UIUC
Intended major: Business with a concentration in finance, may pursue a minor in CS/Data science
Pros:
Gies Business is high ranked (19th overall but 11th for finance)
Living in Urbana-Champaign has lower living costs
Would graduate with no debt
Large school=bigger social scene?
Cons:
Not in a large city (less stuff to do, fewer food options)
Not sure if I can get a good job afterward/internships compared to NEU
Northeastern University
Intended major: Combined major for business+economics
Pros:
Boston! A large city with many things to do
Co-op program would almost guarantee me a job once I graduate, and get a leg up compared to entry positions (for me, this is the selling point)
More individualized attention
D’amore Mckim business school is ranked slightly higher (15th overall)
Cons:
Would be 40k in debt
Not sure if it is as high ranked as UIUC for my major
Boston living costs are expensive
Right now, I am leaning towards UIUC because I would be in ZERO debt after graduating. I am also trying to see if taking out 40k in student loans would be worth going to a school that would give me more work experience and (potentially) a higher paying job. Also, I was wondering if my co-op earnings would help offset the price/debt difference. Thanks!
UIUC is a great school and zero debt is a bonus. 40,000 is the minimum as you also need to consider other cost starting with Boston, summer school, and hidden program fees.
Had the same argument with son when he was looking at colleges. I keep tracking the added costs he never considered and he is about to finish up his sophomore year. Summer school added 19,000 just tuition, housing cost added 5,000, ticket costs for travel 2,500, and we are still calculating for him. He is attending a state school so imagine a private school cost. With him it was his choice (which I would have to figure out how to fund) or full paid scholarship.
According to last year’s US News Northeastern’s business school was ranked 64th in business and UIUC Gies was ranked 15th so I’m not exactly sure how reliable the rankings’ source you used is. You might have looked at graduate rankings instead of undergraduate. I was in the same position and eventually accepted my offer to UIUC about a month ago. Since I’m an international student, I have to pay a lot more compared to domestic students but since UIUC is a public school I have to pay less for it than Northeastern. The only USP of Northeastern is its fantastic co-op programme but in terms of academics UIUC is definitely better. Also, it’s not impossible to get internships at UIUC, sure it may be harder but you will get one. I also chose UIUC because Gies has a very good reputation and a lot of the top companies come to recruit from UIUC because of their engineering college. My intended major is finance, which has a 100% placement rate.