<p>My response depends mostly on this question:
Is there anything that would make attending Texas A&M or Alabama not a good fit for you? Pretend Northeastern/Boston don’t exist while you think about that answer. </p>
<p>I may have been in a similar situation last year depending on your answer to that question. I was between USC (dream school, heavy loans) and Northeastern (cool, affordable). If any of your schools would work, but Northeastern’s your first choice, I’ll give you the same advice I was given: Go with the scholarships. Those loans are way too big to be worth it (no matter which school we’re talking about), and if you were anything like I was with USC, you’ve got a lot of first-choice emotional attachment making them look smaller to you. There’s too much uncertainty in the future (LOTS of people change majors, job market requires different skills, technology changing economy, etc) to be able to safely say “Because I’m studying -insert STEM field here- I will be able to pay this off without too much suffering eventually” (I used the same logic, so trust me on that). </p>
<p>It’s going to hurt at first, but in the end you’re still going to have a great experience no matter where you go. (Again, based on the assumption that all options are valid).</p>
<p>If the alternatives are bad fits for you and could potentially offer a negative or unhealthy experience compared to somewhere like Northeastern, then the answer becomes more complicated. (By “bad fit”, I’m talking more like friction between a person and a school/region’s atmosphere.)</p>
<p>No matter what happens, I wish you luck with your decision and I hope you enjoy yourself wherever you end up.</p>