<p>I’m planning on engineering, and I’ve narrowed down my choices to the following schools that have offered me admission: Boston University, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, and McGill.
With everything taken into consideration (city, crime rate…etc.) where should I go?</p>
<p>Have you done the math? Which of these is going to work out to be less expensive for you? If you’ve applied for financial aid, get out a calculator and a pencil, and sit down with the financial aid packages.</p>
<p>1) What do each of these places include in their Cost of Attendance (COA)? Take out any figures that they’ve included for books, materials, personal expenses, and travel, because those are things that you can control. Leave in their figures for tuition, fees, housing, and meals.</p>
<p>2) Now, subtract any scholarships or grants. This leaves the amount of money that you and your family will have to pay. Can you and your family afford that without any loans?</p>
<p>3) If you have filed the FAFSA, (or qualify to do so), you are eligible for the same amount and kinds of federally determined student loans at all of the US universities. If you take out the maximum amount in Stafford Loans, how much is left to pay at BU, UCSB, and UCSD? Can your family afford that figure without any more loans?</p>
<p>4) Add in your own best estimates for transportation from your home to campus two or three times a year if you won’t be commuting, and to and from campus each day if you would be commuting. What do the figures look like now?</p>
<p>5) If you are a California kid who would need an entire new winter wardrobe for BU or McGill, add in your own best estimate for that cost. </p>
<p>6) Sit your parents down, and show them the final figures from #5. Talk with them about how your family can come up with that kind of money. If it would be necessary to take on more than just the Stafford Loans, run the loan repayment calculators at [Student</a> Loan Calculator - Calculate Your Student Loan Repayments](<a href=“http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp]Student”>http://apps.collegeboard.com/fincalc/sla.jsp) and at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) Think about how long it will take you to get shed of the debt that attending each institution would leave you with. </p>
<p>All of these are good universities. Any one of them can prepare you well for your future career. Please just do your best to finish your education without a lot of debt that will cramp your life for years and years.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, I should’ve mentioned that money shouldn’t be taken into consideration, because I’m from a foreign country that gives any student that wants to study abroad a full scholarship. I’m still not sure which one to go to though</p>
<p>You are very fortunate! Congratulations!</p>
<p>Does the scholarship board keep track of where students are currently studying? If so, get the contact information for students who are currently at these universities, and send them an email. Ask them about their experience.</p>
<p>Crime statistics aren’t that hard to find on the internet. If you use “crime”, “statistics” and the name of the city as your search terms, you will find plenty of websites that give you useful information. Of the cities where these are located, I’d guess Montreal would be the safest. It is a truly charming city as well, but the winters are long, dark, and snowy.</p>
<p>UC Sanata Barbara, without a doubt. Beautiful campus, great weather, good location and cost.</p>