I am a senior from Massachusetts, and I am struggling with a final college decision, and I am going into both schools undecided, so major is not something that is pulling me one way or another.
I’ve narrowed down my options to The George Washinton University and University of California Santa Barbara, but have no clue which one to choose because I think there are pros and cons to both.
Any information on dorms, social life, networks in the surrounding area, etc. would be greatly appreciated.
I assume your parents are affluent and can afford to be full pay at UCSB since you are an out of state student. UCSB is definitely not worth a lot of student debt.
GWU offers a much broader range of majors than UCSB.
To state the obvious, GWU is in wash DC & UC-SB is located on a gorgeous oceanfront area in California.
If COA is equal or not a factor, then do you want to spend 4 years on a gorgeous beach or 4 years in the power center & capitol of the most powerful country in the world ?
They’re both horrible options. One is private and the other is out of state. Right now, our economy has crashed and layoffs are happening at an alarming rate for the foreseeable future. If a parent gets laid off…or business goes sour, college will become unaffordable VERY quickly. I recommending scrapping both and going to Rutgers or an affordable in-state option.
@coolguy40, not sure I agree with your advice. Some of us have scholarships to private schools which reduce the sticker price considerably and college savings. If we lose our jobs one would hope the schools would offer more aid and if it does become impractical, the student can always transfer to a state school. Maybe the future will be doom and gloom. Or maybe things will look brighter two years from now.
Also, as an NJ resident, Rutgers is one of the most expensive state schools for its residents, probably due to our high cost of living. Hopefully for the original poster, the UMass options would be cheaper.
The cost for both is in a $10,000 range, though I did receive a slightly better scholarship from GWU. Both schools, no matter the situation will put me in some student debt, and that is, unfortunately, something I have accepted.
I am still waiting back from UCSB for my final financial aid information, so the cost of tuition is up in the air, though tuition fro GWU would be about 50k a year. The average out of state tuition for UCSB is about 65k, but I can’t know my tuition for sure.
Do either of the schools have aspects that make them weak socially?
I can only speak for GWU. Not sure what you are looking for socially, but there are tons of clubs and groups there. There is some greek life if you want that, but its not the main thing. Being in downtown DC does give you some other choices as well. You can take the metro anywhere. But you have to enjoy living in a city. Also do you want to be a flight away, or want where you go to be doable by car/train if needed. UCSB would have the better weather. That is about all I know about it.
he has either a scholarship(s), grant(s), and/or some other form of financial aid. In this case, if tuition is 50k and he’s only has to worry about 10k, could mean he has 40k most likely from scholarships and financial aid.