<p>Marysidney,</p>
<p>You make a great point, and in all honestly this is my biggest issue with option one. If I could take day classes at option 1 I don’t even think I would have made this thread.</p>
<p>I could commute 1.5hrs each way by bus to go to OSU Stillwater and take day classes. This may seem possible in theory but honestly don’t think would ever work in reality. I always need to be in the area in case of an emergency with my kids where I can drop everything and attend to.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend commuting this long unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. Not only would it be difficult if your kids’ or wife ever had an emergency, but that’ll wear you out, as well. You should consider how that would impair your schoolwork, your ability to get help if you need it, and you relationship with your family (hard to help out with housework or spend time with your kids when you come home late, exhausted from classes and a long commute), not to mention the three hours you could be potentially wasting each day.</p>
<p>I think you’ve received a lot of good input from different points of views, but at the end of the day, only you can decide which factors are most important to you. Discuss it with your wife, and I’m sure you’ll make the right decision for you and your family.</p>
<p>Look at the schedule. My husband took the vast majority of his engineering classes at night (like you, he did CC first two years). There are seven days in a week. He NEVER had classes all seven nights. Never! Its just two years…which would be better…uprooting the family now, or dealing with the two years.</p>
<p>You will likely not have classes more than four nights a week. My husband had classes from 5-10. He was home by 10:30. </p>
<p>The other plus side…if you have night classes, you can study quietly at home, because no one else will be there.</p>
<p>With night classes, perhaps you can stay at home and watch the kids while your wife is at work during the day.</p>
<p>One or three. Not option 2, please!</p>
<p>Are you sure that you would loose subsidized day care center, if you move? Most state universities have on-campus day care centers, that are free for students. </p>
<p>I’ll suggest option 3 (is sounds like, its your dream school) and spend time and effort to find free day care for kids. It is possible in most big universities.</p>
<p>*Are you sure that you would loose subsidized day care center, if you move? Most state universities have on-campus day care centers, that are free for students. *</p>
<p>That would be great if true, but I dont know of a school that does so.
Some * families* may qualify for state subsidized care however.
For a family in Ok, the family does not pay toward cost with 3 in subsidized care if gross income + unearned is $ 11,050 yearly or less.</p>
<p>Option#1 would be a big problem for me too because I wouldn’t be able to see my kids and I wouldn’t be able to help my spouse deal with the “bedtime” routine, which would put a strain on the family. Debt free is good, but not to the point I’d make it a priority over my family responsibilities and ‘job as a parent’. That’s just me though.</p>
<p>Option #3 would only be okay if you were sure you wouldn’t uproot the family another time after graduating. Actually, as far as uprooting goes, if you were to go far away, I would try the best schools that offer the most aid (again: that’s just me. You may have friends in the area, family, people you need to stay for). Someone mentioned Cornell (and Cornell DOES have daycare facilities - [Students</a> with Children](<a href=“Students with Families – For Students, Partners & Children”>http://studentparents.dos.cornell.edu/)) I wouldn’t just uproot the family to go a few hours away, especially since there is no significant advantage over local opportunities.</p>
<p>Overall, I like Option#2 best, in part because Engineering grads with a BS find jobs easily AND are paid very well, so the amount of debt you’re talking about would be paid back fairly quickly.
(I wouldn’t be thinking the same if you wanted to major in Art History. - For the record, I think Art History is very important and in fact I believe that everyone should take one class in Art Appreciation or such while in college, because it teaches us to really look at things and see differently. But regardless of that belief, the facts remain: the earning potential of Art History vs. Engineering is pretty much a 1 to 3 ratio…)</p>
<p>In addition, -and this criterion only matters if it matters in relation to your post-BS plans- it’s true that locally there wouldn’t be much difference between the three schools, but nationally University of Tulsa has gained prominence, making it to “up and coming” lists, etc. in a way the two other schools haven’t. That doesn’t mean they’re not good but if you plan to move to another region of the country, the University of Tulsa degree would be recognized more easily. I’m thinking if you hope to get a job in/near a big city in another region, hoping to get an “employer-paid” MS degree at a prestigious university in/near that big city, it would matter more than if you plan to stay in OK/TX.</p>
<p>No matter what, check out the career center services at all schools as well as the strength of the alumni network both within OK and in other regions of the US. </p>
<p>As for OP’s daughter: the best way to get a good education for the lowest cost is to have excellent grades and have developed a passion or leadership. I assume that, with two parents who highly value education, OP’s daughter wouldn’t be a slacker; so while it’s thoughtful to say to take her future EFC into account, I don’t think it’s currently relevant. The risk is there but right now I don’t think it should be the main criterion in OP’s decision.</p>
<p>While the University of Oklahoma does have free day care, there’s a long waiting list and priority is given to the children of faculty. It’s not a viable option for the OP especially because that degree carries the same weight as one from OSU. TU and OU are essentially built for traditional age students. OSU’s branch campus is designed specifically for working adults which is why it makes far more sense to take night classes and hang out with his kids during the day than relocate to Norman or get in debt for the University of Tulsa. Besides, I suspect that the biggest benefits conferred from a TU degree (eg, research opportunities, one on one mentoring with professors) are largely inaccessible to the OP unless he wants to spend even less time with his family than he would if he goes to OSU Tulsa.</p>
<p>In response to MYOS’ comment about TU, the only program that it draws from nationally is petroleum engineering. I seriously doubt that an employer in say, GA would be more likely to recognize the University of Tulsa name than the Oklahoma State University name, which does get quite a bit of press coverage thanks to its (mediocre) football team.</p>
<p>I defer to Whenhen’s judgement because she knows OK much better than I do. Furthermore, I was referring to academic reputation. In my field (not engineering), U Tulsa is beginning to be recognized, whereas OSU really isn’t, so nationally there’s a difference at least in academia, but you’re right, it may not make a big difference for engineering jobs. Engineers are in great demand so really all one needs is an ABET accredited program. 
On the other hand, I doubt people on the East Coast follow OK college football so I don’t think it’d get that much press coverage… it’d all depend where OP wants to move after his degree.</p>