I have been admitted to both Northeastern and Michigan for engineering and I do realize that Michigan is a better engineering school overall, but I have received the honors college and a scholarship from Northeastern. With that, I would probably still have to take a loan. Michigan would be workable but I would have to take more loans. Would it be worth the extra money long term to go to Michigan?
Are you in-state at Michigan? What figures have you come up with for the total cost of attendance at each school?
@informative I am out of state. I received mostly just loan options at Michigan and a $14000 scholarship at Northeastern but I have $6000 worth in outside scholarships so far (non-renewable). COE at Northeastern would be $32000 for the first year (including outside scholarships) and $37000 at Michigan.
I would go with the cheaper option if you’re taking out student loans. You’ll regret taking out student loans once you get into repayment.
Each person has a different level of tolerance for debt. You’ll want to gauge yours before making a decision.
Michigan engineering is a step up from Northeastern. I think that is worth a premium.
Michigan engineering is significantly better than Northeastern… and the difference in cost ($37K for Michigan vs. $32K for Northeastern) seems relatively small… you would easily make up that difference in your first 2 years working.
Look up the terms: deferment, forebearance, interest capitalization, default etc. before making a decision.
Overall, Michigan is academically stronger than Northeastern. That being said, one thing that Northeastern has going for it is the co-op program where you work, get paid, and get credit. It’s usually one semester on campus and then the next semester with a co-op placement. Some kids love this model–others not so much. I live in MA and know a number of Northeastern students who end up working at the places where they did a co-op. Michigan has a very strong alumni network, which is a plus in terms of employment after graduation. Have you visited both? NEU is in a very urban setting much more so than Ann Arbor.
It depends on your affordability. I’m not inside your checkbook. If there’s not a huge difference between NEU and Michigan, then go Michigan. Otherwise, NEU is a very good school.
“COE at Northeastern would be $32000 for the first year (including outside scholarships) and $37000 at Michigan.”
"Look up the terms: deferment, forebearance, interest capitalization, default etc. before making a decision.
Not sure how the above statement helps out the OP considering his/her choices of these two schools.
College loans cannot always be easily paid off, even with a good STEM job. an extra $20-30,000 of debt can be a big burden later on.
Still a large debt in any case. It’s not like we’re comparing schools with a huge difference in costs.