I just got admitted to the Rodman Scholars Program and the Northeastern University Scholars Program. While the full scholarship at NEU gives it a big plus, the academics of UVa are supposedly much better and rigorous.
After visiting NEU for the scholar’s weekend, I think I liked the extra mentoring and research opportunities at NEU’s Scholars Program, what does Rodman offer students?
Lastly, I’m an international student, so my choice is between paying 18k a year (NEU) and 60k a year (UVa), since both provide no financial aid.
The Rodman Scholars Program has a couple of different benefits. All scholars live in the new “hotel” dorms with other scholars, which creates a close-knit environment. The dorm life is especially nice for when there are projects in an engineering class. Rodman Scholars take an Introduction to Engineering Course specifically filled only with other Rodmans, and the dorm is nice for finishing an assignment that was procrastinated a bit too much. Rodman Scholars also have unique study abroad opportunities and a stipend that can be used for study abroad, research, or tuition.
I don’t believe the have a unique study abroad opportunity this year. It’s kind of hard to find current information on the program. Every student should look at the real long term effects of cost and debt. If it is in your budget, decide on other factors but if it is a financial stretch, think hard about the additional stresses of having family debt. You can get a good education at many colleges if you take the initiative.
@evariste The Rodman program also comes with priority registration for classes all four years, so it’s much easier to get into the classes you want. Instead of taking Introduction to Engineering (4 credits with the lab), you’d take Synthesis Design I and II (6 credits) with the director of the Rodman program, Dana Elzey. Also, you take four 1 credit seminars exclusively for Rodmans called RodSems; they include things like learning to cook and to knit, and other fun things. The Rodman name will also give you a decent leg up when it comes to landing job interviews or research opportunities with professors. It used to be that you were given a $2000 stipend each year, but I don’t know if this will be continued. I hope this helps clarify some of the benefits you’d get!