i got into both BU School of Management and Rutgers College in New Brunswick, NJ. Right now I’m having a tough time deciding between the two so I thought I’d look to my fellow CCers for their always valued opinion. here are some things i’ve noted about each.
BU
pretty good business program, well-known
in the city
outside of stinkin new jersey (obviously)
cost–44k a year with no aid/scholarships
Rutgers (in-state for me)
Recognized business program
Located in New Brunswick
Value school
16k a year
the question remains which one is worth it? is it worth getting into all that debt with BU and will i be able to get a good job after graduating to pay it all of? or should i stick with Rutgers, a not so prestigious, but decent low-cost college? please reply. i value ur opinion.
<p>Don't undervalue Rutgers, it's actually a great school. I think that if you're planning on going to grad school, better to save the $28K per year. You can do great at Rutgers, it's a fine institution.</p>
<p>Rutgers!!!! I've never known anyone who went to Rutgers who didn't enjoy it. (I live in NJ) Some people out West think Rutgers is part of the Ivy League. Rutgers did play the first intercollegiate football game against Princeton.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to BU and Rutgers, so this issue was considered closely. (Just for the record, he's going to Emory.) I have no particular view between BU and Rutgers, but there are clear differences. Both are ranked approximately the same. BU is right in downtown Boston which is supposed to be one of the best college town. Rutgers is in New Burnswick which is a nice town but not Boston (unless you mean Rutgers in Camden and Newark). On the other hand, the Amtrak station is right next to the Rutger's campus and you can make trips to New York (I think the round-trip fare was $27.), and even Philadelphia. BU doesn't have much of a campus in terms of grass. Rutgers has a nice campus that is broken down into sub-campuses that are connected by a Rutgers bus line. The campuses are physically close to each other and only about 5 minutes away from each other after you get the bus. Students in Rutgers College can live on either the College Avenue campus which is right in downtown News Brunswick or on Busch campus which has a lot of grass. One of the other campuses is for Douglass college which is the women's college and there are two others campuses. All campuses are open to all students to take classes and each have their own residence halls, dining rooms, and fitness centers. BU has about 19000 students. Rutgers also has about that number, but the breakdown by campus makes it seem smaller. Both have a prestigious name. Rutgers might have a slight lead. The public might confuse BU with Boston College. We went to the Rutgers campus, but not BU. One strong point at Rutgers seemed to be the advising. As a final comment, $43K a year without financial aid is a lot of money. If you don't have a strong feeling about it either way, $43K a year is a lot of money.</p>
<p>There have been statistical studies showing that a graduate from HYP makes more money than others after graduation. However, there have been recent studies showing that people who are admitted to the Ivy League and elect to go somewhere else, make the same amount of money upon graduation as those who accept the Ivy League. The meaning is that anyone able to be accepted to the Ivy League is more likely to be "successful" in life, but that actually attending doesn't help. I would not expect that a better job or a better grad school because you graduated from BU rather than Rutgers. Personally, I think that Rutgers has a better "name" anyway.</p>
<p>thanks for the input everyone..thats a lot of info. looks like everyone is leaning towards rutgers. my biggest problem is that if i wanted to go to rutgers i wouldnt have had to work my butt off in hs. but i hope it pays off one day. i guess ill sleep on it tonight and decide tomorrow.</p>
<p>Suggestion - either apply now to get into the Honors program at Rutgers - or work hard your freshman year and apply for it at the end of the year. It's supposed to be excellent.</p>
<p>romastaflex,
all your hard work in HS will let you excel at Rutgers, and hopefully enter the Honors program. That in turn is going to put you in good shape (academically and financially) for an MBA program. Rutgers is a name brand, even in the midwest.</p>