So I finally heard back from all my schools with acceptances and rejections. I have narrowed my choices down to UCSD, RPI, and BU. I want to study biomedical engineering, and am very interested in the 5yr BA/MA degrees that some of my schools offer. However, here is my situation:
UCSD: Denied my first choice major, but accepted into my second choice which is mechanical engineering into the Muir college. No scholarship but a $14,000 grant for this year.
BU: Accepted into BME (I think because it only shows that under the housing info sheet) with no scholarships and a $40,000 grant for this year.
RPI: Accepted into engineering (not sure if BME since it did not show up anywhere) with a $27,000/yr scholarship but no grant this year.
I live out of state for all three colleges and two are private so no discounts in cost. I was considering UW seattle, but I only got into preengineering and bme is apparently super competitive there and a really big school overall, and since they only gave a 6,500$/yr scholarship and no loans, I eliminated them.
I am wondering if anyone can offer feedback to help facilitate my decision, and if any students at those schools can explain their experiences there. I would greatly appreciate the input!
Better to think in terms of net price after subtracting grants and scholarships. Also, for any scholarships, is there a GPA threshold to renew them in following years?
Of the net price, how much would you have to take in loans?
@ucbalumnus for rpi, I will receive the 27,200 every year for 4 years as long as I remain a full time student. For BU and UCSD, they were need based grants that I would have to re-apply for every year if my financial situation changes (and it will next year) RPI offered me to take out about 6,500 in loans, and UCSD gave me the choice for as much as I need
I just eliminated BU from my options, so now I’m torn between UCSD and RPI
$55,000 is a significant amount for most students and families, so that tends to nudge toward RPI if your family is not made of money (and it becomes a much bigger shove if you need more loans than federal direct loans).
RPI will offered about 6,500 in loans, and ucsd is permitting as much as needed. Money isn’t a huge issue for my family or factor in my decision. If I had gotten into UCSD for biomed engineering instead of mechanical, I would definitely go there, so that’s the only thing really holding me back. The scholarship from RPI is really nice, especially since it’s co-terminal, so I can receive a bachelors and masters degree in 5 years and have that scholarship for the 5th year.
Fit and finances are probably the two best considerations. However, when the difference in SAT scores between schools is significant, as they are in this case, then they may be useful as an indicator of relative academic quality, and may be another important factor to consider. RPI’s scores place it within the nation’s top forty, a fairly rarefied place. Good luck.
Scholarship and grant are the same thing: money given to you so you can attend. Need-based aid is renewed every year as long as your circumstances don’t change. If your parents earn less, some colleges increase the financial aid package, and if your parents change income brackets, of course you’ll get less financial aid. Merit aid requires you to maintain a cerain GPA. If it’s 2.5 to 3.0, it’s no big deal. 3.2 is a bit dicier but doable. 3.5 tends to
Loans are a whole other kettle of fish. Their impact on your life, as well as your parents’ and siblings’, is significant.
Can you please calculate this, or write it out for us:
RPI =
(tuition + fees + room+ board) - (scholarships or grants) = $… for one year
UCSD =
(tuition + fees + room+ board) - (scholarships or grants) = $… for one year
Legally, you yourself are “only” allowed to borrow $5,500 for your first year of college. This amount is not random: the federal loans are indexed to what a college graduate can pay back before they’re 40 if they find an entry-level job and make a decent salary.
Anything else would not be borrowed by you, but by your parents. When UCSD says 'anything you need in loans", they’re just telling you to get Parent PLUS loans, which your parents can apply for, for any school. However, parents have to qualify for these loans. IN many cases, parents qualify for the first year, often for the second, and then… if they dont, the student has to leave his/her college and transfer out to whichever college is the cheapest, so they never get the degree from the university they attended at first.
In the end, RPI ended up being cheaper especially since the scholarship is coterminal, so I can obtain a masters and bachelors in 5 years while also having the scholarship apply my 5th year. Ucsd was only a need based grant and I know we would probably not get it redeemed the next year since my family’s financial situation is getting a lot better. Anyway, I visited rpi and determined that I will be going there! I felt like it was a good fit and that I have so many opportunities there. Thanks for the help everyone!