Northeastern VS UMass Amherst for COMPUTER SCIENCE

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
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Hi, I hope you are all staying safe during these times. I am aware a similar question has been asked before, but any input from you all is helpful.

I am on the line between attending Northeastern and UMass Amherst. I was admitted into the HONORS program/college for both schools. I am 95% certain I am majoring in computer science.

Price breakdown:

Northeastern: $43,000/yr ($30,000 Honors scholarship) – I am aware that computer science co-ops are lucrative, and will probably reduce cost – does anyone have any estimates for this?
UMass Amherst: $30,000/yr

This calculates to a total difference of roughly $52,000 (w/o consideration to co-ops). I would most likely do the 4-year track at Northeastern. My parents are able to contribute about $10,000/yr, and I have already received some external scholarships.

Roughly 6-7 of my AP classes would qualify for credit at both schools. This would mean I would probably do Northeastern for 4 years & UMass Amherst for 3.5 (which would make that total difference of $52k a bit higher, probably more like $70k).

I am not too into the city (I am more comfortable in a suburban/rural setting), but am by no means afraid or opposed to living in Boston. The fact that Northeastern has a somewhat “separate” campus helps. On another note, I am not a hardcore partier, but I dig them every so often. I’m also a runner (not D1-capable), and like to run every day.

I have a decent programming background (in Javascript, Swift, & Java), but still have a long way to go when it comes to gaining a full computer science background.

Obviously, this is a personal question, but in y’all’s opinion, is Northeastern worth the extra money? Wallowing in debt doesn’t sound great to me (it goes against my philosophy of paying a lot of $ for a college education). However, Northeastern might be worth some extra.

As a side note, UMass Lowell is also a potential option. It would cost me $12,500/yr to attend.

Thank you all for any input you might be able to provide.

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Some notes here:

  • Co-op's at Northeastern for CS will pay on average $25 an hour for first/second co-op's, so minus taxes and living costs (assuming on the high side to estimate) that would be a net of about 15K over two co-op's. You would likely do internships (hopefully two 3 month ones instead of 6 months) at UMass though which would amount to probably half of that in net (7.5K). It's possible you make more, but this would be the financially safe assumption (given your incoming experience, I think the average is safe).
  • While Northeastern will be 4 years total, the AP credits will still knock off a semester of classes there, which will knock off a semester of tuition.
  • Northeastern's costs will be front-loaded since you won't go on co-op until your fourth or fifth semester and will likely elect to take summer classes in your first year in order to fit the 4-year pattern. Make sure you map out those costs specifically.

With that in mind, your total COA’s would likely be:
Northeastern: 135.5K
UMass: 97.5K

A gap of under 10K a year is significant but not a crazy premium depending on your preferences. It really comes down to this:

You’re right on this one. What would be the total debt for these options given the considerations above?

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Thank you for the very thorough reply! It is a blessing that people like you exist. If I assume my parents can contribute $40,000, and I receive $15,000 in external scholarships (I know this might seem high, but I have already received $5,000 and have MANY more to go), this leaves me in about $81,000 in debt at Northeastern and $43,000 in debt at UMass Amherst. The main thing that stands out to me is the co-op at Northeastern. It just seems to me that the experience is invaluable, especially for someone going into computer science. Some experience in a city before leaving college might be valuable, particularly since many CS jobs are located in the city. That being said, UMass Amherst seems to be the “safer” option. I can imagine myself being comfortable there (academically and living-wise), but not challenged as much as might be at Northeastern. That being said, I would imagine that it is easier to transfer from Northeastern to UMass than vice versa if it comes down to that.

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Happy to help!

A few more notes then:

In terms of outside scholarships, always assume the worst for financial planning purposes. So let’s make that debt 50K and 90K respectively.

While co-op’s certainly help at Northeastern, it’s worth noting that the CS job and internship market is quite strong, and UMass Amherst is known in the CS world. I’ve personally worked with UMass Amherst grads in Boston before, they can absolutely get jobs there and elsewhere easily enough. CS is an employable major for the foreseeable future.

I wouldn’t plan transferring into the cards. There are a lot of negatives of uprooting yourself midway through school both socially, academically and financially. IMO people should avoid it when possible, and it’s really only for when a college is severely lacking in some academic or social way for someone.

Given all that, I think it’s hard to make a case that Northeastern is worth double the debt. 50K is already pretty high, though manageable for a CS major. I would still advocate for it over Lowell given the relative strength of the respective programs. Go to UMass and make the most of it! With some hard work there you should be able to land some great internships.

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Neither of these schools are affordable. If you have to co-sigh a butt-load of debt to pay tuition, you can’t afford to go there. CS is one of those degrees that is ridiculously employable, so you would be just fine no matter which school you went to.

There’s no such thing as a “lucrative” entry level job in CS. That’s a very common misconception. You can expect an entry level salary when you graduate, no more, no less. If the employer pays any more than that, they can attract an experienced professional to do the job. Tech is 100% driven by on-the-job work experience. That’s where it can get lucrative, but it takes years to get there.

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Not true. Landing a job at say Microsoft through on campus recruiting at a good school will bring with it a very different salary and work quality profile than landing a job with some random body shop.

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I have no doubt that the tech industry is largely driven by work experience. But wouldn’t it behoove me to attend a school that will best prepare me for this experience (and just improves my computer science skills most effectively in general)? All computer science education is not made equal, I would assume. A school that well prepares me for / involves me in the industry while I am there will ensure that I am confident in my skills going forward. While cliche, there is also a good chance I end up investing my efforts into a startup. A college education/experience/connections might serve as a springboard for a new business. As much as education and future employment matters, another consideration is the overall college experience I will get from each of these schools.

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Total compensation packages for entry-level CS can range from 55K-175K quite easily depending on things like company, internship experience, and location. I’d consider a decent deal of that range to be lucrative. While individual companies do not pay more, what companies are available to you certainly changes based on things like school and internship experience level, which again comes back to school. After 5 years in industry things will even out some, but that head start of a top CS school can make a difference in mid-career salary too. These are of course not strict rankings but general levels, so no you shouldn’t be splitting rankings to take on significantly more debt, but as correctly highlighted, not all CS educations are equal (though many are similar). Getting to the bottom of that is not easy, but in the case of Amherst vs Lowell you have a school known for top CS research and professors versus your typical non-flagship state school experience.

There’s an argument to be made that it is more based on the student than the college, but the effects of peers and university support shouldn’t be overlooked. 50K in debt for someone who is confidently a CS major could be paid off as quickly as a few years with a good FAANG level job coming out of UMass Amherst. Is it also possible out of UMass Lowell? Yes. Is it significantly less likely based on average reported outcomes? Yes.

https://www.cics.umass.edu/careers/articles/destination-report-2019
https://www.uml.edu/docs/Career%20Outcomes%20AY13-14%20v20150324_tcm18-183990.pdf

Even adjusted for inflation, you’re looking at the maximum reported CS salary of UMass Lowell for CS being 7K lower than the median starting salary for UMass grads. That level of salary difference pretty significant.

Amherst vs Lowell are also very different given that over half of Lowell commutes into the school. The experience of four years of your life socially is also worth something.

Given everything, 50K of debt is pretty reasonable given the options.

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