Hey guys!
So I recently accepted to PSU and Uni at Buffalo. Syracuse U has not sent out letters yet.I plan on going into electrical engineering. I am a resident of NY, so tuition at UB won’t be expensive; however, the other 2 will be a bit much. Since my family makes a considerably nice income I doubt my financial aid will be substantial, but I don’t know that as of yet. Based on what I have said, which school would you choose if you were in my shoes?
Your financial aid will likely be zero at Penn State, since you are an OOS student and it’s a public university. Run the Net Price Calculator (https://cce.ais.psu.edu/college-cost-web/netPricePageOne.xhtml). At around $8000 EFC it starts to give $0 in expected scholarships. For $0 EFC it still wants the student’s parents to take out a loan of $33,225 every year.
@loveyounot Without cost consideration I would pick Penn State, then Buffalo then Syracuse in that order. But if cost is a concern and you will need loans, go with Buffalo (UB). It’s cost of attendance is about $21,000 per year versus $42,000 at Penn State versus $57,000 at Syracuse. Penn State does not give much merit aid, maybe $5000 or $6500 if you are in Schreyers Honors. And the maximum merit aid from Syracuse is $12,000 ( with some exceptions from programs not applicable to engineering), hardly putting a dent in total cost. Engineers make the same salary regardless of the school they went to. I would not pay $84,000 more over 4 years to attend Penn State or $144,000 more over 4 years to attend Syracuse. Especially if you and your parents will need to take out loans. Just not worth it when you can get a fine engineering degree from Buffalo. I toured Buffalo last year with my son and i was impressed with the facilities at UB. He chose Ohio State because with merit aid the cost difference between it and any of the SUNYs was not so substantial enough as to preclude him from deciding based on fit. Have you toured UB? See if you feel comfortable there. If not, do you have any other financial safety school to select from?
@trackmbe3, as of now I am not worried about tuition at UB. I am waiting on Binghamton’s response, and I would probably go there if accepted. I am not worried about Bing’s tuition either. I have heard that SU gives great financial aid, so if I do get a substantial package (if I am accepted) that can be managed, I will most likely attend; however, I doubt that I will. I have not toured UB as it is 8hrs away from me. SU and PSU are only 4, so it would take less time to get from there to home which is a plus.
It depends on what you mean by “great financial aid.” If it is mostly loans, there is nothing really “great” about that. Certainly not worth starting your career in a great deal of debt when you have more affordable options on the table. Hopefully Bing will work out for you, but if it doesn’t, UB is a respected engineering school. You may get a more “classic” college experience at PSU or SU, but you’d have to decide if that experience is worth the cost.
Run the NPCs. TO do that, enter the name of each university and “+ Net Price Calculator”.
You’ll know right now how much each will cost.
bring the results to your parents and start discussing your options.