Hi! I’m currently trying to decide between TCU, Syracuse, and the University of Miami!
I’m from CT but I lived in San Francisco for a long time and my entire fam is from the midwest/California.
I applied business Marketing for both schools and am looking for big school spirit, football, strong alumni and school community, national recognition, greek life, and great academics in a school!
I really like TCU’s community feel, campus, and football spirit but am worried it doesn’t have enough national recognition and is too Texas. But, I do really like the people and the Fort Worth area!
I haven’t actually gotten into Syracuse yet but based on my stats I should. With SU, I really hate the cold but I thought campus was super pretty when I visited. The major I applied for is dual enrollment between their business school and Newhouse which is super cool. But a lot of girls from my area go there (very Westchester is anyone knows what that means) so not sure if I’ll vibe with the people. I like being close to NYC tho. Also I feel like there isn’t a lot of football spirit – am I wrong?
With Miami, I am worried that I won’t vibe with the types of people and won’t like the area around the school being Coral Gables (although I haven’t visited)! Do students go to football games at UMiami?
How’s greek life compared between the 3?
If anyone has any advice about which school, I’d love anything! Sorry it’s so long!
I also got into UGA and Boulder if anyone has anything on those compared!!
If it were me, would choose TCU in a heartbeat for all the reasons you mentioned. I think TCU has national recognition. Maybe it didn’t in the past but college admissions has stretched way beyond the northeast compared to yesteryear and TCU is definitely on the radar.
Syracuse is nowhere near NYC and the weather would be enough to drive me straight to Texas!
Miami - just not an area I’d ever want to spend any time.
Lucky you to have choices! Good job!
Thank you so much! Yeah, I agree in that I’m just not feeling the Miami area and like the Fort Worth area much better!
U of Georgia is very popular among the smart, cool set in Texas. Have you visited? If so how did it compare with TCU and ‘Cuse?
Also how does financial aid compare between TCU, Miami and UGa?
Depending on your major, you’re not going to be spending enough time off campus to really be affected by a surrounding major city. IMO what really matters is the campus itself. I lived on campus at University of Miami all four years and probably only got off campus a couple of times a semester due to a) having a really tough major and having to study a lot and b) not having any reason to go off campus. When we did go off campus it was usually to attend a football game (SO MUCH FUN!!!) or to go to Coconut Grove or the beach. Anyway, UM isn’t in Miami, it’s in Coral Gables and I think it is actually a wonderful location!
TCU is very strong on school spirit and the business college is well-regarded nationally. The second largest group of students at TCU comes from California - so you’ll run into lots of them on campus. Greek life is significant - but there is no pressure to get involved so it’s up to you. Fort Worth is a great small city. Plenty to do, major museums, symphony, theater - all just a short distance from campus. Even more to do if you want to branch out towards Dallas.
TCU’s football program is great and the kids enjoy going to the games. Other sports too. We went to a volleyball game in November and it was standing room only! Our daughter is a freshman this year and loves TCU.
I’ve never visited Syracuse but the winters up there are brutal. Miami’s camus in Coral Gables is nice. Totally different feel though than the other schools you mentioned.
Good luck with your decision.
Did you apply to Miami ED? RD and EA decisions haven’t been released yet. ED is binding.
My son also applied to these three schools (admitted at TCU & Miami, still waiting to hear from Syracuse). He applied to business at Miami (Econ), but AddRan (Econ) at TCU & Falk (Sports Analytics) at SU. However, my oldest went to Miami for business so we’re more familiar with Miami than the other 2 schools. I think the key thing for these schools is where do you want to end up? Each has a very strong reputation in its area/region, although in the Dallas area, TCU has to compete with UT & SMU (& from what I’ve heard, it comes in 3rd because academically UT & SMU are much stronger). I personally think Syracuse has a much stronger national recognition & alumni network across the US than the other 2 schools. Meanwhile, Miami still is trying to shake its reputation of “Suntan U” – even though academically, it is more competitive than SU or TCU by a lot.
As for campus vibe – Miami is currently under construction - -they just built beautiful new upper class dorms/residences on campus to address the housing shortage (they only guarantee housing for 1 year). Now they are tearing down the old freshman dorms & building new freshman housing (ready in a few years). This means that (a) you are going to live in a construction zone; and (b) the housing prices for the new dorms are EXPENSIVE!! Football is so much fun – but unlike TCU & SU, they play an hour from campus, so all students are bussed there en mass & it just eats up your entire day & you can’t just leave when you’ve had enough. Also, there is no school sports spirit for ANY of the other sports, even though they have a top baseball team & play in the most exciting basketball conference around. The only time my son had to wait in line for basketball was against Duke.
My son is choosing among these based on fit & price. SU for my son is a totally different program than bus/econ, so that will factor into it. Take a look at the core curriculum & start comparing & contrasting. I think it’s just going to come down to where you feel the most comfortable.