Hi - my son got into NE - Oakland (1st year& next 3 yr in Boston) and UCI in California. We are in CT ( east coast)
can someone tell me which one is better in terms of culture, living, academics. He plans to take economics. How are students graded. Is Oakland not safe for students on campus for NE.
UCI is a very nice school in a very nice area - but what people post about it today is the same as when I was growing up.
With such a large part of its population from So Cal, people on the CC are describing it as a suitcase school. Was 30 years ago - so seems that hasn’t changed.
Both are fine schools.
With Northeastern, you’ll have co -ops so the schedule will be different and with kids leaving and coming back, etc. And Boston is vastly different than Orange County.
I’m sure both schools are solid academically - as are most. But note the UCs are on the quarter system (UCI is) and not the semester.
Good luck.
@Monica_Vohra would you like me to change USI to UCI in your subject?
Also, if this screen name is your real name, I would suggest you change it asap. Here is how:
Net price at each? Debt?
Post graduation goals are targeting BA/BS level employment or PhD study or something else?
If you have time, I would strongly encourage you to visit Oakland and Irvine. Those two campus are worlds apart, both culturally and physically. Oakland does have problems with crime, but the Mills Campus is located in a safe area.
Also, while things seem to be settling down, based on reports in the local medial here there were tensions as Mills College, an all-women’s school, transitioned to Northeastern last year.
The Mills Oakland campus itself is a sweet, idyllic little bubble. As a freshman, your son would be living on campus, and perhaps not venturing into other Oakland neighborhoods as much as he might if he lived there as an upperclassman. It sounds like he would only be there for one academic year.
Does your son like the Northeastern Boston campus? He would be spending more time there than he would in Oakland.
Does he also like the idea of potentially traveling to additional locations for co-op? This is a positive feature for some students, a negative for others.
While the campus is walled off and a nice bubble, the area surrounding Mills is not safe at all. East Oakland has one of the highest crime rates in the State. Nothing really off campus to walk to. Will require a car.
not a fan of paying OOS rates for a public. What are the other options?
UConn if instate is a no-brainer, particularly for Econ. Run the ROI.
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Agree - but OP didn’t mention UCONN. Is that a choice?
What are his other options?
Why are these 2 the top contenders? -or are they the only universities he got into?
UCI is commuter/suitcase, with many students going home on weekends, which would be lonely for an OOS student. In addition, UCI is fine but there’s no reason to pay twice the cost of UConn for it. (CA students who got the instate price, especially those in the Honors college, would be advised UCI over UConn).
As for NEU: how does your son feel about living in a little bubble in the middle of a ghetto manufactured over the past 70 years? How does he feel about movibg to Boston, then moving again for co-ops (which means losing all his friends again)?
Northeastern students do not lose all their friends when they go on coop. Half of coop jobs are in the Boston area and there is this thing called social media.
These are not your only choices. Northeastern at Mills is not a great option, and paying OOS for UCI isn’t great either. Did he get into UConn? If he didn’t, or didn’t apply, maybe start at your local 4 yr Connecticut State College (which still are accepting applications), and then transfer to UConn Storrs? You’ll save about 200K, plus his options coming out of UConn are probably just as good.
sry, I don’t know that UConn was an option but just speculating since they live in CT. Just assumed that they woudl apply to the State flagship, if only to reject it later. I read this as another 17-year old who wants to vacation in CA for four years. But if they did apply its a much better option than UCI or the Mills campus.
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Love how you put it. Higher education can be an enormous economic decision for a family, sometimes costing as much as their home. To make this decision based upon their child’s non-career focused desires, even non-educationally focused preferences, seems foolish, especially when the difference can amount to over 200K.
Exactly. Econ is a generic major which any top 100 college does well. (That said, the tippy top colleges have gone quant-heavy on Econ.) Regardless, Mills/UCI offers nothing special in that field so notthing to be gained for Going West…
My daughter is a high school junior and she’s very interested in Northeastern after our visit to the Boston campus in November. She also likes their Global Scholars offering, where your first year you do one semester in Oakland and one semester in London, then join Boston in sophomore year. We were in the Bay Area over Easter and we stopped by the Northeastern Oakland campus, late afternoon on Easter Sunday. It was definitely secure, safety wise, and the campus is absolutely GORGEOUS. It was quiet, in part I’m sure due to the holiday, but there were students around. My daughter struck up a conversation with a student who was sitting by himself outside, and he was happy to talk to her and answer her questions. I don’t she’d want to spend 4 years on that campus (small and a little isolated) but for a semester or a year, I think it could be great (again, just based on our quick visit). I woudn’t mind living there myself! Coming from NJ. Best wishes to you and your son!
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What academic coursework is offered at either location, progressing towards which majors? What makes it worth 3 times as much as a first semester at a 4 yr public, and 3 months in London?
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