I plan to get a major in Industrial Engineering and a minor in Econ or Business.
Michigan
Pros:
Top notch education in Industrial Engineering
Amazing alumni network
Great sports and social life
Cons:
College Town
Will be in $110K in debt (It’s fine. My parents and I have talked about it.)
Huge School
Northeastern:
Pros:
Honors College
Boston
Co-ops are the best
Cons:
Quality of engineering education is not as good as Michigan
Graduate in 5 years
Sports and social life is not as good as Michigan (IMO)
Will be in $90K in debt
My goal is to either work for Google, Disney, the government as an investigator, or start my own company. I want to get a MBA and go to graduate school.
Also, after graduation, I plan to move to California, and get my master’s degree over there as well as getting a job there.
NEITHER! Oh my god, if you go to either of these schools, you’ll be in debt until your late forties or early fifties at best, retirement at most. Neither of these schools are worth it. I remember you said you were also admitted to Case Western? Please tell me you would acquire less debt there.
You say on a different thread you can “handle” this debt. Hawkace…neither you nor I have any concept of a hundred thousand dollars. That is not an easy debt to pay off, even if you are an engineer. You will not be making 500K a year right out of college. I mean, this kind of debt is literally crippling. Both of these schools should be off the table. I’m sorry the admissions madness didn’t work out in the way you’d like, I really am. But you simply cannot afford either of these schools.
I’m sorry did u just consider Ann Arbor a con for the University of Michigan? It was ranked like the best college town in the country. I say U of M it is the best bang for ur buck
I talked to my parents and it’s not exactly a simple equation where we have $100K debt. There are other factors that I have to consider. I’ll have similar debt issues at CWRU plus I don’t feel the vibes there. We’ll have at least 60K debt. I plan to get a job during the summers and possibly at Ann Arbor. I know that’s it’s a lot, but I know that I can work hard enough to pay it off in 5-7 years. I just need a little reassurance and a little encouragement.
Nobody is encouraging you because it’s hard to encourage taking on that much debt. Afrforsability is this single most important aspect of selecting a college, plain and simple. What “other factors” are there? The assumption that you can pay that off in five to seven years is foolish. You say you don’t “feel the vibes” at Case. Are “vibes” worth forty thousand dollars? Do you have ANY affordable options? Rutgers? I know many students from NJ look down upon Rutgers just as many students from my own state, MA, look down upon Umass Amherst, but it could be a really good place for you. Engineering is essentially the same allmost everywhere. Don’t put this kind of burden on yourself or your family because you want prestige and a more enjoyable experience. College is four years. That kind of debt is thirty.
You’re right. I’m only fooling myself. Other factors include investments and things like that. Ugh. I don’t know what to do. My parents, friends, family, and teachers want me to go to Michigan, but I know that this type of debt is just… difficult to control. There are plenty of scholarships that I can possibly get, along with merit scholarships that I can achieve. I do have an afforadable option in Rutgers, but I don’t know about the education that I’ll get there compared to Michigan. Rutgers is a viable option, but I still have to pay about $27K for engineering and $10K for business there. I’ll pay $40K at Michigan. Is there a big difference? I want to do engineering and a MBA.
Is there some way that I can take this burden without being foolish? Is there something that I can do to go to Michigan with as less as debt as possible?
I know someone who handled that kind of debt–but they didn’t go to California or some place expensive. They moved back in with mom and dad, and put the entire salary after expenses toward the debt until it was paid off. It took a few years. Are you willing/able to do something like that? This is assuming your parents live somewhere you could get a job…
I mean, even reducing it by half would help, but it’s also still a lot to carry over your 20s and 30s. The other person I know who graduated with 80K of debt still owes 75K, and she’s 28 now, getting married and unable to qualify for a loan to buy a house…
Agree with above, but LOL! you are in for a penny in for a pound.
My friend, you’d better study hard because you will need to seriously earn to payback those loans. No time to worry about sports or social life. LOL!
I think Michigan has more national recruiting, and waiting the extra year via co-op will cost you about another $7K in interest and a whole year’s professional salary ~75K before taxes.
Michigan is clearly the better answer here. It’s actually cheaper when you factor in the lost year of salary. However, if you start and find that engineering is not happening for you, don’t wait until you are 3 years in to decide that. This is an all in scenario.
Why is rutgers engineering 27k and business only 10k?
Anyway, if Rutgers is more financially feasible for you I would advise to go there. At Rutgers, you will be able to relax and enjoy life. At Michigan, you will constantly worry about the loans. Think wisely.
One thing to consider is that with an engineering co-op at Northeastern, you will probably make $25/hour for a six month, full time stint. Yes, it will take longer to graduate, but you earn (24K max) - (living expenses) and put that toward your loans. Not all co-ops pay this well, but engineering does (so does business). With 2 or 3 co-ops, you can probably knock 20 or 30K off from your NEU loans. It’s another thing to consider. (Also, Google does sponsor a co-op for NEU students in Boston. I’m sure it’s highly competitive to get those spots but you have as good a chance as anyone else?)
PS I am NOT suggesting you factor co-ops as a way to pay for school, but you can certainly make a dent in those loans, should they be as lucrative as NEU promises… (for anyone else reading this, co-ops in other departments average around $11/hour. Engineering and Business typically pay more.)
@redpoodles The cities those coops are in (Boston, NYC, Seattle, etc) are often incredibly expensive even if you’re not living in NEU housing. I could see easily half the money from those coops going towards rent, food, etc. That money really won’t make a huge dent in Hawkace’s loans.
I know that, but if he works in Boston (hopefully Google), he can stay in NEU housing. 1/2 the money from co-ops going to rent, yes, that’s exactly what I said. 24K MINUS LIVING EXPENSES (let’s say 10K since he’s an honor’s kid and can live in international village, which is 4.4K per semester) and 4 K for food, transportation, 5 shirts and ties. That leaves 10K to put toward loans. This would not work in another major. Typical engineering co-ops pay $25-30/hour which is a lot for a kid this age.
“24K MINUS LIVING EXPENSES (let’s say 10K since he’s an honor’s kid and can live in international village, which is 4.4K per semester) and 4 K for food, transportation, 5 shirts and ties. That leaves 10K to put toward loans.”
Also, don’t forget about contributing to everyone’s favorite friend … Uncle Sam.