<p>Well I had promised myself that I wouldn't leave a decision that will impact the rest of my life until the last minute, yet hear I am a little over 24 hours from the acceptance deadline still unsure where I would want to spend my next 4+ years. </p>
<p>The details. I have been accepted into the Northeastern Honors Program along with $22,000 in scholarships that will bring the cost down to more or less $33,000 + student loans. I live in CA so at UCSB I am expecting to pay around $23,000. I have enough AP credits such that I should be able to graduate from Northeastern in 4 years, so the extra year doesn't factor into the costs.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I sort of jumped the gun with my UCSB acceptance and accepted my position before I had been awarded my Northeastern scholarships. While losing the $100 deposit would not be the end of the world, I am currently on the wait list at Washington in St. Louis and Boston College, both of which I would likely go to over NU and UCSB. Should I get off the wait list after changing to NU, I would then lose an addition $600 in deposit (again not the end of the world, but something to think about).</p>
<p>While I was very impressed with the UCSB campus, I have not had the chance to check out NU's campus in person. I've tried looking at pictures and taking virtual tours but I still feel like I'm missing out on being there in person. Just curious as to how recent the facilities are and what the overall architecture and attractiveness of the campus is like from somebody who has been there before? While I love SoCal weather, I have lived here all my life and am open to going to the east coast and experiencing seasons and the cold.</p>
<p>I am currently registered as undeclared in terms of my major for both colleges, however at the moment I am leaning towards computer science, business/econ, poly sci, or physiology. While I am aware of the higher ranking and 'prestige' of UCSB, I feel like Northeastern's coop program would outweigh the ranks in terms of searching for jobs etc. post college. </p>
<p>Any and all input is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the essay!</p>
<p>I can’t help you with the logistics of waiting lists/deposits, etc. But I can tell you a bit about Northeastern. </p>
<p>Northeastern does have a campus (not all urban schools do) - but the setting certainly isn’t as beautiful as UCSB’s, or architecturally as pretty as Boston College or WUSL.
But it is a cohesive campus, the facilities are good, and of course the focus on co-op gives students an opportunity to work in some amazing settings. My daughter did two of her co-ops at Harvard research labs. One of her roommates, a business major, did one co-op in Paris and another in Beijing. But co-ops also mean that at any given point after your third semester, many of your friends will disappear off campus. It makes for a bit of a less-than-traditional college vibe. It also by definition makes NEU a school with a heavy pre-professional focus, and less learning-for-learning’s sake. If you have a specific field/profession in mind, NEU might be a great choice. But if you’re looking for the very traditional college experience, want to explore lots of areas and aren’t sure what you want to major in, I think the other schools would be better.</p>
<p>Hmmm well I was hoping that the hands on experience of NEU would allow me to develop a better idea for what I’m passionate about and would like to do for the rest of my life. Just out of curiosity how does your daughter feel about NEU other than its practicality? Does she love Boston and NEU or does the coop program bring down the quality of life?</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone would say the co-op program brings down the quality of life at NEU. But it does make it different. My daughter was on a college sports team and it tickled her to see her friends, off campus on co-op, running into the locker room for practice dressed in business suits and heels. But see, they were on co-op - and still able to do their college sport. </p>
<p>We’re from Colorado, so Boston was a very unique place to her, and she loved being there. Plus the east coast in general has good public transportation and without ever having a car she got to explore NYC, Washington DC, Philadelphia, go to the beach in the Hamptons, stay at friends ‘camps’ in Maine, etc. It was a very enriching experience to see so many interesting places far from home. </p>
<p>As to co-op hands-on experience - of course it helps you define what you want to do. But you really need to already know in general what you’re interested in: business… or science… or engineering, etc.</p>
<p>So NEU would be $10,000 extra per year plus some unspecified amount of student loans?</p>
<p>Seems like a lot of money for NEU. You may want to check with UCSB about doing (optional) co-op jobs while enrolled at UCSB and how students doing so are accommodated within the usual withdrawal and readmission policies. You may want to ask both the admissions office and the career center with these questions.</p>
<p>Well I’ve lived in SoCal for my entire life, and I think a change of setting would be nice and could possibly be a good thing for me. Not to mention from what I keep on hearing Northeastern is continuing to climb up in the rankings</p>
<p>I’ll take a look into this, however if I do end up at UCSB, as it appears I will, I’ll most likely just supplement my application with regular internships and work experience over the breaks.</p>