<p>My wife and I both graduated from UMASS and we both had great experiences. Our son is a High School senior and was accepted to UMASS (Communications program). We live in New York and the tuition at UMass has gone through the roof. I also hear that they are trying to increase OOS acceptances so that the increased tuition will offset some of the budget cuts.</p>
<p>My son is a good student and has been accepted to a number of SUNY schools including Albany, New Paltz, and Oneonta. We do not know what to do. All of the SUNY schools are good ones and I believe that New Paltz is rated even higher then UMass. So we are torn.</p>
<p>Our son can go to UMass for $34K or a SUNY school for $17K. I do not want to sound cheap but what what will he get for the extra money? We have visited all of the SUNY schools and they seem very nice and I am sure that he can have a great experience at either one.</p>
<p>I would love any advice, recommendations or thoughts that you can provide.</p>
<p>I could help you out a little bit. My parents both went to Umass also. I was accepted into schools like Umass, Albany, Umaryland, UConn, Penn State, Rutgers, Indiana, and I am still waiting to here from schools like Michigan, Cornell, and Delaware.</p>
<p>Normally people would quickly take Albany off their list after getting into schools like this, but it is now such a great bang for your buck. Especially if you are instate. The reason it is certainly a consideration for me is because of the city it is in. The state capital of new york. For someone like me who wants to pursue a career in the law, there is not a much better place to start. </p>
<p>With admissions rates going down and the school getting much harder to be accepted into, it is certainly an up and coming school. UMASS and Albany are both great institutions though, so wherever he goes he will receive a fine education.</p>
<p>You are NOT cheap to wonder what you get for $34k vs $17k. Your son can benefit from the money you save by being able to go to grad school, get a car to drive to jobs or internships, not have to take out loans or work freshman year. I don’t see any big prestige difference either way between UMass and Albany, it depends what your kid makes of his time there.</p>
<p>My son is a transfer student at New Paltz. If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them. New Paltz has a lot to offer and a great location. Personally, I would choose it over UMass.</p>