I recently got into NYU Tandon School of Engineering however I have to pay $43,000 in loans per year. I also believe I can get into Grove School of Engineering at City College.
Please help me chose between the two schools.
You can’t borrow $43,000/year. That’s over $170k. You can only borrow ~$5500/year (~$27k total over 4 years). Go to City College.
NYU is unaffordable for you. Kick it to the curb, and move on.
Beside Grove and Tandon, where did you apply?
You can’t afford NYU so right now it’s Grove or whatever other college admitted you with an acceptable financial aid package.
Why are we talking just those two schools?
Even if you could somehow borrow all that money… and you can’t…over the course of 4 years, you would owe $170,000 a year to attend NYU.
The median home price in the US is $188,900… and it comes with a 30 year mortgage.
Do you really want to spend the majority of your adult life paying off your college loans? Even if it means you can’t afford the home you want? Or to go on vacation…ever? Or to travel…ever? Or to get the things and do the things you want … ever?
well I got into Stony Brook University with a full ride but I don’t want to dorm. I did apply to other schools such as Boston University and Virginia Tech but if I got accepted I would have to dorm. Therefore, City College Grove School of Engineering and NYU were the only two options I had
I personally would not encourage anyone to take out $43K in loans per year, even if a person could get that amount, which I am not sure about.
City College engineering is a good program and has been for decades. My uncle graduated right around the time of Pearl Harbor, went into the Navy as an officer and designed air fields in the South Pacific for the war effort. He worked as an engineer until he died. More recently, my sons have a friend there and he really enjoys the program. It is challenging academically.
City College does have a dorm, which I hear is nice but my son’s friend commutes.
Why don’t you want to dorm?
It’s usually an important step toward independence - while you are on your own to manage your time, money, laundry… you don’t have to go grocery shopping and cook, nor do you have to worry about rent and utilities. You’re on your own but if there’s a problem you can count on your RA.
Further, Stony Brook is not far from your home, you could go as often as you wish while still learning independent living.
I’d rethink turning down that full ride at Stony Brook.
its not that I don’t want to dorm its that my parents are extremely hesitant in letting me dorm. I know I have a good chance to get into Boston University and Virginia Tech its just my parents wont allow me to dorm. Other than that I believe if I get into Macaulay Honors Program at City College I will go there, if now, I will attend Stony Brook.
You can ask for a substance-free dorm if your parents are worried about partying in the dorm, or the quiet dorm if they want to be sure the dorm has quiet, studious students, or about a single sex dorm if your parents are worried about boys/girls in the dorm. And if you got a full ride you may well be in the honors dorm, which tends to be for top students, ensuring you make friends with the high achievers and go getters on campus, facilitates forming study groups, and often has study lounges and even classrooms right in the building.
Students who live on campus tend to have better grades (in part because they can more easily join study groups, which are in the evenings, and because they can study in the library till closing time), are more involved (which matters tremendously for your resume and job placement), and finally, have a better overall experience.
If you had no other choice, then commuting to Grove would be a good choice.
But Stony Brook on a full ride is much better. I bet you also got Honors College, which has lots of perks to boot. It’s a true accomplishment and one you should take full advantage of.
You may well be full pay at VTech and BU, so unless your parents can afford, respectively, 50K and 70K a year without taking on a loan for you, I wouldn’t consider them when you have a full ride at SB.
By full ride, do you mean full tuition? I was under the impression that SB doesn’t award full rides (tuition + room and board)?
I got approximately $15,000 together from Pell Grant, TAP, and Presidential Scholarship. I would basically have to pay 2k-3k for dorms.
For starters, you say you say you’re confident that you can get in to Grove-- have you not applied yet? It’s a holiday. Do that right now, regardless of what else is going on. It’s your most financially responsible option. And applying isn’t accepting; you can decide later.
If you’re OK with your parent’s opinion… if staying home and commuting is not an issue with your… then it seems obvious that Grove School is your choice.
If you really want to go away, then talk to your parents. Tonight. Look at SUNY schools, so the price tag will be reasonable.
double post, my apologies.
@bjkmom : OP doesn’t need to look at SUNY schools, they already have a near full ride at Stony Brook. (Yes, way to bury the lede… op didn’t mention that till later in the discussion). Why they’re not jumping up and down in excitement is beyond me. Perhaps some residual hope someone will advise NYU? But turning down a near full ride at SB makes no sense to me.
(I get that the parents talked about commuting, but they also let op apply to SB, BU, and VTech, which indicates they’re open to the idea of dorming.)
Sorry, I missed that somehow.
And I agree… why on earth would you not take a free ride at Stony Brook?? It’s away, but not so far away that your parents will be nervous. It has a phenomenal reputation. And you have a FULL RIDE.
Take it and run.
Take the full ride… get a summer job and save that money for various expenses…
ok, thanks for the advice
I already applied to Grove school of engineering in November, I’m just waiting for their acceptance email
Stony Brook on an almost-full ride looks like the obvious choice for now.
Why don’t your parents want you to live in the dorm at a college that is very inexpensive?