Hi all,
I was accepted into both Northeastern’s and UMass Amherst’s business schools for this upcoming fall. These are the only contenders for where I will go next year and I’m majoring in accounting. I would much rather go to Northeastern, since it seems to be a stronger school, I love the campus and location, and I will graduate with a strong resume. I don’t really like UMass at all, but it’s substantially cheaper. If I go to Northeastern, I will be graduating with about 65-75k in student loans, whereas at UMass it will be closer to 25k. However, I fear that not going to Northeastern, albeit very expensive, that I’ll be missing out on a great education and co-op opportunities. Would so much debt be manageable or should I just take the cheaper option in UMass?
Also, would going into Northeastern with 20 AP credits (Stats, Macro, Bio, APUSH, Calc AB) potentially lower my costs at all?
How would you be getting an extra 50k in loans? Federal loans will only cover about 25k of that. For a difference of 50k in debt, I say go with UMass. You will still have opportunities for summer internships, etc. and UMass Amherst is a very good university. But the reality is, I think there are hardly any schools worth an extra 50k in debt. That’s a lot of money, which can end up weighing on you and affect your future decision making about your career because you’re worried about debt. If costs were equal or close, Northeastern seems like the better option for you, but in my opinion the price gap is too large to warrant it.
I would generally agree with @nanotechnology , though I still think it’s worth considering at least. The total debt given your major certainly isn’t pretty, but it isn’t fully insane.
With your AP credit, it would be possible likely to trim off a semester. With business, you should be able to save some minimal amounts of money on co-op after living expenses, taxes, etc, but relying on that is a risk. If you’re willing to be frugal at Northeastern, there are ways to get costs down slightly (cheapest housing, no meal plan after freshman year, off campus on mission hill after your second year). Would you still prefer Northeastern if it meant that style of living?
All that said, UMass is a very solid school, for business specifically as well, and in the end won’t be an incredible difference. It may just take a bit more work there.
I make this case because personally, if I was in this situation, I know that I would have done this, because the school was such a good fit for me, and I wouldn’t have been happy at UMass specifically. Before you make the choice though, it’s important to understand it. Look up the loan repayment schedule and calculate the monthly payments. Think about how that affects your future and if that’s good with you.
Of course, the best answer to this is if there is another school that you’re more excited about that UMass but carries less of the debt than Northeastern. Do you have any options in that category? I’m guessing not based on the framing of the post, but it can’t hurt to ask.
@nanotechnology Thank you for your reply. The remainder of the funding would have to be through private loans, cosigned by my parents of course.
@PengsPhils Thank you for your reply as well. Penny-pinching my way through college seems like an effective way to reduce costs, but definitely not an enjoyable one. I feel like it would detract from my overall college experience, but whether it’d be worth it or not I really don’t know. The monthly loan payments would be pretty high, and I’d definitely feel their pressure for quite some time. However, I think it’d be manageable if I had a good job out of college and spent my earnings wisely.
Additionally, I’ve toyed with the idea of going to UMass for one year, perhaps two, then trying to transfer into NEU or a similar university to reduce costs.
If you transfer, you likely won’t get any sort of scholarship or financial aid, and you’ll also lose out on a good deal of the school experience at both places. I think sticking to one will be the most cost effective way - Northeastern could end up costing more in that two years than in the four with your current scholarships/FA, unless you are full pay and the rest is coming from parents.
The general advice you’re going to get on CC is take the cheaper option. I think that advice only makes sense if you can be at least marginally happy there. That again is up to you to decide. I think your best bet is to try and fall in love with UMass - if you can see yourself being happier there, this choice gets easier. Worst case, it doesn’t work and back to tougher choice. But give it as good of a chance as you can first.
Will you get AP credit at UMASS? If you have 4s or 5s in those APs you can shave off a semester at NEU. You should factor that in.
If you end up transferring from UMASS to NEU, it will not save you any money in the long run. Option B would be to take a chance at NEU and transfer to UMass if you feel like the costs won’t work out. Or just choose UMASS and be happy with it.