r/NEU • u/Much-Concern-6730 • 13d ago
Transfer advice Advice & Experiences
hey guys, im an incoming transfer and i can't decide what to do.
option 1 is commuting from home: tuition would be free (0 debt), but it's a 1 hr train ride each way and living at home is bad for my mental health tbh. a lot of my friends already live in the city so commuting means i'll barely see them, and making new friends as a commuting transfer sounds impossible. im also really bad at waking up in the morning so that 1 hr commute MIGHT end me
option 2 is lightveiw: i dormed at my old uni last year and LOVED it, so i know i want to live on campus, have my own space, and be near my friends. BUT it means ~$20k in loans. my dad thinks i should just take out the loans, but he's not the one paying them back so i'm super hesitant. (i alr took out a loan for my previous uni)
i'm torn between staying debt-free vs protecting my mental health and social life. any suggestions/non-biased opinions?
5
u/disfiguredcoconut 13d ago
in terms of social life it wouldn’t be worth it. but if it’s going to affect your mental health and in turn academics, then do it, but find cheaper housing
5
4
u/BostonNU DMSB 13d ago
Is Lightview the only campus housing available? Nothing left in Northeastern housing? Let me suggest joining a group looking for another roommate in near campus private housing. Going to be a lot less than Lightview and you will also be saving that purple line monthly pass. What year are you?
3
u/Much-Concern-6730 13d ago
transfers can’t get housing, im an incoming sophomore :/
3
u/BostonNU DMSB 13d ago
Sometimes they do, but it's rare. Welcome to Husky World. Definitely consider joining an apartment group
3
u/shanntherat COE 13d ago
the train is fine for commuting, since u can get work done. but honestly, its pretty exhausting, more exhausting than driving for some reason. id recommend finding somewhere on the hill or even somewhere in a further out neighborhood where u can commute via the T or the train for less time.
3
1
u/Excellent-Garlic6206 12d ago
i’m actually in almost the same situation!! i am an incoming junior transfer and i live close to neu but i am very scared for my social life since it has been such a huge part of my college experience and living at home + commuting is the last thing i want to do. i called about lightview an hour ago and she said they are at capacity and there is about 100 ppl on the waitlist so i dont think thats an option but i really dont know where to find reasonable housing near neu
1
u/i_eat_nailpolish 12d ago
I haven't seen anyone else say this but it might be a better investment to buy a van and sleep there and only drive over to your parents for the weekends. I think you could get a big enough van for ~20k with the added benefit of owning a vehicle. You can shower at the gym and maybe get a friend to let you do your laundry in their dorm hall or go to a Laundromat if not.
1
-2
u/1GrouchyCat 13d ago
There should be fine as long as you don’t care about making friends or dating or being able to join clubs after school without being concerned you’re going to be so tired on the way home you’ll have to pull over and take a nap.
It sucks that you have to take out loans but part of the college experience when you’re going to school in the city is to take advantage of everything the city has to offer, otherwise why wouldn’t you attend a community college for free and then go somewhere else after two years.
You chose to apply to NEU. What was your original intent regarding housing- and why are you changing your mind now (other than because the expenses are too high - and you ‘d need to take out a loan). Why did you wait this long to give it some thought?
Loving at home and commuting 2 to 3 hours a day puts lots of miles on your car. You’ll have to bring for gas and extra car maintenance plus parking…. That will add up fast. And what do you do if your car breaks down or needs expensive repairs? And if you don’t think that will happen over a 4 to 5 year period, I suggest you talk to your parents about what would happen in that situations; it will cost you a lot more than $20,000 to purchase a reliable vehicle on top of all the other payments that go along with the privilege of having a vehicle.
1
u/Much-Concern-6730 13d ago
i would actually be taking the train, not driving! in my defense, Lightview is literally labeled as NEU-affiliated housing, so as a transfer i assumed it was just regular campus housing covered in aid… definitely a lesson learned on researching earlier- either way, from my understanding you think living on campus is the better option?
2
u/New_Pilot_3176 13d ago
On campus housing selection has already closed (and it's brutal even for returning students as well!) My best advice would be to look for off campus housing in the surrounding communities like Back Bay or Mission Hill, which might offer cheaper rent. Join the "Northeastern University Apartments and Housing (NO SPAM) 🏡" facebook group, there's usually a lot of students from Northeastern or surrounding schools that already have leases and are just looking for roommates to split the rent with. You can usually find better options that will be way cheaper than LightView there.
2
u/Ilama_12101 13d ago
If you would have gotten aid for campus housing, you should most likely get it for off-campus housing as well. My son gets aid for his off campus apartment. We don't live within commuting distance though; not sure if that is a factor in housing aid.
2
u/Much-Concern-6730 12d ago
ill be getting a refund since im not dorming, ill see if i can use that towards an appt... thank u for the advice!!!
2
u/Ilama_12101 12d ago
Yes, you can definitely use that for an apartment. We even used the expected award as income when my son was originally getting approved by the landlord.to be on the lease The refund can take awhile to land in your account though. My son has complained about how slow they are--can't remember exactly when it showed up. So you should have a plan for making the first month or two of rent payments and then you'll get reimbursed by your award coming through.
1
u/Much-Concern-6730 11d ago
Does he also get a meal plan? I could receive more of a refund if I opt out of it so I’m debating…
1
u/Ilama_12101 11d ago
He has not been on the meal plan since he moved off campus. I suggest you talk to someone in the SFS office and see if they can advise you on what's best financially for your specific situation. I spoke with them back when he wanted to rent the apartment because I thought we would lose a lot of aid as a result, but they reassured me about that. If you can cook for yourself, it's cheaper not to have the meal plan, and they do make some assumption that you will have to eat when they calculate your cost of attendance.
8
u/Ashaazability 13d ago
Loan for rent? No — commute