Syracuse vs. SUNY Albany

I’m having a bit of a problem. I was accepted to both Syracuse and SUNY Albany, up until about a week ago I learned that my Syracuse financial aid package was going to be re financed. This gave me hope that I would be able to attend. However, even after refinancing, I would have to pay 15,000. For me, this seems like a lot because my single mother makes under 30,000k, and on top of that I have a twin sister ( we are still waiting for her package to be refinanced.) What are your opinions on this situation? Should I attend Syracuse University? How do I go about asking them for more money?

What’s your net cost at SUNY Albany and Syracuse? If you’re a NYS resident, you need an affordable option that you can pay for with Pell, TAP, summer work earnings, and the federal student loan (~$5500/year). If you’re from OOS, you won’t have the TAP grant because that’s just for NYS residents.

Does your sister have any affordable options?

Go to SU!!

Is the 15k before Tap or after ?
If that’s how much you have to pay after tap and federal loans, you can’t go to su. It’d bankrupt your family.

For SU, the family contribution is $ 15,363.00, for UA I believe it is around 8k. I just don’t want to miss out on having a private university education. Would it be do-able if I worked really hard for scholarships? Or do you think SU’s name isnt worth that cost compared to UA?

But you couldn’t afford it

You’re too late to apply.

@2college2016, How much is your family paying out-of-pocket for Albany? If the $8k is after Pell, TAP, and the ~$5500 federal student loan, it seems like a lot for a family whose income is $30k, especially when you have a twin who will also be in college. You could probably raise ~$3k by working this summer, but if your mom is expected to contribute $5k/each for you and your sister it doesn’t sound affordable.

Is your dad contributing? Are there any schools you and your sister could commute to from home?

Doesn’t sound like SU is affordable. Don’t get yourself in heaps of debt. Is SUNY Albany affordable?

Su is not affordable. Dont bankrupt your family.
If you don’t like Albany, what about trying the nacac list just published ? Quite a few good schools on there !

Thanks for all the responses everyone! I will probably end up attending U Albany, which is completely fine as it was what I was expecting. I just think that it’s kind of sad how I got into “better” schools but won’t be able to afford them. Best of luck to you all!

^^^Many many people are in your shoes. You have the chance to attend a fine 4 year college that is affordable for your family. Make the most of the opportunity!

Syracuse is a much much better school than Albany imo but Albany isn’t bad. Sorry you couldn’t afford SU. Hope you can find the silver lining in all of this.

I was in the EXACT same position as you: choosing between UAlbany and Syracuse, and I went with UAlbany. I think both universities are very good. Not putting down Syracuse at all, but when you look beyond programs in Newhouse, I am not really sure where it is that much better than UAlbany. I think the big-time sports thing makes Cuse a much more nationally recognized school, but that doesn’t mean much. Don’t put yourself in a bad financial situation to go to the “better” school. UAlbany has so much to offer. The changes they’re making on campus are incredible!

-New College of Engineering and Applied Science (soon)

  • New College of Homeland Security (soon)
  • New Massry Center of Business
  • Campus Center expansion/renovations

Just to name a few… I love UA!