<p>Hey guys, I've been observing CC for a while, but this is my first post. </p>
<p>I got accepted to Northeastern two days ago. Seeing some of the stats of people who got deferred, I didn't think I'd have a chance, but yet here I am. I didn't get any merit scholarships though. I'm going to be a mechanical engineer and I got accpted to the COEngineering at Northeastern. Anyway, here's some background about me: I from south Texas, from the notoriously bad Rio Grande Valley. I love Boston, I've been there a few times and it's probably my favorite city in America. I love everything about it, especially the Patriots (my name), Bruins, Red Sox, Celtics, Revolution. You get the idea. Now on one hand, I've been offered a substantial scholarships from Texas A&M, pretty close to a full ride. I've gotten that from the University of Alabama also. As I reiterate, nothing from NEU yet. I've heard wonderous things about the Co-Op program, so does that justify spending the money to go there? My parents offered to contribute about $15,000 a year, so that leaves a pretty big amount that I would have to take on loans. I don't anticipate getting much from financial aid. My parents will cosign, and they have plenty of collateral- getting these loans won't be hard. My parents won't pay more because they want me to be accountable.
Is it worth it? I love Boston, and I get the feeling I'd love NEU. I would come out with a lot of debt, but I think I would be okay. My mom went to a small private university, came out with over 100k in loans with a teaching degree. I think I may come out with a bit more, but with a Mechanical Engineering degree and plenty of job experience.
All I'm saying is- She came out okay. My future financial goals- I don't need a lot, about as much as my family has now is what I hope to have. I want a nice car, a comfortable house, and extra money in the bank. I don't want to be trapped in the notorious 9-5 middle class work day. Can I accomplish these goals by going to NEU, even if it means spending quite a bit of money? How much is the Co-Op program worth to you? I really need someone to help with this, because I kind of feel alone in this decision, my parents agreed to support me with anything. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Congratulations. What a great choice to have. Because NEU is Early Acton, it may be a few months before they give out the merit awards. You might want to peruse the website about merit aid and see if tells you when those awards are given. My kids all got their Early Action school merit packages in the spring. If you can’t find info about it, or if it appears that NEU does give out awards with their acceptances and you did not get anything, pick up the phone and call up admissions and ask if there are any awards still out there that you could possibly get and what the time line is for them. </p>
<p>Are you eligible for financial aid? Have you run the NPC for your family for NEU? Are you applying for financial aid? If your EFC is too high to get much or anything from NEU, then you know that merit, loans and your family and your bank accounts are wht will have to pay the costs.</p>
<p>Is it worth it to got to NEU for the full sticker price vs a full ride from A&M or Alabama? I don’t think so if you have to pay the full sticker price for NEU. Even though the Co-op can defray some of that cost, the differential is still too much, but that is a decision, you and your family have to make. If $15K a year is what your parents are willing to pay, and you have to come up with the rest, you may have a huge gap. You can only borrrow $5500 this first year, and if your parents cosign, it’s their loan, on their credit reports as well as yours, and if anything happens to you, death, disability , drop out, and you can’t or won’t pay, they are on the hook 100%. So bear that in mind. This is not like cosigning a car loan which is far more limited in $ amount and duration. This things can go on for 25 years and amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars with the interest factor involved. </p>
<p>It’s all wee and good be planning to be a MEchanical Engineer, but sometimes these things don’t pan out. The engineering dept has more drop outs than practically any other in most schools. ALso I don’t think that it’s worth a big 6 figure debt to get a Mech Eng degree in Boston at NEU vs A&M…</p>
<p>Thank you very much. I am going to apply for Fin Aid, but I don’t forsee that bailing me out. I’m a firm believer in Murphy’s law, at least in some circumstances. Thanks again</p>
<p>Is there a chance you will graduate early? If you will have any credits coming in, you may be able to do so. Engineering is very sequential, but it is worth looking into. </p>
<p>Loans restrict your freedom and you would be smart to think about the sacrifices you will have to make post-college to pay them off. It may be worth it to you to attend NEU because it is the only kind of experience you desire; I think it is fair to say that financially, it is not the most practical decision you can make. </p>
<p>When you don’t have loans, you can take time off to travel without having a job, knowing that you will get at least something or make do. You can quit a job you hate if you have some savings and casually look for a new one. You can move with your significant other to a new city and plan to look for a job on the spot. All of this becomes significantly more scary with loans hanging over you. Just something to think about. </p>
<p>Sent from my iPhone using [URL=<a href=“Tapatalk”>Tapatalk]Tapatalk[/URL</a>]</p>
<p>You have a lot of factors. The one that kills it for me is you are out of state and far away. You and your family will have lots of travel expenses. Is NU worth it. Yes…based on your situation… If you were closer to Boston I think the coop advantage is worth it. Plus it like others have said it will offset some of the costs. </p>
<p>Nothing says you can’t find a coop on your own during the summer. Get your Fasfa in early and hope for the best!</p>
<p>Full ride to a good school is an easy answer…take it! A friend is still paying school loans at age 43. She has a good job (100k) now but cant get ahead…had $100,000 in loans.</p>
<p>Exactly, I don’t want to be thrown back too far. But if it won’t really hold me back, just a responsibility I’ll have to pay off for a while, I might be okay with it</p>
<p>Any merit scholarship money would have come with your acceptance - you can still get financial aid however. I say follow the money - don’t go into debt for college when you don’t have to.</p>
<p>Disappointing I won’t get a merit scholarships. I’m applying for small outside scholarships but that’s like putting out a house fire with a super soaker</p>
<p>Along with the cost of just tuition, room, board and fees remember to think about the cost of getting to and from home on breaks, having to store stuff in the summer if you live too far to drive back and forth, and the cost of spending money in Boston. All that stuff starts to add up too.</p>
<p>Do you like Bama or the college in Texas A and M or any others throwing money at you? I know you think you will like NU more, but do you like either of those?</p>
<p>I think that as an engineer, you’d have a better shot of paying off any debt you might have, but I don’t know much about the other two schools, so I can’t tell you if Northeastern would be significantly better for you.</p>
<p>My response depends mostly on this question:
Is there anything that would make attending Texas A&M or Alabama not a good fit for you? Pretend Northeastern/Boston don’t exist while you think about that answer. </p>
<p>I may have been in a similar situation last year depending on your answer to that question. I was between USC (dream school, heavy loans) and Northeastern (cool, affordable). If any of your schools would work, but Northeastern’s your first choice, I’ll give you the same advice I was given: Go with the scholarships. Those loans are way too big to be worth it (no matter which school we’re talking about), and if you were anything like I was with USC, you’ve got a lot of first-choice emotional attachment making them look smaller to you. There’s too much uncertainty in the future (LOTS of people change majors, job market requires different skills, technology changing economy, etc) to be able to safely say “Because I’m studying -insert STEM field here- I will be able to pay this off without too much suffering eventually” (I used the same logic, so trust me on that). </p>
<p>It’s going to hurt at first, but in the end you’re still going to have a great experience no matter where you go. (Again, based on the assumption that all options are valid).</p>
<p>If the alternatives are bad fits for you and could potentially offer a negative or unhealthy experience compared to somewhere like Northeastern, then the answer becomes more complicated. (By “bad fit”, I’m talking more like friction between a person and a school/region’s atmosphere.)</p>
<p>No matter what happens, I wish you luck with your decision and I hope you enjoy yourself wherever you end up.</p>