<p>So I've come to a dilemma. I've been accepted to the University at Buffalo and the University of Minnesota for Aerospace Engineering for the Fall 2013 semester. My family should be able to contribute $18k, but it is not guaranteed to me. My parents are divorced and my father has a history of not keeping his promises. I don't really want to go to Buffalo because I feel like all of my work in high school would not be merited, and being forced into a weaker school kinda bothers me. Buffalo also isn't in as good of a location (Compared to Minneapolis/St. Paul) and doesn't have many of the clubs I want to join. I know it really comes down to money but I guess what my question is is if Minnesota is worth taking some debt. Here are some givens:</p>
<ul>
<li>I Plan on attending Graduate School
~Will I be able to get into top graduate schools such as UCLA, USC, UMich etc going to either of these schools and how much more difficult would it be to get in if I went to Buffalo?</li>
</ul>
<p>Here are my offers:</p>
<p>Buffalo (In-State):
Cost of Attendance: 22.5k/yr
Awarded provost scholarship (2.5k/yr)</p>
<p>Minnesota (Out-of-state):
Cost of Attendance: 30k/yr
Awarded Maroon National Scholarship: ~2.7k/yr
Awarded Sig Hagen Scholarship: $.5k for one year</p>
<p>Going over the numbers, I would be able to hopefully graduate Buffalo with about 3k debt after 4 years, while Minnesota would leave me at around 30k debt after 4 years.</p>
<p>So what do you guys think? I know Minnesota is an exponentially better Engineering school and I may have more opportunities for internships and research opportunities, but in the end is the city experience, increased opportunities, and slightly better quality of life worth the additional debt?</p>
<p>I had to make a choice between a more expensive school with more of an engineering reputation and UB. I chose UB because I too plan on going to grad school and I want to make sure I don’t end up with too much debt at the end of my schooling. </p>
<p>UB is a pretty decent engineering school. One of my uncles teaches at Georgia Tech and said UB does have a reputation for engineering when I was trying to decide where to go. He didn’t really say how it compared to other schools, but from what I’ve seen so far on campus there are a bunch of career fairs and internship opportunities with some of the more respected companies.
If you’re in the honors program at UB, then there is even an advisor whose sole purpose is helping students apply for REUs, internships, fellowships, and grants. </p>
<p>UB is a research school so there are tons of opportunities for undergrads to get involved in research. There are also a lot of engineering clubs that do hands on projects like battle bots. </p>
<p>That being said, you wouldn’t have too much debt from choosing the slightly more expensive school, if you do get all the money you’re hoping for from your family. Because that seems questionable to you, UB might be the better option, if you don’t have the full 18k a year it might make your debt too high at the end of four years.</p>
<p>UB is a great school with an outstanding undergrad engineering department. I see no reason to go into debt with the choices you have here. Not to mention the additional costs of coming home for holidays and breaks.</p>
<p>My dd is graduating from UB this semester with a degree in EE! It sounds like you really don’t want to go to UB, right? Go where your heart goes but know that your money will exponentially decrease with it. </p>
<p>My dd got into Hopkins, but we couldn’t afford it, so she went to Buffalo. It was an adjustment she had to make; but in the end a great decision.
So, here’s what my dd did: We’re from So. California, so during the summers, she interned in California at an engineering firm and did software and ee work. They were impressed with her breadth of knowledge and she was the ONLY student invited to return the following year. (This included a core of students from UCLA, UCSD and a private school in LA?) The classes were tough at UB, but the school is becoming better known for engineering and now she has a really good resume for Qualcomm, BAE, Northrop, and General Atomics. SUNY schools have a pretty good reputation.</p>
<p>If you really don’t want to go to Buffalo, don’t go, it sounds like your mind-set is Minnesota and going into debt for your needs. Buffalo was great for my daughter and when she starts working for one of these companies, they will fund her grad school.</p>
<p>Yes! You will. Many UB students go on to these schools, and it would not be measurably more difficult.</p>
<p>UB actually has a very good aero program and it’s one of the areas that is being focused on heavily. Many of the faculty are extremely well connected (including to schools that you mentioned), and those who do well for undergrad typically get good offers from good grad schools. I got into Michigan (still awaiting decisions on funding and didn’t apply to any of the others you mentioned), and I know many people who have gone to and received funding to schools like Stanford, Cornell, CU Boulder, Purdue, UCSB, etc.</p>
<p>One tip on grad school though - go where the money is. In engineering, schools that want you will pay you (as a TA or Research Assistant). I had someone from the engineering graduate admissions committee at a large university (sat next to him on a plane a few months back) tell me that if a grad school doesn’t offer you funding, they could care less about whether you go there.</p>
<p>With that being said, I know many UB engineering grads who have received funding from top name grad schools, as well as fellowships through NSF and NASA. A degree from UB can really take you further than you might think.</p>
<p>3k vs 30k of debt is an order of magnitude. A degree at UB will get you as far as you want it to. My advice is to go to UB - it’s really a pretty good school with a decent aerospace program, the faculty are good, and the opportunities are present.</p>