Northeastern or University of Michigan

I just want to correct something you said: Michigan does give credit for AP classes depending on the exam score/class/your son’s major.
My son received a lot of credit from Michigan for classes he took in high school.
He absolutely loves Michigan. It’s a very different school than Northeastern. Ann Arbor is a small, quaint city with a huge university. Boston is a much bigger city with many universities. Michigan is a more traditional, large campus.
My daughter is weighing her options now and is 99% sure she’ll be committing to Northeastern. Her brother is going to Michigan. She toured Michigan and thought it was too big. She likes city campuses & isn’t into football.
Only you and your son can decided whether or not a school is “worth it”. Michigan is not generous with OOS financial aid. I wish they were ?

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I would say Northeastern with him only taking the federal loans, unless there is a very compelling reason to go to U Mich. My kids, like many, had to choose among the affordable options which still required us to pay a lot of money. Since you are in Mass, there will also be travel costs to Michigan.

Thank you for your note. My son IS into football, basketball and “school spirit”, which he feels he’d be missing on at Northeastern. He afraid, he’d be missing out on your “plain vanilla” college experience since the Northeastern is big on co-ops and global exposure, so student body will be moving in and out constantly.

They have all those things at UMass…

Umass is not even close to UMich level as far as college sports… I am trying to figure out the way to steer my son to understanding that “something gotta give” and “having it all” in UMich does not justify spending $100K extra…

What did you agree to pay before the applications went out? Why would you have paid for an Ivy league school but not Michigan? Michigan sounds like the best fit from what you’ve described. It’s unfortunate he has an acceptance there but may not be able to attend because of finances. But, no school is worth it if it means major loans or the costs effect retirement funds. Are there younger siblings and their college costs to consider as well?

I am happy to see that most of the parents here seem have discussed finances with their children before they applied. My son is very mature, but I do not feel he is mature enough to have a “finances” talk even now, not to mention 6 months ago, when he was working on application process. Vast majority of his friends are even less mature. So I am a little surprised with the questions like: “what did you agree to pay before the applications went out?”… He did not really ask; we did not volunteer…
As far as Ivies vs. Umich: to me Brown or Yale value much more than UMich, maybe it’s just me, but that where different approach to financing Ivies vs. Umich is coming from.
He is the last kid, his older brother is working to finish Umass Amherst online.

I am surprised at those who do NOT have a finances conversation. If a kid is mature enough to go off to college in a year when sending out applications, they are mature enough to understand that some schools are more expensive than others and that the family does not have unlimited funds to spend on college. The conversation that goes “we are willing to pay $XXX per year for college, so you need to pick a school in that range or figure out the rest through aid, merit money, work and loans” does not really require much in the way of maturity. We did not lay out our entire income and savings plan, if that is what you mean, just the bottom line.

I think you just said it. "Son, something’s gotta give and having it all at UMich does not justify spending $100K extra.

Done. Nothing hard to understand about that.

Thank you for support!

For those with kids still applying, good to have the financial talk before applications. Too many kids seem to be disappointed every year by getting into great schools they really want to go to, only to be told the finances don’t work out.

And to build on Sevmom’s excellent point- if your kid is mature enough to be applying to college, he or she is mature enough to understand the difference between 5k, 50K and 250K (or whatever the numbers need to be).

Honestly- I’m seeing situations with people I know in real life that a kid is raised to believe that there is ALWAYS more… travel, expensive sports, nice cars… mom and dad never say no. And the indignation that there’s a limit (admittedly, a high limit, but still) and that the state U might make a lot more sense given the families other financial obligations… yikes.

That’s not too hard to understand-- “Kid, we can’t afford it”. Even a four year old understands that money doesn’t grow on trees.

Parents, plan ahead! Move to Michigan when your kids are ready for high school. That way you’ll get instate tuition and save big money!

UMass Amherst is a great school in a great area with a consortium of other great schools. Plenty of kids who get into top schools, including Ivies, but can’t pay go there, as do those like your son who were near-misses. I know so many kids who went to UMass Amherst and have done so well with careers.

I would send my kids to UMass Amherst before Northeastern. Especially the honors program.

Do you live in one of those towns where the kids have a completely unreasonable aversion to an in-state school and crave better bragging rights?

Sorry but I just cannot imagine why he isn’t going in-state. Has he visited any departments, gone to any open houses?

Op, don’t have the illusion that Brown etc is better then Michigan. If you have facts to back it up great but for that you would pay?

This is pretty simple. If you have the money and no shame in that then send him where you want to. It sucks but I am paying for two kids OOS.

If you don’t have the money then you know your choices. I think you might be making your sons decision more confusing.

Kids are more mature then you would think. Few kids are going to ask the financial questions since they have been living a good life and I doubt have ever gone without. They would assume there are no limits since you failed to set any.

We made an extensive excel spreadsheet with expenses, scholarships etc and explained how everything worked to both our kids. They could plainly see in black and white what they were up against. If a certain amount of merit didn’t come through we couldn’t afford that college. I already told the tale of my daughter not able to go to Emerson in Boston since they just didn’t come through with enough merit even though they only take 20 people in her major. But that gave her the confidence if they picked her she could thrive anywhere and she has.

Give your kids more credit. They understand this all well when it’s actually presented to them.

Again I love Michigan and see it’s worth. It all comes down to if it’s worth it to you. I told my kids they are my investment and I will invest in their future just as long as they give me a big payout! We also set up 529 accounts years ago. Not enough for 4 years each but enough to make things that much easier now . Economy can change on a dime also.

Let’s us know when you decide.

I am going to chime in that the financial talk is critical. Once at college they must know how to manage money and even more importantly so they can become independent adults upon graduation or they will be in for a rude surprise. Life has constrainsts whether it be financial or other obligations. In my humble opinion, teens who work some $8-$12 hour a job and have to pay for certain things become much more humbled and understand it is a finite resource. 100k can buy four cars, a graduate education, or a very nice house down payment.

It sounds like you can afford Michigan but find it too expensive - is that correct?

Strictly speaking, UMichigan is as worthy of investment as Ivy+ universities. Just because it’s public doesnt make it less “elite”. Its reach and network are extremely powerful throughout the country. So, would you be willing to pay for Cornell or Northwestern (two universities that are very similar in prestige and fit to Michigan) and would you have the money? If you can’t afford it, you can’t. If you could afford Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, what is it about Michigan (a peer of these) that holds you back?
[to be fair, I’d consider Michigan to be a better value than Brown :)]

If you didn’t have a talk about finances before and won’t have a talk about finances now, your son won’t understand at all what is, in fine, your decision. It’s likely to seem unexplicably unfair since you let him apply, seem to have the money, but won’t use it. “I don’t think it’s worth 100K extra” is a reason you can give - he’s about to go to college, he is a stellar student, he will understand the concept of value or investment etc., however be ready for blowback since until then he was led to believe UMichigan “could” happen. Most kids are absolutely crushed and feel betrayed when their parents never communicated financial limits, then discover too late that they could have skipped the application to University Z that their heart was set upon.

Michigan and UMass both sound like better fits - if he’s not super interested in Co-ops, doesn’t like the idea of constantly revolving student bodies, wants big sports, Northeastern sounds like a poor fit.
Did he get Commonwealth Honors College at UMass?
Did he get into any other universities?