Is a private school worth it over a SUNY?

I am a rising junior starting to really think about my college options and was wondering if going somewhere like UPenn or Hopkins is really worth it over Binghamton or Stony Brook. I would go to either SUNY for close to free, but would likely get no money other than need based aid at the private schools.

Hi–I’m reading a lot of concepts and concerns. Let’s try to break those down so that people here can help you.

Are you saying –

  • You prefer to go to a private school if financially possible?
  • You can go for nearly free to a SUNY?
  • I'm guessing that free SUNY is because of the Excelsior Scholarship? (https://www.ny.gov/programs/tuition-free-degree-program-excelsior-scholarship )?
  • You feel that as lower income you would "only" get need-based aid and no merit? Maybe give us some of your stats so that we can see if you might qualify for merit of some sort. Also, do you identify as male or female? Some women's colleges offer merit, for example, while others are only need-based. Your stats and gender identity matter in this case.

In addition to answering these questions, you may want to check out Net Price Calculators on college websites so that you can maybe get an idea of what costs may be for your family. You might find some pleasant surprises. While none will probably be “free” as a sUNY some privates can come pretty close. For example, you may want to check out Union College in Schenectedy. They have excellent aid and STEM programming (I’m assuming that you want STEM because of your selection of Johns Hopkins, Sony Brook, Binghamton, and UPEnn but not necessarily). Also look at Haverford as it’s part of a consortium that includes UPenn and Haverford has great aid. Also if you identify as female, Bryn Mawr for the same reason. Both of those schools have a special engineering program in collaboration with UPenn.

If you find running net price calculators too much of a bother, see what these colleges will cost ON AVERAGE for people with income levels such as yours. You can do this through the website College Navigator. Click on the tab that says “net price” under each college. That will give you a general idea. When you actually apply to a college, they will take into consideration your income level PLUS additional info such as whether you live in NYC and a high-cost of living location or in a low cost of living area. Using that info and more, they will figure your more precise “need” and merit possibilities. If you play soccer, Haverford also may recruit for that. (because of your @CSoccer6 handle)

If you qualify for a meaningful amount of need based aid, then yes Penn & JHU are “worth it” based on the scant information provided by OP in this thread.

If you plan on going to medical school, then free at Binghamton or Stony Brook might be the better option financially if you do not qualify for substantial amounts of grant based financial aid.

Depends on your major and If you want to go to grad school.

It depends upon a lot of factors, some of which were discussed above. Of course all schools are different from each other. And some state schools are more similar to some elite private ones than they are to other public ones. I’ve been associated with many different public and private colleges and universities in many different states. I believe there are some systematic differences across schools and also between types of schools. Which you prefer and which works for you depends upon a host of complex variables. By and large, the experiences of attending a private or public school differ in some reliable ways. That is especially true for SUNY (as opposed to, say, Michigan, Ca, Virginia and others where it is less true) vs the elite private schools you mention. But there may be other factors that are more important for you than the 4 year experience of being at the school. Important considerations could be price, diversity of student body, size, access to resources, and more. So as others stated, the “worth it” “depends”.

The choice of a private college over a SUNY might allow you to experience a purely undergraduate-focused environment, such as at a NESCAC. In this comparison, since the fundamental opportunities differ, a price premium for the private college could well be be worth it.

Large private universities may be somewhat more difficult to differentiate from SUNYs. However, certain private universities might offer sufficiently additional appeal in terms of academics, facilities or student diversity so that they might also be worth an extra cost.

“Close to free” means you’ll graduate from college with little or no debt.

It means that if you want to buy a house in your 20’s, it will be a lot more likely.

Run, do not walk, to Stony Brook or Binghamton.

Have you run the Net Price calculator on all these universities?

Are SUNYs almost free because your EFC is between 0 and $6,000? In that case, Penn would be free too as would aczdemically comparable universities such as Williams, Wellesley, Colby…

Honestly, I think if you have the option of UPenn or Hopkins over SUNY it is worth it. Those schools will open doors for you in the future not to mention the four year experience. SUNYs are a good education and for many, thanks to the taxpayer, free. But IMO, the experience is lackluster compared to the schools you are considering. **Please…haters don’t comment to me…I prefaced with “JMHO.”

Is SUNY really free? The excelsior scholarship converts to a loan if one does not stay in NY after graduation and covers only tuition, not room and board or fees.

It’s free tuition if you commute.
But it’s an important distinction as kids often don’t see the difference betzeen’free tuition’ and ‘totally free’

@nypapa, if a student gets the Excelsior and full Pell, they can take the federal student loan and have an out-of-pocket cost of $3k/semester. Since they’re not paying the loan until after graduation, I can see how that might look nearly free to them.

You’re correct that SUNYs aren’t free. Tuition is only ~$7k/year, and that’s all the Excelsior covers. The total COA is about $20k, so there’s a $13k gap families have to fill even with the Excelsior. And since the max income for Excelsior is $125k, there will be families who qualify for it but not for Pell.

@csoccer6, How is the cost of both Binghamton and Stony Brook almost free? They’re too far apart for you to be a commuter to both. If you qualify for full Pell and the Excelsior, that’s about $12k. Do they have guaranteed scholarships? Please run the Net Price Calculator on each website to be sure you have a clear picture of the costs.

OP – I’d sincerely listen to the post above that recommends looking at private schools. If you qualify for a Pell or are low-income, high-achieving student, many schools are on the hunt for students like you. Take advantage of that.

Here are a list of schools that 1) seek low-income high-achieving students and 2) provide excellent FA that 3) may well be cheaper than a SUNY and 4) also offer prestige and networking that SUNYs (as lovely as they can be and they are indeed lovely in many ways) just can’t offer.

Here is the list followed by the APPROXIMATE price for a low-income student INCLUDING ROOM AND BOARD (the Excelsior does NOT include room, board and other expenses, just tuition) –

  • Colby -- $8,000
  • Union in Schenectady -- $9,000
  • Wesleyan -- in CT -- $7500
  • Vassar -- $5,000
  • Johns Hopkins -- Between $10-15,000
  • University of Pennsylvania -- between $5K-$7,000
  • Haverford (in a consortium with Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr and UPenn) -- between $7,000-$10,000
  • Swarthmore -- $6,000
  • Grinnell -- between $9,000-$12,000
  • Hamilton in NY -- $9,000
  • Amherst College (Not UMass Amherst) -- $5,000
  • Smith (women's college) -- $9,000 (in consortium with Amherst, UMass Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire)
  • Mt. Holyoke (women's college) -- $11,000-$13,000 (in consortium with Amherst, UMass Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire)
  • Wellesley (women's college and you can take classes at MIT) -- $9,000
  • Cornell U -- $10,000
  • Colgate -- $5,000-$8,000
  • St. Olaf's in Minnesota -- $9,000-$11,000
  • Bowdoin -- $5,000-$9,000
  • Georgetown U -- $9,000
  • Boston College -- $9,000
  • University of Chicago -- $3,000-$4,000
  • Washington U St. Louis -- $6,000

these figures come from the website called College Navigator, under each school’s “net price” tab.

You need to run the NPC on each of the schools that you are considering to see whether they are likely to be affordable.

Whether taking on any debt at all for undergrad is worth it will depend upon a large number of factors that you have not told us, including your major and plans for graduate school.

However, in most cases it is better to go to a very good university (such as the SUNY’s that you named) and graduate with no debt rather than go to a marginally better school and take on debt. The SUNY’s are very good universities, and generally a degree from any very good university is widely accepted and will get you where you want to go.

To complete post #12, with free tuition but costs for room and board, SUNYs are about 12k. So all the universities listed would be cheaper than a SUNY if you qualify for Pell.
(Of course the difficulty is getting in).

Excelsior is a last payer. Pell would kick in first before Excelsior.

@sybbie719, If a student qualifies for full Pell and TAP, could they use the full amounts of both? The TAP Grant isn’t reduced is it?

I am intrigued by that list, @Dustyfeathers, and really flummoxed at the approximate numbers for Haverford and UChicago. Haverford seems high, while UChicago seems low.

I’ve looked with a sharp eye at UChicago’s aid packages and from what I remember, the low figure in the estimate provided in the list might best be possible for kids from Chicago’s public schools, but less so for even truly low income kids beyond that city’s school system. (Hmmm, College Navigator provided the numbers? I see…amazing.)

That list is awesome. (I shall return to it as I encounter high school students who may find it a wonderful starter-resource.) I can imagine how eye opening it was for the OP.

Good luck, OP.

As you know TAP can only be used for tuition. Full TAP does not cover the full tuition . Pell and the SUNY credit be used to cover the balance of tuition and fees. Even taking the full loan, there will still be a balance for room and board, misc. expenses