I am deciding between 3 very different schools. SUNY bing - which is very cheap. I know a lot of people very happy there who get great jobs after. Con - half my high school will be there. U Florida - great spirit, ranking and weather. Cons it may be hard to come from out of state and I don’t know anyone there . Or Lehigh - great medium size, good reputation, close to hope bit EXPENSIVE for a school ranked 50. Please help. tIa
Lots of kids don’t want to go to their flagship state U because they figure that it’s going to be a continuation of high school, since so many of their high school classmates wind up there. What they fail to realize is that because these schools are so enormous, perhaps only 1/1000 will be from their own high school. And this option is often the cheapest, best option.
U Florida - how much will it cost you, as compared to Binghamton? If it’s gonna be about the same, and you want the change, go for it. Don’t worry about not knowing anyone there. You’ll make a lot of new friends very quickly.
Lehigh - if it’s going to be much more than Binghamton or U Florida, not worth it.
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What can your family comfortably afford (no debt, no hardship)?
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I am lucky that I won’t have to take out loans anywhere but that doesn’t mean I want to waste my parents hard earned money if there is no benefit to a private school (eg smaller classes or better job placement)
Well, you will have smaller classes and a better career center at Lehigh, because all that money does go somewhere 
but it’s hard to advise you without a few more details:
- what major?
- what jobs are you interested in?
Your worries about your HS classmates at Bing: they’ll be so diluted among the thousands and thousands there that you’ll have to schedule time to meet with any of them. Your new classmates and dorm-mates will become more important day-to-day than whether you occasionally see a former classmate.
UF: Florida is a huge state, UF students come from everywhere in Florida and beyond, so no one will know anyone and freshman year is when you meet new people.
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OP: Your noted cons for Florida can be quickly rectified with one red plastic party cup & a smile.
P.S. Plus, if your high school friends at SUNY-Binghamton find out that you are at UFlorida, you can expect lots of visitors.
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