<p>My son was admitted to SUNY Stony Brook and Stevens Institute of Technology. He really wanted to go to Binghamton but was deferred then rejected. Does anyone know much about Stevens? He is interested in physics, energy production or chemistry but not totaly sure what he wants to do. Is the cost of Stevens worth it($48, 000) vs Stony Brook tuition. I'm worried that he will get lost at Stony brook because it is so much bigger and there are more comuters. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>In this case, I would say to go with Stony Brook.</p>
<p>I understand that it seems like common sense that we should go with a good school like Stony Brook with a reasonable tuition but is there an advantage for a socially akward nerdy kid at a smaller school with smaller classes even if it cost a ton of money?</p>
<p>I recently talked to someone who teaches at Stevens. This teacher said that they’ve upped the size of classes at Stevens by a fairly large amount and it made her mad–kids are getting ripped off and she has more work. I don’t think it’s worth it.</p>
<p>If he’s not sure what he wants to do (like most kids; even if they think they know, they change their mind), he might be better off at a college that offers a wide variety of majors and courses, like SB.</p>
<p>Would be be living at SB or commuting?</p>
<p>There are lots of “socially awkward, nerdy” kids at lots of schools – especially tech schools. I would imagine that’s true for Stevens as well.</p>
<p>Why don’t the two of you visit the two choices and spend the day seeing where he feels the most comfortable? SUNY is a very good deal, but if money is not the issue and he feels more at home at Stevens, that is something to consider.</p>
<p>You really need to look at the financial aid packages to make a well informed decision.
My son is going to the University of Rochester, in part (there are other reasons) because our family contribution after aid is less than SUNY Binghamton. It is even less than SUNY Albany after the $4000 per year Presidential scholarship. The aid packages we got from the SUNY’s was all just student loans and parent plus loans. If Stevens doesn’t give you a good package go to Stony Brook. Transferring is always an option.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the relative “value” of the BS degree in physics/chemistry. My BS in chemistry is from SUNY Fredonia, and it has served me well. It got me into one of the top graduate programs for polymer science, and after that no one cares where the undergrad degree was earned.</p>
<p>An ACS-certified chemistry degree from either school will qualify him for the same type of jobs. If he wants to go to graduate school, he just needs to do well at either place.</p>
<p>The other parts of the decision (i.e. “fit”) is something only he can decide (with your help, of course).</p>
<p>We did look at both schools (Stevens and Stony Brook). He was very positve about Stevens and somewhat positive about Stony Brook after but at that time he did not know he would be rejected from Binghamton which he was the most positive about. I agree that a wide range of majors would be agood thing since he is somewhat unsure of what he wants to do. He would be living at Stony Brook and I have not heard great things about the freshman living arrangements. He needs to live at whichever school he picks to branch out a little. We do not know what kind of financial aid package Stevens will offer but I’m not that hopeful because of our income. Whatever it is I think it will be way more than SB so if he goes to Stevens I will be working full time for a lot longer. Even if Stevens classes have gotten larger I doubt there are 500 kids in them like I heare some classes have at SB.
It’s all very confusing.</p>
<p>we’re actually at this point now. Our son was accepted to a private school in PA w/a Presidential scholarship and a department scholarship and also accepted at a SUNY with a presidential scholarship. The package at the private was a little better as it was less parent loan and really only a difference of under $1,000, the only concern for me is how much will tuition go up at the private, vs. the SUNY where the tuition may go up but the freeze room/board/meals for all 4 years. </p>
<p>What to do? Son still hasn’t decided either, keeps saying “keeping my options open”. Would be nice if he decided, like yesterday!</p>