<p>I got into Uconn Honors with a half tution merit scholarship (on in-state tuition) and I got into Northeastern Honors with a $16k scholarship. I plan on going for physical therapy and getting a second degree/major in psychology. Any advice?</p>
<p>Pick the one that you like the most and offers the better merit/financial aid. Thats really it. I’m struggling with UCONN right now because they won’t give me any scholarships as a transfer student and I’m instate. Because of that, I’m going to have to go out-of-state which I’ll get a free ride… Funny how that is huh? I’d go with UCONN.</p>
<p>One more thought… with Northeastern - if you were admitted as a Physical Therapy student, you are automatically in their 6 year DPT program. If you attend UConn… you will have to later apply for a DPT program… and it will likely take close to 7 years total to finish.</p>
<p>Two years ago, my D faced very similar situation as you have now, both universities are excellent academically but with different environment surrounding. You have to evaluate each for financial, possibility of continuing to professional years and the school setting, etc. Where is the DPT intern training hospital? Would you accept the transportation if you need to? Have you visited them yet? You might have different feeling after you do the campus visit. In the end, this is a thorough thinking process for you and your family.</p>
<p>From a $$$ perspective, it’s got to be UCONN. No comparison between the costs… tuition and room and board after scholarships applied, it will cost you a minimum of $20k + per year additional at Northeastern… unless money is not problem to you…</p>
<p>If money is not an issue, consider this:</p>
<p>-Northeastern offers co-ops which is a HUGE plus when looking for jobs out of college…UConn may offer internships but co-ops and internships are NOT THE SAME!!
-Northeastern is VERY urban while UConn is rural so pick the area where you’ll be more happy–you definately should visit both schools and talk to professors and students there</p>
<p>I feel compelled to reply to the idea that a “co-op” either pays for itself or is superior to an “internship” or a “part time job”. I am a 30 year marketing professional. I have client who now work for Fortune 1,000 companies in marketing, many of whom found their own internship…aka part time job…without the credentials of a high profile college or a formal “co-op” program. Beware of paying inflated prices for colleges that boast “co-op”. If you are a good student, resourceful and present yourself well, you have a good shot at finding those opportunities yourself.</p>
<p>All of these answers have been really helpful. Here are some thoughts I’ve been having.</p>
<p>1) Money is not a huge issue, but Uconn would not even require me to take out loans. Northeastern obviously would. Uconn is almost exactly half of Northeastern in cost. But since I want multiple degrees, it wouldnt be a huge issue to take on an extra year at Uconn because it is so cheap. Plus, the scholarship grows with the tuition cost. And cost of living in Boston is likely to be nuts.</p>
<p>2) Ranking for PT: Uconn is 75 but NE is 44. The scores were 2.6 and 2.9 respectively on whatever kind of ranking system i was looking at. </p>
<p>3) At Uconn, Honors is the highest. I got the highest scholarship I was eligible for. At NE, there is a level above honors, and the scholarships go higher than what I got.</p>
<p>4) Uconn offers a lot of benefits for its honors students. The most important of those is priority registration. You can also request honors roommates through your 4 years. If you email a professor with a full class saying you are an honors student, he will usually squeeze you in, according to my friends who go there.</p>
<p>5) I have Uconn Early Experience credits that may not transfer to Northeastern because they were taught on a high school campus. </p>
<p>6) Northeastern is in a city. Uconn is completely isolated. I’m not sure if I like that.</p>
<p>7) EVERYONE from my high school goes to Uconn. My high school sweatshirt is the #1 high school sweatshirt worn on campus.</p>
<p>8) My parents really want me to go to Uconn and get mad when I talk about going anywhere else.</p>
<p>Why have debt if you do not need to? The co-op feature is not that much different than internships in that many, many students get job offers out of their internships.
UCONN’s reputation nationally is rising all the time. Use the extra money for study abroads and weekends in the city, either New York and Boston. Even if there are 200 students from your high school there, there are still approximately 15,800 other undergrads. Say hi passing on the sidewalk walking to class and make new friends. </p>
<p>And are they really still wearing high school gear? Most move on to college attire…</p>
<p>This would be a no-brainer for me…UConn.</p>
<p>The thing is, im going for physical therapy. Northeastern is ranked 44, Uconn is 75. Northeastern is 6 years and uconn is 7. and Northeastern already has me set in my program as an entry level DPT; uconn has me in “pre-kinesiology” for 2 years, then I apply for the BS in Ex. Science, then I apply for the graduate school. </p>
<p>I don’t know what to dooooooo…</p>
<p>I’m going to visit both campuses in the next 3 weeks.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation. I’ve actually got a lot to say on this topic, but I just wrote a fairly long message and when I went to submit it I had been logged out. So this response will be somewhat abridged because I’m too tired to retype it all right now, but I’d he happy to talk about this more as it’ll probably be a lot of what I’m thinking about for the next 2-3 weeks.</p>
<p>Anyways, I was accepted to UConn Honors Program with a full tuition scholarship and Northeastern Honors Program with a $20K/year Dean’s scholarship.</p>
<p>From what I’ve researched, it looks like Northeastern has a slightly better program in general. Rankings and reviews are of course always subjective to who you’re talking to, and USNews rankings are often unreliable. For the most part, though, I’d say the fact that Northeastern is a private university means that the academics will in general be better. I don’t know anything about the PT programs, I’m an engineering student, but it looks like you think that Northeastern is somewhat better so I’m inclined to agree.</p>
<p>In terms of internships vs. co-ops, I’d say Northeastern’s co-op program is better for ensuring job placement in your field. UConn’s internship benefits are great, but the fact is that Northeastern ensures 2-3 co-ops on top of whatever internships you may do in the summer, whereas you have to apply for competitive internships where you may not be accepted at UConn. I’m guessing there will be lots of experiential learning opportunities at both schools, but again the fact that Northeastern is a private university means it has more money to put into this field.</p>
<p>That being said, you should still seriously consider your financial situation.Talk to your parents some more about what kind of debt you’d accrue at either school, how long it would take to pay off, and how it would affect your life. If you’re still certain you can pay for it, I’d say you should go for Northeastern. This is just my opinion, but it looks like it has slightly better academics and experiential learning opportunities. Regardless, both schools have been quickly moving up the ranks the last few years, so I’d expect we’d both be happy at either school. </p>
<p>Lastly if you could tell me how you’re visiting UConn and Northeastern (their open houses are on the same days) that would be great. I’m kind of worried that I won’t be able to get a full picture of UConn because I’m going to Northeastern on the 14th. Also, if anyone could describe the Buckley Hall dorms and the housing/dorms for upperclassmen honors students, I’d really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Taciturn I just sent you a pm with my email so we can exchange visit experiences lol</p>
<p>dancer517 I have the exact same decision to make between Honors UConn and Honors Northeastern for physical therapy with the same scholarship. Northeastern has a great PT program. I have met with students and an instructor in the program and was very impressed. The idea of knowing that I am in the program from the start is a relief. Also I like the idea that at NU you start taking classes related to PT in the first year. In UConn’s program they only admit 15 students into the Kinesiology program and then only 30 into PT. I have heard it is very competitive to get into the Kinesiology program. The PT labs at NU are new and are state of the art. The freshman Honors housing at International Village and upper class Honors housing are great! The Boston hospitals would be a great place to do a clinical and even co-ops. In PT you get 2 six months co-ops which you can make 15 to 20 dollars an hour. Also being a 6 year program vs a 7 year program at UConn you would already have a years salary made. I really liked NU but the cost is the only factor that is making this decision difficult. I plan to make another visit to both of these schools next week before making a final decision. I am interested in what you felt after visiting them.</p>
<p>moongirl i just found out recently that the Kinesiology major is not the only route that Uconn has for aspiring PTs. there is an Allied Health Sciences major in the college of ag (i know, weird right?!). the major is open to people wanting to go into PA, PT, OT, anything like that that needs a bachelor’s degree to get into grad school. they customize the degree to fit your career goals - they can even get you the kinesiology classes that you want if there is room (but with honors privileges, we’d probably get first dibs, right?) Uconn has its own teaching hospital i think, and it is part of an international research exchange. as an overall school it is ranked higher than northeastern. I think boston would be an awesome experience but I am instate for uconn and it is so much cheaper, but there is a stigma for instate kids going to uconn, you’re almost looked down upon for not going somewhere out of state - broadening horizons or whatever. im afraid that the course load would be too rigorous at neu, but the classes are so much more interesting to me, but if i get overwhelmed and need to spread things out it will cost a lot to do so. did you get the impression of a really overwhelming course load?</p>
<p>ill be checking in to discuss with you lol. 
talk to you soon!</p>
<p>dancer you are correct that you do not have to be in Kinesiolgy to get onto PT. When I met with the advisor at UConn they said you could take biology and other majors but they recommended Kinesiology. They felt this would make you a better candidate to get into the PT program which is very competitive. She had mentioned that they only take a max of 30 students and that they will take the top students from any college who apply to the PT program. They do not give priority to UConn students. The curriculum at NU actually seemed easier because you are only taking more PT related courses than at UConn. Also I know that you can take some of the non PT related courses over the summer or when on co-op at different schools that are cheaper to make things easier if you want. UConn 7 year program only means you are taking more courses overall. Yes UConn does have a hospital that is in Farmington about 45-50 minutes away from Storrs. I am also in state. This decision is difficult because of the cost difference. I would go to UConn if I was guaranteed a spot in PT but I don’t know if it is worth all the stress to have to work really hard for 4 years and not be. NU definitely cost more! I plan on going to both schools to see if I can talk to more people to get a better feel. I haven’t seen UConn’s honors housing yet have you? If so what is it like?</p>