<p>Ok, so far I have been accepted into 3 schools and about 2 are appealing to me (U of Scranton and Rowan U). I wanted to get into Syracuse U, it has been my top choice but I didn't end up getting in. At one last shot to get into Syracuse, I may end up going to Onandaga Community College for a year or so because they have a program with SU so i can transfer over if i keep a 3.0 at community. My highschool overall GPA was a 3.1 and a 1530 SAT so I didn't have much of a chance with good colleges. </p>
<p>Would it be worth doing this? I want to go for Comp. Sci. and SU is ranked highly for it, the school just looks the most appealing to me. Would going to a year of Community take away from the "College experience"? I would like to know other peoples' opinions on this because I'll have to apply to OCC if I follow through with it.</p>
<p>If you want to attend Syracuse, and you would be able to afford to do so, taking the guaranteed transfer program makes a lot of sense. Pay a visit to OCC and speak with the transfer advisor there so that you know which classes to take in order to be admitted to the program that you want at Syracuse.</p>
<p>Do you have financial need? Financial aid is usually very bad for transfers, so if you saved by going to OCC would you be able to afford 2 years at Syracuse without major financial aid (you’d automatically get $7,500 in federal loans and you may get a job to cover your books/miscellaneous expenses but nothing else is guaranteed). If not, then choose the cheapest of the 4 year schools you got into, or the one that’s the best “fit” (Rowan is not bad for CS.)
If you don’t need much financial aid, then OCC can be a good choice.
Does OCC offer the CS classes you’d need?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 yeah OCC does offer the CS classes so i can transfer, i’m still really on the edge whether or not i should do it or not, is it worth going over to SU because of its rank? Would going to a year of OCC and then transferring over be a good idea? Also i’m not completely rich so financial aid would probably be necessary for SU. Thanks for the reply</p>
<p>Look at SU’s costs -actual numbers for tuition+room&board. Subtract $6,500. Can you afford it?
If not, Rowan or Scranton are good choices. What would these two cost you (net cost, ie tuition+R&B but - scholarships and grants)</p>
<p>If you want to save more, check with SU and OCC if you can transfer after 2 years at OCC, thereby reducing you SU costs even more. Be sure to check with both Us, so you have a good understanding as to the requirements for you to transfer and the required grades. Good luck! Sounds like it may be a good way to save some $$$</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 rowan is about 26k per year and Scranton gave a 25k grant for the first year but otherwise it’s around 56k per year. So Rowan is obviously the cheapest by far but SU has a much bigger name for itself and is generally a nicer looking campus because it is private. </p>
<p>Email Scranton’s financial aid office, give the name and type of scholarship/grant, and ask for the conditions of renewal (typically it’s a 3.0 GPA -most freshman grants/scholarships are renewable).
Calculate how much you’d spend for 4 years:
Scranton $120k
Rowan $104k
OCC X2 + SU full cost* X2 = ?</p>
<p>*Do not expect any scholarship from SU for a transfer.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 alright thanks, I’m still wondering if going to SU because it’s my top choice and most liked is a good idea. Are the higher rankings of SU worth paying more and going to CC?</p>
<p>before thinking “is it worth it”, look at if you CAN even pay “more”. It’s not “a little more”, it’s a LOT more for these two last years at SU. So if you can’t afford it (remember, you will not get financial aid and only $7,500 in loans), you’d need to save a lot from OCC <em>and</em> have money aside to pay for these two years.
So, make the calculations on costs over 4 years vs. what you can afford. See if SU is still on the table.
In the meanwhile, email Scranton and Rowan to see the conditions on your grants/scholarships.</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 yeah it’s about 40k more than the Rowan in the long run, I’m curious since SU it more well known and reputable than Rowan, if it’d be a good idea to go to the more well known school. Obviously SU has more money to throw around than Rowan as well so it’s nicer. The money aspect is definitely important but would still be do-able if I went to SU, I would just have more debt coming out, but the trade off would be getting a better job from SU than Rowan possibly. </p>
<p>@"Erin’s Dad" yeah I’ll have to pitch in too so I’ll have more loans to pay back in the end but it may be worth it because Syracuse is a well known name and may come out with a higher paying job than if I went to Rowan.</p>
<p>For engineering/CS, it won’t really matter whether you went to Rowan or Syracuse. What will matter is what you do at college. Don’t think about the university’s name. Investigate: quality of the career center; internship placement (paid? unpaid? during term? summer? where?); who recruits on campus? but also: quality of the support centers (writing center, math center…; availability of tutors/for free?) What are the professors there working on, is it common for them to let undergrads participate in research for them?</p>