College Decision: please help me make the biggest choice of my life so far

College Search & Selection
1

Boy. Am I in a pickle.

As most of you know, the May 1st deposit and decision deadline for many universities is rapidly approaching in just 2 days. Right now, I’ve narrowed my choices down to 2 colleges, but for the life of me I can’t decide where I’m going to attend. I want to major in bioengineering (possibly minor or dual major in electrical engineering), as well as participate in undergraduate research and engineering internships while gaining my bachelor’s degree. The first college I am considering is Northeastern University. It is essentially my dream college; it has everything I’m looking for, from its location to its research and especially its awesome work co-ops. If I attended, I would graduate with a year or more of job experience in the biotech industry, which isn’t something a lot of colleges can boast. There’s just one hang up: the ASTRONOMICAL price tag. It’s 70k a year, and even if I factor in the 20k/year scholarship they gave me, the savings from my AP classes, the money I’ll make during my co-ops (I also don’t pay tuition in these), and all of my anticipated savings for the next 4 years, I will still have to take out roughly 90k in loans. Yikes! Plus, the general rule of thumb that you shouldn’t take out more student loans than the amount of your yearly starting salary would be blown out of the water for me; as a bioengineer, I would be making around 70k~ish per year out of college, which is far below the staggering 90k I will owe, not even including the interest on the loans. Basically, I would be paying over $1000 a month on my student loans for the next 10 years, and with rent, taxes, car payments, etc. I would be essentially broke for a decade.

The next college I am looking at is a Christian university in Arkansas called Harding University. Although it is significantly cheaper at 28k per year, I would not have the opportunities to go on co-ops, perform research, or gain any other valuable experience for my bioengineering career. I would only have to take out around 30k in loans, allowing me to pay $300 a month for 10 years on my student loans, but I would get a much more mediocre education, since Harding’s engineering program is so small and is mostly concentrated on mechanical engineering. I feel like at Harding, although it would be cheaper, I would be much less prepared for my career, and I might have a hard time finding a bioengineering job since the field is so competitive.

So, this brings me to my final question: is Northeastern worth the cost, or should I just go to Harding? I personally would prefer to go to Northeastern, but since my parents aren’t going to help me pay for my education, I don’t want to be up to my neck in debt for ten years after college. I have looked around online for Northeastern student feedback on whether 70k per year was worth it for their experience, and I’ve gotten mixed reviews. Some say the tuition was way too much to be worth it, while others stated that the co-ops were invaluable and helped them to get a high-paying job straight out of college in their field. I’m just so torn at this point, since I like aspects of both schools, and any help on this decision would be a godsend. I have to make up my mind in just a couple of days, so anything you guys think would be greatly appreciated! [-O<

2

You can’t take out that much in loans. Your parents would have to co-sign. Are they willing to do that?

3

You can’t afford Northeastern. So just forget it.

Is Harding’s engineering program accredited by ABET? Where do their graduates get jobs (ask the career center). Is there anything about your aid package at Harding that would prevent you from setting up your own co-ops?

How did these two end up being your best options? Do you have an affordable state U admission you could use instead?

For bioengineering jobs, it isn’t necessaty to have a degree in that subject. You could major in a different engineering filed, and take a class or two in bioengineering electives. It also is likely that you will need grad work in that area, so the undergrad, provided it is solid, and ABET accredited should be good enoguh at Harding.

4

Harding really isn’t very good for engineering and “Christian centered science” will sound, at best, strange to many scientists. It’ll make you less hirable outside the Evangelical Christian community. Bioengineering requires grad work and many graduate programs will wonder what you were or weren’t taught. For instance, is intelligent design taught in biology classes?

Northeastern is too expensive. Did they meet your financial need? Have you submitted all documents to show your family’s financial difficulties and circumstances to see if they could reconsider their financial aid offer?
(What’s your EFC and what did they offer)?

Do you have any other offer?

5

Northeastern sounds unaffordable and Harding sounds mediocre or at least inappropriate for your interests. Were you accepted at your state flagship?

What did the Northeastern NPC say you would have to pay?

6

They would cosign, but I would still be responsible for paying back the loan. My parents have only agreed to possibly lending me money interest free to pay off loans.

7

It sounds like your parents are capable of paying a large portion of your college expenses but they are choosing not to. That would explain lack of need based aid at Northeastern. Are your parents pushing you to attend a Christian college?

Odd that your choices came down to these two radically different schools.

8

I foolishly decided not to apply at my state’s university, and now I am wishing I had. Northeastern, besides the 20k per year scholarship I was gifted, is basically charging me full price. I know that I won’t have to pay tuition during any co-ops I would have (2 six month periods), and that these work experiences would make me money, but that is the only help NEU is providing me with.

9

The co-ops really don’t save you money – they simply make the time you are in school longer. You will still have to attend college and pay tuition for eight semesters – the co-ops are additional.

Agree that one choice is unaffordable and the other is not very appealing for your interests. Perhaps consider a gap year and apply to your state school the following year.

10

MYOS1634, the problem is is that my EFC is fairly high due to the fact that my parents make a good amount of money. However, since both of my parents paid through their college educations (back when college was much cheaper, I might add), they fully expect me to pay for my own. I’ve submitted all of the financial forms possible, but I’m at a disadvantage since on paper it sounds like I am financially secure, when in reality my parents want me to provide for myself.

11

You have to have other choices, right?!!

12

Years ago it was more reasonable for a student to pay for college education than it is now. Your parents are not in touch with the realities of the cost of college education today.

Colleges are not obligated to step in when parents are financially able and yet unwilling to pay. If that were the case, nobody would pay for their kid’s college.

You may want to take a gap year, apply to your state colleges, and see if your stats would qualify you for large scholarships at some schools and look at those for next year. (perhaps UAlabama, UAlabama-Huntsville…hopefully someone can chime in with more ideas).

13

happymomof1, Harding’s engineering program is ABET accredited, although their bioengineering program was only just recently. Harding will really only supply me with the bare minimum as far as their program is concerned, and I’m worried that I won’t be marketable to the field I want to enter with a bachelor degree from there. I am considering going on to get my master’s, but not definite. The only way I could get work experience as an undergrad would be to find internships in Little Rock (a 45 minute drive away from Harding) and spend my summers doing that.

14

Ok. You’re among the students who really really needs the Nacac list of colleges that miscalculated yield. It’ll be out in a week and has all the colleges that teenagers didn’t choose at the same rate as usual for unpredictable reasons - often there are two dozens that are really good.
In the meanwhile, send a quick application to UA Huntsville (stem university trying to become well known in the middle of a research park, lots of internships available), University or Arizona and University of New Mexico (perhaps New Mexico Tech). You have to send everything today because Monday is the very last day.
Then on Friday check back on this website for Nacac list recommendations.

15

I strongly suggest you take a gap year and reapply to many more colleges next year, spreading a MUCH wider net for affordability / merit $$. See if you can get a job or internship this year. we can help you find colleges to apply to, after we know your stats, etc. And obviously, apply to your state college next year.

It wont make ANY difference in the long run if you graduate when you are 22 or 23, but you will NEED to do a lot more research to find colleges you can AFFORD to go to AND which have the programs you want.

16

Sadly I have to agree with menloparkmom. You probably need to take a gap year and try to find somewhere that is both appropriate for your desired career and affordable.

If your stats are strong, you could try calling around Monday to schools that give big merit and see if they would consider you for merit money if you got an application in right away. Schools that give large amounts of merit scholarships include: Arizona, Arizona State, New Mexico, New Mexico Tech, New Mexico State, Ole Miss, Alabama, Alabama - Huntsville, South Dakota Mining and Technology. Check them out, look for a scholarship table, and run the net price calculator today and call any promising ones tomorrow.

Bioengineering is a hot field that fills pretty much everywhere, being flexible as to which subfield of engineering you major in would help you find a place for this fall.

The other option is community college. Many CCs have fine pre-engineering that slot you into the state university system easily. If you go to community college, you are saving tuition your first one or two years, but giving up your chances for a freshman merit scholarship. Transfer scholarships are almost never as big.

17

Applications for U Arkansas will be accepted until Aug 1. https://admissions.uark.edu/apply/howtoapply.php

18

And also check if you can still apply to the honors college.

19

You’ve gotten some great advice here. Neither of these two schools is worth the cost/debt associated with it. Don’t go to either one. If you have the stats to get into Northeastern, then you’d qualify for automatic merit at some schools like UAlabama and UA-Huntsville, but even though those schools are taking apps for one more day, the OOS merit deadline was in December. Yes, apply to your own state U which is still taking applications. And then check the NACAC list of schools with openings, when it comes out at the end of this week, for possibilities. Then see where you are.

Hopefully one of those options will work out for next year. If not, then you can start the decision process as to whether to take a gap year and apply to a better-targeted list (preserving your freshman eligibility for big merit aid, which you could certainly get at a number of excellent schools), or opt to start at a community college. (The former is probably a better plan, but it depends.) Working and saving money for a year would not be a terrible thing, given the financial bind you’re in now. I’m sure it would feel like a setback right now, but in the long run it would just be a hiccup, not a disaster.

20

I agree if your applications to NACAC’s list and universities like UArk, UAH, etc, don’t look like good, affordable choices, then a gap year is your best bet in order to preserve your freshman status (transfers get lousy aid and attending community college could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars in scholarships).