Northeastern vs. University of Rochester vs. UMass Amherst!

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am having incredible difficulties in deciding which college to attend, which is why I've resorted to polling anonymous people on the internet!
Here's the deal: right now, my top three choices are:
- Northeastern University
- UMass Amherst
- University of Rochester
A little bit of information about me: I am a girl from Massachusetts looking for a challenging university with a lot of opportunities. I plan on majoring in Biochemistry or Biomedical Engineering in preparation for a career researching pharmaceutical drugs. Financial aid is a huge factor in my decision, and, appropriately, these three schools are giving me some of the most financial aid because I am a National Merit Finalist.
At Northeastern, I am eligible for a full-tuition scholarship (approx. $38,000).
At U of R, I am eligible for $17,000.
At UMass, my tuition, fees, room and board can be completely paid for (about $22,000).</p>

<p>TL;DR: I want your opinions, posters of College Confidential. Your possibly biased, entirely anonymous, opinons. Where should I go?</p>

2

<p>Honestly I would go to northeastern because they have an awesome co-op program</p>

3

<p>If money isn’t an issue, visit them all and see which one appeals to you. Spend the night. Sit in on a class. Talk with profs.</p>

<p>If money is an issue, stick with the two that are more affordable and do the same.</p>

4

<p>Northeastern or UMass would be my vote. Visit both again and pick your favorite. Keep in mind that Notheastern will be a five year program and it is expensive to live in Boston.</p>

<p>I’m sure you’ve been invited into bioTAP and the Commonwealth College at UMass. UMass Amherst has lots going on right now in the sciences, and the Commonwealth College dorm that is being built looks amazing.</p>

<p>Save your $$ for grad school - and if you do well enough with your undergrad, you may even get that paid for! U of R is a good school, but it would be very expensive compared to your other options. I know from experience that U of R is much more generous to their grad students. ; )</p>

5

<p>Northeastern can’t be beat with the co op opportunities …if money had been an issue, I would also consider Umass. It is so difficult for many new grads to find employment these days , so why not take advantage of what NEU is so known for ?</p>

6

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<p>Not true, Northeastern offers a four year or five year option in its coop program.</p>

7

<p>My bad! I hear so much about the 5 year program that I didn’t realize they have a 4 year option. If you do the 4 year ‘traditional’ program, to you forego some of the coop experiences or is it just an accelerated academic with the same amount of coop experiences?</p>

8

<p>You simply do fewer co-ops in the 4 year option. Daughter’s roommate at NEU did one co-op in her junior year, made up the classes missed in summer school and by taking extra classes one semester. She was pre-med, now in medical school. For the student willing to work extra hard, it’s doable.</p>

<p>Also: while most students do their co-ops in Boston (yes, it’s expensive) it’s also possible to do them in other, presumably cheaper, areas. Another roommate of my daughter did two of her co-ops overseas - one in Beijing, the other in Paris - and the company she worked for subsidized housing in both cities.</p>

9

<p>Rochester is a looong drive out the NY Thruway from Mass. Or you have to fly, an extra cost. I’d look at UMass and NEU. See whether you want to go to college in a city or on a more traditional campus. Full tuition at NEU is great but you’ll still have to pay room and board. A free ride to UMass is worth seriously considering. My son is a freshman in the UMass College of Engineering and finds the courses interesting and challenging. He is enjoying the “big campus” atmosphere and has made a lot of friends. Amherst is a great college town, but he hasn’t had much chance to check it out (he says) because of the amount of studying he has to do!</p>

10

<p>for money saving, Umass is the cheapest one.
for looking for a job, UNE is the best, you don’t need to pay tuition at 5th year co-op.
for going to grad. school, UR is good if need-base FA is ok for you, UR ranking is much higher than theother two.</p>

11

<p>I don’t think either of those schools are worth passing up a full ride to UMass.</p>

12

<p>I agree with JohnBlack. A full ride at a major state u is huge. If you do as well in college as you did in high school, you will no doubt have research and internship opportunities at U Mass. All three will look nice on your resume when searching for that all-important first job. Or when applying to grad schools. And graduating debt free is a gift. Trust us parents on this. Or ask any kid whose post-graduation life is ruled by having to pay off student loans.</p>