Help!! BC vs BU vs Northeastern vs UMASS

College Search & Selection
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I’ve been accepted into these 4 schools and I’m having a lot of trouble gauging whether paying more money is really worth the prestige. Boston College is the best school I’ve been accepted to academically and I love the campus. However, they gave me no money so I would have to pay in full, about 64k a year. Boston University on the other hand gave me a 20k dollar scholarship, so it would cost about 42k a year. Northeastern only gave me 8000, costing me 51k but I was invited into their university honors program so I’m not sure if this would push it above BU even though it would cost 9,000 more. Lastly, I could attend UMASS Amherst, in which I was also invited to the honors program, and pay only 22k a year, which sounds pretty appealing considering how much debt students are in these days.

Unfortunately my parents are not really the type of people who plan ahead. They most likely plan on taking out private loans and just paying it all back after like they are doing with my older sister. My dad says he would theoretically like to pay about half my tuition. However, if I went to UMass, they could probably end up paying most of it.

I’m just conflicted because I really loved BC but it is sort of ridiculous to pay that sort of money especially if I want to go to graduate school. Between BU and Northeastern, I’m not sure if would be worth paying extra for Northeastern for the honors college. Would the opportunities for Honors students push Northeastern above BU despite the extra money? It’s always been my dream to go to Boston for college but it would be nice to not have to pay a lot of debt back once I graduate if I went to UMass. I’m just not a fan of the campus but I’m sure I could grow to like it just fine. I’m not sure.

Any advice? I’m so torn. Honestly if you know anything about any of these four schools please let me know!

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Anyone?

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Oh for goodness sakes - I don’t even see a contest here! You got into BC - that’s great and a feather in your cap! :slight_smile: Now say “yes” to UMass Amherst and go and have a great four years!!! It’s an excellent school, you’ll be able to take classes at any of the colleges in the Five-College Consortium, and being in the honors program will make it even better. (Really, being a part of that consortium gives you opportunities you’d never have at BC!) All of that makes it a highly desirable option even before you consider that fact that it’s also affordable! Accept the offer to UMass Amherst and don’t look back!!!

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Agreed this is between BC and UMass, but perhaps dodgersmom is a bit too enthusiastic. lol I would think over these schools and come down to a decision. This being said, 64K a year is a huge amount of money and UMass is a solid school that is shooting up academically. (+ they have a new honors complex)

PS- Why would BC accept a student who obviously isn’t loaded and give no aid… 8-|

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NEU student who would try to endorse it whenever possible here, go UMass. BC is barely in Boston if that’s part of the draw. Getting even to the area around BU / NEU by T takes a good 30 minutes. You’ll find yourself spending more time in your campus area. If that’s in a city like BU / NEU then you can utilize the city, but the reality of BC is that it’s too far away to utilize the city and otherwise the area is very suburban. Nice, but not if you’re looking for a city school.

NEU is not worth 30k more than UMass. You will do great there if you choose to go there.

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Thank you for the replies! I suppose I need to visit Umass amherst again and give it a second try as it has been a while since I’ve been there. No one has mentioned BU at all though. Is that maybe worth it since I was named a presidential scholar so I am guaranteed 20k every year? It’s more the environment I want but again I’m not sure if it’s worth the money.

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In the end, the BU sticker price is still around 20k a year more. It’s just not worth it IMO. If you deem it is, I would consider NEU and BU side by side considering the differences like co-op program. If you’re going to go the expensive route, I would say NEU is better. But I am a bit biased there. Still though, neither is worth it compared to that price for UMass. Unless you absolutely hate UMass and can’t see yourself being happy there, go UMass