<p>Macaulay Honors College is part of New York City's CUNY (City University of New York) system. It offers full tuition, free dorms, a $7500 study abroad stipend, and a variety of other opportunities to admitted students. </p>
<p>I got accepted to Macaulay at City College of New York (CCNY) as well as offered 1 year of free dorming. </p>
<p>Stony Brook is part of the SUNY system (State University of New York) and I got full tuition but I would still have to pay ~16k a year for dorming.</p>
<p>UChicago would be somewhere between 25-30k.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what I want to do. I'm considering pursuing a career in non-profit work, but that's just one of many possibilties and mostly I'm undecided. I may or may not want to go to graduate school or law school. </p>
<p>So my two questions are -- which is more prestigious Macaulay Honors College or Stony Brook?</p>
<p>Secondly, Macaulay has become such a great option due to the fact that it's free. But CCNY is a commuter school, and I wanted the feeling of campus culture and community and just a real experience. I know you can be happy wherever you go and that everything is what you make of it, but I would love any thoughts/advice/opinions/tidbits/personal experiences/anything to help me make my decision.</p>
<p>Some other things that matter to me - cultural institutions, freedom to explore lots of majors/courses so I can figure out what I want to do, study abroad, campus experience, being involved in extracurriculars, doing service, & of course getting a job int he future/launching my career.</p>
<p>between Macaulay and SB, I would go with Macaulay at City since Stony Brook is a commuter/suitcase school too and the perks of Macaulay vastly outweigh the downsides.
CCNY does have a sort of campus, but it’s truethe school is primarily commuter too.
UChicago would provide you with greater opportunities and a very strong residential/educational experience, so it comes down to where those 25k would come from: do your parents have the money? does that amount come on top of federal loans and work study or would it be 25k - ($5,500 loan + $2,500 work study + parental contribution)? I don’t think it’s worth taking on 25k in debt (100K in debt is insane for college) but if your parents have 18k and you can contribute the rest then UChicago would be a great choice.</p>
<p>thanks for your feedback! right now i’m really leaning to macaulay vs uchicago. any other opinions/information from anyone would greatly be appreciated!!!</p>
<p>I spent many years in the non-profit field. The job market is extremely competitive and there are a significant amount of applicants from the Ivies. Some schools offer debt forgiveness if you spend 10 years in a non-profit job. I would see if Chicago offers this.</p>
<p>Also, don’t rule out graduate or law school. Despite the pay, many people in the field have advanced degrees. I would do some research on this before you go down this career path.</p>
<p>If you are intent on entering the non-profit field, Chicago will be a huge advantage. Not only is the school well-known, but the City of Chicago is one of the best for non-profit jobs, as it is much more affordable to live there after college than New York City and has a long history of supporting non-profit organizations. You will have great opportunities for internships at both CCNY and Chicago.</p>
<p>But it is not worth putting yourself $100,000 in debt, as your starting pay will be very low. If savings will cover the difference in costs, I would pick Chicago over your other choices.</p>