Hi, I’m a senior from downstate New York and I’m having a tough time deciding where to go to college and I am hoping anyone can help and give any opinions they have:) I am mostly undecided but my interests are in environmental science, political science and communications. I definitely want a school with somewhat of a social/party scene but also a community of very motivated and ambitious people. I also want a school that’s in a good location like a city or a college town (preferably not in the middle of nowhere). I also got scholarships from some of these schools, so I just put what the cost of attendance will be with my scholarships. (Literally, any opinions would be so so helpful!)
I am choosing between:
Northeastern University
Price- about 75k per year
Pros
-Explore Program (will help me decide my major and explore different areas)
-Nuin program, so I will be in Greece first semester
-Great programs in political science, environmental science, and communications
-An actual campus but also within the amazing city of Boston
-Co-op will help me with deciding career interest, connections and experience (also break from school)
-Super liberal
Cons
-Not a great sense of community
-Not a great party/social scene
-Expensive
-Harder to make friends/long-lasting relationships w co-ops
-Not a traditional college experience
Syracuse University
Price- 45k per year
Pros
-Beautiful campus
-Great community/school spirit
-Great social/party scene
-Good communications program
Cons
-Really cold/snowy
-Far apart buildings
-Greek life is really big, and the vibe of the greek life there scares me a bit
-Huge campus
Binghamton University
Price- 27k per year
Pros
-First-year honors research program
-Love the campus size
-Great community feel/student life
-Great academics
-Good social/party scene
Cons
-Kinda cold/depressing
-Middle of nowhere/nothing to do off-campus
-I’m in a STEM program, and it doesn’t seem very flexible to switch
-Not as great communications/political science programs
George Washington University
Price -55k per year
Pros
-Amazing location in DC
-Pretty campus
-Internship opportunities
-DC nightlife
-Amazing for political science
Cons
-Preppy/pretentious vibe
-Hard to have social life out of greek life
-Not a great community feel
-Not traditional college experience
University of Vermont
Price- 43k per year
Pros
-good environmental science program
-beautiful campus and beautiful town
-super liberal
Cons
-Kinda far
-Lack of opportunities
-Not diverse at all
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Price- 35k per year
Pros
-Honors college
-Great social/party scene
-Good academics
-Good size/campus
Cons
-I’m out of state, and it all Mass ppl
-Leans just a little more conservative (frat vibes)
-Kind of in the middle of nowhere
University of Maryland
Pros
-Beautiful campus
-Near DC
-Great social/party scene (and school spirit)
-Great academics
Cons
-Huge campus
-Out of state (lots of Maryland ppl)
-Lots of walking
University of Delaware
Price- 35k per year
Pros
-Beautiful campus
-Good academic programs (esp political science)
-Good party/social scene
-Nice college town/area
Cons
-Not diverse
-Vibe of greek life there scares me
-Kind of in middle of nowhere
At this stage of the game, please eliminate the ones you just aren’t interested in. Be ruthless. All colleges have pros and cons and you could spend a century finding reasons not to reject any of them. You can only go to one place.
You don’t mention how college will be paid for. That’s the info we need. Is your family going to struggle to pay for college? Are you going to have to take out loans? Without this very important information, it’s impossible to make recommendations.
UMass is located in Amherst and there are several other colleges in the area (Amherst, Smith etc). Amherst is a really nice college town so I wouldn’t actually consider it in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t appear to be among your favorites, but I just wanted to point out that its location is considered a + for a lot of college students.
Agree with Lindagaf that more information would be helpful. My son is a freshman at NU in the Explore program. It’s wonderful. Lots of flexibility at NU in terms of taking different classes, having great advisors in that program and being able to do a combined major. NU is full of bright, motivated students. He found it easy to make friends and enjoys exploring Boston with them. While you can do co-ops anywhere, most students stay in the Boston area so you could maintain your friend group. I think the NUin students also form close friendships abroad.
It is not a traditional college and there is not much Greek presence. It is expensive (looks like you did not get aid). During co-ops you will not pay tuition and your income can offset your housing costs. They are generous with giving up to 32 AP credits for scores of 4 and 5. You could become an RA for free room and board. Good luck with your decision!
Wise words. I agree it is just so hard. And my family will not be struggling to pay for the schools. We are mainly focusing on the schools themselves and their fit for me so money isn’t a big determining factor for us. We don’t plan on taking any loans out (because we refinanced our house). The only school that is more of a struggle is NEU but we can afford it too, however, it isn’t ideal to pay that much for college (we are trying to decide whether it is worth it because also I can pay some of that money back with the co-ops).
Congrats on your choices.
I want to toss out two things to think about.
-
How important are off campus options really going to be? Especially the first year or two, you will be in the dorms, the library, the class rooms, the gyms (maybe), the cafeteria . . . mostly because that’s where your friends and classmates will be. Even things like movies and concerts show-up on many of these campuses. And I suspect they all have at least one bar/club, though I may be wrong there . . . a research opportunity.
-
Are Massachusetts people or Maryland people such a bad lot they need to be listed in CONs section?
I would feel really good about picking Binghamton if the cost was even a moderate issue. If cost matters not, or only a tiny bit, I would also be considering Northeastern, GW and Maryland (and might still pick Binghamton even if cost was not an issue).
Good luck.
Thanks for the info. So which three are you least interested in?
Disclaimer, my son attends Bing and loves it. If you like the outdoors, there’s a lot to do off campus. I’ve been twice recently and there are always plenty of people walking around in town. The restaurants are busy and there’s plenty of local shopping, though not necessarily cute boutiques. And yes, my son would agree that the social/party scene is good, haha. On the downside, he is a sophomore and it is a pain each semester to get a schedule he is happy with. He always uses the add drop period to get his classes sorted out. That said, he has enjoyed most of his classes.
My D’s roommate did the NUIN Greece program as a freshman and another good friend attended NEU. Both had a good experience, but both didn’t want to do five years of college and so spent all summers taking classes. Both also complained about friends doing coops and not seeing them for months or even years.
I do not think Syracuse is worth an extra $72k for four years over Bing. They are also very close to each other so if you really need a rahrah sports fix, you can get to Syracuse easily from Bing.
Your cons for GWU are pretty compelling. I would rule it out. DC nightlife? Maybe in Georgetown, but DC certainly doesn’t have better nightlife than Boston.
So those are my comments on the four you listed in your title. There will be plenty of partying at most of these schools, and partying is clearly something you want to be able to do. I will say that GWU might be the least partyish of these schools. Then NEU, simply because it’s right in a city and people go out in the city. UMD/UDel are kind of interchangeable. They attract similar types of students.
You have too many schools here. Get rid of the ones you’re least interested in. Just say, “I’m not that interested in UVM. Gone.” To me, it seems that you really want a more traditional college experience. If that’s wrong, please clarify. I suggest you get rid of UMass Amherst, GWU, and UVM at the very least because they seem to have some very solid cons and not enough important pros.
Just to correct something that seems to be a common mistake on CC is no one has to do 5 years at NU. Students can do 4 years with 2 co-ops or 5 years with 3 co-ops. No tuition is paid while on co-op and your salary offsets your housing costs, so there is no extra cost if you choose the 5-year route. The extra co-op would just give you an additional work opportunity to give you more info about what you do and don’t want to do and possible exposure to a potential post-grad employer. My son’s 20 AP credits should offset the need for summer classes, but the summers are 4 months long, so you could take 2 classes in May and June and still have July and August off.
I have degrees from SUNY Albany (with abroad program from Bing) and NU. Much preferred NU, but of course that was a long time ago. Good luck.
I just want to throw out my thoughts on a couple
Of your UMass Cons. Have you visited? Difficult in these times to get a good feel for the campus/area during these times even with a visit…
There are about 25% out of state so definitely a sizable chunk of the student body is non-MA residents. Very friendly upbeat vibe on campus.
Also, the school most definitely does not lean conservative, quite the opposite. The Greek system is not very prominent especially as compared to many flagship state schools.
Best of luck with your choices!
UVM has an outstanding environmental science program. As state universities go, it’s modest in size, and it’s in what’s generally regarded as one of the great college towns. In many ways, attending UVM is more like going to a private college than a public college because more than 70% of the students are from out of state. Academics are top notch. It was one of the 9 colleges included on the original list of “public Ivies”.
Yes, it’s remote when you’re coming up from downstate, closer to Montreal than to NYC. It’s probably an hour longer drive than Syracuse. Boston and DC are closer, but traffic delays can make the drive to both take just as long. Amtrak plans to open rail service to Burlington in a year (spring, 2022). Or you can fly. It’s closer than Buffalo. Or Rochester.
Between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, there’s Amtrak service to the little hamlet of Port Kent, NY, which is the ferry slip across the lake from Burlington. So, even when you arrive next August, you could take a train trip up to Montreal if the spirit moves you. The Amtrak along the length of Lake Champlain in NY is one of the most beautifully scenic train rides anywhere. Or you can ride the ferry back and forth just for the breathtaking views of the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains as well as the scenic lake views. The ferry takes cars, so if you have one, you can drive over to Lake Placid, less than an hour from the ferry. Or you can visit Ausable Chasm, “the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks”, 3 miles down the road from the ferry.
Not as cheap as Binghamton but nowhere near as expensive as Northeastern. Ben & Jerry’s is in Burlington. (I’m sure you’ve heard that before.) And so is Bernie.
To OP,
I would love to hear what you ultimately decide. My son is a rising high school senior, and he has a very similar list of colleges with the exception of Syracuse, so I’d like to see where you end up.
@Jennarose3 : am interested in what you chose and why, too. 
Refinancing a house IS taking out a loan…
Yes, but at a lot lower interest.
Family choice, I guess. But we flatly refused to mortgage our house to pay for college.
A friend did this for her kid. She is selling the house now, and will not have a dime of money after the sale is completed. It took her kid over 6 years to finish college and it all was home financing. Thus leaving the mom with no revenue for a new home (she is relocating to be near family).
@Jennarose3 I would love to know what you selected and why. My son is a rising senior and has similar schools on his list. Thanks!