At the moment, I am undecided about my choice of major. I am weighing my options between Northeastern University’s Boston campus with a $10k/year scholarship, Rutgers Business School at the New Brunswick campus, and Rutgers Honors at the Newark campus. I won’t be incurring any debt but want to ensure that pursuing a degree at Northeastern is worth nearly double the cost. As a student in a magnet program, I have many college credits, allowing me to graduate from Rutgers within 2/2.5 years regardless of my major. At Northeastern, I can receive credit for an entire year based on my seniors’ experience. My dilemma is whether or not it is worthwhile to attend Northeastern for Computer Science or Business (or both), considering their flexibility and attractive co-op opportunities, especially since I am still uncertain about which major to pursue. Although I attended a biology-focused high school, I am certain that I do not want to proceed with a career in Biology. I m local to NJ. Any advise would be appreciated.
My opinion - NEU is not worth the $$. It’s a fine school though.
You can do summer internships and still be fine.
Might it be better for you - the campus, Boston etc ? Yes.
Worth double the cost ? Not to me.
Best of luck.
Newark or NB - up to you. Honors doesn’t matter.
Best of luck.
Both Rutgers and Northeastern are good schools, and likely to produce similar career outcomes. Whether twice the cost at NEU is worth it, depends on how much of a financial hit the extra $$ are for your family and how much you value being in Boston. The co-ops are nice, but most students do summer internships so you won’t lose out at Rutgers.
At Rutgers you won’t have to declare your major until sophomore year. Transferring from RBS to SAS is possible, should you choose to do CS. Write to Rutgers and ask.
I respectfully disagree. New Brunswick is the flagship. Much more prestigious than Newark. Especially Rutgers Business School is a well known name in the region.
NB > Newark with honors.
What are the net costs per year at each school? Unclear from what you wrote.
Also, are you sure that you’d be able to graduate early? Some colleges limit the # of transfer credit. If it is true that you could graduate a year early from Northeastern then I’m surprised they let you apply as an incoming freshman. Carefully check to make sure all credits will transfer.
Most people would tell you to choose the less expensive option, especially with the recent layoffs in the tech sector. Have you gone to Admitted Students days at the schools? Talked to students about their experiences? I would recommend visiting and talking to current students. NU is not that far from NJ and is accessible by train or bus. Good luck.
Thanks for your input. - Yes I am just wondering if Co-op would help as its for longer duration. Generally I have heard co-ops lead to job opportunities and gives more real world experience. Given the fact that internships are only 6 weeks.
Summer internships last 10-12 weeks. A semester long co-op typically lasts 16 weeks.
Scheduled to go to NEU this Saturday , its their acceptance day. I am just unsure at how many credits they will grant me. Worst case planning to accept Rutgers and NEU by paying the initial deposit, and depending on if NEU grants me 70 credits like they did for my senior, make the call. NEU credits will help me with the cost savings. Both colleges said credit evaluation will be done only after acceptance.
yes, that’s happening only after I accept. I hope its ok to accept two colleges and decide later. I am also wait listed from Georgia Tech, which was my preferred school.
No, it most definitely is not! It’s considered unethical. Both schools should be able to tell you in advance which credits will be accepted. I’m pretty sure Rutgers does, and I expect Northeastern will too. Perhaps @Mom270 can confirm.
You should consider that a rejection and focus on these two schools where you’ve been accepted. Chances of coming off of a waitlist are very low. If it happens, that’s great. But don’t count on it.
This is from last year but should give you an idea about NU’s AP credits
As a real life example, my son got 20 AP credits for scores of 4 or 5 in Calculus BC, American History, and Language and Composition.
Thanks appreciate it. I went to community college as part of my current high schools’ enrollment. Estimating credits via this link- https://ugadmissions.northeastern.edu/transfercredit/TransferCreditEvaluatedStudent2.asp. Do you know if there is a limit to the number of credits ? My senior said she got 70 credits.
I will contact them again. Both the universities earlier mentioned credit evaluation is post-acceptance. Thanks!
For AP credits it’s 32 but that does not include transfer credits from dual enrollment. I don’t know the maximum credits for that.
My husband was an adjunct at RBS Newark for years, he once asked his class why Newark over NB, most said they didn’t get accepted. Two different schools, two different environments. One can’t take classes at the different schools or share the resources.
Acceptance rate has nothing to do with the quality of instruction, the rigor of the curriculum, or the professional outcomes of the U.