I go to a very strong public high school in state and take a very rigorous course-load. My SATs are my weakest point I would say, as they are around the 2000 mark. Hoping to get a 2100 in the end. Regardless, my dream school is Northeastern, but besides that there is no school in MA that I am “in love” with. My mom suggests Umass Amherst as it is very cheap and says the location where you get your undergrad isn’t THAT important as long as its a good school. I am lost and do not know if I should be looking more out of state or in state. I do not want to go to BU as I live very close to the campus and basically grew up in the area and want some sort of fresh experience.
What can you afford?
Cost constraints and academic interests?
@gearmom I’ll put it this way, at this point in time (knock on wood) we can afford almost any college I choose/get into with some debt but not overwhelming amounts. Regardless of what we can afford, every dollar counts, and I want to get the most bang for my buck.
Long story short: If there is a perfect fit college out of state for 50k a year; I could go there. The point becomes, is it worth it and whether or not I want to leave home or not, which I cannot decide on.
Oftentimes a students safety schools are in-state options. Definitely add a couple to your list even if most of your schools are out of state.
Northeastern is a co-op focused school. Two others are Drexel and Cincinnati. Many other schools have formalized optional co-op programs, and many that do not have easy withdrawal and readmission procedures that let you roll your own co-op.
Northeastern is a great choice and I hope you get the opportunity to go there. However, it does seem that stats havet to be higher for MA and other New England state applicants. In the quest for geographical diversity, they sometimes admit students from the west coast and mid-west with lower stats than they expect from New England applicants, so just in case, you might want to apply for a couple of MA back-ups.
I think it could really help if you demonstrate your interest in NU as your “dream school” versus a “backup” choice. You might want to make sure that you visit the campus a couple of times (be sure to register with the campus tour office each time) even though you live close by and are familiar with the school. Also see if you can make an appointment with an advisor in a major that you would select to talk about opportunities at NU for co-ops in that field. Keep in contact and let them know that NU is your first choice. That may help when you submit your application. (In the past NU has also suggested that students with lower credentials apply for spring semester entry where it is less competitive.)
Good luck to you! A friend who grew up in Everett is a 2012 NU graduate and loved it there.
Cincinnati is the pioneer for co-ops and they’re very good at it, but are much less selective than Northeastern: if you’re interested in co-ops and an urban university (in a dynamic city), then Cincinnati would be a great safety for you - and you may even get a merit scholarship.
I agree with creasemonkey:show interest and apply early to NU.
If you want urban universities, look into Pitt, UDenver, Macalester: which one do you like best, and why?
@creasemonkey I will definitely demonstrate interest. I am planning on emailing the admission’s counselor with questions, I already visited once and plan on doing it two more times as well. What differentiates NU for me is their “experiential learning” motif which I think is the best way to learn. Even though NU is not Harvard, I think NU would be the absolute best fit for me in almost every category I can imagine. I plan on applying EA in the fall, praying to god I get in lol.
Ya, make it clear to NU that you love the school. Assuming your SAT is you worst stat I would say you have a good chance of being accepted. Also, UMass Amherst has improved vastly in the past ten years and is a great value compared to many other schools. (It would be a great safety)
It all depends on what program and educational benefits the college has. When I applied to schools, I seriously thought about drexel and Northeastern, but in the end (as a pre-med student), I decided the co-op would not be the best decision for me. I ended up at a I instate school where I’m pretty happy, even though I genuinely didn’t want to go here at first (it had everything I wanted in a school, I was just sick of Texas). It really doesn’t matter too much in-state or out. You have your ENTIRE life to travel elsewhere. What’s important now is your education.