Northeastern vs Stony Brook

I’m trying to decide on which college to commit to. I have gotten into both Stony Brook and Northeastern as a Biology major although I am also interested in chemistry. I have gotten into the honors program for Northeastern and the scholars for Stony brook. Price-wise, I am receiving quite a bit of money from NEU, however with the STEM scholarship I am receiving from New York State, SBU would be ~4000 dollars cheaper a year. However, taking the STEM scholarship binds me to work in NYS for 5 years following graduation. Both colleges seem good academically, and though SBU is more well known for its biology, searches have both coming up as top 100 in the US for biology. Any advice on how to decide between these schools would be helpful, thank you for any help.

As an aspect to consider with SBU, you would be enrolling in its strongest undergraduate program. In making your decision you should consider the general characteristics of your choices as well, of course.

This seems like it could be quite restrictive postgrad, though I’m not familiar with the details and you should make sure you have all of those right. At only 4K more a year for Northeastern it would seem like an option with a lot more doors open postgrad.

These are quite different schools outside of that narrow lens of biology strength though. Boston vs a much smaller suburban town and the co-op emphasis of Northeastern would be two primary differences to consider.

Northeastern for city, atmosphere, and name recognition …also SB is a suitcase school

I’m fairly worried about which school would be better academically. SBU is know for its biology, but does that make it a better academic choice than NEU?

I think this is splitting hairs here and there is not a reason to worry for either of these schools. While there could be more noticeable distinctions at the research/grad level, an undergrad at each will learn much of the same things at both.

What defines what a “better academic choice” is here for you? That’s a pretty general descriptor.

Really it’s about how much the school puts into the program and if they hire well qualified teachers, my parents are worried that because NEU is not know for their biology programs that it’s going to be less prepared than SBU.

@Emoore1259

In terms of faculty hiring, you can go look at the department faculty and their backgrounds and see that there are many coming from highly ranked educations at both schools. They both also have a good deal of science R&D, again to the point that it is a lot of splitting hairs here. It sounds like your parents may be taking rankings too categorically here.

https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&ds=herd

Again, between these schools, the differences do not lie nearly as much in their biology departments as they do in the campuses, environment, and other fit factors. Go where you want to live for 4 years. You aren’t going to be disadvantaged postgrad coming out of either, nor will you be a leg up.

Northeastern seems very good with their merit aid, so you can call in asking if they can match

Merit aid is not something they will match, but financial aid appeals have been successful in the past for some.

@PengsPhils thank you for your advice! My parents and I were having difficulty on figuring our how to best compare the schools and this will be very helpful. I have recently sent in an aid appeal to NEU to see if I can make it less of a financial based decision. Thanks again!

“taking the STEM scholarship binds me to work in NYS for 5 years”

To me this sounds like a significant restriction. What happens if you want to go to graduate school before the 5 years is up, and get a master’s degree or some other advanced degree? Does the 5 years resume after you get your advanced degree?

The thing that has usually concerned me about NEU is the price (at least for us). However you got a great scholarship offer there which takes this concern away. I am a big fan of coop programs in general, which of course NEU is know for.

“Both colleges seem good academically”

Yes. I would have said “very good”.

@DadTwoGirls
The 5 years is put on hold as long as you are enrolled in school, even if it’s a graduate program in another state. Once I’m done with all schooling I would have to return to New York and work in a STEM field for 5 years. If I don’t want to do the work requirement, the scholarship turns into a loan which must be paid back with interest.

That sounds like a great reason to prefer Northeastern here if not for the significant postgrad opportunities you’ll have available in cities like Boston (a biotech hub) and on the west coast. But again, you’ve said nothing of your fit preferences yet.

Strong vote for Northeastern. Much better reputation, coop system, access to contacts and much more of an intellectual vibe. NEU is internationally renowned. Boston and all that comes with it versus an extremely depressing campus in a Long Island suburb. Stony Brook has attracted some very smart kids in recent years but there is still an overwhelming presence of stereotypical Long Island conformists. These are the suitcase kids. No way is this worth an annual savings of 4K. Please don’t make this mistake.

I am one of those Long Island kids. Fit wise, I prefer the city of Boston to Long Island but SBU is only a 45 minute drive from my home. This is very appealing in case of emergencies and if I need my parents for any reason. I find SBU to look like a prison and prefer the look of NEU.