Northeastern NU.in and VT were top choices for D24, both good choices for her major.
When she looked at the course schedule, it seemed quite likely that NU.in would put her a semester behind. It was also more than a 5K difference for her (no merit for NEU, a small amount of merit at VT). I feel like a person needs to be 100% in on a program like NU.in and go in with eyes wide open, while VT provides more of a traditional college experience. If she had been admitted to the Boston campus with some merit, it would have been a much harder decision.
I agree with this, and this is part of why itâs so important to make sure you are in on NU.in if you want to pursue that.
I can see this! Even though food and campus werenât top considerations for D24âs decision making, she really appreciates what VT brings in this regard. (one of her friends however hates the too gray campus and not unlimited swipes meal plan, and they happen to be an extrovert ).
Good luck to your S24 with the decision. Two great places to choose between!
Thanks @bronzerfish. I appreciate you sharing your Dâs experience. Looks like my son is also leaning towards VT and I am waiting for him to make it official. I think being in VT is better for his personality as well and am glad that he is coming to the same conclusion by himself. The best part for NU with him was they were offering $23K/year merit scholarship and VT offered nothing (inspite of Honors College). However, bottomline, they were apart by $5K as you said so not much.
Good luck to your D24! Did she commit yet? & where?
We are in NC so for us it was reversed from your situation in that VT was the closer choice (Boston is a direct flight away).
For D24âs major specifically, she has multiple major-specific options for 4th year study abroad at VT, and I think she will get a lot more out of it in a few years vs. going first semester freshman year with NU.in. VT looks like they have some interesting study abroad opportunities for CS majors as well!
I guess long story short I wasnât keen on the concept of first semester abroad, and ultimately was not willing to pay full price for it, especially with the possibility of needing an additional semester. I was also worried about her smoothly transitioning to the Boston campus. Northeastern just sticks you wherever they want regardless of what campus you select. To be fair, they were not wrong when they bet that D24 would be all over the idea of first semester study abroad. I had to be the bad guy even though Boston campus/would need some merit was what we agreed to before she applied. I am grumpier about the forced campus aspect of it than anything else. If a student/parent has done their research, knows NU.in would be a good choice, and specifically opts for it, I am all for that!
Did you submit a FAFSA with VT? D24âs small merit scholarship did not show up until recently when the out of state packages were released. It was also kind of hard to see on her phone because the default aid year was not showing as 2024-2025. Seems like someone accepted to honors would be eligible for something, though who knows because they have so many tiny endowed scholarships with different requirements, the list is looooong.
We are proud to say that DS also decided today & VT it is!!
Congratulations to your daughter and I totally agree with you regarding the forced NUin (though I considered it a plus in the big picture). Additionally, a few things on the NU parents page FB page gave me a pause (like the important things like difficulty in enrolling to the classes you need or not so important on how the graduating class couldnt get to the events and proms as everything gets filled 2 mins after they open up online etc), while the VT parents page on FB seems like the most supportive group ever and no amount of difficult question could sway their love for Hokie Nation (which made me feel good about the support that the kids would have, not only in the 4 yrs but beyondâŠso much so that I didnt want to leave the group, even if DS didnt decide to go to VT ).
For DSâs quiet personality and his easy going nature, I thought that NU might be too much, though it might have pushed him out of his comfort zone and who knows what that could have been. VT being far from home would also be difficult for him as I think he has always imagined himself to be close to home (as his big bro is 2 hrs away in Philly), but he still decided on VT vs Rutgers Honors (1 hr from home) so guess he is pushing himself out of his comfort zone in different ways.
No scholarship here (except for subsidized loan offers) which was disappointing but not surprisingâŠwe make just enough to not qualify for much.
Good luck to our kiddos in VT! I have a good feeling about this and here is to hoping that they enjoy the Hokie Nation!
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