Ok, here are the details:
I live in NY. My STATS: 1250 SAT 3.7 GPA.
UMass gave me about a 17K scholarship.
Nothing from UB, but I might get 5.5K for my FAFSA.
Syracuse gave me 5.5K.
Stony Brook gave my 5.5K for my FAFSA.
I am looking for ethnic diversity, lots of stuff to do, nice environment, friendly people, decent food.
It seems all the signs are pointing to UB but just I am really not sure, I am looking up lots of videos about UB and nothing is really making me feel too sure about it. I am a walker, I like to walk and explore but I’ve heard it’s hard to walk places. I would like a friendly atmosphere because I am a bit socially anxious. My best friend will probably go to college in Canada so I assume I could visit her a lot? I heard Canada was 5 mins away but that sounds a bit too crazy. Stony Brook honestly looked really nice, I like colleges that show cultural appreciation but the social atmosphere seemed very bad. UMass is high up and it seems they like me but I feel like there might not be enough to do, and ethnic diversity seems subpar. Syracuse is nice but it’s very expensive, I could afford it but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra money.
Anyone have insight on any of these colleges or recommendations? I am doing lots of research right now, people on CC seem to really know a lot about this stuff also.
Have any of you guys been to these colleges and how did you like them? I’ll be visiting them all soon. I’ve already visited UB, SBU, and UMass.
UMass Amherst OOS tuition, fees, health insurance: $45,000. Less scholarship leaves billed costs of $28,000.
UB: $24,000
Syracuse: $67,000 (!!!)
Stony Brook: $24,000 (but they only build 12 credits per semester into their calculation)
In other threads you’ve said your parents will only pay $30k. It looks like your only aid at every school but UMass is the $5500 federal student loan. That means you’re full pay for Syracuse, SUNY Buffalo, and SUNY Stony Brook.
Syracuse’s cost of attendance is ~$65k. Unless your parents have decided not to make you take out the massive loans your sister did I don’t see how a gap of $35k/year is affordable.
SUNYs cost ~$25-30k. If your parents will truly pay $30k/year either of these would work.
UMass is ~$48k for OOS, so your net cost there after the $17k grant should be about ~$31k. I don’t think I’d pick it over a SUNY.
I can’t imagine why you would choose Syracuse. If @allyphoe is correct with the net prices (which is the way to look at this, not scholarships but what is the actual cost), then you have 3 very good options that are similar in price.
Is the UMass scholarship dependent on keeping a certain GPA? That is something to look into.
Just want to be very precise and follow up on @austinmshauri above: The $5,500 (and yes, Buffalo will be offering it as well as it is available to all students who file a FAFSA) is a LOAN. None of the three schools “gave” you anything.
Take another look at the $17,000 from U Mass and make sure that’s all grant (meaning you don’t have to pay it back) and does not include the $5,500 Direct Federal Loan.
It looks like you need to sit down with your parents and run your numbers carefully. Your final cost is what matters, not the amount of aid that you were offered. http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletter.phtml
Canada is a big place. Where, exactly, is your friend’s college/university? Crossing the border and dealing with immigration going and coming takes time. So while, yes, the Peace Bridge connects Buffalo, NY to Fort Erie, ON, attending UB doesn’t mean you are going to be able to pop over to see your pal in Canada on a moment’s notice.
First, congratulations on your success in the admissions cycle. It is great to have choices at this point in the process.
Syracuse – Pull it off your list. It is simply unaffordable. I would not even visit.
Stony Brook - In other posts you stated a desire to be in an urban location which would wouldn’t get at SB but it sounds like you had a good visit there. The cost of attendance is estimated to be $26,876 https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/finaid/pdfs/cost_of_attendance_undergrad_19-20.pdf
Buffalo - I think this could be an excellent school for you as it has the diverse, more urban location you seek. It shows a cost of attendance of $27,829 including living on campus which sound like it also fits your budget well. https://financialaid.buffalo.edu/costs/undergraduate/
UMass - Check that the aid is a grant as suggested above. I see the total cost for an undergrad student as 49,596 https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/166629/university-of-massachusetts-amherst/tuition/ so less the $17k scholarship it is $32,596 which is a tad more than your parents are willing to pay but it could probably be made up with summer and part-time jobs. It is worth considering if you feel it would be a better option for you than the two SUNY schools.
The $5.5k you are being offered is a loan which will have to be repaid so keep that in mind. Assuming you are confident that the UMass aid won’t have to be repaid then I think you have three very good affordable options with Buffalo, SB and UMass.
@CalinAmry You don’t say what your academic interests are. I’d eliminate Syracuse right off the bat because of cost. My son got into the best school there —Newhouse, but we determined it wasn’t worth paying $120,000 more over four years to attend. And unless you want to live in the Boston area when you graduate and you are a direct admit to UMass Isenberg or in the highly selective sports management major, I wouldn’t pick UMass. It’s not significantly better than Buffalo or Stony Brook. Now with regards to these latter two, I’d pick Buffalo in a second. We’ve been to Stony Brook and Buffalo twice with our kids and each kid (and parents) likes Buffalo better —the facilities —sports and recreational seemed nicer. Dorms seemed nicer. Food courts seemed more plentiful. And Buffalo is a residential campus where kids stay there during weekends. Whereas at Stony Brook a lot of kids go home each weekend so the campus empties out. Also my Kids didn’t want to have to triple up in a dorm at Stony Brook, which is a requirement freshman year because not enough dorm space. As for walking, Buffalo is a large campus and the freshman dorms at Ellicot —I recall they said one of the largest dorms in the country!, is a ten to fifteen walk to campus. So you will be able to get your walking in.
I would say either UB or UMass, their costs for you are similar, i’d visit and see which one draws you in more, or even flip a coin! Syracuse is a no because of money, it simply doesn’t make sense when you have other amazing schools to choose from.
Family and friends at UB report that they do in fact go to Canada fairly often and easily (mainly to be able to go to bars).
And I forgot to mention, my academic interest field is science atm but I’m not entirely sure because it changes a lot. My top are: science, archaeology, language.
I would look at UMASS Amherst. There are 5 colleges in the area. You would be able to take classes for free at any: Amherst, Smith, Mount Holyoke etc. Amherst has a great archaeology offering in particular. Dining at UMASS was rated really high nationally (which surprised me, but it is true). If you are a serious student you will find your people at UMASS, the faculty are exceptional and stay because the location is so nice. It is a misconception that it is a pure party school. There are many serious students who go there because its honors college is enticing and the graduate opportunities are high. Go check it out.
My parents like Syracuse the most and they think i should go to Syracuse because it’s prestigious. They want me to go to best college that I was accepted into.
For starters, Canada is HUGE. Saying ". My best friend will probably go to college in Canada so I assume I could visit her a lot? I heard Canada was 5 mins away " is like saying “my best friend goes to college in the USA, so I assume I could visit her a lot? The border is 5 mins away.” Lot of good that will do you if you’re talking the NY border and your friend goes to school in FL or CA or AL or DC or… you get my drift.
If you live in NY, the cheapest options will be SUNY.
Take a look at the feel you get from the schools. How are you with lots of snow? If not, then Stony Brook is much further south than your other options. It’s also 20 minutes from some pretty wonderful beaches.
@CalinAmry I graduated UB and Canada is about a 20 minute drive to either port of entry - Fort Erie, Ontario or Niagara Falls. Over all the university is beautiful and they have solid programs. We visited last week for my son who was admitted into its engineering program. However, my son just committed to Syracuse as he benefitted from substantial aid.
Syracuse is a very good school but I would not call it prestigious, aside from maybe 1-2 programs within the school. In our HS…the very strong students do not attend Syracuse. In our school, wealthy families whose kids have B/B- averages often attend Syracuse. These kids would not get into Stony Brook…and sometimes not even Buffalo. I am not knocking these kids…they are good students…and they graduate and move on to get good jobs. But…if you are looking for a more prestigious school, Syracuse does not meet that criteria over and above the others ( aside from 1-2 programs). The $5500 that they “gave” to you is a loan…it’s not free money. Your parents will have to pay/ borrow the rest, and it doesn’t seem like they can afford it. I would remove Syracuse from your list. Do not confuse expensive …with prestige. Again…Syracuse is a great school, but you can’t afford it.
Stony Brook is an excellent school ( I think it’s stronger than Syracuse In many ways) but it isn’t in an urban area. You indicated that you want to be in a city.
UMass appears to be affordable (?) but I don’t know if it is as diverse as Buffalo. It’s worth investigating the details that are important to you.
Buffalo seems to be your best option. It is affordable, diverse, in/close to the city, strong in the sciences, etc. It is also very close to Canada and students go there often. You said that you like to walk and explore. I can assure you that this can be accomplished in Buffalo.
@CalinAmry if you received substantial aid like the previous poster, I would not have any problem…but at full cost it is not worth it over your other options. Your family will be paying this money back for many, many years. Yes it’s a good school…but not better than the others especially when you can’t afford it.
Can your parents afford Syracuse without big loans? I think you previously mentioned that your parents took out large loans for your sister. Would they also be doing this for Syracuse? And…is your merit award for UMass per year, or is that the total for all 4 years?
@LuckyCharms913
Yes, second that. UMass does not have a great reputation for grant or merit aid for OOS students.
“I heard Canada was 5 mins away but that sounds a bit too crazy.”
As others have pointed out, Canada is HUGE. From one end to the other is about 4,500 miles. Thus where your friend goes to university will make a very big difference.
I agree with others that the cost of Syracuse does not make any sense at all. You have been accepted to four very good universities that are academically not all that far apart. You will have very good professors, some very strong students, and some okay students at all of these schools. You will have great opportunities at all of these schools. Taking on the debt for Syracuse is very much NOT worth it compared to your three other great choices.
That narrows it down to three schools. The next thing that I would look at is whether the scholarship at U.Mass repeats every year for four years, and what you need to do to maintain this scholarship. The merit based scholarships that my daughters got required maintaining a certain GPA (3.0 for one, 3.5 for the other). You have to figure out whether you feel confident that you can maintain whatever criteria is needed to keep the scholarship, and remember that things such as a virus during finals or a bad breakup in the middle of a semester can occur.
Regarding the “social atmosphere”: You are looking at universities with between 17,000 and 23,000 undergraduate students (I am not including Syracuse). There is a wide range of people at each of these universities. You will find many activities to choose from. You will find many other students who are a lot like you, and other students with whom you have very little in common. With a little effort you will find good people from a very wide range of backgrounds at any of these schools.
Pay attention to how much travel is needed to and from home. If you attend university 20 minutes from home and live on campus then it will feel like an entirely different world compared to living at home. However, when something goes wrong and you need help, then help will be there. If you want to go home during a break you can. If you attend university further from home then when you need help it will take longer to show up, and travel home during breaks will take longer and might cost more.
You have two very good affordable options in-state. I would be tempted to choose one of them. U.Mass is a good choice also provided that the aid that you were offered is all scholarship (rather than loans) and will repeat for four years.