@coolguy40 Do you think a data science degree would be a good bachelor’s degree to have? I plan on minoring in CS but I am entering college with the plan of majoring in data science.
Congratulations.
It wouldn’t be a bad degree to have, but it’s only one specialty out of hundreds of things you can do in tech. If you’re interested, then go for it. It’s a good solid career with several paths to go into. SQL is going to be the foundation. Learn that language well.
If money is not an issue, is it all about fit between Northeastern and Purdue?
This is our situation.
Purdue - full price. Data Science. Waitlisted for honors.
Northeastern - 27k/yr merit $. Honors program. DS + Economics, but might explore and switch around in Khoury.
Also under consideration - UIUC - in-state (CS+statistics) and UMiami (merit + presidential scholar). But the teen wants OOS. Miami looked amazing (best campus) but it’s not as strong for CS.
Also got into UFlorida (honors), UW-Madison (didn’t apply for honors), OSU (last minute RD), Mich State (last minute RD, got merit $), and Pitt (honors + merit $).
Deferred for CWRU, UMichigan.
Thanks for any insights!
More or less I’d say!
You seem to have the right frontrunners as well given the reasoning. My only note is that if you want a fit somewhere between Purdue and Northeastern with good CS/DS, UW Madison is probably the pick. Nice college town and known CS school of a similar caliber to those two.
If you happen to get into UMichigan or CWRU, both would also be comparable enough. At a personal level, I still wouldn’t take CWRU but would probably swap Michigan for UW if accepted in that 3 horse race.
Happy to advise on fit factors if needed!
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Yes, please! This “fit” business is confounding especially when a school is non-traditional and you haven’t visited yet. I’ve read every NU post here but still!
Northeastern was totally a leap of faith choice, and now suddenly finds itself as the front runner, especially after the generous merit.
The student prefers Purdue to UW-M due to lesser tuition, nicer walkable campus, and better program.
CWRU is out, regardless of acceptance. Just not feeling it, apparently.
Michigan - teen is not keen due to high cost, but would totally consider if there’s some merit scholarship. Not happening! But we feel comfortable to pay for a UMich degree if it is worth it since we aggressively saved up for college. (We taught the teen about value versus rankings, about fit rather than prestige, as evidenced from the sensible college list, so it’s rather ironic!) For now, we’re ignoring Michigan due to the competitive admissions.
If it’s ok, I’ll share details about my student in a message. But feel free to reply here, if you think your response will benefit others.
My single biggest concern is coops upending friendships, and students having to repeatedly make efforts to make new connections.
Is a traditional school like Purdue a safer bet? Nice school, well run, great program, good value.
Thank you!!
Ah well I just responded to your PM about fit, so there’s some context there!
What are the exact expected costs here, for reference?
I’m not sure I’d say the program is crazy better honestly, these are comparable. Can’t speak to campuses there though and valid cost point.
It’s a valid concern, but of course it’s still a college environment, and you’ll have at least 3-4 semesters to form the core friendships before anyone goes on co-op. So yes, more social effort, but it’s still a good time and all.
Of note is that Purdue also has a co-op program, so while more traditional, it certainly doesn’t escape it. There’s a bit of an odd space Purdue is in where co-op is regular enough people will do it but many don’t which means that it still has the potential to cause the same social considerations. If anything, Northeastern may be less prone to issues if they plan to do co-op’s at Purdue since everyone is on the same page at Northeastern.
For anyone reading along, based on fit things, I would give Michigan and UW-Madison second looks in addition to Purdue/Northeastern 
All this said, there’s no bad choice here IMO. All great options and nothing is a terrible fit match!
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Thank you for your message and your response here. It is much appreciated!
Purdue - full price. Data Science. Waitlisted for honors.
Northeastern - 27k/yr merit $. Might get $30K with NMF status. Honors program. DS + Economics, but might explore and switch around in Khoury.
Michigan, if accepted in RD, will be full price. We’re fine with that if NU doesn’t work out for any reason.
Purdue will work out cheaper because of lower R&B costs.
UIUC (CS + Statistics) is the cheapest - in state tuition.
The price difference isn’t a factor for us, but our kiddo is cognizant of cost and will probably factor it in, everything else being equal.
I don’t know if UIUC, Mich and Purdue allow for switching majors within tech - DS to CS or vice versa. NU allows you to do that, which is a huge plus.