<p>I am currently a high school senior playing the waiting game. I have applied to many schools and heard back from a few. I plan to major in engineering (particularly biomedical or chemical). I am a triplet and all three of us are going to college next year, this will be an extreme financial burden on our family. Basically anything i have to pay towards college will be taken out in loans which terrifies me. So far I have been accepted to Tulane honors college (27000/yr scholarship), UMD college park honors college (12000/yr), GA tech, U of Rochester (12,000/yr), and Northeastern honors college (38,000/yr). The reason Northeastern has given be 38,000 (a full tuition scholarship excluding room and board) is because I am a National Merit Finalist. I love Northeastern but am worried that it is not a good enough school for engineering. I am still waiting on many schools including all of my reach schools. I applied to so many because i was hoping that I would get a lot of money from at least one (which at least i did). I am waiting on Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Wash U in st. louis, BU, RPI, ect. I have good grades/test scores/ have gone on many good interviews and feel confident i will get into at least a few of these schools (who knows about yale/Princeton/Columbia) What should i do? What if i get into a "top" school but am not offered as much money? should i got to NEU? How does it stand in engineering/overall? I would greatly appreciate any advice =)</p>
<p>I think Maryland with a $12k scholarship would be almost as affordable as NEU with a $38k scholarship, and between the two, I recommend Maryland. Their Engineering programs are significantly more robust.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you will get an acceptance into one of the more generous schools, perhaps Columbia or Princeton. They do not give out scholarships, but they meet 100% of need.</p>
<p>You should also continue to communicate with the schools that admitted you. You will be going to college with 2 other siblings. Perhaps Maryland or NEU can revisit your FA package.</p>
<p>Don’t compare based on grant/scholarship amounts. Compare by net price after deducting grant/scholarship amounts from the cost of attendance. (Are you in-state for UMCP or GT?)</p>
<p>What branch of engineering are you most interested in? You may want to check the [ABET</a> -](<a href=“http://www.abet.org%5DABET”>http://www.abet.org) accreditation lists.</p>
<p>Northeastern is best known for its co-op programs designed to have students get work experience in between school semesters. However, semesters off for co-op employment can be done at other schools.</p>
<p>If all three of you are attending college there is a good chance the most of your cost will be covered at most need blind institutions. At most of the ivies and the other need blind there is no loans for students with household income below 75K. The cutoff income for no loans increases as the number of children in college increases.</p>
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<p>Many need-blind-for-admissions schools do not meet full need. New York University has need blind when looking only at admissions decisions, but is well known for poor need-based financial aid (where an admission can become an effective rejection due to insufficient financial aid).</p>
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This is only true if the OP is in-state for MD but I couldn’t find that in the initial post.</p>
<p>As I understand it, Princeton and Yale should take care of your FIN-AID needs. Other things to keep inmind: Are all 3 of you considering the same schools? And are you all women? If so, that should give you a huge advantage in STEM admits. </p>
<p>Good luck, I am sure it will all work out.</p>
<p>I live in NY, about 30 mins north of NYC. We have applied for financial aid but are still awaiting the packages from schools (i only know of a few scholarships so far). My brother and sister are not applying to any of the same schools as me, they are looking at many state schools (in NY) so that should save us money.
Thank you all so much for your replies!
As of right now, i am most interested in northeastern. With the scholarship i am only left to pay the room/board which is 13,000 (expensive bc its in boston). But this is the least money i would have to pay so far. I also love boston and could see myself going to northeastern.
Does anyone have any opinions/info on northeastern (i am not uniformed about this school, but i am always eager to hear other opinions)</p>
<p>Northeastern has a number of ABET accredited engineering majors so it seems it would be a good choice. [Accredited</a> Programs details](<a href=“http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=68]Accredited”>http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=68)</p>
<p>I hear good things about the NEU coop program. The practical job experience will give you an advantage when it comes time to look for a full-time job.</p>
<p>Don’t overlook Case- Western ,a great Engineering school in Cleveland .</p>
<p>If the financial cost is more or less comparable, let me cast my vote for Northeastern. If you actually want to work as an engineer (as opposed to going to Wall Street or something) then real world experience thru coops is worth its weight in gold. Employers know that you understand the nature of the job and are not guessing that maybe you’d like it. You make a choice that matches what you want to do for the same reason.</p>
<p>Sure, every school “has” internship and coop programs. But look to see how integrated they are into the school. At some its little more than a listing book in the office and perhaps a few employers coming to campus that will also interview students for summer jobs; if you want to take a semester off for a coop that is a huge problem. Northeastern has it baked into the engineering curriculum in a way few others match.</p>
<p>yes, i am definitely leaning towards Northeastern. Although, of course if i am accepted to say, Columbia, i will have a lot of thinking to do. It is very difficult not knowing yet all the schools i am accepted to and having to make a decision within the next two months.
also, i have not applied to case western and at this point cannot apply to any other schools.</p>
<p>Did you apply to the obvious less expensive in-state public schools, Buffalo and Stony Brook, and an inexpensive school with highly ranked chemical engineering, Minnesota?</p>
<p>Boston University has biomedical engineering but not chemical engineering in its ABET accreditation list. Northeastern has chemical engineering but not biomedical engineering.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus suggested Minnesota-Twin Cities. That is an excellent recommendation. Minnesota’s Chemical Engineering department is ranked among the top 5 nationally and the cost of attendance for OOS studentsis approximately $25k. Even without a scholarship, it is competitive with Maryland and Northeastern. Minnesota’s application is rolling and they may still be accepting applications.</p>
<p>I am not sure if it is still the case, but back in my day, Northeastern’s co-op schedule required students 5 full years to graduate. Although the work experience was valuable, some prefer to graduate in 4 years. The additional year at NEU, if it is still required, should be factored into the OP’s calculations.</p>
<p>As of right now, i am most interested in northeastern. With the scholarship i am only left to pay the room/board which is 13,000 (expensive bc its in boston). But this is the least money i would have to pay so far. I also love boston and could see myself going to northeastern.</p>
<p>My brother and sister are not applying to any of the same schools as me, they are looking at many state schools (in NY) </p>
<p>and at this point cannot apply to any other schools.
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<p>there’s not only room and board…there are other costs, too. There are books, and maybe also “course fees” or other fees …these can really add up.</p>
<p>How will you pay for the room, board, books, and any fees?</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like you have a real “financial safety.”</p>
<p>How much will your parents contribute towards YOUR costs each year?</p>
<p>Your siblings may not really be saving your family any money if they go to NY schools. If their EFCs aren’t low enough, your family may be paying full freight for those schools…when you have 3 in school and little aid…it can be very expensive.</p>
<p>Why can’t you apply to more schools??? You don’t have a financial safety unless you know for sure how you’d pay for the uncovered costs at NEU.</p>
<p>If the OP does not have an actual safety, then the default safety is to go to community college and then transfer to a state university like Buffalo or Stony Brook after two years in order to complete the bachelor’s degree in two more years.</p>
<p>@Alexandre: Northeastern now offers a 4 year option with 2 coop periods in addition to the traditional 5 year option with 3 coop periods.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus: Boston University does not have a chemical engineering department, hence its lack of ABET accreditation.</p>
<p>my family and i are applying for financial aid and are waiting to hear back from individual schools
yes, most students at Northeastern go for 5 yrs but i would only pay room and board each year, (which is 13,000 but i will probably get at least some of that covered by financial aid), my parents do not know yet exactly what they will contribute to each of us, but we are okay taking out small loans (ie to help with room and board), additionally, if i attended northeastern, i could potentially share an appartment with other students and save money (we spoke to some upperclassmen who told us approximate costs)
i have not applied to state schools, nor minnesota, and will NOT apply to any more schools, as it is i am waiting on many and have to make a decision within two months
i will not be attending community college to save money, i already have a full tuition scholarship (which no, does not include books, but yes includes all classes)</p>
<p>what i really wanted in this thread was opinions on which school i should be considering, taking everything into account, not just finances
i really like northeastern, but worry it does not have a good enough name for career purposes although the coop programs seems quite helpful
it really was one of my safety schools but i fell in love with it and got a great scholarship
so i wanted some opinions-- also, i THINK i want to major in engineering, (perhaps biomedical), but not 100% sure so if the school only has biomed or chem it is okay with me
**the schools i listed at the beginning are the only schools i am considering</p>