but New Brunswick should provide a great college experience. It’s close enough to the City and also a decent place to have a campus life.
Seem you’re keen on NE. It’s a great school.
However part of the reason US population has a problem with college loans
(and cries for forgiveness) is irrational spending.
It’s probably only worth paying top ($) for the top tier
(Ivys+S+D+M+C+HMC, and a few top states (UCB, UCLA, UMich …)) as you will get the name on your CV forever and will likely have “friends in high places”, however, beyond that the difference in the quality of education (and reputation) is _marginal _
(I didn’t say NO difference - marginal difference), so the decision should
be made on:
- Finances - there is absolutely no reason to overpay for that difference (unless you are
from a very well off family and another $100k won’t make a difference). - Which college environment you’ll enjoy the most and where you’ll be happiest.
P.S. Chances are you may want to go to business school at some point. And those costs will ADD UP fast.
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It doesn’t mean much, but if I post a short list of business school suggestions, I typically mention Penn, Babson and URichmond because they represent excellent examples of distinctly different types of schools.
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My D18 was in love with Richmond and it is a fantastic school. However we followed the FinAid money to another fabulous school (but honestly Richmond will always be that “what if” school) That being said we would still do it all again… the focus in this economic climate should always ALWAYS be to come out of college with no debt or as little as possible! If it were only a $4-5K difference I would be inclined to say choose Richmond if you really LOVE it… but $28K/year is too much debt to take on when you have other options. Fordham has a great reputation and the Global Business Honors program will definitely open doors through networking with Alum from the program as well as just having the experience to talk about in an interview. We have a friend in a similar program at Tulane and he has really thrived in it. He’s a junior so not certain yet on how it will have affect on his hiring or earning potential, but from my former corporate recruiter viewpoint, it is definitely going to be a resume booster to set him above other candidates. Good Luck!
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@dazzlingberry08 Yes UF is mostly in state, but many in state kids are originally from the NE or their parents are, so there is a big NE connection. The second largest population is the NE. It’s an awesome place. It’s not your typical southern college. People don’t dress up for football games!
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At the Financial Aid session tonight, they said that the minimum award for NMF was $15,000.
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Another vote for Fordham. The Business Honors program will give you an amazing experience (assuming we get beyond Covid and can travel again). You will also have a lot of internship opportunities in NYC. (It’s about 25 mins. on MetroNorth into Grand Central). My DD graduated Gabelli in 2018. She had several excellent internships as an undergrad, all of which helped her land a good job at graduation. Yes, the Core can be difficult, but it also provides a nice foundation. The neighborhood can be dicey, but it’s no different than any urban campus. The restaurants and bars on Arthur Avenue are filled with students. You just need to be aware. DD and quite of her Gabelli friends also did a semester at Fordham London campus. Great experience. (Again, assuming post-Covid world co-operates). Fordham wasn’t her first choice, but like you it was the most affordable due to generous grants. Her college loans were paid off a year ago.
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Most of the $160k at NEU would be in loans, unfortunately. My parents would be taking out loans on anything over $30k and I would too. There would be no loans if I went to UF or Fordham.
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If you don’t mind me asking, what was your daughter’s major and did she live on the Rose Hill campus? This is really encouraging and Fordham looks promising.
IMO loans of that magnitude ($160K) are untenable. $160K at an average 5% rate would require a $1,700 per month payment, every month for 120 months in a row (10 years). That level of debt will impact your parents’ ability to retire, fund college for any siblings, and be a huge limitation for the first 10 years of your life after college, (limits that might linger for far greater than 10 years).
An NEU education can not justify that type of debt at all (really, no undergrad degree can justify taking on that level of debt). Gabelli Honors is arguably better than NEU anyway. I would choose Gabelli over UF, especially if you want to live in the northeast after graduation.
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With that clarified, the choice has become crystal clear: FORDHAM or UF. With the benefit of the bonus honors activities at Fordham, that would be my choice.
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Also, @TomSrOfBoston, does Northeastern still waive tuition when a student is out on Coop? This was the case at NEU when D17 applied but not sure if it is still the case now that D21 has been accepted? (Sorry if this has been addressed in the thread - I didn’t see it)
I wholeheartedly second that!
Maybe for HYPMS+ as you buy the name+network,
(NOT the education, education won’t be too different)
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There is no tuition when out on coop, although you’ll still need to pay for housing. Where NEU gets tricky is if a student starts wavering on his/her major. This gets complicated because the whole co-op system is really set up to fit students who have decided their path early on. It’s an expensive school if there’s no aid, although being in Boston is a great experience. However, students can get lost if they are not very motivated and dedicated to their original path. One option is going in undecided and being part of the Explore program. Best wishes.
Hi guys, quick update – some financial aid has come out, so I’ll be making a decision soon.
UF is free of charge through Benacquisto and I’m in the honors program, which I’ve heard is really selective. I don’t know if I’ve received a merit scholarship yet, but if I do, it’ll stack on top of the full ride so I may walk out with more money than before. Merit is really competitive at UF though so I’m not expecting much.
Northeastern told me that they’ll offer $5k additional for National Merit, which is a lot less than I was expecting. It still comes out to $54k/year, which is WAY above my comfort zone. The reputation is great and all, but when I have a free option, I don’t see why I’d spend a quarter million on undergrad.
I haven’t tried to appeal to Richmond since none of my other schools are comparable. $48k/year is still a lot of money and I don’t think I’ll attend.
Fordham is $20k/year still. The GBHP program is really enticing, but I’m trying to compare it to UF honors since that’s my next best option. My main concern is campus life – I’ve heard that students don’t love it that much and I obviously can’t tour right now so I have to go off of that.
I did get into the Rutgers Honors Program but it isn’t the Honors College, so I don’t think there are a lot of benefits. I’m not sure though. I received a $3,500 annual scholarship, but even as an in-state student RU will cost me roughly $30k.
All I’m waiting on are WashU and Bentley. I honestly don’t think I’ll get into WashU but if I do that’s an achievement itself. At Bentley, I’m hoping I’ll get merit to make it comparable to Rutgers and Fordham. I know this comment is super long but if anyone has ANY advice it would be so helpful!! I know I still have time before May 1st but it’s really hard to compare colleges when I can’t see them and get a sense of the campus life.
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Can’t beat free at a good school in great weather!
Florida is where it’s at these days …
So many businesses moving …
My D is NEU currently 3rd year. We have no merit. It’s expensive school. Seems tuition increases every year by $2-3k.
That said it’s a fantastic school. Amazing how they managed through Covid! So many positives. Expense is the only down side. But without aid most all schools in same range except for UMass/Isenberg is considerably less.
COOPs are big at NE and to me what separates NEU from other schools. D is biochemistry, during Covid July-Jan she completed 6 months FT 40hrs/week paid $20/hr at Takeda in Cambridge at protein lab. Fabulous experience! D was sold on accepted students day by listening to the panel of students about their coops! Even I was blown away wishing I had access to these jobs even as an adult!
Coops can be in any state so a student doesn’t pay tuition only living expenses just like having a real job. You don’t have to live on campus either. Many live off campus. My D is applying for second coop now, has 2-3 interviews a week, and will live home for that semester to earn money and save money.
She has 3 roommates all health/medical related tracks. Coops are all clinical and hands on experience. Advising as you get deep in major is great. Coop advisors are separate and really work hard for kids to find what they need. D is in a Medical Fraternity, also just got volunteer position in chemistry lab w 2 professors. So despite larger school she is making amazing connections. She has decided on 5 years w 3 coops to get as much clinical experience as she can and going Medical School track.
My son just accepted to NE NUin. D also did NUin London. Son currently Deferred Richmond so waiting w RD pool.
I love Richmond but we have never visited due to Covid. Love what we hear of UR. Will be a tough call for us if we get the choice. He would love school in south but sees what his sister is accessing and sees the value of coop. He is Explore (undecided) at NE which makes me bit nervous. NE is amazing w defined path. Wondering if Explore is strong enough to help kids stay on track for picking major?
I feel someone who is undecided may fair better at a smaller school. Idk why I feel that.
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Be aware of Florida State Senate bill threatening Benacquisto: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/86/BillText/Filed/HTML
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