So after all the hard work and the waiting, I’ve narrowed down my future college to either Northeastern University, Cal Poly SLO, and UCSB (still haven’t heard from Harvard and Columbia but not super high expectations there…). It seems like every day I’m leaning towards a different school and cannot make up my mind! All three are pretty similar financially because of NMF scholarship at Northeastern and Regents at UCSB, although Northeastern and UCSB would be slightly more expensive than Cal Poly. I’m planning on majoring in biomedical engineering, but I want a school that’s flexible because I’m not 100% that it’s what I want to do.
Northeastern pros: I LOVE Boston, their co-op program, and the campus is amazing as well. It’s also far from home (I’m from the Bay Area in California) so it would be a very new experience.
Northeastern cons: It’s slightly more expensive, the weather would be a pretty big shock, and I’m not so sure about the social life/campus experience.
UCSB pros: The campus is absolutely beautiful! I also got the regents scholarship there (6k per year and the first pick in classes & housing, honors program). I like the vibe on campus and the social scene seems pretty good too, plus I like their emphasis on the environment/green living
Cons: The one big thing I don’t like about UCSB is that they don’t have a biomedical engineering program, so I applied under mechanical engineering and I’m not sure if there’s enough flexibility in the program to specialize in biomed.
Cal Poly pros: Probably my favorite campus of the three, and they have an awesome engineering school and pretty good social scene from what I’ve heard. It’s also in the happiest city in America AND the least expensive option of the three, and the weather is nice too!
Cons: If I decide engineering isn’t right for me, their other programs aren’t as strong, and changing majors is tricky. Plus, it’s only about 3 hours from home, and I feel that I might have difficulties graduating on time based on how crowded cal poly has gotten recently and difficulty getting classes.
Any insight & opinions are appreciated! Thanks everyone!
You’ll have more flexibility at UCSB to explore and change. Take a look at the flow chart for biomedical at Cal Poly. Since you will be taking major classes from day one, you may lose units if you decide to switch. Also, some major classes at Cal Poly are only offered once a year. If you switch majors, you could easily get behind by a year. My sister’s friend switched out of biomedical into industrial. She has to stay an extra year.
You can get out of Cal Poly on time. My son is a ME. He’s going to walk not only with a BS, but an MS in under 5 years.
Changing majors is a bit of an ordeal, but if you got into BME, you’ll be able to switch pretty much to anything you want except CS.
If you switch, that could impact that, but as mentioned above, it completely depends what you switch to. In the end, it’s not that big of a deal. Your work career will be 8-10X as long as your collegiate career.
Northeastern student here - I’ve been very happy here and would be up for discussing any specific social concerns with Northeastern! Generally, my note would be that Boston is your social life, not really just the campus. In general Northeastern isn’t your typical college experience, but it’s one I personally prefer. Again, I’d be able to detail more with specific questions.
As far as Northeastern, the finances and weather are what they are, but I can tell you that changing majors is super easy here cross colleges, CS included, so I would put that as a big bonus if that’s a concern. For what it’s worth, I’m from Florida and the weather worked out for me, but people are different. It is nice to have changing seasons though with the fall leaves, still warm in the summer, etc.
It sounds like you’d be happy at all three, and all three should offer great academics and opportunity, so congrats already!
I think the two real alternatives are northeastern and UCSB.
Have you visited? Doing an overnight, attending a couple classes, etc would help in differentiating them for you personally
Basically, if you want co ops and a new experience in another part of the country + prestige on the east coast = NEU
If you want to be closer to home with prestige on the west coast = UCSB.
CONGRATULATIONS, there’s no bad choice!
Mom of NU student here - agree that there are no bad choices on your list. Yes, weather and distance are something to deal with in Boston…however you may be surprised at the number of CA students on campus. And as mentioned by PengsPhils…all of Boston is your social scene with at least a 1/2 dozen other colleges within walking distance of NU and many more a short UBER or subway ride away. Best “pro” on NU is for sure the co-op program, combined with the huge number of professional opportunities to be found in the Boston area for Bio-mech. Additionally, the summer international programs for credit - in virtually every academic discipline. In the end it is a very personal decision, and you should go with what feels best for YOU.
