Hi,
I was accepted into the Rutgers (in-state) and UCLA engineering programs and I am planning on studying environmental engineering. I know that UCLA is much more prestigious than Rutgers’, though Rutgers has a pretty good program too. I would not have to take any loans out for Rutgers, but would have to take out about $70,000 (total of 4 years) for UCLA. Is the difference in prestige worth the amount of loans to go to UCLA?
P.S
- I want to do environmental engineering work in CA eventually (where they employ the most environmental engineers and have the highest salary)
- I don’t plan on going to graduate school
- I want to study abroad if possible (idk if this has relevance lol)
- Love the UCLA campus and weather, though I know Rutgers is building up a lot
Also,
- Any opinions/info on environmental engineering employment or the major in general?
I also posted this in the UCLA forum.
@allie52 exactly my question too haha. I’m debating between the honors college at Rutgers and UCLA for chemical engineering. I think it does come down to finances really. For me, I’d be paying around 30 for Rutgers a year (120,000) and 47 for LA (188,000). Although LA is a ‘better school’ than Rutgers, Rutgers does not fail as a school overall; they are actually quite good for what they do haha. So I mean if the 70 grand price doesn’t intimidate you, then go to LA by all means, but don’t feel like going to Rutgers is going to hold you back in the least.
I think my personal problem is that my mind is saying Rutgers is the better option, but my heart wants to go to LA
@moonshakers haha yeah same! It’s relieving to know someone else is in my position too. Luckily my parents are able to help me quite a bit, but the idea that we would be paying so much for UCLA when we have a perfectly fine one here (for way less!) is the only thing holding me back… Then again I’m rather confident that our engineering degrees would be able to pay off the loans better than other others. Are you planning on going to graduate school?
@Allie52 Yea, I mean I hope to pay back whatever debt I do owe in a timely fashion. Right now I’m debating which one offers a better return on investment. And as for grad school, I don’t plan on going at the moment. That may change, but I figure that I might as well get a job first, pay back the loans I am going to owe and then decide on grad school or not haha. Personally, I don’t really see the point of graduate school for engineers, but that’s just my personal opinion.
And also, I feel like a part of me that does want to go to LA is because it gives me a chance to actually be fully independent…going all the way across the country to receive an education, only coming home once a year…it gives me a real opportunity to build independence by literally starting a new life
@moonshakers Yeah those are all of my thoughts exactly! 
weird. Also, when you do decide where you want to go, I hope you’ll keep me updated 
Yea for sure! I’ll probably end up deciding on or close to May 1st haha :-S
@moonshakers I’m trying so hard to decide earlier, but idk if I’m capable of that haha. Who knows, maybe we’ll see each at UCLA 
@Allie52 haha maybe! I’ve been debating it so heavily recently. The financial situation for Rutgers is a great pro but I feel as though the experiences at LA and the ‘brand name’ is also worth it in the long run… ~X(
Having that level of loans makes it harder to take the kind of job you want and live where you want to live. LA is very expensive. Living there post-grad would be easier without loans. Of course you have to weight that against the fact that it probably is easier to get a job in LA being in CA than in NJ.
But as I told my kids, you have your entire lives to live wherever you choose. Your college years are very short and life is long. By the way, you can’t take $70K in loans with a co-signer. Are your parents even willing to do that? If you can’t or don’ pay back the loans, your parents are on the hook for them.