Please help me pick between 3 public universities

<p>I want to study in the field of computers but i also like business so i decided to pick Management Information Systems. But besides that i would go along the lines of normal Computer Science etc if i don't like MIS.</p>

<p>Now i'm down to 3 schools... Purdue, University of Illinois Urbana and Binghamton.</p>

<p>I live in New York so going to Binghamton would cost me about half the tuition before i figure out financial aid. I was wondering if it is worth going to Purdue or Illinois over Binghamton simply because they are ranked on US World News report for being in the top 10 for MIS.</p>

<p>Basically... Is it worth spending basically double the tuition to go to Purdue/Illinois.</p>

<p>With all that said, which school do you think would be the best for me keeping everything into consideration(The reputation/price/programs/rankings).</p>

<p>Any input is greatly appreciated! Thank you VERY much!</p>

<p>In terms of major:</p>

<p>MIS is typically more business than CS. CS will involve substantially more math and math-like thinking.</p>

<p>CS graduates aim for jobs in computer software development or computer hardware design, or graduate school in CS. MIS graduates aim for jobs in MIS; system and network administration would be the most technical type of jobs there, though they are less technical than the jobs that CS graduates seek.</p>

<p>If you study MIS, consider substituting the CS versions of operating systems, networks, databases, and security courses for the MIS versions. The CS versions will give stronger foundational knowledge of the subjects.</p>

<p>I live in New York so going to Binghamton would cost me about half the tuition before i figure out financial aid. I was wondering if it is worth going to Purdue or Illinois over Binghamton simply because they are ranked on US World News report for being in the top 10 for MIS.</p>

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<p>there really isn’t any financial aid to 'figure out" at those OOS publics. You’re OOS, they’re not going to give you need-based aid to make themselves affordable. Purdue gives some merit scholarships (about $10k per year ) for high stats…but the cost is about $40k, so your SUNY would still be the affordable choice.</p>

<p>How much will your family pay per year? if they won’t pay OOS costs, then your choices for publics are instate…or ones that will give you large merit for stats…and UIUC and Purdue aren’t those schools.</p>

<p>What are your stats? GPA? SAT??? include SAT breakdown.</p>

<p>My parents said for the most part if i went to Binghamton they would pay basically all of it and i would have virtually no student loans coming out of college. On the other hand i would need to take out loans for Purdue and Illinois.</p>

<p>I have a 93.5 weighted average. 1900 SAT, 1310 for 2 part(710 math, 600 english, 590 writing). I have 9 AP classes including senior year in which i got a 3 on all of them except for Physics which is a 4. Binghamton’s AP policy would accept the 3’s while the others would not. I think thats enough information, with that said what would you think would be the best option?</p>

<p>Thanks for your help so far also!</p>

<p>Take the SAT again! And take the ACT.</p>

<p>Right now, your stats would have you as full pay at both Purdue and UIUC.</p>

<p>YOU cannot borrow much. Kids think that they can just borrow whatever the shortfall is. YOU can only borrow:</p>

<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>

<p>To borrow more (bad idea) would require your parents to co-sign…and most won’t do that.</p>

<p>You need to get better stats so you’ll have more options to go OOS.</p>

<p>I cannot take the SAT or ACT again… its too late for that. I’m a senior.</p>

<p>I will be picking my school that i’m going to in a month. So you recommend going to Binghamton based on all of my information? Would a degree in MIS from there be similar to one that is recognized by US World News as in the top 10 for MIS at Purdue/Illinois?</p>

<p>Basically… is the degree that much better to justify spending double on tuition?</p>

<p>Not likely. Go to Bing</p>

<p>Barrons is right…big mistake to take on major loans for those career goals…debt isn’t necessary at all.</p>

<p>People put tooooo much weight on dept rankings for this or that major. Companies don’t care about that. They hire the PERSON…what his grades are, what courses he took…and is the school/program accredited. They don’t give a rat’s patootie if US news says a school’s program is #10 or #50 or even #100.</p>

<p>Binghamton is a good school and has a great reputation - inside New York and outside. If money is at all a question, you should feel confident that you’re going to a great school by picking Binghamton. I’m not sure if you’ve been accepted at any or all of the schools but I have to say your stats put Binghamton on the low end of a target school based on the large base of Naviance information for my son’s high school (a top 100 US) in NY. Not as many people apply to Purdue or UI-U but UI-U would also be a low end target while Purdue would be a target/borderline safety. Good luck.</p>

<p>I’ve been accepted to all 3 schools. Thank you all for your help! I changed my mind from neglecting Binghamton to now basically deciding that it is the best option especially that money is kind of an issue. </p>

<p>Any other further input is greatly appreciated but thank you everyone!</p>

<p>Further input: I agree with the advice you’ve been given. The extra cost for Purdue or UIUC are not worth it.</p>

<p>Agreed, I’d go to Binghamton and stay debt-free. It’s an excellent school.</p>

<p>Thank you all. I am almost convinced now that i will be going to Binghamton. My only question is: Does Binghamton have a strong/good MIS degree/program? For example i know some degrees are basically worthless from some schools simply because they have a bad program and the employers know that… Will i have that problem? Or can i go in confidently knowing that it will be a good education?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Binghamton, hands down especially considering the cost difference, just no football team. It is well respected but much smaller than the other 2. They have one of the highest placement rates into graduate and professional programs. </p>

<p>I met one of the SUNY Bingbang phd CS students years ago who was doing research in perturbation theory.</p>