<p>I'm stuck at a crossroads between UCSB v Northeastern U. I have a $22,000 scholarship not including loans to attend the NEU honors program (bringing the total cost w/ travel and expenditures being accounted for down to $33,000), whereas at UCSB I'll be paying an instate tuition of around $23,000 (not honors). I've weighed just about every aspect of either college, yet I still cannot make up my mind. </p>
<p>What I still haven't been able to get a clear answer for is which school would prepare me better for grad school. This could be very make or break in terms of which college I choose going forward. Does UCSB's slightly higher prestige make it more attractive for grad school, or would NEU's coop program win over graduate admissions?</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Oliver</p>
<p>Is that UCSB just tuition, or is it your estimated Cost of Attendance after aid, etc.? Be sure that you are comparing you own out of pocket costs for both of these institutions.</p>
<p>You can get into grad school from either of these places. Don’t worry about that. Grad school admission depends on: overall GPA, GPA in your major, GRE/LSAT/MCAT/GMAT scores, Letters of Recommendation, Statement of Purpose, and research/publication/internship/work experience relevant to the projected field of graduate study.</p>
<p>If the grad program that you are considering is Law or Medicine, then you want to spend the least amount of money possible on your undergrad so that you have cash left over for those fiendishly expensive programs. If the grad program you are considering is an MBA, then your work experience after college is critical (minimum of 2 years, perferably more) but there is a decent chance that an employer might help pay for it. If it is a Ph.D. program and they don’t offer you full support, that means they don’t think you are good enough.</p>
<p>You have posted the UCSB/NEU question more than once, which indicates to me that you are struggling to convince someone that the extra money is worth it. Well, if you have to work that hard to convince yourself or your parents, then it isn’t worth it. If I understand correctly that your cost differences after aid packages is $10k each year, then we are talking about at least $40k over the course of four years. (Unless those famous coops really do bring in enough cash to help cut down that difference.) There are a lot of things you can do with $40k, including paying for the better part of at least one year of grad school, or covering your living expenses while you take a couple of really nifty unpaid internships.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply.</p>
<p>No, my parent’s have no objections paying for NEU, not that money isn’t an object, however this is something we can afford. It is myself that I’m trying to convince. I guess I’m just wondering what sort of standing NEU holds on the east coast. I know most people on the west coast haven’t heard of it, however I thought possibly east coasts schools might hold it in higher standing due to the coop experience. If that is not the case, as you suggest, then I guess I’ll be at UCSB next year. In terms of major, as it stands I have little interest in becoming a doctor or studying law.</p>
<p>Northeastern is not worth $80k over UCSB, which by itself is probably a better university by most metrics. Even if NEU were better than UCSB (which I seriously doubt), it wouldn’t be $80k better. IMO this is an obvious decision - UCSB. If the private university in this case were, say, Northwestern or Duke, it’d be harder. But NEU? Not a chance.</p>
<p>hmm, that’s quite a convincing statement. However it is not $80,000 more for 4 years but $40,000, obviously still quite a considerable amount. Even so from what I’ve heard and what I’ve researched I am leaning more and more towards UCSB.</p>