<p>Trying to pick between this two. Really weird situation and Syracuse only recently became an option for me so I could not visit in time. I visited UCR and was not impressed. I live in the SoCal/Los Angeles area. The difference in terms of money is that Syracuse will be a stretch for my parents where as UCR will be easier on them. I've been admitted to both schools of engineering and was wondering which to pick? is Syracuse worth the money? will my potential opportunities/ quality of education/ job prospects after 4 yeara be worth it? my other concerns are that it is far from home and I've heard the kids that go there are relatively snooty/ "rich white kids" I dont fit this description and fitting in worries me</p>
<p>If you are concerned about job opportunities, you can ask the schools’ career centers about what companies come recruiting for interns and new graduates in your major.</p>
<p>Both have ABET accreditation in computer science and engineering, so they should be reasonably solid in these subjects. You may want to check course listings and faculty research interests to see if they emphasize different subareas of your major that you find particularly interesting.</p>
<p>But if one school is significantly more expensive to the point of financially straining your family, that may not be too good a choice (in addition to the usual issues with that, you may have to drop out if an unexpected financial setback happens to your family and financial aid does not increase in response).</p>
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Then UCR it should be. Engineering programs are much more standardized than other majors; you study defineable things like calculus and programming, and its much easier to have a measure of what you should learn than it is for something like History. I wouldn’t be surprised if Syracuse has smaller classes, more personal advising, etc. but if you take the initiative you can get to know some faculty members at Riverside, you can make a habit of visiting the career center, of talking with the department advisor in your program, etc.</p>
<p>Go to UCR and be impressed (AND GRATEFUL) that you live in a state with such an outstanding system.</p>
<p>So I guess there would be few to no advantages to Syracuse? does anyone know about general quality of student life at cuse and possibly life in lc smith engin. in particular?</p>
<p>How much would you have to pay for S and how much for UCR?</p>
<p>You also have to figure that S will cost you about 1500 more just in travel…and even more if family ever comes to help with move in or comes for Parents weekend. When money is tight, I see additional potential problems with choosing a far away school.</p>
<p>And, likely, you’ll have to invest in very cold weather clothing for S. </p>
<p>I would save my money, find some cool REUs to apply to for summers and maybe do a study abroad somewhere. </p>
<p>I don’t see how getting an E degree from S is beneficial from a career standpoint. Calif companies will recruit at UCR, but maybe not at S.</p>
<p>Even if the cost difference is quite minor, I don’t see a big benefit at S.</p>
<p>Ok the cost difference is 31k for UCR and 40k for Syracuse (including 5k loans each year). Another thing that bothered me was just the quality of students at UCR versus Syracuse</p>
<p>I guess you’d have to add money to that cuse number though because of plane tickets from la to ny</p>
<p>The “quality” of kids at UCR won’t be your issue. You’ll be in a STEM major…those will be the top students on campus. Those kids will be your classmates and often your pals and study partners. </p>
<p>Who cares how smart the kids are in some easier majors across campus. They won’t be in your classes.</p>
<p>Syracuse is more than $40k per year. </p>
<p>You’re not comparing apples with apples. You’re comparing UCR’s COA with just Syracuse’s tuition ($37k) and incidentals…you’re not counting room, board, books, travel, etc… Syracuse costs $54,000 per year. (actually MORE because they only include $600 for travel.)</p>
<p>UCR’s COA</p>
<p>Tuition and fees … $12,923
Room and board… $12,093
Books and supplies…$1,800 (this is high)
personal expenses… $1,750 </p>
<h2>Transportation expenses…$1,350 (yours won’t be nearly this high…at least $1k less)</h2>
<p>Estimated Total… $29,916 (really about $1-2k lower)</p>
<p>Syracuse COA</p>
<p>Tuition and fees … $37,667
Room and board… $13,254
Books and supplies … $1,308<br>
Estimated personal expenses …$900 </p>
<h2>Transportation expenses … $600 (very low)</h2>
<p>Estimated Total … $53,729</p>
<p>No Syracuse gave me grants and I’m getting the 40k number by subtracting my grants and taking a 5k loan a year for cuse.</p>
<p>Ok…</p>
<p>Still, with the added costs for travel and the fact that going to SU would be a financial burden for them, it’s just not a good idea.</p>
<p>You have to realize that over a 4 year period, a family is going to have several unexpected big expenses…a car breaks down, a major appliance needs replacing, major dental work, leaky roof, etc, etc, it’s always something. To unnecessarily put your family in a very tight situation where they won’t be able to handle those pricey unexpected expenses is not a good idea. </p>
<p>You’re not gaining anything by going to SU…except some debt! </p>
<p>Do a study abroad or something to add some excitement to UCR if needed.</p>
<p>Yeah, point taken. I guess I wasn’t really thinking completely…just the stigma of UCR (at least around here)…but at the same time Syracuse is no big name school either</p>
<p>Well, do you have any other choices?</p>
<p>Re: “quality of students”</p>
<p>UCR freshmen have slightly higher high school GPAs, but slightly lower SAT and ACT scores. Not an enormous difference – it does not seem like much of a reason to spend a total of $40,000 more (plus higher travel costs) to go to Syracuse.</p>
<p>California kids are so spoiled when it comes to the UC System…to dump on a school like UCR - they have NO IDEA how good they have it.</p>