<p>I got accepted to Northeastern two days ago. Seeing some of the stats of people who got deferred, I didn't think I'd have a chance, but yet here I am. I didn't get any merit scholarships though. I'm going to be a mechanical engineer and I got accpted to the COEngineering at Northeastern. Anyway, here's some background about me: I from south Texas, from the notoriously bad Rio Grande Valley. I love Boston, I've been there a few times and it's probably my favorite city in America. I love everything about it, especially the Patriots (my name), Bruins, Red Sox, Celtics, Revolution. You get the idea. Now on one hand, I've been offered a substantial scholarships from Texas A&M, pretty close to a full ride. I've gotten that from the University of Alabama also. As I reiterate, nothing from NEU yet. I've heard wonderous things about the Co-Op program, so does that justify spending the money to go there? My parents offered to contribute about $15,000 a year, so that leaves a pretty big amount that I would have to take on loans. I don't anticipate getting much from financial aid. My parents will cosign, and they have plenty of collateral- getting these loans won't be hard. My parents won't pay more because they want me to be accountable. </p>
<p>I'm still going to apply for Fin Aid, but I don't forsee that bailing me out.</p>
<p>Is it worth it? I love Boston, and I get the feeling I'd love NEU. I would come out with a lot of debt, but I think I would be okay. My mom went to a small private university, came out with over 100k in loans with a teaching degree. I think I may come out with a bit more, but with a Mechanical Engineering degree and plenty of job experience.
All I'm saying is- She came out okay. My future financial goals- I don't need a lot, about as much as my family has now is what I hope to have. I want a nice car, a comfortable house, and extra money in the bank. I don't want to be trapped in the notorious 9-5 middle class work day. Can I accomplish these goals by going to NEU, even if it means spending quite a bit of money? How much is the Co-Op program worth to you? I really need someone to help with this, because I kind of feel alone in this decision, my parents agreed to support me with anything. Thanks again, I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>NEU’s co-op education is pretty neat but is certainly not worth 100K… Any benefit in job opportunities and salary will certainly be eliminated by that debt + interest.</p>
<p>A&M and Bama are both good for engineering. I have a good friend in engineering at Bama who just did a year long co-op. Co-op programs are not unique to NEU. Summer internships in engineering are very common as well.</p>
<p>NEU’s co-op is interesting but other colleges have the opportunity for co-op. It is also a college primarily known in the NE so personally I’d tell you that it might be better to take the long focus and take A&M or Bama over a predominantly regional college with a program, while interesting, is not unique only to that college. Look for a job in the Boston area after you graduate would be my second opinion.</p>
<p>How much of the cost of attendance do you have to pay after your parental contribution? If it’s just 5-10K more then that’s reasonable but if it’s like 30K a year you might not be ABLE to get the loans in your own name.</p>
<p>Well like I said, my parents would cosign. It’s just tough, because I really really really really want to go there, but deep down I know it’s a better financial idea to go somewhere else. Furthermore, I’ve wanted to move to boston my whole life, and I feel that this is my ticket there. I worry that if I don’t do this, I might not ever. You meet people, fall in love, follow their career, etc, and you end up in the same place- south texas. I don’t want that, and that’s a big part of my decision</p>
<p>Engineering graduates from Northeastern don’t make any more than those from TAMU or UA. While the coop at NEU can help defray the cost there, it’s not going to cover the total delta ($40K/year). If I were you I would not do it. And if I were your parents I would not cosign.</p>
<p>Chances are you’re going to move after college ends anyway. You could always job search in the Boston area.</p>
<p>OP, why don’t you try contacting the Engineering departments at TAMU and Bama and see what kinds of co-op and career connections they have in New England? Think of what you could do WITHOUT all that debt post-graduation! Northeastern is a fine school, but it is no MIT!</p>
<p>I’m from the Boston area and know a lot of kids who went to Northeastern - and kids who were accepted and didn’t go, mainly due to poor financial aid. NU is a great school, and kids who come out of their more practical programs often do very well. But it’s also a very expensive school and, like a lot of city schools, one that often doesn’t meet full need and “gaps” a lot of kids. I have seen local news horror stories of kids who graduated from NU with degrees in fields like anthropology or social work with over 150k in debt. Don’t do it! You have the rest of your life to move to Boston - it’s a very expensive city and will be a lot more affordable if you are not burdened with mountains of debt before you even start!</p>
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<p>EXACTLY what I was going to say! Boston is one of the most expensive cities in the country, and if you really want to live there someday, you need to graduate debt-free (or as close to debt-free as you can get).</p>
<p>It’s your decision, of course: five years in Boston as an impoverished Northeastern student . . . or the rest of your life there as a successful engineer. Your choice.</p>
<p>I responded to your duplicate post on the NEU board.</p>
<p>I think you need to see what your bottom line costs are going to be from each of your choices. That includes any loans as those do have to be repaid. You then have to decide if it’s worth buying the Boston experience. Unless you get some hefty aid packages from NEU, I don’t think it’s a good financial decision. I don’t believe for a second that getting a ME degree from NE is going to garner you all that much more than one from either of your other choices. So, it’s a matter of what premium you want to pay and have your parents pay and owe to buy these next 4-5 years. </p>
<p>I will tell you that it’s a tough go when you have huge loans on your back even when you get a good paying job after college. I have one son who is doing very well right now, and even he is ever so thankful that he does not a student loan burden as many of his colleagues do. Some of his colleagues who are older and have started families and households are particularly pinched financially when there are large school loans in the picture.</p>
<p>Also, all engineering majors do not make it to the finish line. In fact, many don’t. It’s one thing to have to go through the gauntlet of job search and living on a tight budget as many have t do so, and a whole other to have hefty loans to have to repay. Another graduate of mine is living hand to mouth but at least he doesn’t have the loan monkey on his back. Some of his class mates are truly having a difficult time as they are in fields that do not pay much, and having those ornerous loans to repay, really make it all that much more difficult.</p>
<p>while Boston is an awesome town for college, you would be foolish to assume that kinda debt vs. instate scholarships.</p>
<p>If you graduate with that much debt, you won’t be living in Boston after graduation. You will have to move back home.</p>
<p>Alright, well thanks everyone for your advice. Let me restructure my question a bit. Will I be financially screwed, dead, busted, bankrupt?</p>
<p>Let’s assume that I don’t drop out of engineering. Yeah it’s a lot to assume, but let’s do it anyway. </p>
<p>How in for it would I really be? Going back to my parents, my mom graduated with a teachers degree, and over 100k in debt. My dad had a 2 year nursing license at the time and about 10k in debt. While were here, I was born when my mom was very young, only 21. Now remembering my earliest years, we were never living paycheck to paycheck per-say, we were relatively comfortable. Not rich, rather humble, but still, comfortable. My parents and I travelled often, I’ve lived in Florida, California, the Virgin Islands, Texas, and New Mexico all before the age of 6. </p>
<p>Now maybe my parents are extremely financially capable, or maybe ten years ago was way different than now, but somehow, it seems to me, that coming out of NEU with an ME degree and let’s say 150k debt for arguments purpose doesn’t equal absolutely high and dry. Now obviously this isn’t the most financially conscious plan, because obviously coming out with close to no debt is better. Here’s my question- Given the experience, the location (even if living in the city is unlikely, a cheaper outskirt), and the co-op program are all things I would love to experience. Would it really be something I would regret my whole life, or would it just be living modestly for a few years after college? Thanks so much, it helps a lot more than you might realize.</p>
<p>You said your parents are willing to cosign. </p>
<p>Check this out:</p>
<p>[Financial</a> Aid.com’s loan payments calculator](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Loan Payment Calculator - Finaid). It will help you figure out exactly how much your income you plan to spend paying off this debt.</p>
<p>To put that into context, figure out how much rent you will be paying per month in Boston after you graduate. Look at also the cost of a car payment or if you plan on using stuff like water and electricity how much they charge for that. As an entry-level chemical engineer you should be making somewhere in the $65K-75K range which is good, but annualized to a monthly rate you might be looking at $5000-ish per month BEFORE taxes. Your student loans will take about a 1/5th of that away, taxes will take about a third, rent about half… And I got this number by assuming that your parent’s private loans will be the same interest rate as the Stafford loans but it could be lower or it could be higher I don’t really know how your bank works.</p>
<p>I would really do the math yourself though, try to see how much money you will have left. People often underestimate how expensive living anywhere really is. it’s an easy mistake to make but it’s not a safe one!!</p>
<p>Only someone who has no concept of money, risk or investment power would even consider such an unnecessary debt. You may survive with that loan burden for 10 or twenty years but that’s money that will not be going into a vacation fund, a mortgage, investments or retirement. You will be scraping along and your options will be limited. You may not be able to risk picking up and moving or taking a chance with a start-up. Many people wouldn’t even marry someone with that level of debt.</p>
<p>Make the smart choice. When it comes time for internships and jobs try to get one in Boston. If you can’t, target a local company like Texas Instruments that has offices near Boston (just an example, I don’t know what jobs they have in that location but I know an engineer who worked for them in Chicago and now Dallas). After you get experience you may be able to transfer or just find it easier to change jobs.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, you are not going to be stuck in your hometown unless you have to move in with your parents because you can’t pay your student loans.</p>
<p>See if this makes any sense to you:
[How</a> Much Student Loan Debt Is Too Much? - My Money (usnews.com)](<a href=“http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2013/01/30/how-much-student-loan-debt-is-too-much]How”>http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2013/01/30/how-much-student-loan-debt-is-too-much)</p>
<p>P.S. I think you will be screwed.</p>
<p>My daughter has two friends who are recent engineering graduates with good jobs living in Boston. The mechanical engineer is making about 50k/year, the electrical engineer about 60k/year. They can’t afford to live alone - they share a 2 bedroom apartment which rents for $2400/month plus utilities. So you can do the math - after tax dollars, they are each taking home about 70% of their gross income. It’s doable if they have normal bills. If they have another 1000-1500 in loan payments to make each month, how much does that leave for saving towards a home, or a car loan, or vacations, or anything else they might want to do?</p>
<p>These are real life numbers - my daughter, who was a liberal arts grad, is very happy to have a job paying in the low 40’s and minimal debt, and she is still living at home and saving up for the day she can afford to move into a shared apartment.</p>
<p>DH and I had student loans when we finished school. He had gone on to get a graduate degree all on borrowed funds. All good, since it put him in position for some great job opportunities. But it did make things a lot rougher for us. Even though we were older having kids, and had 2 incomes, it seems like we were always a step behind our peers. When we had children ourselves, we had to be a lot more careful with our money. When I stopped working, it was really a rough go. I wanted to send my children to private preschools, get music lessons and be involved in a lot of things that all cost money. When one of mine was dxed with Leukemia, it was a huge stretch and even more debt to get through those years. It’s no fun paying back loans while trying to pay for your kids’ education and care too. </p>
<p>The other thing is if you want to go on to grad school or get your MBA which some engineers we know did end up doing as many times earnings go flat in this field otherwise, it means, yet more loans. </p>
<p>Talk to your parents about their loans and how it affected their lives and whether this is something they encourage. The big thing about this, however, is that YOU are not going to be able to take out these loans yourself, and you are straddling your parents with this debt after they are finally free of theirs and as they are getting older. Be aware that in a cosigned loan situation, both parties are equally responsible for the loan; it goes on both credit reports and if anything happens to one party, the other is responsible. Also you might find yourself constrained with such a large loan on your credit report when you want to do things like get a business loan, a mortgage and it can eve affect employement opportunities.</p>
<p>Re: post 4 axqnd238,there is NO QUESTION that the student can’t get this loan amount in HIS name only. The only guaranteed loan the student can get in HIS name only is a $5500 direct loan.</p>
<p>Isn’t that what I said??? I said (or meant to say!) if the chasm was something like $5K-$10k they might be able to bridge the gap with Stafford and Perkins loans but if it was something like $30K they might not be able to qualify for the loan. </p>
<p>Obviously they wouldn’t have a large loan in their name ONLYno matter what - I never implied that was possible (you are the only one who said “his name only”, I was referring to the OP who said in his first post that his parents would be cosigning for him so the issue of having loans in his name only wasn’t relevant).</p>