I just got the last of my decisions back from colleges, and have narrowed down my choices to either Stony Brook University or Northeastern University. I am from New York City so SBU is my affordable option while NEU is the closest I have to a dream school.
I received a full tuition scholarship and some other small scholarships to SBU, bringing the cost down to about 17k (with room and board). For NEU, I received a deans scholarship and an outside scholarship bringing total cost down to about 43k. I am also a NMSC finalist so I may get a few thousand more from NEU.
I probably will be going to Medical School, so I’m weighing my financial options very carefully. With what I have saved up, I could either come out of SBU debt free, or I would have to take out about 50K of loans for NEU all 4/5 years. I didn’t get into SBU’s honors college which is making me question if the academic opportunities at NEU outweigh the price difference.
I’ve been talking to family friends in the medical field and gotten mixed responses on whether I should try to stay debt free or chase academic opportunities. Others have recommended I could try to negotiate price down slightly lower at NEU, but I’m not sure how I would go about this. I was hoping to get some informed opinions about what my best option is (keeping in mind I want to go into the med field). Thanks in advance!