Dear Northeastern, are you worth my money?

<p>Ok I am in a bind. I am choosing between NU and two other colleges (one is instate-cheaper, and another school that is around 47,000 a year) I got accepted into the NUin Program at the University. The trouble I have is that is this school truly worth the money? About 60,000 per year is crazy crazy expensive, and I got around 2500 in loans from financial aid..What do you think? They say that there is a set curriculm if you want to graduate in five years with 2 co-ops.</p>

<p>I want to go here because of the work experience and the chances I will be able to walk away with a job. That's pretty much it. I don't like the city campus, the money, and I'm not sure if there is much of a night life and campus (unity) feel?????</p>

<p>Please post comments below on what you guys think. Anyone who has gone to Northeastern, said no to NU, or is going to NU and why. I truly am in a bind and super confused.</p>

<p>^^I mean 4 years with 2 co-ops</p>

<p>In my opinion no school is worth 60k.
Northeastern does give you the work experience but having that much in loans at such a young age is crazy…
Have you called them? If it is your first choice call financial aid and ask to speak to your assigned officer. Tell him/her how much you want to go to NE but how financial it doesn’t work, and that if given more money you’ll commit to them. It is a very small chance but I would try. </p>

<p>Seems like the in state option is the best.</p>

<p>No financial aid for the NUin semester even if they give you money for subsequent semesters. If you have a less expensive alternative I would say go there instead.</p>

<p>My D also was accepted to the NUin program and we felt it was crazy expensive. It was the first offer she declined. Villanova and Lafayette came through with much better financial aid packages and I feel are better schools (both ranked most competitive while Northeastern is ranked highly competitive). She also received large scholarships from slightly lower tiered schools. That kind of debt, especially if one has plans for graduate school, is downright crazy.</p>

<p>@crazymama8 You have made your displeasure with Northeastern clear in your earlier posts. </p>

<p>To the OP, if you have better options financially, you should pursue them. Also, if you do not like a city campus, you would not like Northeastern, regardless of cost. </p>

<p>OP you aren’t clear if the cost is something your parents can and are willing to contribute or if you expect to take loans. Remember YOU alone can only get the Stafford loan limits ($5500 frosh, gradual bump ups). Any other loans would be solely your parents (PLUS or other), or would require a qualified consigners for each and every year of school. This would affect both credit scores as well.
While my D participated in NUin and is happily and successfully in her first coop, I would never recommend such high loan amount for any school. (The $47000 if loans is too high also). It would shackle you and affect your life for years and years. Think smart and pick a school that allows you to reach many life goals. Work hard, seek out mentors and internships. There are many paths to a successful life. </p>

<p>According to US News most updated info of 2012,</p>

<p>Northeastern is most selective, 31.9% Fall 2012 acceptance rate, #49 National Universities</p>

<p>Lafayette College is more selective, 34.5% Fall 2012 acceptance rate, #36 National Liberal Arts Colleges</p>

<p>Villanova University is more selective, 45.6% Fall 2012 acceptance rate, #1 Regional Universities (North)</p>

<p>It depends which source you look at… US News is the gold standard, so if I were to look at rankings that is the one I would look at. The colleges view that one as the best as well… there are others; ie, FORBES, Princeton which are essentially knockoffs. From my experience, Lafayette is not all that selective. Villanova somewhat -crazymama obviously likes liberal arts schools which is a whole other animal and you can’t compare the two types of schools. In my view there is no other school like NEU - my two sons go there – will both come out with 2 years relevant work experience - because of extended co-ops etc., - can’t beat it but not worth a student going into extreme debt over it because they will pay for the rest of their lives. </p>

<p>Can someone clarify what NUin is? I tried searching the NU site but couldn’t find it. Thanks!</p>

<p>Putterer,
The NUin program is an opportunity to attend Northeastern beginning in the Spring semester after attending a University overseas for the Fall semester (Ireland, England, Greece, or Australia).
One of the biggest issues is usually the cost. Around $31k for the Fall semester overseas which usually is not eligible for financial aid because the students do not matriculate until Spring.</p>

<p><a href=“The Story of N.U.in | Northeastern - N.U. in”>The Story of N.U.in | Northeastern - N.U. in;

<p>According to College Board most updated info:</p>

<p>Northeastern University is very selective, 32% Fall 2013 acceptance rate</p>

<p>Lafayette College is very selective, 34% Fall 2013 acceptance rate</p>

<p>Villanova University is very selective, 49% Fall 2013 acceptance rate</p>

<p>and Boston University is very selective, 37% Fall 2013 acceptance rate</p>

<p>“Admission stats are based on first-time, degree seeking freshmen from
Fall 2013.”</p>

<p>Arguing over the selectivity of NU is not productive and shouldn’t even be a factor in deciding where to go. I’m several years out of college, and here’s my impression: rank is stupid. If you can go to Standford or Harvard or Yale or MIT etc etc, go there, because you will gain the connections those schools provide and a brag-worthy degree, and those things can do good things for you. But frankly, outside of that, you are not going to be more employable or rich or amazing because you went to UMiami vs Lehigh vs GW vs Northeastern vs USC and so on. NO one cares if your college was very selective vs most selective. It’s a worthless measure and it’s petty. </p>

<p>What will matter is the people you meet, what you study, what you do outside your studies, your grades, your ambition, your work ethic, your interests, your intellect. Those are the things that make you employable. I find that my coworkers come from a variety of schools-- from Williams to UC-Boulder to Stanford. What we have in common/why we wound up in the same place is not in the selectivity of our college but how we took advantage of our education.</p>

<p>Also: your debt load. Less debt = more money to spend on travel and moving to a cool city and paying rent and putting money in your 401k blah blah blah. Go for less debt.</p>

<p>OP, you don’t seem to be in love with NU. Go where you think you will be happy, and go where you believe you will find opportunities best suited to your interests.</p>

<p>Selectivity is different than competitiveness. From NY Times April 4, 2013: Northeastern is Highly Competitive, Lafayette College is Most Competitive, and Villanova University is Most Competitive. <a href=“Ranking Colleges by Selectivity - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com”>Ranking Colleges by Selectivity - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com;

<p>@crazymama8: You daughter seems to have some really good most selective/competitive options. In your initial post you stated that she was not offered regular fall admission to Northeastern. This still bothers you apparently. It is time for you to stop playing word games and move on. </p>

<p>I have to agree with TomSrofBoston. @crazymama8 you should focus on what choices your D has and move on. Even the most positive NU supporters on this thread have been objective enough to say that a clear head is needed to weigh the financial ramifications of college selection. I understand in that my D was not selected for a very specific program at my alma mater and I, to this day, steer clear of that forum, but I know enough about myself and my D to recognize that I can’t let my mommabear instinct overtake the rational side of my brain. </p>

<p>Moving on, the OP seems to have left the room, but I do hope you choose wisely and have success wherever you land!</p>

<p>First of all, to the OP, what have you and your parents decided is affordable? Can they, are they willing to pay for NEU? Is it even in consideration? My son was accepted there, but it did not even get thought, because we could not afford it. Not doable. So off the table it went. We told our son that we would give him $X for college each year and he could have it banked or it goes to the school. So if he could go to school for free, he’d have six figures of money waiting for him. But he’d rather go away to a big school spirit type school and get the whole college thing (and I don’t think NEU fit that either) so he chose to have his college pretty much paid instead of him. </p>

<p>So you write down what your family can pay, what you can reasonable earn, what you can reasonably borrow, and look at your options. What do they each cost? Then you decide. </p>

<p>For many kids here , NEU is the their first choice and worth ever bit of the close to quarter million dollars it will end up costing their families. It’s a great school, tops in what they do with co-op, Boston is a great city. Whether it’s worth a quarter million to you, is something only you can decide. Whether your family can afford paying that amount is paramount, however, in the equation and decision, IMO.</p>

<p>My dad does not want to pay however he is WILLING to pay for it… He would have to take out loans and he is willing to do it, however I do not think I could allow my dad to do that…</p>

<p>OP you don’t like the campus and it doesn’t seem you like much about the school-it is also your most expensive option. You can get a job graduating from any college in this country-you don’t need to go to NEU to get one.</p>

<p>All things being equal I would chose the least expensive option. Why pay a quarter of a million dollars to go to a school you don’t even like?</p>