<p>My top two choices right now are Rutgers and University of Rochester.....
For Rutgers Honors, I have 3+2 Co-term Masters program for which I would have to take $50,000 debt over five years.
For Rochester, I am in the GEAR program (3+2 years Masters) for which I would have to take $100,000 loans over five years.</p>
<p>I am doing biomedical engineering. Both colleges will give Master degree in five years. The difference is twice the debt for Rochester when compared to Rutgers.</p>
<p>Which option is better for me?</p>
<p>Can’t you appeal for aid for Rochester? I’d go for Rochester but that’s alot of debt right there.</p>
<p>Being an international student, I can only get merit-based aid.</p>
<p>Speaking as a parent that expects to fully fund our son’s Biomedical Engineering education with the only reduction coming from merit based aid, I wouldn’t consider Rutgers over Rochester. They just don’t compare academically. Unless our son insisted that Rutgers was a better fit, no way.</p>
<p>Would it be better for me to double the debt but still go to Rochester? I know that Rochester’s education is better for me. But still that debt…
How well is Rochester’s job placement upon graduation with a Masters degree? Is there any statistics available online? Is there any campus recruiting at Rochester?</p>
<p>jillzhou & AVHS Dad, thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I agree with AVHS Dad. We are fully funding our daughter’s education, and we think U of R is a great college, ranked much higher than Rutgers. If you are going to attend grad school and need your parent’s financial help, that may need addressing, but otherwise I’d choose U of R over Rutgers too.</p>
<p>skatingmom, for both colleges, I am automatically admitted to their Grad program. For instance, I am admitted into Rochester’s GEAR program (Bachelors + Masters). So, $100,000 debt will be with a graduate (Masters) degree. However, my main concern is that if I don’t get a decent job on graduation, the debt is going to accumulate by a lot. Therefore, I want to know how well is Rochester’s engineering job placement upon graduation? (Any campus recruiting at Rochester?)</p>
<p>anyone?10characters</p>
<p>URochester is the way to go (in my opinion). I agree with skatingmom and AVHSDad. Not only is it just ranked higher, but your college experience at Rochester would be far more better too.</p>
<p>I agree that UR is better. But can someone answer my question in post #7?</p>
<p>ha. i have the same two choices. except minus the grad program. rutgers is righttt in my backyard pretty much and all i can say is… theres a lot of students that will be scrambling for top jobs. the rutgers annual career fair is really famous, one of the best in the nation or something, so that’s a plus. but the other opportunities you’d get at rutgers for engineering might not be so easy to get [internships, research, etc]. they’re there all right, but there’s a lot more kids you’re competing with for the same ones, and there’s a lot less of those opportunities compared to rochester to begin with. so, without the experience, it’s hard to say how great of a job you can get upon graduation…
and still, there might be some outside of rutgers options to gain experience, since nj has a decent amount of places for things like that. if not new york is only an hour away…
oh and since those professors at ur seem to have a lot more connections [just my own opinion, since they all seem a lot more qualified, but im not sure] you might have an easier time with finding a job. career counseling sucks at rutgers thats all… my sister goes there and its horrible. don’t do much to help you find employment. dunno if ur does much more, but since theres less kids to counsel, anything would be better and more beneficial to you.
hope that helps</p>
<p>I suggest you contact the department, perhaps the graduate faculty representative, at each place and ask your question about job placement and on-campus recruiting. This is something that others who have done those programs could answer but otherwise the universities themselves could best respond. They are excellent questions to ask, however, and the difference in indebtedness is significant. I think universities should make stronger efforts to provide this kind of information to prospective students. Good luck with your investigation.</p>
<p>The acceptance package UR sent DS said that overall 75% graduate with jobs related to their major, not just engineering but overall. I’m sure MConklin will have much to say about placement, internships and campus recruiting (you might try sending a private message). But I’m confident that if you perform well you will have plenty of opportunities for all of the above.</p>
<p>This is getting tough day by day. I have better education on one side and less debt on the other. I just hoped education and knowledge wasn’t this costly. </p>
<p>Finally, I will ask the biggest overview question: Is it reasonable, justifiable, logical, and worthwhile to take $100,000 loans for Rochester with a Masters degree in engineering (GEAR program)? I will have to repay the loans myself without negligible family support. Economy is wobbling. </p>
<p>Thanks everyone for their continuous input.</p>
<p>I have to make the same decision op. except mine is a 60-70,000 debt (appealed so this might go down a lot or a little) but I have to go to med school afterwards. I am leaning greatly towards the debt option because I recognize that although its possible to be successful no matter where I go, I would be more upset if I didn’t go to Rochester than if I didn’t go to FSU. a college degree is on its way to becoming worthless just because of the sheer number of people applying to college and I think it’s best that I give myself the most opportunities available to me. plus rochester has been my top college for a long time and money is something that there will always be a way to find more of.</p>
<p>If you can find out what career help you will get when you graduate and what the average starting salary would be, that would give you an idea how quickly you can pay back the student loan. If you are paying it yourself, you hopefully will get the loan as subsidized and not unsubsidized, which is a lower interest rate. I would try to contact financial aid on that. M Conklin has stated the high percentage of U of R students getting jobs right out of graduation so that is very good. You’re going to have debt no matter which college you attend. Pick the college that will best suit you and give you the best education you can get. That will get you the highest paying job you can get which will reduce your financial debt sooner. Yes, the economy is very bad now, but you won’t be working until 5 years from now, plenty of time for the economy to get better.</p>