I need to choose between penn state university and university at buffalo suny. The cost for penn state is 57,600$ for the first year, i havent got any scholarship, for suny buffalo it is 39,500$ and I have got 5000$ scholarship from buffalo. So what do i finalize? I want to major in mechanical engineering. Please give your suggestions.
Edited title for more accuracy
ED
What is your budget? If you can afford either then it is up to you and your parents. If cost is a concern then you may have to choose the less expensive option.
I would probably choose community college and then transfer.
You have to look at the 4 year cost (and that assumes you graduate in four years, many don’t). To make the numbers easy. You have SUNY at 35x4=140,000 left to pay and for Penn State you have 58x4 or 232,000. So the cost to attend Penn State is about 100,000 more for the 4 years.
Can your family afford either of these situations?
That also doesn’t account for the typical 4% increase a year in tuition etc. Can your family take out 140,000 in loans? Should they?
I think my parents can take a loan for education of 4 years, but is it worth to take loan for penn state? What do you think which one is better penn state or suny? for mechanical engineering? I also have texas tech as a back up,their cost is same as suny buffalo but they havent given me any scholarships. Is penn state worth for mechanial engineering or is it better not to take loan and study at suny? Please gie your suggestions.
How much can your parents afford to pay without loans? You can take the federal student loan (~$5500/year). It’s generally not a good idea to borrow more than that for an undergrad.
It is not worth your parents taking Ioans for either school. You are apparently OOS for both schools. It your parents are going to need loans for any of these 3 schools, you have no affordable options. You really need an affordable option.
What are your in-state options?
First, if you want quality advice you need to provide more info about your background.
That said, IMHO $60k/year (as a four-year average) is too much to pay for Penn State. I’m sorry, but you’d be crazy to spend this–especially if your parents would have to take out a loan to make it possible. Even $35-40k/year at SUNY Buffalo is a lot more than you need to spend to get an engineering degree. Don’t you have in-state options?
Where you attend college doesn’t matter as much as you think it does, and it probably matters even less for an engineering major. As long as the programs you are considering are ABET certified, you should take the option that has a clear cost advantage.
Are you a HS senior now? Are these the only two schools to which you have applied?
I actually live in India, I am an international undergraduate student. I have just completed my high school. I will join for for fall 2016. I also have texas tech as a option is it good for mechanical engineering.
What are your stats?
How much can your oarents lay annually? As an international,student, you will need to verify that you have sufficient funds to pay your full costs of attending or you won’t get a visa to study here.
You won’t be able to take out loans in the U.S. Where will you get the money to pay for any of these schools?
There are schools in India where you can get an engineering degree.
They are all fine for mechanical engineering. Take the cheapest option if you like them all the same.
@greatplayer, the cost mentioned in the I-20 is for 12 months. The COA for Freshmen mentioned Penn web page is 45000+ plus Insurance. My S too will be joining Penn this summer for Chem E and I do feel it is much better than Buffalo
Atleast, that’s what all the college rankings suggest so
Thank You all fot your suggestions, The living expenses as given by the university is about 21000$ for thr first year, does it include the meal plan or do we have to buy the meal plan separately? And do these living expenses decrease once we start living off campus or does it remain the same even if we live off campus? Please give me ur suggestions, it would be really helpful.
My S too will be joining Penn this summer for Chem E and I do feel it is much better than Buffalo <<<
[/QUOTE]
this student has not been accepted to Penn. This student has been accepted to PSU…big difference. PSU is a public univ. Penn is a private Ivy.
Edit…it looks like your son wasn’t admitted to Penn. Your son was admitted to Penn State…big difference. they’re not the same school. PSU is not “Penn”.
That said, large established publics usually have very good engineering, so an eng’g student would be fine either way.
Atleast, that's what all the college rankings suggest so <<<
[/QUOTE]
lol…do you realize that college rankings are mostly not a ranking of strength in the classroom???
@“Great player”:
The costs of attendance of these universities should be available on their respective websites. Meal plan is not included in tuition, that will be a separate item. Living expenses may decrease once you get off-campus, but this largely depends on the particular city. I would not assume that living off campus is going to change the overall cost of attending a particular college very much.
Does Penn state university offer any scholarships for international students from 2nd year depending o my grades? Does it also provide any assistantship jobs from 2nd year?. Please give me your suggestions.
Do you know any indian undergraduate studying in penn state university? Please comment.
You might get better information by asking Penn State directly about scholarships?
The answer is likely to be “no.” It’s a public university whose first priority is in-state students (and it’s not always all that cheap for us, either).