Full ride vs. recognition

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello CC. I am from Texas and have been accepted to both Fordham University (NYC) and UT Austin. I also got a full ride from Fordham. Choosing between these schools would be a no brainer, but my major (Computer Science) complicates things.</p>

<p>UT Austin is ranked 8th in CS and many top companies recruit from them. While it cheap, they will not give me much money in aid.</p>

<p>Fordham, although a great school, is both not known to be strong in CS and not very well known outside the NY Metropolitan area. However, they do have a program wherein you get a BA in CS in 3 years and then go to Columbia for 2 years to get your BS. Like I mentioned, I got a full ride.</p>

<p>So, would you guys choose Fordham over UT even though it's not as good in my major? What do you guys think?</p>

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<p>Tough choice. I’d go to the school that you like better overall. Have you visited each?</p>

3

<p>Would you rather work in the New York area or Texas upon graduation? Does your full ride at Fordham cover any of the joint program with Columbia or is that separate?</p>

4

<p>I also got a full ride from Fordham.</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>Did you get a “full ride” or a “full tuition” scholarship? If you got the full tuition scholarship (for being National merit or National Hispanic), then you’ll still have about $17k per year in expenses for room, board, books, and misc. And, possibly another $1500 or so in travel costs.</p>

<p>*UT Austin is ranked 8th in CS and many top companies recruit from them. While it cheap, they will not give me much money in aid.
*</p>

<p>How much will it cost you to go to UT? </p>

<p>If you’re lowish income, you should get lots of grant money from UT. The cost may end up being about the same. </p>

<p>You may need to wait to see your FA packages from both.</p>

5

<p>The other thing to check about 3-2 programs is the chance that you will be accepted at the “2” school, and what the financial aid situation would be at the “2” school. This may change the cost comparison.</p>

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<p>Sorry. I got a full tuition, and Fordham housing would end up being about 11-12k with a meal plan. UT, even with grants, would probably be about this much without housing costs (they do not give that much aid money to residents that get in automatically). I cannot get much FA money because I am not a citizen.</p>

<p>About the 3-2 program: I am guaranteed admission if I keep a good GPA and take the required courses. Financial Aid would depend on Columbia, however.</p>

7

<p>*I cannot get much FA money because I am not a citizen.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>Are you a legal resident? If so, then don’t you get the same aid as a citizen? </p>

<p>If you’re a legal resident and low income, I think you’re mistaken about aid. UT has to give you federal aid that you qualify for. And, if you qualify for state aid, you get that, too. </p>

<p>If you’re not a legal resident, then I don’t think you can be a Nat’l Hispanic scholar.</p>

<p>*Fordham housing would end up being about 11-12k with a meal plan. *</p>

<p>Not according to its website…</p>

<p>Fordham
Tuition…covered by scholarship
Room and board: $13,000-15,000
Books and supplies: $1000
Various fees: 800
Estimated personal expenses: $1,682 </p>

<p>Plus travel expenses!!! You have to allow about 1500 for this!</p>

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<p>No. I am under an H4 visa, which basically means I cannot get any need-based federal aid of any kind (I cannot do the FAFSA). I can get state aid though, but from research and the experience of others, it is never much.</p>

<p>[Room</a> and Meal Plan Rates](<a href=“http://www.fordham.edu/tuition__financial_a/undergraduate_studen/tuition_rates__fees_/room__meal_rates_3978.asp]Room”>http://www.fordham.edu/tuition__financial_a/undergraduate_studen/tuition_rates__fees_/room__meal_rates_3978.asp)
I am going to the Lincoln Center campus, and going to a Triple. With the meal plan, it’s $11,165. </p>

<p>Books, personal, and travel expenses are not a problem either. Aside from travel expenses (which can be arranged to be cheap), it would be the same in UT.</p>

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<p>this is a completely personal choice. it depends on your priorities. I would personally go with the school with more recognition, but there are many people who would rather not have to pay back their college debts.</p>

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<p>No. I am under an H4 visa,</p>

<p>??? Can you be a NH scholar without being US resident? </p>

<p>Anyway…in another thread, you mention being poor. how will you pay for the room, board, books, etc?</p>

<p>From the NHRP website…</p>

<p>NHRP Eligibility Requirements
There are several requirements for qualification. Your academic and ethnicity information is verified by your high school counselor. In order to be eligible, you must: </p>

<p>Take the PSAT/NMSQT® in October of your junior year.
Be a junior in high school.
Be of at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino descent.
Achieve the minimum required PSAT/NMSQT cutoff score (this index score may vary by state, region and territory each year).
Achieve a grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher by the end of junior year (GPAs may be weighted).
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. If you are a permanent resident, you must possess, or be in the process of obtaining, a visa or green card, If attending an international school, the school must be a U.S. school.</p>

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<p>Two years of Columbia without financial aid would cost as much as four years of in-state Texas without financial aid.</p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids: I don’t know but I got the award and was awarded scholarships for it. Guess it counts.</p>

<p>@ucbalumnus: That’s what I think. I am in the process of getting a green card though, so if it comes in in three years I can apply for FA at Columbia. If not I can just graduate from Fordham.</p>

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<p>???</p>

<p>You do not need a green card to apply to Columbia or get aid from Columbia.</p>

<p>*I don’t know but I got the award and was awarded scholarships for it. Guess it counts.
*</p>

<p>Just check and make sure a mistake wasn’t made.</p>

<p>Also, you say that your family is poor. Even with a triple, once you add fees and books, your costs are about $13k per year. Do you know how you’re going to pay those costs?</p>

<p>I don’t know how much you can earn with an H-4 VISA, but whatever you earn, will likely be needed for “day to day” expenses and transportation.</p>

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<p>H-4 visa holders are not allowed to work.</p>

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<p>The OP states that his family is “poor” in another thread. He’s a H-4 Visa holder. I don’t see where he’d get the $15k for room, board, books, fees, and insurance (for int’ls). I think the student is also underestimating “personal expenses” and travel costs…especially if he can’t work. Having even a minimal social life in NYC is going to cost money. </p>

<p>I have a child attending school several states away…it is not “cheap” to get him back and forth. When we dropped him off for “move in”, just gas, hotels, and meals cost us about $700. When we flew him home for Chrismas, the flight was over $400…and the year is only half over! (We also flew him home for Fall break, but that wasn’t necessary.)</p>

<p>maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t know any poor families/students that can come up with 1500 a month to put towards college…especially without the right work visas. </p>

<p>And, the Lincoln Center campus requires a very minimum meal plan (hence the lower R&B cost) which eans the student will have to have funds for those meals (which in NYC, won’t be cheap!)</p>

<p>I think this student needs a back up plan that doesn’t involve either UT or Fordham since neither may be affordable.</p>

<p>I don’t know where League City Texas is, but if there’s a college that he can commute to that will award him a large scholarship for his SAT, then he should apply.</p>

<p>Juan…how much can your family contribute each year? If you don’t know for sure, ask them. Don’t guess. And, don’t just think…Well, even if I go to UT, it’s going to cost X so what difference does it make…you might not be able to afford UT either. You’re at a disadvantage because you can’t get Pell, a student loan, work study, or work a summer job.</p>

<p>Just had a thought…**you need to apply to OTHER schools that give larger NH scholarships…true full rides!!! **Once that include room and board. Go to the National Merit forum for that info!!!</p>

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<p>Lincoln Center is a special place. Its a small school, of about 1,800 students in upper mid town Manhattan, in a high rise. Its an urban campus that is also getting a new 250 million dollar law school and new classrooms. Its a mini NYU. </p>

<p>(Fordham-Rose Hill in the Bronx is a classic college campus with sports, dorms, 90 acres of lush green lawns, huge library etc.) Why the OP selected Lincoln Center is surprising to me. Lincoln Center also has Fordham’s renowned Dance School (Alvin Ailey) and its famous Theater School (Alan Alda, Denzel Washington etc.). It tends to have more females and lots of guys are in the Theatre program. However, it also has a lot of Fulbright Scholars and one Cambridge Math Scholar in the last 3 years. </p>

<p>Computer Science is an interesting choice, but many students also double major. This is where Fordham shines. Its core curriculum is famous and will embue each student with a well rounded education in Philosophy, Literature, the Arts, Science, Math, Theology, History, Political Science. </p>

<p>I think Lincoln Center is fabulous (though I prefer Rose Hill for a more classic college campus.) </p>

<p>Thus rating LC against UT is like rating a diamond with an entire gold mine…as UT is excellent, but also HUGE and bureaucratic. </p>

<p>So it depends on the OP’s real inner interests: urban NYC or laid back liberal Austin in a HUGE state school full of Texans. Nothing wrong with that. (or either one.) </p>

<p>As for cost, well student loans aren’t evil if they are controlled and managed well. And depending on the job you get. </p>

<p>Finally, Fordham is a nationally ranked school in USNWR soon to be top 50. Its NATIONALLY known and draws from four corners of the country. Its NOT a regional school. However, a high percentage of Fordham students get fabulous high paying jobs in Manhattan and surrounding environs. Many go onto Law and Medicine and Graduate schools, including the Ivy League. Fordham students are prized by employers for being well prepared and with a strong work ethic. They tend NOT to be snotty kids from “XYZ elitist” school. At Fordham you get two educations in one: A chance to study in New York City (with a strong Jesuit influence) and your particular degree program. That is very attractive to many employers around the country. </p>

<p>If money is truly an issue, then yes, you need to consider other options and see where you get the best offer. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Why the OP selected Lincoln Center is surprising to me.</p>

<p>I didn’t even know that LC had CS on its campus…It must be a much smaller version than what’s offered at Rose. I think he’s choosing LC because Room and Board are less. My concern would also be that the program would be less in quality than what’s at Rose. </p>

<p>Another concern is that the LC campus is more artsy and less likely going to have similar STEM kind of students. </p>

<p>*well student loans aren’t evil if they are controlled and managed well. And depending on the job you get. </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>If you read the previous posts, you’d see that the student is a poor int’l…so student loans aren’t an option. He can’t do FAFSA. Yes, if this student were eligibile for a 5500 fed student loan, it would help. But not being able to get FAFSA…and not being able to work, will be a problem.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what he’ll have to do after he graduates so that he can work. Without citizenship, some computer jobs will not be available to him.</p>

<p>I think this student needs to quickly apply to some schools that will give him a free ride for being NH. A real free ride…room, board, etc included!</p>

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<p>There are student loans available from other lenders and some schools have other options as well. His problem is the same no matter where he goes. </p>

<p>Both Rose Hill and LC offer computer classes but at Fordham the core takes up their time for at least a year and sometimes two years. LC is artsy overall, but not all students are like that. </p>

<p>He can also request to be switched to Rose Hill and they will often accomodate him. Further, the RamVan goes back and forth between campuses on the hour and its free for students taking classes (liberally granted) at the other campus. Its more lifestyle choice, frankly. </p>

<p>I am sure he applied to numerous schools; he seems very smart and on the ball and can compare offers. Also some colleges will make up in grant money what they can’t get with loans. He needs to discuss this with Fordham and inform them of his situation so they can work with him. </p>

<p>Being poor is tough, but tougher if you aren’t a citizen. Lots of computer kids work in the gaming industry or financial sector which is generally not a citizenship problem; that usually applies to government jobs and some government contractors.</p>

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<p>*There are student loans available from other lenders *</p>

<p>Yes, of course, but a poor int’l living in this country would need a qualified American co-signer. Not likely and too risky that the person would only co-sign for one year or two. If that were to happen, the student will have missed other true full-ride scholarship opportunities. (fordham isn’t a full ride offer.)</p>

<p>*and some schools have other options as well.
*
Schools don’t have many other options for int’ls. They either provide aid or they don’t. A few will offer very, very small loans for very short terms for int’ls. </p>

<p>*His problem is the same no matter where he goes.
*</p>

<p>No…that’s why this student has to expand his list. Right now, he’s focusing on UT and Fordham, neither may work. He needs to include a few schools that give REAL full rides for NH students. Then he won’t have this large gap to try to cover. </p>

<p>Or he might be able to get accepted to a school that meets need for int’ls.</p>

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<p>Many students who start a 3-2 don’t continue - it’s hard to leave after three years to start over. Be sure you really REALLY mean AND can follow through it if this is your plan.</p>