Living on campus is an important experience - not one to finance with extra loans, but important nevertheless (a study showed students who live on campus get better grades, are more involved, and have a better experience - it makes sense, since they don’t have to deal with driving + less wasted time + better learning conditions + ability to participate in study groups ). Is there a way you could live on campus at SB?
In any case, commuting has its own costs , and with a 45mn commute especially (One way ? Or round-trip ?)
Count all your costs: it seems your expenses wouldn’t quite be as cut and dry as first appeared.
Have you been admitted to any other universities ?
@twoinanddone My home situation is a little different: it’s just my mom and me. So, I would have very little distractions, and although I’d like to have the “college experience”, I’m not sure if it’s worth getting myself in over $50,000 worth of debt before medical school.
My financial aid and scholarship exceeds tuition for SB, so I would have gas accounted for within my “full ride”, which is also something I need to think about.
@mamaedefamilia ^ All of my costs for commuting would technically be covered with the stipend I would receive after each semester. I also have a job secured near campus that would also help offset any additional costs. R&B at SBU is slightly under the cost for NEU; it’s within a few thousand dollars.
I completely agree with the Co-Ops. The only thing I’m wary of is study abroad; I would be able to afford it if I go to SBU, but it would be nearly impossible to take out any extra loans to study abroad with NEU. I want to be able to have plenty of experiences in college, and I’m afraid if I take the step and go to NEU I won’t have the money to have any supplemental experiences off-campus.
@MYOS1634 The 45-minute commute is one way. Which…sucks. I know I won’t look forward to it, but it is what it is. After all my “top-we-pay-full-tuition” schools rejected me, I have few choices. Of those are: Boston University, Stonehill, and NEU…which are around the same in terms of final cost. I have a near-full ride to Binghamton and Geneseo (I believe I only pay around $1,000/year for both schools). I’m conflicted in the sense that staying home would locate me relatively close to Manhattan, so I could have wonderful internship opportunities. The latter SUNY schools are farther upstate, and I’m not too keen on moving to an almost middle-of-nowhere location, even though both schools are wonderful.
On another note, I have been waitlisted to Wesleyan as well, but I’m not banking on being taken off the WL, either. If I am accepted come May, then I will most likely go there, as they do claim to provide full financial aid.
It’s just frustrating because I have appealed to NEU’s FA, and they won’t budge on my award. I still do not understand how we are expected to provide nearly my mother’s salary/year for college. But then again…Boston.
NEU isn’t *that much better than SUNY, so if I were you I would pick SUNY. But it’s your decision in the end.
You have done a very good job of considering all the issues. Stony Brook is a great option, and if you aren’t as interested in the co-OP program, I think the better choice for you is Stony Brook.
Study abroad, if done with a lot of planning, can be cheaper than going to your regular campus. I’m looking into it now for my daughter and I think her tuition and room (meals aren’t included) will be less than her normal semester by about $3000. No doubt she’ll use all that up in traveling and adventures, but overall it should not cost more, and she can use her financial aid from her college. You would still have a ‘college experience’ if you lived on a campus overseas.
I vote Stony Brook.
@annana I think the main factor (in addition to a few more) is location. Boston is AMAZING, but I’m not sure if it’s worth the debt.
@twoinanddone I am interested in the Co-Op, don’t get me wrong! I’m just unsure if that experience itself is worth the debt I’ll be putting myself into. Regardless of where I go, I’ll be getting a great education! I’m just frustrated because I LOVED NEU when I visited, and got an “eh, okay” when I went to SBU. It could have been because it was raining outside, but regardless. I just need to get over the lust phase with NEU, honestly.
At the risk of confusing you more, I’m going to chime in on the “college experience is worth quite a bit” side of the argument.
Of course you shouldn’t do it if it’s going to put you in an impossible financial position, especially given the Medical school aspirations, but I think some posters above have made some very good points.
@mamaedefamilia makes a great point about Co-Op. One question on that, though. I know nothing about Co-Ops, but I thought I read on here somewhere that you still have to pay tuition during your Co-Op semesters. This sounds crazy, but can someone please clarify.
Even Co-Op aside, if you worked summers you could probably make 4K each summer, conservatively, to put toward the extra cost of NEU. You sound very ambitious, and serious about your future. If you’re willing to work summers, and save most of the money, that could make a bit of a dent. I think you really need to have some good, detailed, but conservative numbers in hand before writing off the college experience.
I also agree with @MYOS1634 that your grades could suffer if you’re miserable driving back and forth to Stony Brook.
Regarding study abroad, as @twoinanddone said, it might not cost you more. I would call NEU and ask about it. I know there are some schools that don’t apply financial aid toward study abroad. I did study abroad, and it was life altering, but so was living independently on a campus for four years, with thousands of kids my age.
It’s a tough call, but I would recommend doing the spreadsheet, like someone said, and really crunching the numbers. But don’t let the numbers alone guide you. If the numbers are crazy, I wouldn’t do it, but if it’s close, I would go for the college experience.
One question - how sure are you that you want to go to medical school?
How do the costs compare between SB on campus versus NEU? Would living on campus at SB require a lot of debt?
One possibility, if the finances are ok, is to live on campus at SB the first year, but keep the option of commuting from your mother’s place in later years if necessary to save money.
I’d go with SB but would definitely try to live on campus. College is very much about the experience. Either that or see if you can share an apartment with other students.
I’d go with Geneseo or Binghamton full ride over Stony Brook with a 45mn commute one way (1hour at least in snow, IE., most of winter). That would be miserable and not good for your grades. Those are 2+ hours others could dedicate to studying or getting involved.
Both Geneseo and Bing are excellent universities and you’d be in the best conditions to succeed.
Remember that internships will primarily take place during the summer, not when you’re in school. As for volunteering, you could get your emt certification or help in the campus clinic and every town has a hospital.
@WalknOnEggShells I’m fairly certain that tuition is not paid for while on Co-Op. I could be mistaken. NEU, currently, is around $19k/year when all the financial aid is said and done. I’m hoping Boston University’s FA office can grant me more. The issue with working over the summer–and don’t get me wrong, I want to–is that I don’t have a car. Going to SB=getting a car, so I’m not entirely sure how I can swing a full-time position. I truly do want the “college experience”; if you had asked me before on my opinion, I was dead set on spending the money on NEU/BU. On the other hand, I do not want to be a poor college kid who cannot do anything because I have absolutely no money.
I’m dead set on medicine. I’ve wanted to become a surgeon since I was in middle school, and I am beyond determined to make that happen. With that being said, I still do not want to become one of those stereotypical doctors with God-knows-how-much-debt coming out of med school.
@ucbalumnus Dorming at SB would be around $11,000/year if I factor in the remainder of my stipend after book costs. So, NEU is around $8k/year more. Which is quite a big dent.
@MYOS1634 But would the isolation of Bing/Geneseo make me miserable? I’m a big city person, and I still cannot envision myself on a campus where I have little mobility. I’ve heard that living in either is difficult without a car, and as I said before, I can’t get a car unless I go to SBU.
@widgetmidget If I were to get an apartment, I would most likely need a car as well because SBU’s campus is slightly isolated. I’m not too knowledgable about the public transport in the area. But FWIW, Long Island rent is pretty darn expensive.
Please don’t misunderstand me, I really want to have the dorming experience in college. But I’m not sure if that experience is worth digging myself into a large hole of dent when I know I already have that coming.
As a serious premed, you simply won’t have time to go into the city and have fun.overall, freshmen vastly overestimate the amount of time they ll have off campus anyway and underestimate how much work a college class requires. Unlike most freshmen, who need three weeks to realize the pace has changed,you’ll be busy all week long, right from the first week - outlining the syllabus, lining up tutors, reserving a study carrel, planning and offering study groups to classmates, making it a habit of going to office hours, reviewing professors ’ research and publications to ask whether you might volunteer in their lab (and preparing your interview for that), etc. Toi won’t be partying every night of the week as some of your (soon to drop out) classmates will. You might miss skyscrapers but remember the first college’s were built in relative isolation to help students focus on their education.
@WalknOnEggShells and @schroscat I am fairly certain that you do not pay tuition while doing your co-op. So if you get four years of aid to apply to tuition, but do co-ops for two-semesters, your funding is suspended during the co-ops and then goes back into effect when you are taking classes. So you won’t run out of financial aid if it takes five years to complete your degree, including co-op semesters. Co-ops can also lead to lucrative summer employment.
I hope that makes sense!
I have no idea how the housing works, though.
All that said, if you went to NEU, you’d be operating on faith that you’d be making enough income to offset loans as you go. Maybe a discussion about likely earnings in co-ops with the co-op office might give you more info to make an educated choice.
If it were my kid, however, I’d recommend attending Stony Brook. You say that your financial aid and scholarship exceeds tuition there so there would be money left over for gas. I would urge you to think seriously about applying that extra to living on campus, even if only for the first year or two, to have that residential experience. That is where friendships are formed that will carry through for the rest of your life. I only lived in the dorms for my first three semesters but that was enough to cement those relationships. I then moved off campus, but nearby, which was less expensive but still allowed for a rewarding social life.
That 1.5 hours in the car every day could also be spent more profitably by studying or working on/near campus to offset extra costs.
Finally, Stony Brook is close enough that if you decided living on campus wasn’t worth it, it would be easy enough to move back home after a year without disrupting your academic progress. If you picked someplace farther away, you’d be contemplating a transfer.
Buying, fueling, maintaining, and insuring a (reliable) car costs money (not to mention stuff like parking fees). Be sure to consider that when comparing the costs of commuting to SB versus living at SB.
Look into public transport to SB also, since riding a train at least gives you the opportunity to sleep or read instead of having to focus on driving.
But if you do have an actual full ride at other SUNYs, those become more attractive options, given your financial situation and pre-med intentions.
Considering how strong your two full ride options are, I’d think your true choice is between them and neu, and, since you’re premed, especially Geneseo since it’s more supportive for premeds than Bing.
Any reason why other posters think commuting to Stony Brook is better than a full ride to Geneseo (state’s honors college) or Bing (One of the state 's ‘university centers’)?
OP, can you check you got a real full ride at Geneseo and Bing (full tuition, fees, room, board)?
I’m with @MYOS1634 on this. I think Stony Brook is the worst option of the SUNY’s if there’s a near full ride available at the others, including room and board.
I’d go to Geneseo over Bing or Stony Brook too. Smaller classes, more contact with professors.
But if you want the bigger school and NEU is your dream, I’d crunch those Co-Op numbers like @mamaedefamilia recommended, and see if the school can tell you how much the current students make during their Co-Op semesters. It wouldn’t surprise me if Co-Op jobs pay $20/hour or more in Boston. I remember kids getting $15/hour for summer internships at a small company I worked at 6 years ago.
$20/hour would come out to 12.8K of gross income per Co-Op semester. You’ll pay very little tax, and should clear around $11,500 if you do only one Co-Op semester per tax year. I’m not sure how they space those out. If you have to spend 5K for living expenses, you’d still clear $6500 for each Co-Op semester.
If you add in summers, I think it’s doable. I’m sure there are plenty of summer jobs you could manage without a car. Just look at jobs in cities with good mass transit.
Hey, guys! Just as a little update: a slight turn of events. I will be attending Wesleyan University in the fall (that’s the plan). I received significantly better aid, and what I’m expected to pay is manageable. Thank you all so much for your help; I appreciate it so much. Prior to committing to Wes, I had decided on SBU for its practicality and financial offers.
Congrats!! That sounds like a great option!!
@surfcity Thank you so much! I’m incredibly excited to begin my college journey 
Oh wow, I am so glad to hear your great news. All the best to you!