My son has been accepted into both of the above as well as several others in the mid-west that are no longer in the running due to location and lack of financial aid. He’s received the Presidential Scholarship at Rutgers and nothing at GT. He is interested in a Biomed Engineering degree with the possibility of med school after (but definitely some type of grad school).
I am torn between no debt for him (as we’d help with grad school if he takes the scholarship now) and a highly ranked program. It took me a couple of decades to get over the bitterness of having my parents make my decision for me so this is his decision though I’d like him to have all the facts and advice from those who have had to make this difficult decision. He is adamant about not going to Rutgers since it is too close to home (though he’d live on campus). We’ve told him we’ll pay a certain amount and it’s up to him to decide if he wants to use it for undergrad or grad school.
BTW, he will likely receive some financial aid after the 1st year since his brother will be going to college next year. While parent contribution will remain the same between the 2, I’m hopeful this means some aid to pay for GT. Am I wrong to assume that?
Thanks for any and all advice.
P.S. - Just found out he’s waitlisted at UPenn. (Also, waitlisted at Hopkins & UMich) While the financial situation is the same, would the cost now be worth it if he somehow gets into one of these?
I won’t be able to offer much help, but I’m really interested in what the ultimate decision is! I’m in a similar boat as your son at the moment. I received the trustee scholarship and admissions to Rutgers honors college, but am still debating between that and UCLA. But best of luck to your son, I’m sure he’ll succeed no matter which college he attends!
As a person who personally felt that I would never go to Rutgers because of it being “inferior” to other schools or that “everybody gets in there,” I am so glad that I ended up coming here. I was actually in the exact situation your son is currently in, although I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after graduation.
Basically, if you are going to go to graduate school, no one cares where you did your undergrad. I have gotten admission to top 5 ranked BME PhD programs while attending Rutgers, and so have many students in previous years. When I have gone on these recruitment visits, you see students from all of the highly ranked institutions, but you also see people from large state schools like Rutgers, small private schools you have never heard of, and everything in between.
For medical school, yes it is true that certain very highly ranked programs basically recruit solely from those top tier schools, but once again, Rutgers BME students have gone on to go to Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and the like.
My point is that if your son thinks that Rutgers is going to hold him back in terms where he can go to graduate/med school, then it’s categorically untrue. If you are of a high enough caliber to receive a Presidential Scholarship, you are going to stand out at Rutgers. If you continue with the effort that got you this far, you’ll be at the top of the class, getting internships, doing research as an undergrad, and ultimately being just as competitive an applicant for graduate schools if not more than other students at top tier schools, where the competition to stand out is much harder. And of course, the ability to get your undergraduate degree with zero debt is an amazing opportunity and something that will go a long way when the inevitable $300+k cost of medical school comes around (engineering PhD programs are actually fully funded in that your tuition is covered and you receive a stipend in addition, in case you weren’t aware. Masters programs typically are not). There is nothing fun about still paying off loans with interest over ten years into your career, yet no one really considers this as an 18 year old.
Rhetorical13 - thanks for your insight. I’ll be sure to have my son read this (or read it to him!)
Moonshakers - I’ll post the final decision in a couple of weeks.
My son went to Hopkins and then med school and now he has over 300,000 in student loans. If he
had to do it all over again, he would have gone to Rutgers or the 7 year premed at TCNJ. My younger son is at Rutgers and loves it and will graduate with no student loans(how great is that).
Thank you @Rhetorical13 !! My daughter is also choosing between Rutger’s engineering (Honor’s college) and NEU. NEU would cost $38K a year (net scholarships), and Rutger’s would be ~ $10K a year. My daughter all but refuses to go to Rutgers and we are both torn over the decision. I think Rutgers is the right choice and her heart is set on NEU, not because she is set on Engineering but because she wants to go to school in boston.
@njmom19, see my thread and this Dave Ramsey video if either is of help. In the same boat!! We should connect our Rutger’s Honor college kids. 
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1767428-state-school-vs-dream-school.html#latest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqUzNWLKLm0
Sorry @NWNJHome , just saw this message. What did your daughter decide?
@moonshakers , I’m interested in hearing what you decided as well. Here’s what I posted in my other thread:
FYI for anyone interested in the outcome… My son has agreed to go to Rutgers after adamantly refusing at first. I showed him real numbers in terms of debt and repayment, pros & cons of each college, and offered him the incentive of a laptop of his choice now and a year’s tuition towards a car later, which is a great deal for all concerned, considering the $45K/year for GT. In the end, I let him know it was his decision which, I think, is what he really wanted to hear, though I’m sure the incentives helped. 
P.S. Thanks to a forum member (you know who you are!) for meeting with us and answering our endless questions about Rutgers Engineering. Congratulations and Best of luck to you! (The fact he’s going to an Ivy League PhD program proves it’s what you do at whatever college you choose, not necessarily where you go.)
@njmom19, she committed to Rutgers, (albeit a bit begrudgingly). No sooner than she committed to the Engineering school, the school of Arts and Science upped their scholarship… on to the next dilemma…