HELP Deciding between three schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I have been accepted to a number of schools but financial issues have limited me to 3: Northeastern, Fordham, and MSU (slight chance at Weissman scholarship at Babson). I have a strong desire to double major in Finance and Political Science. </p>

<p>Major Factors: Prestige, Quality Program, Campus not super urban, Cost (essential equal between the three)</p>

<p>Northeastern: I was accepted into the school and the Honors Program. I am a National Merit Finalist and likely to receive between full tuition and a free ride.</p>

<p>Fordham: I have received a full tuition scholarship and have been accepted into the business school. I used to live in new jersey and have numerous relatives in NYC</p>

<p>MSU: Accepted into James Madison and the Honors College. I am currently a Michigan resident and was offered a Proffessorial Assistantship State scholarship and am a semi-finalist in the ADS competition.</p>

<p>Other info about me:
I love music and would love to perform in 1 or more a cappella or jazz band or pep band groups.
I have a preference for schools on the smaller side.
I received a 33 on the ACT and 2100 on the SAT</p>

<p>Which school would you suggest or general information about all three</p>

2

<p>Prestige is going to be regional (people in New England will know Northeastern better, people in NY area and mid-Atlantic will know Fordham better, people in the mid-west will know MSU better) and sometimes cultural (Catholics are more likely to know about Fordham).</p>

<p>For quality of program, I really don’t know how each is in Political Science and Finance.</p>

<p>For not “super urban”, MSU comes out ahead. Northeastern is in Boston and Fordham is in NYC, but of course you know this.</p>

<p>With “small”, Fordham has a slight advantage over Northeastern (though Fordham Lincoln Center has a much smaller student body, but I know the business school is in Rose Hill), both of which have a large advantage over MSU.</p>

<p>Northeastern and Fordham would be a little more of “academic matches” for you (your test scores are still a little above each one’s 75th percentile) than MSU. I don’t know how much honors programs affect that.</p>

<p>So:</p>

<p>Setting: MSU > Fordham + Northeastern
Size: Fordham ~ Northeastern > MSU
Academics: Fordham + Northeastern > MSU … NE Honors? MSU Honors? (don’t know)</p>

<p>So it’s close, not a clear choice from what you’ve said. Have you visited any/all?</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your perspective.</p>

<p>I have visited MSU and will be visiting the other two next week.</p>

<p>More Information:
Other schools I have been accepted to but ruled out due to financial constraints: Notre Dame, Honors Program at Business School at BC, Babson College, Manhattan College, University of Michigan, Xavier, Binghamton,
Waiting to hear from but probs can’t afford: Wash U in St. Louis, Carnegie Mellon, College of William and Mary, and Wake Forest</p>

<p>I come from a Catholic family with loads of relatives in the NYC area, but nuclear family is in Michigan.</p>

<p>I ultimately want to live in Boston after going to law school</p>

4

<p>University of Michigan was ruled out due to my dislike of the campus not financial issues</p>

5

<p>*Major Factors: Prestige, Quality Program, Campus not super urban, Cost (essential equal between the three)</p>

<p>Northeastern: I was accepted into the school and the Honors Program. I am a National Merit Finalist and likely to receive between full tuition and a free ride.</p>

<p>Fordham: I have received a full tuition scholarship and have been accepted into the business school. I used to live in new jersey and have numerous relatives in NYC</p>

<p>MSU: Accepted into James Madison and the Honors College. I am currently a Michigan resident and was offered a Proffessorial Assistantship State scholarship and am a semi-finalist in the ADS competition.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Free ride to Northeastern? how many free rides do they award? Is an ACT 33 high enough. Their upper quartile starts at ACT 32.</p>

<p>*Other schools I have been accepted to but ruled out due to financial constraints: Notre Dame, Honors Program at Business School at BC, Babson College, Manhattan College, University of Michigan, Xavier, Binghamton,
Waiting to hear from but probs can’t afford: Wash U in St. Louis, Carnegie Mellon, College of William and Mary, and Wake Forest</p>

<p>I come from a Catholic family with loads of relatives in the NYC area, but nuclear family is in Michigan.</p>

<p>I ultimately want to live in Boston after going to law school *</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>How much will your family contribute? </p>

<p>If you only get “free tuition” then your costs are going to be about $15k per year for room, board, and books. Will your parents pay for room, board, and books?</p>

<p>Obviously, if you want to go to law school, you need to borrow as little as possible…to save your borrowing power for law school.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for responding,</p>

<p>Northeastern called me today and confirmed that due to my National Merit Finalist standing I will receive at least free tuition.</p>

<p>My family will likely be covering room and board costs. The three schools will range in price from 10-15k. Fordham and Northeastern both offered to cover fees as well as tuition.</p>

7

<p>Fordham is a Jesuit school, therefore it should be the better school to prep you for law school. A Jesuit education is very liberal arts and “critical thinking” oriented which is good for law school.</p>

8

<p>Fordham has a good law school, if that’s something you want to consider (and a 3+3 BA/JD program, I believe). However, if you want to practice law in Boston, a Boston law school may be best for you. Still, where you go to undergraduate school isn’t really affected.</p>

<p>

I would agree, from what I know. However, I don’t know anything about the business school (if they have the same core, required philosophy classes, et cetera).</p>

<p>

You should have a much better feel for your preferences after visits. I’m probably biased, as I’m visiting Fordham (LC) tomorrow (after midnight… today, I guess).</p>

<p>At information sessions, you might want to ask how well their students generally fare at law school.</p>

9

<p>Experiential learning (usually done as co-op sessions) is central to the Northeastern experience. If you like that idea as most folks do…it’s a great thing. There are many other threads with more details.</p>