College choice

[Nordstream]

Hey folks, asking for opinions. What would your top 3 choices be among these colleges?

State University of New York, Stony Brook
Rutgers, New Jersey
RPI, Troy, NY
Binghamton University, NY
Rochester Institute of Technology, NY
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA
Boston University
Northeastern, Boston
University of Rochester, NY

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[Mr.Smile12]

If you are a HS student making a college choice: have you heard anything about your financial aid?

Moderators: this can be moved to hSDN.

 

[Nordstream]

If you are a HS student making a college choice: have you heard anything about your financial aid?

Moderators: this can be moved to hSDN.

No. Some schools are offering scholarships but I am not counting on need-based aid. NY resident.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

No. Some schools are offering scholarships but I am not counting on need-based aid. NY resident.

What majors are you most curious about that each school offers?

 

[Hollow Knight]

You and I might come from quite different socioeconomic backgrounds, so take this with a grain of salt- but I'd just go wherever A) you can get a degree that is employable and B) you can actually pay for.

For the most part I don't think prestige is as important as people think it is. I did have a few buddies go to ivies and walk right into consulting (whatever that means, some kind of business job that pays REALLY well), but other than that, you just need the piece of paper to get you a job. I personally wouldn't borrow a bunch of money to get a degree in poetry (I love liberal arts, they just don't pay a living wage).

Since this is SDN and I assume you're premed- honestly, your college doesn't really matter. Your MCAT and GPA matters. If you go to a fancy school it might help you get publications, but at least at my med school we're admitting a 4.0 from western east virginia hillbilly university over a 3.5 from Harvard if that makes sense. Now, going to harvard will help you get pubs, but you have to consider how much you're borrowing.

If money is no object some of the concerns I've listed aren't applicable; knock yourself out. But when I was in school the counselors just beat the "Go to college and get a degree in anything and don't worry about loans," drum, and in today's age, I think that's bad advice for working class kiddos.

 

[Nordstream]

What majors are you most curious about that each school offers?

Biology.

 

[Nordstream]

You and I might come from quite different socioeconomic backgrounds, so take this with a grain of salt- but I'd just go wherever A) you can get a degree that is employable and B) you can actually pay for.

For the most part I don't think prestige is as important as people think it is. I did have a few buddies go to ivies and walk right into consulting (whatever that means, some kind of business job that pays REALLY well), but other than that, you just need the piece of paper to get you a job. I personally wouldn't borrow a bunch of money to get a degree in poetry (I love liberal arts, they just don't pay a living wage).

Since this is SDN and I assume you're premed- honestly, your college doesn't really matter. Your MCAT and GPA matters. If you go to a fancy school it might help you get publications, but at least at my med school we're admitting a 4.0 from western east virginia hillbilly university over a 3.5 from Harvard if that makes sense. Now, going to harvard will help you get pubs, but you have to consider how much you're borrowing.

If money is no object some of the concerns I've listed aren't applicable; knock yourself out. But when I was in school the counselors just beat the "Go to college and get a degree in anything and don't worry about loans," drum, and in today's age, I think that's bad advice for working class kiddos.

It's much appreciated. Of course, it's a complex decision, and financial considerations are a major part of it—not something I am ignoring. However, I have difficulties ranking the schools by quality. Looking at US News, Rutgers, for example, is probably best ranked, yet some others are way more "selective."