I was reading that NYU is stingy with FA, I’m wondering if that applies to NYUSH as well (and I think so because I was only offered $5,000 in student loans, although I’m not sure what factors go into that). I was left with a grand total of $30k a year after offered scholarships+loans. I DON’T want to graduate having $120,000+ in debt, especially since it’s a new school and I have no idea if the employment rate data from NYU is also including NYUSH data. I read somewhere on another forum that after your first job employers don’t really care where you went for school?? Additionally, I would be sacrificing other things that matter to me like how often I see my family. I would have to be super independent in this whole other country with a different society (also not to mention the things I’ve heard about the prevalence of scammers in Shanghai + the internet censorship). Also, I heard that the dorms kinda suck, to the point where upperclassmen are willing to continue paying housing fees to cover up the fact that they’ve actually moved out and are living in an apartment in the city.
Of course, I have been listing the cons so far. One of my teachers went to a local school for $30k that did not offer him any kind of global experience that NYUSH could for me, so I was thinking maybe $30k for this school isn’t too bad after all? I know that this is a super cool opportunity that I would not be able to have at any of the other schools, but it’s a huge decision for me-- especially since my appeal letter did not get me any extra money. NYU is a good school, and I do believe that I would fit in at NYUSH especially since I loved learning Mandarin and about Chinese culture in my high school classes.
Yet, all of my mentor figures are telling me not to go- my mom, my grandpa, and my college mentor (my college mentor is also the one who warned me of scammers in Shanghai, he has a bunch of Chinese friends). But my sister and my teachers say this is a great opportunity. I’m really just neutral about the school I would go to if I don’t go to NYUSH (but it’s a good school, they gave me enough money to nearly cover the entirety of tuition, I would just have to pay $2,000 a year, and I would live at home since it’s an 11 min drive). I really want to approach my decision unilluded and realistically, but it’s kinda impossible, because I’ve heard a lot of contradicting things about NYUSH or basically that the prestige of your undergrad doesn’t really matter in the long run.
Sorry, I went off on that whole tangent, but this decision is super hard to make especially taking into consideration that NYUSH is a new school and it’s hard to find information other than the stuff listed on the official website. Is 30k really worth is for NYUSH?
No, that much debt could cripple or even sink a career. It’s not worth it unless the degree says M.D. next to it. You’ll need to find more affordable alternatives.
Yes, I would have to take out loans. I was offered about 38k in grants and scholarships and only 5,500 in unsub/subsidized loans. The rest I would have to take out plus. My parents would be able to help with a small portion.
You can only borrow ~$5500/year, so no NYU branch is an option. Listen to your parents and grandpa and accept the local school.
Your teachers have no business encouraging any school, especially one that would require $120,000+ in debt. The next time they mention what a great opportunity it is, ask them how much they’ll be contributing to your tuition. You might ask your sister the same thing.
PLUS is not a loan you can take out. It is something that would have to be taken out by your parents. Both your mom and grandfather are telling you not to go … so no – your mom doesn’t want to borrow the money. It would be horribly selfish on your part to expect her to take on those kinds of loans. If you want an international experience you can study abroad later on, and easily find programs that are a lot less costly, or plan to live and work abroad after college.
@annith If I’m reading this correctly, you received $38k in grants and scholarships and $5500 in student loans and you plan on living at home, the actual tuition will be about $52k for the 2018-19 school year. That leaves about $9k for the year. Therefore that is $4500 each semester. If your parents can afford to pay this amount each semester then go for it.
No, she would live at home with the OTHER school – NYUSH is in Shanghai, so she would definitely need to live on campus - and it’s not clear whether travel costs are accurately reflected in COA or not.
So her choice is either local college, live at home, probably no debt vs. NYU in Shanghai, with parent borrowing $30K for year 1 and who knows how much more in the future.
I took these days to think about everything and do calculations and research on loans, and I found out that I CAN take out loans but they would be from private loaners which set high-interest rates (something that I would not want), and additionally yes I would feel terrible for having my parents take out so much money. I started to realize I would be much more comfortable and have more freedom going to the local school, Fairfield University, which I just had to do a little more research to find it has a fair amount of merits. Additionally, my sister was able to go to medical school after attending FU as a bio major so it was easier to come to the decision to go to FU, and it sits well in my mind. I’ve been so distracted the past week or two thinking about where I’m going to decide and it feels nice to not be stressing over it now.
NYUSH preaches about being rewarded after stepping out of comfort zones and taking reasonable risks which I do agree with, and I would love to have peers who come from all over the world, but I realize it is not worth the price tag. I will have many opportunities in the future to step out of my comfort zone, travel, and meet people who will expand my global perspective, and for those of you reading who are having the same problems with deciding on a college, remember that these 4 years are not the rest of your lives. I should have gone with Fairfield from the first place considering that my college mentor was accepted into Harvard but went there instead so he could come out debt free. But it’s hard suddenly being congratulated by everyone for getting into a program like this, it’s easy for it all to get into your head.
But anyway, thank you all for your replies. They convince me even more that I’m making the right decision.