Should I pick Northeastern University of the University of Michigan Engineering for Data Science? I’m not sure if the price gap (20k per year more at Michigan) is worth it to go to Michigan over Northeastern.
Lots of these questions with Michigan. It comes down to what your family can afford cleanly in my opinion
Michigan is a great school. My sons there. We are paying more for him to be there then his local option. As a junior we still see it as
a worthy investment in his future. We had some money put away (529) for college for this purpose
If you can’t pay for it cleanly outside the $27,500 loans that you can take out then I say no
Would you say a Purdue University degree would be comparable to Michigan? I also have Purdue in my back pocket with a full tuition scholarship. I’m just worried I won’t have the same career opportunities if I went to Purdue rather than NEU.
All of these are of a similar quality for data science. While they all three offer different college experiences (a top college town vs city school + strong co-op focus vs more rural town + decent co-op focus), if price is the main motivator here I’m confused why Purdue isn’t running away with this. I would not be concerned for career prospects for any of these.
What are the actual net costs of these and how much will you be able to pay per year before loans?
Purdue with a full tuition scholarship is an absolutely fantastic offer. The school is very well regarded - particularly in the engineering/STEM arena. If you do well at Purdue you should have excellent career opportunities.
If your family can afford each school with no loans/no hardship then go for fit – but if money is any kind of an issue I’d jump on the Purdue offer and never look back.
So your telling me you can go to Purdue for free or just tuition. Can you actually post the actual cost you will incur at each school? But if it comes down to just paying room /board and expenses at Purdue and it’s significantly cheaper then the other two, not sure why we’re having this discussion.
This is my breakdown for cost with scholarships: I’m lucky enough that my family promised me 100k over 4 years, but the rest I will have to take out loans.
Michigan: 52k tuition + 13k housing/other = 65k/year = 260k-100k = 160k loans
Norheastern: 28k tuition + 20k housing/other = 48k/year = 192k-100k = 92k loans
Purdue: 0 tuition + 17.5k housing/other = 17.5k/year = 70k = no debt
Only problem is I never visited Purdue so I’m wary about how I’ll fit in and I’m not sure whether this is more of a college town than rural, and they don’t have co ops like NEU and strong alumni network like Michigan.
If the Purdue campus is anything like Michigan, I’ll love it. I tried doing virtual tours but none of it really showed me much. It’s just hard to commit somewhere without being able to visit, especially a college in what seems like in the middle of nowhere.
@momofsenior1. Can you help here?
To my understanding Purdue is known for their coops.
You can only take out $27,500 /4 years. Who’s cosigning for the other money?
Time to make a deal with your parents. During these economic stressful times they might need that money. Have a heart to heart talk. Things were different pre covid 19 virus. Also you are privileged to go to college at all
Many would trade places now.
Going to school for free is the biggest gift your parents can give you. You will be so far ahead when starting your life. If your parents don’t need /want the money and your not going to graduate school, you will have $30,000 to put in an interest bearing account now!!
You wanna be a data scientist? Work those numbers ??.
While your friends are struggling making monthly payments of over $1,000/month for 10 years (just estimating here), you will have the ability of putting that money towards retirement or whatever and have over $30,000 in the bank.
In other words, and listen now, your parents are paying you $30, 000 to go to college!!!
What am I missing here?
Yeah, this has been what was tugging at me for the last few weeks. Northeastern was always the dream school, but Purdue offered me a lot of money to go there. I have to talk it out, but I can see that Purdue will hopefully set me up for a great job.
Thanks!
My daughter is finishing up her second year at Purdue. It was her top choice, even over Michigan. She liked the more contiguous campus feel better. Facilities are incredible, definitely on par with Michigan. Purdue is super focused on STEM so that’s where they spend their money. Alumni network is very strong.
Ann Arbor wins for better college town but Purdue has a nice little college town area called Chauncey. There is a new Target, restaurants, bars, ice cream parlors, and some quirky shops. W. Lafayette has everything you would need as well and you are about an hour from Indy and two hours from Chicago. There are shuttles that run every single weekend but honestly there is so much happening on campus that you won’t be bored.
Students are down to earth and friendly, and the vibe is very much collaborative. Safe campus.
Purdue has one of the largest career fairs in the country. They and GT swap for the most companies coming to campus every year. Tons of internship opportunities, a phenomenal career center, and well supported co-op program. Purdue is co-op optional, but about 1/3 of students co-op so it’s a well run program.
My D’s co-op starts next month. (She is filling out her HR paperwork right now.) They are paying her very well, plus covering all her housing, doing a 401K match, plus other benefits.
Purdue does 2, 3, or 5 term co-ops. There is an Office of Professional Practice that oversees and coordinates the co-op programs. They are great to deal with! If you co-op, you’ll have a dedicated co-op advisor to keep you on track to graduate in 8 semesters and there are required co-op seminars to help prepare you for the work force.
I’m totally biased but with $0 tuition, Purdue is a no brainer.
Also, Purdue seems to have a reputation on CC as being a total grind. Yes you will work hard but you’ll also have time for fun.
Here’s a link to restaurants in town: https://www.homeofpurdue.com/eat.html?_ga=2.63866666.460884185.1587072037-747333988.1562542885
Also, if you look on y tube, you’ll find a lot of student made videos of campus.
I would also recommend searching for fountain run videos. Fun Purdue tradition 
Please tag me if you have any other Purdue questions.
The person I summoned is a Purdue expert. Her daughter is in chemical engineering and knows a lot about the school. Her daughter has a great co-op this and last year… Stay tuned.
Oh wow! I didn’t realize Purdue students were in that much demand. I’m going to talk with my parents tonight, and hopefully, we’ll make a decision tonight. Thank you for this feedback, it really helped.
If I were you I’d be running to Purdue. Excellent school. No debt.
Honestly for STEM fields I might choose Purdue over Northeastern for the same price. But the level of debt needed to go to Northeastern makes it a pretty easy decision IMO. If you want a city experience see if you can do a semester or do a co-op elsewhere.
IMO graduating with close to $100k in debt (remember costs go up each year) is a terrible idea. You can’t even take out that level of debt unless your parents are willing to co-sign your loan. And even if you could take out that amount of debt, graduating with close to $100,000 or so in student loans would handcuff your life decisions for years after graduation. – it would mean you probably couldn’t take that amazing job at a start-up for less pay, get that new car, take a nice vacation, get the home you want etc. I’d jump at your excellent affordable option - your future self will thank you.
Feel better? Even though I am very biased with Michigan, I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. FYI - Purdue students are very well recognized for engineering and stem no question. Shouldn’t have an issue getting a good job, internship etc.
This has me very torn, I’ve spent all day with this. This is great insight for Purdue, and now I have no idea where to go! I thought I was set on Northeastern a few days ago, but I need to re-evaluate everything.
Thank you so much for this, you might’ve saved me a whole bunch of debt!
Keep in mind. If engineering or data science Purdue is a national name for both. NE is a great school. Just not for what you want to major in. Also it’s just not worth the debt. You will thank us all later when you graduate with money in your pocket.
Just going to echo others here and say as a very strong Northeastern advocate, Purdue is an amazing school at an amazing cost here. There is no way either Northeastern or Michigan is worth significant loans compared to a no-loan option there. Purdue’s Data Science will be just as known in the professional world since it is a new field that mostly piggy-backs on CS strength, which Purdue has established.
Congrats on the amazing offer! I know it’s not easy to let go of a dream school, but for 100-150K in savings? Go Purdue and don’t look back 
I do data science for a living. You definitely don’t need a degree in it. In fact, it could pigeon-hole you into one sub-specialty you might not like. It’s best to keep your degree fairly general, so you have more options out of college. To get into a database-type job, you just need to be proficient in SQL and have some familiarity with SQL Server, Oracle, etc. 99% of your education will be learned on the job.
Affordability is far more important than prestige. Tech is driven entirely on job experience. After 3 years experience, employers won’t give a rat’s butt where you went to school, as long as you’re a qualified applicant.
If you have to co-sign student loans to pay for tuition, you can’t afford it. Entry level tech jobs are not lucrative and it’s going to take several years before you really start making a good comfortable living at it.
Hello all, I just wanted to let you all know I am going to Purdue for my next four years! I’m so excited for college, and definitely looking forward to not having student loans! Thank you all for being so helpful and informative, as you definitely opened my eyes to realize how good of a deal I have from Purdue.
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