I might have to send my SIR to a college I don't want to go to (UCSB)... Help?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So I'm deciding between UCSB and Northeastern, and I don't know what to do. </p>

<p>When I visited Northeastern, I really liked the school. I got a good vibe while I was wandering around campus, and I loved Boston as well. I would choose Northeastern in a heartbeat if it weren't for money. If I go to Northeastern, I would have to take out about 65-70K in federal/private loans. I got into the N.U.in program, which means I have to pay an extra 30K to study abroad my 1st semester. Northeastern is currently re-reviewing my financial aid because my dad made a mistake on the CSS Profile (we should have $0 instead of $400K in investments), but I'm just preparing myself in case they keep my award offer the same. </p>

<p>When I visited UCSB, I thought the campus was pretty and all, but that was about it. I am in-state, so if I go to UCSB I would be paying in-state tuition, which my dad said he could afford. Literally everyone I had asked has told me to choose UCSB, but I don't want to go there. I feel like it has nothing to offer me, a lot of people from my high school are going there, the campus is too isolated, and I didn't feel anything special when I visited. Also, it has been my long-time dream to get out of California and go to the East Coast. I hate the area that I live in, and I want to go as far as possible. I don't want to stay in-state. </p>

<p>Right now, I'm just waiting to hear back from Northeastern on my aid offer. I have a feeling that they won't give me an increase in aid, and I'll have to send my SIR to UCSB. I feel extremely depressed, sad, and angry that I will probably have to stay in-state for college. I'm supposed to be happy with my decision but if I choose SB, I won't. </p>

<p>Sorry for this big wall of text, but I suppose the question I'm asking is...
What are the good things about UCSB without saying that it's pretty, next to the beach, and that it's "cheap"? </p>

<p>*When I ask people why UCSB is a good school, they just say that it's pretty and all that. I can honestly care less if it's next to the beach, so I just want other reasons why it would be better to be miserable and attend UCSB. </p>

2

<p>When time of the year did you visit Northeastern? In California, you have nice weather the whole year, but in the northeast it get cold, dark, and damp. Im not saying that should deter your decision but it is something to consider. One of the better aspects of going to UCSB is the lack of loans you would need. You didm’t say what you wanted to major in and maybe saving money for grad school is the right decision. Overall you just need to figure out what is best for your situation and whether or not northeastern is worth all of that debt.</p>

3

<p>I visited during spring break, so about a few weeks ago? And my major for SB is Econ, and my major for Northeastern is business administration. I’m not that interested in going to grad school. </p>

4

<p>What future profession are you thinking of going into? If your thinking business, you may have to get an MBA to reach higher positions and that will cost about 90k over 2 years.</p>

5

<p>Have you heard about UCSB’s Technology Management certificate? That might make a nice addition to an Econ degree. <a href=“http://www.tmp.ucsb.edu/index.html”>http://www.tmp.ucsb.edu/index.html&lt;/a&gt; (BTW, a couple weeks in spring and a couple weeks in fall are often the only nice weeks of the year in other states for someone used to California weather. Boston’s not that bad as weather goes, but it’s not Santa Barbara.)</p>

6

<p>If I were you father I wouldn’t pay anything for you to go to college this year. I’d wait until you had the right mindset. You should take a gap year and grow up a little.</p>

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<p>There aren’t any good reasons to be “miserable” at UCSB. It is a fabulous, well-respected university, bursting with opportunities in dozens of departments, in a gorgeous location, and won’t leave you saddled with 70k+ of interest-accruing debt.</p>

<p>College is what you make it, and you make it with your attitude.</p>

8

<p>That is a ridiculous amount of debt to be considering. You really have no idea of how that will handicap your 20s and 30s. Do you want to have to move back home to live because you cant afford to pay rent? Think about it. </p>

<p>what part of Calif do you live?</p>

<p>If you live a distance away from SB, then it is like going to a new area. Calif is a huge state and each region in it is very different. </p>

<p>Can you see if Merced will take you? that is a very different environment. </p>

<p>with only a bachelors degree in business from NEU, you wont likely be earning much out of college…so, again, you will likely have to live at home to pay back that debt.</p>

9

<p>Given that you don’t want to go to UCSB it would be a mistake to send in your SIR. I must admit it does seem a little unusual that education gets such short thrift. Your post doesn’t really talk about what you would learn at college, maybe to you it’s just a given that they are all about the same. </p>

<p>As kids are always told on this forum, everyone should have a safety that they are willing to attend. It appears you did not. I’m guessing you applied to other UC’s and did not get in. Since you didn’t have a good safety, your options at this point are not great. Hopefully Northeastern comes through with more financial aid to make this affordable for you. If not then here are a few suggestions. One would be to take a gap here, reapply to colleges, and this time he sure to find a safety. Second would be to start college this fall at a community college. There is no reason to go to UCSB when you already know you’re not going to like it. If you go to a community college and work hard and get good grades you will be eligible to transfer to a UC or CSU school that you like. But it sounds like going out-of-state is your dream. You ought to look at what it would take for you to establish residency in another state of your choosing. If you can find one where this is possible for you then use that gap here to get residency and reapply for the next school year.</p>

10

<p>Unless “OOS” means Utah or Missouri, it’ll be very hard to establish residency anywhere.
OP: if you take a gap year, you wouldn’t be able to take <em>any</em> college class and you couldn’t reapply to the same schools as this year. However, that would give you time to establish a better list that would include schools you actually like and can afford.</p>

11

<p>Well, for one thing, UCSB is ranked higher than Northeastern on at least two different ranking systems, and while I don’t like to put much stock in rankings, it’s the only way I have to objectively compare them. So clearly, someone thinks UCSB is the better school. I would also like to point out that you seem to get upset when others point out UCSB’s good location but have said absolutely nothing about why you like Northeastern besides its location (and a “good vibe” but that generally means very little). And you have your whole life on the east coast. There’s no reason it HAS to be now or never.</p>

<p>To be honest, I think you’re going to be miserable at UCSB because of your attitude. You have the opportunity to go to a good school that your parents are willing to pay for. Sometimes, you can’t get everything you want and that’s unfortunate, but if you go in it with a horrible attitude, then it’s going to suck. Nothing anyone can tell you about the school is going to change that. I always thought the savvy business decision would be to get the best bang for your buck, but perhaps, you have a different view of business than I do.</p>