Decision Time ....UNH or UMass Amherst

Son is down to two schools…UNH where he was admitted directly into engineering and UMass Amherst where he will have to enroll then try to transfer into engineering. UNH is $8,000 more than UMass for us, but I don’t know if the risk of not getting into engineering at UMass is worth the lower cost of tuition. The fact that is already in engineering at UNH is swaying him in that direction.

Any thoughts or information is appreciated!!!

I forgot to mention, UMass deposit date is May 1, so we are truly at crunch time!

If it were my son, I’d be nervous about the transfer into engineering and would thus choose UNH. Plus, I just love the UNH campus and surroundings and I like smaller universities. Are you aware of what requirements are needed to transfer into engineering at UMass? And is it guarantee if you hit those requirements? If so, and you and he feel confident he can hit those requirements, AND he prefers UMass or it would be a strain to your budget to attend UNH, then I would say UMass. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks, that is the issue…the transfer is not guaranteed. He was told if he took a certain three classes and achieved a grade of “C” or above he could apply to transfer. He found about 50% of those who apply to transfer into the program are accepted. I am pretty sure it is doable for him, but I don’t know if the uncertainty will sit well.

Contact UNH. It’s crunch time for universities too.
Ask UNH Admissions (directly to regional rep if you can find their name and email) whether there’s any scholarship your son qualifies for or could apply to or any way the differential between UMass and UNH could be decreased, “because your son really likes UNH but the current cost really is too much for your family compared to instate UMass Amherst”. See if they come up with something financially speaking.
At worst you’ll get a small $500 “book scholarship” or somesuch, but it’d still help. Obviously they won’t make up the 8K difference
(Also, contact Umass Amherst and ask if you could get 2 more weeks to decide -with the virus, universities have had to be more flexible wrt deposit deadline although officially Umass Amherst hasn’t budged. In this case, it’s especially important because he’s not guaranteed to get his major.)

Thank you both for the advice! I think I will contact UNH to ask about scholarships. I believe he is strongly leaning in that direction not only because he is already in the program, but also because of the campus atmosphere and smaller size.