<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>$30,000 is almost up at the four year Stafford loan limit ($31,000, of which $23,000 can be subsidized). Essentially, that leaves no margin of error if your father does not make his promised contribution.</p>
<p>Of course, if he reneges by enough, that could still make Buffalo unaffordable as well. But there is a range of shortfalls from him that would leave Buffalo affordable (with some additional Stafford loans) but Minnesota unaffordable.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus my father pledged 6k, he doesn’t have much room to mess up and it should be feasible, just not something I can 100% count on. What is your opinion on getting into top graduate schools from UB vs UMN? I’m currently trying to apply for as many scholarship s as I can to make UMN a reality, I just hope its enough.</p>
<p>You should be able to get into good graduate schools from Buffalo as well as Minnesota. The key is to put a lot of effort into your studies, take a challenging curriculum and look for opportunities to prepare yourself for graduate studies such as research at the university during the academic year and REUs in the summers after Sophomore year. Students routinely get into selective program from less elite undergraduate programs if they have the grades and the preparation.</p>
<p>my dtr attends Buffalo as a Chem E major. She is a jr. She has had a positive experience there. She was accepted to REU’s her 1st( Uni Iowa) and 2nd(UMass Amherst) summers and just received acceptance for this coming summer in a SULI internship. This year she is working in a research lab on campus and has been a TA in the intro eng classes since last year. Her BF is an elec eng major and also has done an REU at Northeastern. I can’t speak to where she’ll be next year re: job offers, grad school acceptances but I believe Buffalo has provided her with a challenging and respectable educational experience to date and it has resulted in many additional enriching opportunities. I’ve no doubt it will server her well after graduation. It is as much about what you put into your education as it is the school you attend. Don’t overestimate the value of the additional debt or underestimate what Buffalo has to offer.</p>
<p>I already posted on your other post but it’s similar to coskat’s. Check it out!</p>
<p>Coskat: my dd is graduating from UB this semester! I agree with your response. It’s what you make it. She’s very excited about her opportunities!</p>
<p>Son is graduating this semester from UB- Double majors, Aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering. (4 years to complete.)</p>
<p>Son was accepted at all 14 schools he applied to. Choose UB due to cost and program. (And cost was a minor issue as we were paying, no loans anywhere.) Beacuse of hte economy, son decided on UB. Discounted some other schools for various reasons.</p>
<p>Opportunities for him at UB have been great. Paid research on campus during school year, great Fall job fair. Secured paid internships between soph and jr year and jr and senior year from the fair. Has employment as an engineer upon graduation. (Had three job offers, all of which he found from the job fair. )</p>
<p>Sons GF had similar engineering experiences and has a job offer as well. </p>
<p>If cost is a factor, stick with UB. </p>
<p>Aunt Bea- Congrats to your daughter (and you)! See you at graduation!</p>