Hey, I live in the Boston area and I’m pretty sure I want to go into engineering. I want to live on campus as well. For early action in the fall I applied to the following schools:
Wentworth Institute of Tech. - accepted
Northeastern University - rejected
Worcester Polytechnic Institute - rejected
UMass Amherst - accepted
UMass Lowell - accepted
UMass Dartmouth - accepted
Bridgewater State - accepted
Looking back I wish I would have applied to more private schools in the Boston area. With a 3.4 unweighted GPA and a 1940 SAT score, I may have gotten decent merit aid. Now that even the regular admission deadlines have passed, it’s too late.
If I went to Wentworth, my financial aid would cover about half the total costs. I would be able to study engineering and get a high salary job straight out of college which would be vital for paying off the debt.
The problem with Wentworth is that I want to have economics as a backup major if I end up hating engineering, and Wentworth does not offer this.
I could go to UMass with close to a full ride and have lots of options for major selection. I would probably go to UMass Lowell since it’s in the Boston area and I could go home on the train whenever I want.
The problem with going to a UMass school is that I’m afraid I will never be able to afford transferring to a private college without the merit aid that freshmen get, and I’ll never be able to experience college surrounded by intellectuals and make connections for jobs out of college. Money is the issue because my parents make less than $50k per year combined. I feel really stuck and I’m not sure what to do. I just want to get a good education, but I’m nervous I won’t be able to transfer if I’m unsatisfied with whatever school I go to.
You think that no “intellectuals” attend UMASS and that engineers from Amherst and Lowell lack “connections” for jobs? Really??? Who fed you that information?
Ya, this is crazy! lol UMass Amherst, and Lowell, have great engineering programs. Amherst’s in particular is extremely solid and I’m a little surprised that you got in with those stats. (What specialization?) Lowell is also good but the programs besides engineering are noticeably behind Amherst’s. The average UMass Amherst student, in general, last year was in the top 15% of their class with a 3.8 GPA (W) and a 1220 (M+R) SAT so they aren’t Ivy leaguers but they are no slouches. (The engineering students are much better) Both these schools aren’t UMass Boston… I hope this is clear.
You need to reassess your situation. You were rejected by Northeastern, which was a low reach for you, and accepted at UMass-Amherst, which was a match. You were not going to get into MIT, Harvard, or Tufts with those numbers, especially not into engineering and certainly not with merit aid. BC, Brandeis, and the top LACs don’t offer engineering and probably weren’t happening either. Aside from Northeastern, the only Boston area private university in that same class where you - might - have had a chance of being admitted with some merit aid would have been BU, which would have been a longshot. You need to quit moping and move on.
UMass-Amherst is an excellent school, especially for engineering. You are very fortunate to have that option with a nearly-full ride. BTW, many of the best universities in the country, especially for engineering, are public. Your anti-public university bias seems a bit misplaced.
If you do well at UMass but still hate it, your income seems low enough that you would have a chance of transferring into a school known for generous need-based aid, although that will be very difficult to do if you limit your choices to the very popular Boston-area schools. Good luck!