<p>Hello Everyone,</p>
<p>I have been accepted to RPI, RIT, and StonyBrook for computer science. All have offered substantial financial aid. Well there are obviously many factors to consider, which school has the best "brand name" for CS? Currently, I'm leaning towards RPI. Is RPI's CS regarded highly?</p>
<p>Thanks for your help,
—</p>
<p>Does anyone have any insight on these colleges?</p>
<p>How much does each cost after scholarships but before any loan?
CS has a high ROI and all three schools are good although the experience there is different.</p>
<p>I think RPI is more selective that RIT or Stonybrook. I would go to RPI if you can afford it. You can get a good CS education at all 3 places but RPI is more prestigious and your fellow students would be better at RPI.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the help. Here is my current financial aid breakdown of what it would cost to attend each school:</p>
<p>RPI: $22000 (including loan)
RIT: $14400 (including loan)
StonyBrook: $5800 (including small loan)</p>
<p>While RPI has offered the most aid, it is the most expensive. If my family is able to afford RPI, is it worth the extra? I’m currently leaning toward RPI, but does RPI’s education and selectivity over the other schools warrant its higher cost?</p>
<p>Thank you,
—</p>
<p>If $SB is the amount of loan needed at Stony Brook, then it would appear that the amount of loan needed for RIT is $8,600 + $SB, and the amount of loan needed for RPI is $16,200 + $SB. Even without the $SB, the amount of loan needed for the other schools would be more than the federal direct loan limit, meaning that you need a co-signer. That amount of loan is generally not advisable.</p>
<p>Stony Brook has a good reputation in CS, so you should feel like you are “settling for an inferior school” if you go there. Given that the other two probably require unreasonable amounts of debt, Stony Brook is likely the best choice.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus, thanks a lot for the reply. I’m not certain what you mean. The loan for both RPI and RIT is $8500 and the loan at StonyBrook is around $4000; everything else is not loan and would need to be paid upfront.</p>
<p>Not considering what is financially possible for me, do you think it is worth the extra cost to attend RPI?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>According to the costs you listed a few posts ago:</p>
<ul>
<li>RPI costs $22,000, of which you can borrow $8,500 but must come up with another $13,500.</li>
<li>Stony Brook costs $5,800, of which you can borrow $4,000 but must come up with another $1,800.</li>
</ul>
<p>$5,900 to $13,500 is a fairly large amount for a college student to come up with from work earnings without additional loans. And this is every year, so multiply by four over the course of your study…</p>
<p>Both Stony Brook and RPI appear to have a good selection of CS offerings in their catalogs. If rankings matter to you, Stony Brook appears to be ranked higher, although both appear to be respectable in rankings. Given that you can get a good CS education at either place, the costs you listed make Stony Brook a fairly obvious choice.</p>
<p>
If your family has the money and is willing to pay, then yes go ahead 
if that’s what you want - if you have the money and can spend it, it’s really entirely up to you and your family.
I don’t think there’s a huge difference between RPI and RIT, so it may be a nice compromise financially-speaking.
Finally SB is good - academically it’s a good option but it’s a commuter/suitcase school, so it wouldn’t be as good socially. On the other hand, its gender ratio is better.</p>