get the same opportunities to boot. BTW, Scholars do get full tuition or something. 
Not sure for Provost and Zicklin Scholars, check it out. With Room/board you’d get a bit of independent living and you really don’t want to waste too much time commuting if you can, especially because it will help getting involved on campus, study groups, clubs, etc. and you’ll have a place ready if you have an internship. Even if those aren’t as plentifyl at Baruch as on residential campuses, they exist, and living in the city not far from the college would certainly help you get an experience you wouldn’t get if you commute from home. It sounds like you can afford it and it’d be a great compromise.</p>
<p>Great, thank you so much for your advice!</p>
<p>Baruch is part of the NY state system, a CUNY (City University of NY) and is considered the by many to be the best of the CUNYs. It does have an excellent business department and is well regarded. </p>
<p>For most kids, when it comes down the dollar differential, Baruch clearly wins out. And you are a great kid, being concerned about your parents. However, there are a few things here that I want to bring out. Your parents are “middle” class. I don’t hear a thing about TAP (state aid), and they have a “nice house” in the NYC area. So they aren’t doing badly. You are an only child. They seem to be willing to pay for you, and there isn’t any arm twisting going on here. Now if this scenario were different in any way, low income, strapped, other kids to cover, parents not wanting to pay, I’d say Baruch in an instant. But that is not the case here. You should sit down with your parents and figure out really what they feel they can afford. What is your family FAFSA EFC. You did not qualify for a dime of aid from NYU or BC with it’s $65K COA? BC meets full need. Did you even fill out FAFSA? In any case, figure out what the story is here, and if NYU is affordable. If you can find a job, commute,pack a lunch, work parti time, borrow the DIrect loan amounts, it may well be worth doing for a degree from NYU. This sort of thing is a balancing act. '</p>
<p>I know that i would want to pay for that option for my child if it’s doable without doing a lot of fianncial harm. I don’t know how aware your parents are about your options, but discussions should be had here. This is not the case of some other students whose parents adamantly did NOT want to pay. So see how they feel about all of this. </p>
<p>FAFSA was definitely filled out, but unfortunately I missed the CSS for NYU, which was my best chance of getting anything from them. I’ve heard about asking them to hold the spot and take a gap year so you can fill it out again, but I’m not too clear on the details about that. Like I said before, BC’s situation (and website) is very unclear at the moment, I think I will be contacting them about whether or not I will be receiving anything</p>
<p>A little more background on the family situation without giving too much away: TAP, according to my dad, we aren’t qualified for, and the nice house was a heck lot cheaper when I was born- considering my questions about college, you can guess when that was bought. In addition, I’m really worried about the stability of his job since his boss is on the elderly side, and my dad isn’t exactly the youngest out there either (although he says his experience being a CPA will help in case anything happens.)</p>
<p>Another issue is NYU. I mentioned that I was accepted into Steinhardt, but as you already know I would like to go into business, and switching into Stern doesn’t seem possible. I was considering the option of studying at Baruch and then transferring out if a scholarship was offered or just go with a Baruch undergrad and save up for grad school at a even more prestigious institute later. And BC did not accept me into the Carroll School of Management, unfortunately.</p>
<p>We have had discussions regarding the financial/educational consequences of these options, and while they both believe that it doesn’t matter as long as I know where I want to go, we are all leaning towards the plan I suggested. So unless if there is a way for me to swap into something business related at NYU or if I learn more about that gap year thing, this will most likely be my course of action.</p>