<p>I was accepted EA to Northeastern and their University Scholars Program which guarantees me a full tuition scholarship, freshman year dorm in International Village, and other nice opportunities. I was recently offered an interview by Macaulay Hunter(listed as my first choice on the Macaulay app) and Macaulay Lehman(listed as my third choice.) I believe that I will get into Macaulay Hunter(although it is not for certain yet) but if I do, I was wondering which would be the better option. Finances are an issue for my family and we are not getting need based aid other than unsubsidized loans.</p>
<p>Pros of MHC:
Less expensive(free dorms for first two years)
7500 dollar stipend </p>
<p>Cons:
In NYC
No real campus
Close to home (30 minute drive)</p>
<p>Pros Northeastern:
Campus
Co-op
University scholars program
Opportunity( I am majoring in Health Science in the well-respected Bouve school)</p>
<p>Cons:
Have to pay room and board and take out loans</p>
<p>I would go to Northeastern. It’s less of a commuter school than Hunter and you’ll probably grow more in a new environment away from home than one 30 minutes away that you’re used too.</p>
<p>Have you figured out, exactly, how much you’d save at Hunter over 4 years? Because that’s something to take into consideration if money is an issue for your family. </p>
<p>It’s true that Northeastern can offer you great co-op opportunities and future job contacts. But maybe Hunter can too? Have you looked into whether Hunter is good at helping students get internships and/or part-time jobs in their field of interest?</p>
<p>Is grad school in your future, or did you imagine yourself going into the workforce right after graduation? (If you definitely want to go to grad school, then it’s absolutely best to minimize your undergraduate expenses and finish up debt free.) </p>
<p>Would the loans you’d take out be just for room/board/basic expenses only? If so keep in mind that some <em>not all, but some</em> some of those expenses could be covered through summer jobs, work-study, and co-op earnings.</p>
<p>Take all this into consideration when picking your school. Sometimes it’s disappointing to pick the cheaper-but-less-attractive option – but that option will feel like totally the right decision when you graduate with a good degree – and debt free!</p>
<p>While northeastern and hunter are not peer schools, the Macaulay honors program is well-respected, especially in NY. It’s often referred to as NY’s best kept secret, because not many OOS people know about it. With Macaulay, you get a 7500 dollar stipend, free tuition, free room and board for the first two years, a free Mac laptop, a “cultural passport”(free and discounted passes to museums, art galleries, shows, concerts, etc. all over the city) and internship and research opportunities. That being said, Macaulay offers a lot, even though I believe that j would enjoy my time at Northeastern more.</p>
<p>And I aspire to become an epidemiologist, so I plan on going to either medical or grad school right after college, and the only fees I would pay at Northeastern is for room and board, and books. Tuition is free for the University Scholars- a program to which I was admitted.</p>
<p>Northeastern’s room board is listed at over $13,000/year… Over 5 years (assuming you stay in Boston for your co-op) that’s $65,000 - more, since it’ll go up every year somewhat. Yes, some of that can be reduced (for example by being an RA) but that’s still a lot of money to borrow. Especially since you’re planning on grad school. My suggestion would be to go to Macaulay, and use your summer/work-study money for something really special – like, a semester abroad? – instead of, you know, for food and housing. You say you’d enjoy your time at NEU more – maybe. But your time at Macaulay might prove less stressful (fewer financial worries) and hence may be more enjoyable that way. </p>
<p>Medical school/grad schools are expensive enough without adding tens of thousands of dollars in debt from your undergrad years.</p>
<p>If you got a PhD in epidemiology, you’d most likely get fully funded with a stipend, so you wouldn’t have to worry about debt there. However, most top epi programs do require an MS first, and a two-year MS in epidemiology at a top school can cost upwards of $100K (living expenses and tuition included). And of course, med school is expensive. So minimizing debt should be your goal here.</p>
<p>I would want to say Northeastern, but if you have to borrow the entire cost of room and board - $65K is too much to borrow for undergrad. At Hunter, you could live on campus for 2 years and commute from home the last 2, completely eliminating your need to borrow. Even if you did rent in NYC after your first two years, if you shared an apartment you could probably find a room for $700-900/month; that’s about $8500-11,000 for the year. Plus board, that’s what, $12-15K? But over two years, that’s at best $30K. Much more manageable than $65K, and if your $7500 stipend continues after your second year, that will reduce your debt.</p>
<p>Hunter has a great public health program. They have a community health undergrad major, and they also have a great MPH in epidemiology. You could take graduate courses in epi while you’re at Hunter that will prepare you for grad school. You’ll also have access to the epi research going on in New York - not only at the New York area universities that have top public health programs (Columbia, CUNY Graduate Center/Hunter, NYU) but also hospital centers that are doing that kind of research (Mount Sinai of course on the East side, but others too). You could intern with the NYC DOH which could lead to a job after graduation.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the replies. Hunter is definitely the more financially feasible option, but I never wanted to attend college in NYC for undergrad- having lived a half hour away, and going into the city often, I never found much appeal, but I absolutely love Boston and Northeastern’s co-op program. And I would only take out federal loans(5500 the first year, and so on.) If I went to northeastern, I am contemplating becoming an RA my sophomore and Junior year and then moving off campus for the last two years which would leave me only 7000 dollars in debt(with interest.) Even if I did not become an RA, my parents would contribute 5,000 a year plus the cost of books. I am applying to many renewable merit scholarships so we will see how it goes. I guess my real question is : is it worth it to be unhappier at MHC, if it will benefit me financially in the long run?(I will not try and calculate earning potential based off of the two degrees because both Northeastern and Hunter have strong health programs.</p>
<p>“Worth” is relative, it really is. There are people who think it’s worth to spend close to a quarter of a million dollars in tuition… for an undergrad degree from a PUBLIC school! Money, debt… it’s an individual thing. </p>
<p>I can tell you one thing - my daughter (who actually went to NEU) was amazed at how many more options she had after graduation than her friends who were tied down to loans. Graduating debt free meant she could move to a nicer apartment… travel a bit… not apply to grad schools right off the bat… just have a fun year bar-tending part time while living in Manhattan (something she’d dreamed of for years.) These weren’t options open to friends looking at debt… and that fact made my daughter very glad she picked NEU over a couple of fancier, but more expensive, options. </p>
<p>It does sound like you’d be happier at NEU. (And let’s face it, happiness does count!) And it sounds like you wouldn’t have to borrow that $13k+ a year… sounds like with your parents’ contribution that annual cost could be brought down to $8K+ a year. With work-study, it could be even less. True, by moving off campus you might save a bit. Only a bit, though: Boston is expensive! So without additional FA, you’d still probably incur at least $20,000 of debt. One way to deal with that debt would be to move home for your co-op, allowing you to save quite a bit of money. Most NEU kids do two co-ops, so you’d have these two fairly significant opportunities to ease that financial burden. Think you’d be up for doing that? If so… maybe NEU is the way to go…</p>
<p>I will have to contemplate this a bit more, but thanks for all of the replies kataliamom! And I just had my interview for MHC Hunter on Saturday and saw the “campus” again, and was a little more open- minded toward it, but I think visiting northeastern in a couple of weeks may solidify my decision.</p>