I was only accepted to NYU and UC San Diego. Out of the two, I would rather go to NYU by far, however it is astronomically more expensive. My other option is to go to the community college down the street(which happens to be a very good CC) where about six of my friends are going. I would rather go here than UCSD. I’m still waiting on an appeal decision from UCSB where I would rather go for several reasons, but I’m ignoring that option for now as it isn’t likely.
I have very little aid from NYU(it would be about $60,000/year cost of attendance) but my parents have said they will pay for it and not to worry. Regardless of what they say though I do worry about it, and I’ve been thinking about the CC at which I was accepted to the honors program. The only thing is that I wouldn’t experience New York, dorm life, first two year connections, or any sort of change of pace for the next two years(or one if I decide to try to transfer to somewhere that takes lower-division transfers). I’m having a very difficult time of this and any advice would be appreciated.
Why are you so against UCSD?
If you can’t find a way to like UCSD, then take the space in the honors program at the CC. Do your best to earn top grades there. Participate in PTK if there is a chapter and you are invited to join. Take advantage of any internships/jobs that your honors program can help you get into. Then apply to places that you like better than UCSD and that are more affordable than NYU.
Unless $60,000k+ each year is chump change for your family, there is no reason to spend that kind of money on NYU. For much less than that, you could afford to take a semester in NYC or a summer internship position there.
@usualhopeful It’s not that I’m against UCSD, I just think that I would be happier going to community college with people I know and at very low cost. I visited UCSD and it just didn’t feel like the place for me.
Just my opinion, but New York is overrated, especially for a young broke college student. (I lived there for 7 years.) Regardless, you have your entire life to experience New York - you can move there for your first job out of college, or move there mid-career when you have a little more money and experience, or go to graduate school there…you have lots of years ahead of you to experience New York, if you want. You don’t have to go to a super expensive university to do that.
(That said, are you worrying unnecessarily? Can your parents very comfortably pay for the cost of NYU without borrowing a ton, hobbling their retirement fund, cutting back, etc.? If your parents are very wealthy and they are willing to pay for NYU, you may just want to take the gift and be grateful to them. But if you know your parents would struggle and they are being overly optimistic, it’s good to be wise and reject the offer.)
I would caution you against deciding for comfort. It’s not a bad idea to go to college with people you know, of course. But you want to be sure that the people you know aren’t the primary reason you’re choosing something. High school friends drift apart sometimes, and you’ll make lots of new ones in college. Moreover, though, where you go to college does have some measure of influence on your career and life afterwards. If you live in CA, though, transferring to a UC from a CCC is a good bet as long as you stay focused and have family support to get through community college and keep pushing later.
I’d think that UCSD is a better option tbh.
It’s a pretty good school & you don’t have to worry about the hassle of transferring(There’s still a good portion of CC students that don’t register/credits don’t register)
Me personally, I’d just bite the bullet & go to UCSD easily.
You shouldn’t choose a CC over it just because you have more friends there. Choosing a College is the best option for YOU. Plus HS friends can EASILY drift apart post-HS.
I think you should only choose CC if finances are a HEAVY issue.
Although it’s a great school, NYU is not worth $60K, & it’s expensive in general.
A lot depends on your family’s financial situation. If they can pay full freight at NYU with no hardship, loans etc. and are happy to do so, then that is a viable option. Otherwise, I prefer the UCSD option over CC (don’t know why you didn’t like that school though). If you are willing to head to NYC, you should be willing to separate from your friends to go to UCSD.
But didn’t you have to decide by May 1?
@happy1 My friends are not a main factor, I only mentioned it because it IS a benefit. I’m not reluctant to leave because of them, sorry that might have been unclear. And yes, the deadline has already passed. I committed to NYU but the CC gave me an extension. I can’t commit to UCSD, that’s why my question was only between NYU and CC. Guess I should have left out that I got in there.
I’ll have to talk to my parents more about financing. Thanks for the advice.
@ASJackson923 My friends are not a main factor at all, I just mentioned it as a positive because it is. Also the deadline for UCSD has already passed. My original question was just between CC and NYU for this reason.
Thank you for the advice though.
If your parents can easily afford nyu why not - that means without HELOC, parent loans, raiding the retirement funds.
Otherwise, the cc ->uc route Is a good path in California, with minimal loss of credit and time. You’d be living at home though, so it’d be a different experience - but a good, cheap one of your parents can’t afford nyu.
@MYOS1634 Yeah, I’m gonna have to talk to my parents more and get specifics. We certainly aren’t “very wealthy” but we do well for ourselves I guess. Not sure if they’d have to take loans or take retirement funds out.
I do live in Cali so I may go the CC route, but as you said I would stay at home. My dad has expressed that he wants me to go off and have a new experience.
Anyways, thank you for the advice.
$70k for mechE?
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Not sure if they’d have to take loans or take retirement funds out.
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with your stats, you should have had a better list
So, what did your parents say?
I agree that with your stats, nyu or cc sounds like you didn’t do a good application list
@mom2collegekids I’m not doing mechE anymore. My decisions change a lot but at this point I know that engineering doesn’t actually interest me. At NYU I got into the Gallatin school of individualized study which I think better suits my interests. Also, @MYOS1634 I applied to 8 or 9 schools. I only applied to places that I knew I would want to go to because if none of them worked out, I knew that I would rather go to CC and transfer to somewhere that I really wanted to go than go to a safety.
Where do you really want to go (that is not too expensive), and what do you want to study?
This really is a money issue. As others have said, if your parents can easily afford it, then I would pick Gallatin. It’s a really strong, individualized program and the Gallatin students are among the most interesting at NYU. Other than money, is there any other reason you’re hesitating?
@midatlmom No, money is the only thing holding me back. I talked to my parents and they said they could handle it without taking out significant loans or taking out of retirement, so I’m gonna go that route.
Oh, congrats OP! I hope you love it at NYU.
@julliet Thank you! I’m sure it will be amazing.
Just want to add, that as a NY’er, I can tell you NYC is not overated. I get tired of it sometimes and yearn for a house in the country, but NYC is amazing, and you don’t need a ton of money to have fun. Lots of free events every day/night of the week. There are always new neighborhoods to explore and just an abundance of everything you could ever want. You’ll have fun here, for sure.