UNC Chapel Hill (no honors COA $60K) undecided or Northeastern Boston Honor College, Computer Science & Business (COA $65K) or Rutgers Honors College CS (COA $40K). Equally interested in CS & Business, COA is a consideration but not a sole deciding factor. Also got in UMD CS (no honors COA $60K). Important to the student are a good balance of academic rigor, college life and student outcomes. Not into partying or greek as of now but who knows?. Please suggest /rate your preferences and why?. Rutgers closest, UNC CH farthest. Northeatern and UMD are 4 Hrs each.
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If Business, UNC is the no brainer choice. Although, you have to get in B school which is not automatic. Best school of the group.
If CS, UMD is very strong there. B school is solid, too. Big school and College Park not the safest place. But, school is on the rise.
Not a fan of Rutgers campus, especially for freshmen who often are stuck in Piscataway. Lot of buses. School also on rise and proximity to NYC is good for internships and jobs.
NE has the internship opportunities built in which is great and Boston is great college town.
I’d rank them
UNC
UMD
Rutgers on price
NE
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Thanks!.. Good feedback. At UMD assured major is CS. At Rutgers, its CS as well plus Honors College is in the College Avenue. Agree that UNC is top pick but uncertainty on major with CS / business there being competitive are a drag.
Seems like Northeastern has admitted you to both areas of interest.
What’s the assurance of studying CS or business at UNC?
UMD is likely the top CS school you got into - but can you take classes at Smith?
What can you study at Rutgers? Being in Honors, depending on what it offers, can be great - but all Honors are different and not for everyone.
You have NEU - in Boston. UMD - on its own - but accessible to DC. Rutgers - really out there. And UNC in suburban Chapel Hill - but lots around.
You can have fantastic outcomes from all four of these - so not sure one stands out over another - unless you want a high end business degree (like for IB).
As for partying - it’ll be huge at the three publics for sure - but that doesn’t mean you need to and many don’t. Same with Greek life - it’s there if you want out and if you don’t, that’s great too.
NU gets you “assured” experience - as part of the co-op program - assuming you’re able to participate.
Only you can decide - what’s the best fit here - but all four have great positives.
That’s the problem with choice - you have to make one. But these are four excellent opportunities.
Good luck.
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Thanks. At Rutgers it would be Honors College through SAS for CS.
So you have two interests - but are not assured for either at UNC - right?
To me, that’d be the easiest to remove - but others would say, it’s the highest ranked school (which doesn’t get you much in life - a rank on its own).
You really have to decide the environment you want, what you want to study (check with each school to see if you can study your other interest too or you can see if they have a minor open to all), etc.
Only you can decide - but again, I’m not sure there is a wrong answer but I’m risk averse so to me UNC might be that wrong answer.
But you aren’t me.
Good luck.
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My daughter went to UNC as an OOS student. She was not a CS or business major but if you have any questions I am happy to answer them.
Greek life is not big at all and is off campus. It’s there if you want it and easy to ignore if you don’t. My daughter had no interest and never attended a party. Even when she lived in the dorms…I assume there was some partying going on during the weekend in some of the dorm rooms……but she didn’t see any of it and it was not an issue. Her dorm was quiet for the 2 years she lived on campus. There is a lot to do socially for students who do not want to attend parties.
UNC is a great school with an abundance of opportunities…but direct admit to the others is definitely worth considering and researching.
IMO Rutgers is underrated… maybe because of the buses? The academics are very strong and acceptance to honors is impressive. Congrats on 4 wonderful acceptances!
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Rutgers honors is not easy to get in. I suspect they will take very good care of your kid and they will have a lot of opportunities during and after college.those are some smart motivated kids, probably more than your average UNC kid.
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Thanks. What you pointed out about Rutgers Honors College(not program)is what kept this on our list and as a strong contender for even UNC. The vibe in this microsystem of competitive kids and collective learning gives them an edge. I am keen to hear from parents/alum/of current Rutgers HC students as what their alternatives were and why they choose. Is there any remorse(if any)?
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Thank you very much. Yes it is a good conundrum to have but not an easy one. We wanted to come to a quick decision and decline other offers to give way for waitlists to move up for others. We will visit UNC shortly but any pointers on where typical OOS kids stay would be helpful. There seems to be lot of chatter on South Vs North campuses and without visiting visualizing that is little tough :). With Rutgers HC its slamdunk - nothing to visualize its simply the best dorm out there … but yes Buses HURT Lol 
For UNC, I’ve stayed at the AC - literally a few blocks away and right in the heart of the business district - and that’s when I walk the campus.
But it’s often pricey. I’ve stayed at a nearby Hyatt Place and even at the Sheraton a few miles away.
I think you base on price point or brand you like (if you collect or have points) - the school is easily accessible within 10-15 minutes of many hotels…and yes, there are some in the immediate vicinity (more boutique-y).
If you’re asking where they stay (while there), there is tons of student apartments, some right across from the AC - as my room both times faced a big building with lots of student activity. I’m sure like most schools there is more expensive in the vicinity and perhaps some students live a bit farther off to save $$.
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As simply a form of additional information, Northeastern (overall) performed well in this WalletHub ranking: WalletHub College Rankings - #18 by tsbna44.
interesting stats - I take this with a pinch of salt though as these are generalized. What we are aiming for is centered around microsystems let it be CS/Biz or Honors. But very interesting stats. Thanks. NE is good from another perspective also though - thats AP credits - they are most generous without splitting hairs on gen ed categories. They are also best in educational pedagogy - thier course content is always industry benchmarked. But hey, its Northeastern it has its own bad rap
She was in Craige her first year, which I believe was on the south campus. She and her roommate chose the ugliest dorm because they liked the location. Her roommate was from NC (parents were transplants) but 2 of her suite mates were OOS.
I think the campus is huge but my daughter did not. She did not have trouble making friends from OOS, once she adjusted to the school (it took a semester). There is also an out of state student association that plans trips, and the campus clubs are very well attended. She was also an admissions ambassador and made a lot of friends within that organization. Becoming an admissions ambassador was a very competitive process - interviews lasted several weeks. I was happy she made it because it gave her a group at a time when she really needed one…but I would not be honest if I said the process was free from stress.
She truly loved her time there and did exceptionally well, but…she did not apply to the business school (does CS accept more?). Interesting…she received a letter in the mail asking if she wanted to have a business minor.
What is the AC?
We usually stayed at the Hampton Inn in Carrboro and had an easy walk to campus.
It must be the Marriott on Franklin. It was almost finished being built when we were there.
214 WEST ROSEMARY STREET is the address.
Like most ACs, it was on the newer side but it was probably 3 years ago or so I was last there.
I think if someone is looking for somewhere to stay, they can stay many places at many price points within a 15-20 min drive - but if want to walk to school, then yeah there’s fewer places - sounds like you found a great one too.
So many but not all use brands or points to drive their decisions.
I’m going to Charleston next weekend. I’m a Marriott guy but when I saw the costs, next week - I’m a Hyatt guy
We used points.
I am familiar with Rosemary St because my daughter stayed there one summer.
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Thanks. Reading through all the suggestions, looks like NE and UMD are at the bottom of the pack. Now we will have to visit UNC Chapel Hill and Rutgers Honors College to decide finally. We will be eager to hear experiences of any current student/parents or recent alum/parents on Rutgers HC choice and why they chose it or not.
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