UMASS AMHERST FULL RIDE VS NORTHEASTERN

Hi!
I’m currently confused between attending Umass Amherst with a full ride or Northeastern. I didn’t get into honors at either school but i looked into it and it looks easy to get into honors at both so that is something I plan on doing after my first semester.

I’m on a premed track and was wondering if any of you have advice? I can pay for both but I have concerns about northeastern because i heard it’s more job oriented and the sciences are good but not strong such as colleges like boston university. My concern with umass amherst is that i’ve never lived alone, not even sleepovers, so it may be a large transition for me. Also in order to do clinicals i would have to leave the amherst campus into some shady areas and i’m not very adventurous.

if i go to amherst i plan on doing volunteer work at hospitals near my house on breaks and summers. in northeastern i can do volunteer work throughout the school year and summer. and for research, i’ve heard it’s easy to get research at both schools.

thanks!!! i really appreciate it.

I would say in my opinion, go for the free ride as med school is expensive and you want the least amount of debt going into med school. If money is not a problem at all, then it depends on what type of campus you enjoy. Amherst is a large school population in a small college town in western mass with not much around but trees. Northeastern, is in a city, but does have a small campus if you like the campus feel, and is very close to hospitals and places to volunteer at.

IF I had to say one was better than the other for med school, I would say UMass Amherst, simply because it is known for being a school for pre med and nursing and has their own med school, though nothing is wrong with NU.

NU does offer the benefits of living in a city nearby everything whereas Amherst offers you no debt, freedom and a small town feel.

It sounds like you would be commuting to Northeastern from home. Is that the case?

yes i would be!

By full ride you mean tuition, room and board are all covered at UMA? What is the bottom line cost of each school?

it would be about $200K for NU and $50K for Umass. but cost isn’t really a factor because my parents are ready to pay for either. my major concern is which college prepares me best for med school and gives me a higher chance of getting into med school. if i go to umass, i would try to become a TA and tutor at the school and do research. if i find small volunteer work i would do that too. during my summers back home, i plan on doing volunteer work the whole break. for northeastern i would just do research and volunteer work simultaneously during the school year and summer together.

Both schools will prepare you for medical school. If your parents are wealthy and can also pay for your medical school tuition without loans that is one thing. If they spend that money for Northeastern and you have to take loans for med school, that is different.

You can take the full ride in Umass, if you don’t feel good you can transfer to Northeastern.

I don’t know enough to help with comparisons between these two schools, however, if you are too worried to do any volunteer work during your time at UMass that might be a large issue for your eventual application. Med schools are highly concerned with the quality and quantity of your clinical volunteering record. I would spend some time on the pre-med boards here and if possible reach out to the admissions offices of med schools to see how only summer hours would be viewed. Med schools also really want to see that you have reached out to under served communities. If you feel you can do that from Northeastern but not UMass, that would give you your answer.

Finally, I know you will have four years to work up to this, but you will almost certainly have to work in some “shady” areas as a medical student and resident. You don’t always have control over where those will be.

Im an MD who went to UMASS med school. Take the ride. Med school can cost hundreds of thousands and they don’t give scholarships.

How did you get a ful ride but didn’t get into the honors college?
Do you mean a true full ride or the Abigail Adams scholarship?

The Abigail Adams scholarship is worth less than $2000, isn’t it?

^except it bills itself as a “full tuition scholarship”…

All students who got a true full ride to uMass should be in te honors college.

^ and the catch is “tuition” is but a tiny portion of “tuition and fees” that currently total $15,787 for UMass Amherst. In this case the John & Abigail Adams “tuition” waiver amounts to $1,714 – the remaining $14k or so are “fees”.

That said, UMass and other MA state schools do offer merit money to certain students separate from the Adams waiver.

Oh yes, but having a real full ride and not getting into the honors college? …?!
I worry op may have misunderstood their financial aid award.

^^ I agree!