FSU vs UM

Colleges and Universities A-Z Florida State University
1

<p>For the past 2 months, i have been set on attending Florida State University. I was accepted to University of Central Florida, Florida State University, and University of Miami (all into the college of engineering), but denied from the University of Florida. Miami is obviously the most recognized and best overall school out of the three i was accepted to, but purely because of the cost i had decided to go to FSU instead (This was on February 8th 2013 after the UF admissions came out).</p>

<p>Today (March 19th, 2013) i just received an e-mail from Miami saying that i was eligible for $16,350 in grants/scholarships for the 2013-2014 year. One of the major factors of these grants was the "Coral Grant" which was worth $11,200. This is a need-based grant and our family has many financial changes occurring within the next few months. I have two older brothers in college (and a younger sister in high school who plans on going to college) at this point in time. The eldest completes school in May of 2013, and the second eldest completes school in December of 2013. Additionally, when i applied for these colleges, my dad was out of work (and had been for a few months), but he just started a new job last week. With this new job, my family income will be about $120,000 per year. Essentially, this need-based grant will only decrease noticeably the following years.</p>

<p>So i was hoping to read some of your opinions on what i should do in this situation. I still am leaning toward FSU, but i want to be able to make the most educated decision possible.</p>

<p>I am an in-state Florida student, and i have earned the full bright futures scholarship. I have about $16,000 saved up for college, with my parents giving me an addition $2,000 per school year.</p>

<p>The estimated cost for FSU which includes tuition, housing and meals, books, transportation, and a collage of smaller costs will sum to about $20,000 per year. Minus the savings, scholarships, and parental gifts, i will be responsible for about $55,000 over the four years i attend.</p>

<p>The estimated cost for UM which includes those same things sums to about $60,000 per year. Minus the savings, the scholarships/grants, and parental gifts, i will be responsible for about $153,000 over the four years i attend.</p>

<p>That's about a $100,000 difference, and that is nothing to neglect.</p>

<p>In the university rankings made by US news, Miami was ranked #44 in the 2011-2012 school year, and FSU was ranked #97 in the 2011-2012 school year. For my general major (engineering), Miami and FSU are "ranked" within two ranks of each other on US news (Miami at #116 and FSU at #114). The reason why i put "ranked" in quotations is because of the stupid things that US news takes into account like the amount of money spent on buildings and crap like that, when i'm only really worried about the education. I've already visited both campuses multiple times and i love them both the same.</p>

<p>So the ultimate question i am asking is [when everything is taken into account such as cost, education, national overall recognition/ranking of school, ranking in the specific college of engineering, and how those rankings affect job opportunities once out of undergraduate, IS IT WORTH GOING TO MIAMI OVER FLORIDA STATE?]</p>

<p>Thank you for your input!</p>

2

<p>My son is going to UM engineering. He did not apply to FSU but had his heart at other school up on the Northeast and what he hear from the ex- dean of UM school of engineering should help you decide where to go too. He said that engineer books are not best sellers. Most schools use the same. Some people like big state schools some like smaller schools. Do not be impress by ranking unless you plan to do research.Do not go into debt. It will take you forever to pay it off. Your first job will be more important than your school name (unless you went to Stanford or Harvard). My opinion: go to FSU and save your money. It is a great school too.</p>

3

<p>No. And not only “no”, but H*LL NO!</p>

<p>That is a house mortgage in many parts of the country. Typically mortgages are paid off over 30 years.</p>

<p>Don’t pile this kind of debt on yourself. That is a huge amount of debt at your age for what? I can see you in a job interview pushing the USNews stats and being just about laughed out of the room. I have interviewed people who make similar claims and believe me we sniff it out well in advance. It carries NO weight.</p>

<p>What would carry weight is a pattern of mature personal development where you continually seek responsibility and challenge with a sense of commitment and service above self.</p>

<p>You basically determine how effective you will be as an engineer through your own hard work.</p>

4

<p>Honestly, I don’t get why people put so much stock into those rankings. All they are is a bunch of political crap. If your school isn’t within the Top 5 or 10, it honestly doesn’t matter where you go, because probably 95% of employers won’t give a damn, so long as your degree isn’t from “The Universitee of Northeastern Dakoda” or the like. </p>

<p>As someone who has had major swings in their family’s income from year to year while at FSU, I can give you one big piece of advice: Be prepared for headaches every year you fill out the FAFSA if there’s a big swing in income (high or low). </p>

<p>Is it worth an extra $100k over 4 years? That’s something for you to decide. More than likely, you’ll be able to get some form of scholarships or grants or loans if you keep a good enough academic profile to help cover the costs of FSU.</p>

<p>Something to consider though: for the cost of just your undergrad education at UM, you’d be able to not only pay for FSU fully, but also attend at least 1 year of grad school, if not earn your Master’s completely, for the same price. If you’re looking to maybe go to Grad school, subjecting yourself to $150k in debt before you even start on your Master’s is completely insane.</p>

5

<p>Totally agree…if it was MIT, maybe…
I really don’t see much distinction between the two schools. obviously, the private school may have smaller classes, etc. That would be desirable. But if you feel you have the drive to succeed, then you’ll succeed anywhere. When I was taking courses in preparation for pharmacy school, I took organic chemistry at a junior college. One of the most impressive students I ever met was in my class with ultimate goal of going to medical school. Strive to be exceptional. And the you can decide if you want to sink money into going to a higher rated grad school. As someone once told me, they only remember where you got the last degree.</p>