I am having a hard time having to decide where I want to commit. All feedback is welcome, I will not solely take these replies into account when making my final decision but I would like some outside perspectives!
- I was accepted into the Macaulay Honors Program at Hunter College. This program covers the tuition for all four years at Hunter College, it covers two years of dorming at Hunter’s residence hall, I would get priority registration for classes, I get a cultural pass for NYC institutions, a college advisor, and a free laptop.
- I was also accepted to NYU and given a great financial aid package. I got the NYU ARCH Scholarship which covers $55,000 of my tuition. I have been selected to participate in the ARCH Scholars Career Development Program at NYU. This program offers program orientation and an introduction to Wasserman services, individualized career counseling, personal invitations to specialized programs and events, networking opportunities with employers and information and resources in obtaining competitive internships. I would not be dorming at NYU and would be commuting roughly an hour to get there and most likely more to get back.
Again, any and all feedback is welcome, comments on both of the programs are welcome. Thank you!
You need to carefully run the numbers. Here is one good calculator: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletter.phtml
Do you have tuition and fees covered at both places, or are there still some costs for that at NYU?
Will you need a new laptop at NYU, or do you have an old one that is still servicable?
How much would your commuting cost each day?
Is the commute direct on just one line, or do you need to change between multiple lines?
Is your means of commuting one where it would be easy to get some of your homework done while in transit?
Two and a half hours each day is a lot of time to take away from potential internships, study time, and just general life stuff. The commute could make it difficult to participate in the things that are offered by Wasserman services.
What GPA do you need to maintain to keep the scholarships?
Wow, these are great questions that I would not have thought of. Thank you for your time!
Macaulay would cover all my tuition and fees while I would still have to pay around $12,000 for NYU a year after the Pell Grant, TAP, and work-study.
I will have to get my current laptop repaired, but it is a minor repair if I go to NYU.
My commuting would cost $5.50 a day, but I can buy a 30-day Metrocard for $121 and renew every 30 days.
The commute can be directly on one line it’s just a few more minutes slower than if I transfer to a different train.
I am unsure of the availability of seats on a train during rush hours (most likely there will be no seats) but it may be difficult to get work done during this time as the trains run underground with little to no service.
I would need to maintain a 3.5 GPA for Macaulay and I am unsure for NYU, it is only stated that I meet ‘satisfactory academic progress standards’.
Forget the calculators! NYU is 10x better school and will open more doors for you $48k over a life time is a very small amount to have top school on your resume. Hunter is ok New York college (not much better than community college - the program you got into is no doubt more exclusive but employers wont care much about that) but quality of people and resource at NYU are completely different
@ccfk1221 - Running the calculators is a critical part of the process for most students. Especially students who qualify for a lot of need -based aid.
@grod618 - Where would that extra $12,000 for NYU plus $1,000 or so for a college-year’s worth of metro cards come from? You qualify for Pell, so I expect your parents don’t have a lot of extra change hanging around.
Does your dorm plan at Macaulay include at least some meals? If so, you need to account for the cost of food that you will eat at home or brown-bag to campus if you commute to NYU.
Is there Work Study money in the Macaulay package, or just in the one from NYU? Work Study can be tricky. Somtimes students don’t manage to find a job, and never end up earning that money. Fortunately there are a fair nmber of jobs available in the greater NYC area! However, that 2 - 2 1/2 hour commute could make it tough to fit in a job on top of your classwork.
Yes a 3.5 GPA can be challenging to maintain, but you have the capacity to do that. Macaulay doesn’t admit people who aren’t ready for the program.
@happymomof1 - I would have to take out loans to cover the rest of my tuition. I am unsure of a meal plan for Macaulay, but I think I do get one. The work study is only for NYU, without it I would have to pay $3,000 more.
You can borrow $5,500 for your freshman year with the federal student loans. That would leave $6,500 still unpaid at NYU. The loan amounts go up in later years ($6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year) but tuition and fees will probalby also increase. Any loans other than the federal loans will require a cosigner, or your parents will need to borrow the money with a PLUS loan. Many parents can’t borrow that kind of money. We couldn’t. Our kid had to go to the cheaper college.
Not having Work Study money at Macaulay is good. That means if you want to look for a part-time job you can, but you don’t absolutely have to try to pin one down.
Macaulay Honors Program at Hunter College offers a generous study abroad program, with many students doing 2 or 3 study abroad engagements. If I not mistaken the GPA requirement for freshman year is 3.2 and 3.5 thereafter.
OP, what will your major be at each school?
@Jamrock411 - Still on the fence but most likely chem/bio
bump 
as may gets closer my stress grows!
I know you want to find a way to make NYU work, but Macaulay really is a much better deal for you. Go visit. Talk with the people in your progam there. Find out all the good things so that you can like it better.
It isn’t a question of whether or not its worth it. My guess is that there is no way that living on NYU campus is affordable. And unless OP’s parents are willing and able to cosign the loans, NYU isn’t affordable at all. I completely disagree that Hunter is no better than a community college. Hunter is a solid school that provides an excellent four year degree. They place people in med school, and that would not be possible if the degree was not well respected.
Thank you all so much for your help. I’ve committed to Macaulay Hunter today after my admitted students reception yesterday. 