Wellesley vs Umass Amherst (for CS)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Wellesley College
1

Hi,
I made a post like this in College Selection but figured I would make it again. I’m deciding between Umass Amherst (honors college and CS) and Wellesley College. I committed to Umass, but was notified recently that there was an opening on the waitlist. Cost is one of my main concerns: at UMass I will be receiving little aid so the net cost will be roughly 30k (affordable for me). At Wellesley, I have a great FA package (25k/yr net cost) BUT that is up in the air in the somewhat near future because of my dad’s job & other familial circumstances. I will be fine at Wellesley for the first couple years, but after that, I may struggle to afford the college. My parents can probably pay up to 40k but after that, I will have to take out loans. I’m okay with taking out federal loans but not so much private ones, and am willing to work over the summer to cover costs. If I can snag some paid CS internships I’m sure that will be very helpful as well. Is Wellesley worth potentially going into debt? I really like the college and all it has to offer. The alum network is very tight-knit, the student body is super friendly, there are a plethora of opportunities for internships and research, and I like being in a small college with small classes and an undergrad focus. But I am not sure if it is worth paying a lot of money for Wellesley when I have an affordable university that is also very strong in CS that I can go to. What do you all think?

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Hi! I have heard when I was looking at Wellesley that their financial aid is super good and they are good at maintaining it throughout the four years and trying to minimize loans that students have to take out as much as possible (I think they have students graduate with a max of 16,000?) and that they are good at working with families through changing financial situations. I’m not sure what your specific case is that you are expecting your financial aid to change so much but it might be work giving the financial aid office a call and seeing if they can give you a general estimate for your aid in future years. Good luck!