i need help deciding which college to go to !!
i am doing neuroscience major (minor in possible biomed engineering or computer science) which school is best for me??
Syracuse - $53k tuition 
Fordham - $40k tuition 
St. Lawrence - (LAS program) $4k tuition
Union College - $22k tuition
any suggestions ??
What is your budget? what can your family afford without debt?
What environment do you prefer? city, town, very rural?
Do you want Greek Life (Cuse, Union, St L)?
Have you mapped out in detail which courses you would need to take for Neuroscience and BME or CS minor? Fordham has a core set of classes for example
Fordham and Syracuse are much larger than Union or St L: any preference on size?
have you visited or done any online accepted student sessions?
Also, Syracuse has a very predominate Greek culture that permeates the school. Fordham for sure has zero. Donāt know about the other schools.
Thereās not really a budget just not over $80K is good for my family.
I donāt have a preference but now negative thing about Union and St. Law is that its like in the middle of no where which I donāt really mind. Iām just afraid about the parties and drinking scenes because Iām not really into partying and prefer to stay in and study.
I donāt have a preference in size, I just want to know which one will be a better. choice for my major? (any know?)
Yes, I have joined many of the online sessions but I still canāt decide 
Thanks for the help though! Iāll have to map it out a schedule of the courses Iāll have to take soon.
Care to explain what the Greek life is? donāt know much about what college is like because I am first gen.
My D is considering U for neuroscience and music. Have you toured yet? We went last weekend and were very impressed. While the school has a history of being very Greek, my sense is the current administration working very hard to cultivate a much more dynamic and inclusive environment.
I have not toured yet. Is U top choice for your D?
Can you tell me about the campus? Is there much to do off-campus? My family is always working and due to the virus, we havenāt done much in-person tour. But if I can find a virtual tour I will take a look.
It is the top choice for my D. Union has a very traditional college campus with lots of historic buildings and green lawns. Founded in 1795, itās second oldest college in New York. Also, itās featured in the book, āHidden Iviesā and consistently ranked by USN & WR as a top 50 liberal arts college. The school is walking distance to downtown Schenectady, a legacy city which is in the middle of a transformation, similar to Pittsburgh in the 1980s and Cleveland in the 2000s. You can take a tour of Schenectady with President Harris and a tour of the campus. If you make it to Schenectady, i strongly recommend checking out Mohawk Harbor. The only thing thatās not so great is the long and cold winters, but it looks like all the schools youāre considering are in the snow belt. GL
Greek life= fraternities and sororities.
Yes I am aware Union being considered as a āHidden Ivyā but when I tell people about Union, the chances are there going to say āwhere is. thatā āIāve never heard of itā but I donāt really mind that. I would love to take a tour soon so I will check that out. Also, I live in Buffalo, the snow doesnāt bother me since I am already used to it.
If I understand correctly, St. Lawrence University LAS program awards scholarships to first generation, URM, Pell grant eligible students. If correct, it seems like your only affordable option is St. Lawrence University at $4,000 per academic year.
So I am a bit confused as you wrote that your family budget was $80,000. Is that $80,000 per year or over a period of 4 years ?
Sorry for the confusion, my parents are divorced and I got the grants based on my mother tax return. But my family combined can afford up $80k a year. But preferably not that much. The most expensive school I have on my list is Syracuse which is affordable with my parents. Hopefully that makes sense.
The St. Lawrence University LAS program provides mentoring & other special attention aimed at enhancing LAS scholars success in the study of science. Appears to be a very successful program.
St. Lawrence University is in extreme upstate New York in a fairly isolated location about 20 minutes drive from Clarkson University.
Lots of drinking & partying at St. Lawrence & at Union. Syracuse is big enough to find your own crowd.
$4,000 per year for St. Lawrence University is a bargain, but it may not be socially comfortable for a non-drinker, non-partier.
I have no recommendation even though I am familiar with all 4 schools.
P.S. How many other students are awarded the LAS program scholarships ? Important to know as these students are likely to be your closet group of friends during your first semester at St. Lawrence University.
The LAS program is the reason why I want to attend SLU but then again the drinking and partying is huge which I am nota big fan of. Not so sure about how many people are in the program but I will have to check that out and find more info. Thanks you helps out a lot!
The only school that doesnāt jump out as a massive party school is Fordham, but much of this could be due to its city location: kids can leave campus to find lots of things to do.
St Lawrence is rural and small so it will be harder to not notice the party scene. Maybe harder to find non party friends. Due to its rural location non party fun activities include lots of outdoor things, like winter sports and hiking.
Union used to have a very Greek, partying rep but I do hear thatās itās been toned down a lot. Still a small school, but very good academics, reputation for STEM.
Syracuse is a big sports school with all that entails. You can easily eliminate this one if partying is not your thing, although as itās larger, there will be lots of different kinds of people there.
For a serious non partying student, who may want a wider range of people to mix with, and lots of options for non party activities: my recommendation is Fordham, but pay close attention to Union if you donāt want to be in NYC.
And I know you say you want to sit in your room and study - but donāt just do that! Whichever college you attend will have SO MANY opportunities for getting involved, service, internships, leadership and just plain fun. Donāt overlook that, please!
omg this really helps me a lot thank you so much!!
my original plan was to go to NYC for school because I applied for NYU thinking I was going to getting but I got waitlisted so now I have to make an alternative plan. My back up/ safety school was Fordham but I am not sure about how good the neruoscience program is. I got plenty of friends in NYC which is another reason why I was considering Fordham.
The only reason I was deciding about SLU was that I heard the LAS program was very good since it provides a good amount of mentoring and helping me study what I want to do. But the small rural and partying just brings that down.
Thank you so much for the help hopefully I can make decision by the end of this week!
Union isnāt exactly in the middle of nowhere. Itās in the Albany-Schenectady metro area which has over a million people. Thereās no advantage to being in the city of Syracuse rather than in the capitol region.
Neuroscience by its very nature is interdisciplinary. Fordham seems to stress the need for integration of the different disciplines which all contribute to the study of neuroscience. Union does even more so. Almost 2 decades ago Union established its neuroscience major when this was just an emerging field. A decade ago Union opened its Center for Neuroscience with 5 labs and other support facilities, funded by a National Science Foundation grant. At any of these colleges, neuroscience means taking courses in different departments with professors who might never talk to each other. Iām impressed with how Union has developed a means to bring the department under one roof, has physically relocated professors from other locations to foster collaboration, and has provided research facilities so that cross disciplinary projects will actually happen.
Iām obviously impressed with what Union has done in this area, but Iām only judging by what I read on each of their websites. I encourage you to ask Admissions to set up phone or zoom conversations with faculty to see if they can sell you on their programs, see if they can explain whatās distinctive about it. Ask to speak with current students.
You have fine choices here. Congratulations! The job here is to find the one that sets itself apart from the others.