Northeastern vs. state school for Comp Sci

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
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Sorry for bothering you all with another Northeastern vs. X post, but man am I stressing over this decision. I’ve got it down to two options. Either I’ll stay practically at home at my state university (UF) or head to Boston for Northeastern. Here’s my situation:

If money was not a factor, I would almost certainly choose Northeastern. The co-op program is very compelling especially for Comp Sci, and I got a good feel on welcome day. I do seriously think that the curriculum at Northeastern for computer science is better, having students gain deep understandings of concepts (at least that’s the sales pitch) instead of the generic how to use Java I would get at UF. I’ve been programming since middle school, worked on a few apps, websites, and robotics stuff, and I felt like the students and faculty at Northeastern really know their stuff and are passionate about it. It seems the computer science graduates from Northeastern go on to do really cool things like design programming languages and work for open source projects. Additionally, I grew up in Gainesville (where UF is) and would quite like to get away for college. While moving to a much more urban area with a very different climate is intimidating, it is my preference for growing as a person over the next four years.

UF would be a very comfortable choice. I’ve grown up around UF and know many students there. Through my robotics club, I’ve even made friends with engineering graduate students and professors at UF, which may be valuable connections. There are not really any jobs for programmers in the area, but I would probably still be hired somewhere after graduation due to the favourable job market. I imagine the CS curriculum is very cookie-cutter. While there is no co-op, there are some undergraduate students who have summer internships.

But this is the real world, and money is a factor. I have a state tuition prepaid account, meaning tuition for four years and housing for two years will be paid for at UF. There is also about $40,000 in a UTMA account I can use for college to cover the remaining expenses, so I would graduate from UF debt free and perhaps even with some savings. At Northeastern, I got a $15,000/yr Dean’s scholarship and have access to $5,000/yr in low interest federal loans. The state prepaid money can apply out of state for around $10k/yr. If I spread my UTMA account over 4 years,that’s another $5k/yr. This still leaves $25k/yr. My parents may be willing to help with some of this (likely from their IRA) if I really sell them on it. Either way, assume for advice-giving purposes that I’d graduate Northeastern with between $20,000 and $50,000 in debt, with no remaining savings.

So my question comes down to this: At what point does the debt make it not worth it to go to Northeastern? Could anyone estimate the value-added difference between these two institutions? And should choosing a college be a emotionless economic decision or should I embrace the value in genuinely preferring a school?

Thanks for any comments or advice. I’m excited and optimistic for my future no matter which school I pick, but I still want to make the right decision.

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Debt free vs 25-50k debt after your parents dig into their retirement savings? As much as I liked northeastern, it sounds like UF is a better option. CS is a field where you have good job prospects no matter where you go, and UF is still a very solid school.

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CS student at NEU here from Florida - the distinctions in the program is accurate - I absolutely love how CS is taught here and it really is a huge philosophically different from your standard CS education.

That said, I would lean towards agreement with @nanotechnology - fit/preference should be a consideration, and can be worth it, having your parents dig into savings does not sound ideal at all, in addition to loans. Unless they are really okay with that, you are going to do just fine at UF. From your post, while your preference is strong, it seems that you are comfortable going to UF - take the debt-free and don’t look back. If you really couldn’t see yourself at UF, it would be a much harder decision.

Sorry about the financial difference, I do feel for you there. You are in a great position though, having your alternative being a school you could really enjoy.

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@PengsPhils Thanks for the honest assessment. If you don’t mind me asking, what was your financial package? After posting on here and reddit, it seems most students from Northeastern don’t think the school is worth going into debt over. I guess everyone going there just got a full ride!

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@FleventyFive

I had a good aid package but that wasn’t my reason for attending - I absolutely love NEU and it was one of my top choice schools - it’s not that NEU isn’t worth going into debt over, it’s that no school is worth extensively more debt when you have a comparable level. The only schools that would even be worth considering debt for would be the Stanford’s, CMU’s and MIT’s when you have an option like UF.

In a vacuum, I would take NEU CS over UF a thousand times out of a thousand. For me personally, I could never see myself at UF - so much so that I didn’t apply. But, it’s a good school and if you can see yourself there, the debt isn’t worth it.

Most people I know do get some aid, but others pay full price happily - it depends what you can afford. The lesson here is simply that debt isn’t worth it unless absolutely needed or incredibly different quality is present.

Manageable debt is also okay, but what is a big factor here is that you would be putting strain on your parents if they would be taking from their retirement savings. I think that if that wasn’t the case, and you really preferred NEU, UF would be worth it.

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@FleventyFive
My daughter is full pay. We were able to save for college. I suspect you don’t hear about many students being full pay because 1) it seems like there is a lot of aid, both merit and need based and 2) I get the sense that many people don’t understand why anyone would pay the full tuition. Easier to not bring it up, maybe.

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I personally was stuck between UT Austin and Northeastern a year ago; like you, UT felt safer and closer to me. I picked Northeastern because it was scarier to me, and I have never regretted stepping out of my comfort zone.

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EDIT: Ah, but I did not see your financial factors. This of course is something to consider; I got full tuition from both schools.