<p>Hi guys,
So I heard back from most of the colleges I applied to. I want to study chemical engineering and maybe other science/ math related majors! I need help deciding which one I should pick. I'm asking here because maybe some of you can give me a list of pros and cons of each school and what school is known for what. I would like to hear from current students or alumni/ adults that know ANYTHING about these schools. I haven't visited but I will when I narrow my choices down a little more. </p>
<p>Here is the list of colleges i'm considering to pick from.
1. Rochester Institute of Technology. (haven't seen my FA package yet but i'm guessing it will be great)
2. Clarkson University (haven't seen my FA package yet but i'm guessing it will be great)
3. Syracuse University (got an excellent FA package/ pretty much got a full ride?).
4. New York University (Poly) (very generous FA package as well)</p>
<p>Still waiting for Cornell University (definitely going there if I get in?).</p>
<p>Net price for each school after deducting grants (not loans) from list price (for those which you have not received the FA offers, what do their net price calculators say?)? How much debt would each require?</p>
<p>In any case, wait until you have all FA offers before making your final decision.</p>
<p>Note that RIT’s chemical engineering degree program is new and is not yet ABET accredited. You may want to find out how far along it is on the path to ABET accreditation which it is seeking.</p>
<p>Yeah I called RIT and they said that it will be ABET accredited before I graduate (2017). It started in 2009.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Syracuse gave me a total of 56,445.00 in aid (49K in total grants, scholarship & work study and rest is federal loans). The cost of attendance is estimated to be
58,250.00 which includes books, fees, transportation, personal expenses and student health fee</p></li>
<li><p>NYU (poly) gave me a total of 43K in aid (36,550 in grants, scholarships and workstudy. remaining are federal loans) The COA for me is around 41,500 since i’ll be commuting and living with my parents.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>RIT and Clarkson told me they will provide me with good FA package so i’m hoping it’s similiar to what I got from NYU and Syracuse. But NPC for RIT and Clarkson are abit off since it doesn’t include other grants I might be eligible for.</p>
<p>CONS for Clarkson - LOCATION! Unless you like being **way **out in the country. We visited with my son and while he liked the school’s programs and philosophy, the location was a deal-breaker for him. Good quality, small, STEM-centric school.
Syracuse is very different. Much bigger urban univ. We also visited there and liked the campus better than we expected.
RIT - also different. Mostly STEM students so more of a nerdy vibe than Syracuse. Neither urban or rural, in a suburb of Rochester.
Not familiar with NYU.
Sorry, Can’t give you an opinion on academics since all 3 we visited got crossed off the list before applying so we didn’t analyze the programs any further. I’m just saying that at least these three are VERY different so check the “fit”.</p>
<p>For Syracuse, how much in grants, how much in work study? It looks like they are asking you to take $7,000 in loans, which seems to be on the high side.</p>
<p>Same question for PINYU. But your COA is probably greater than $41,000, since you will have commuting and miscellaneous costs, plus eat your parents’ food in addition to tuition and fees.</p>
<p>Can your parents contribute the remainder beyond the grant aid and your student contribution (student loans + work study earnings)?</p>
<p>It will help you sort out the different types of aid so that you can better compare the aid packages.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to find out the details about the aid. For example, do you need to maintain a certain GPA to keep any scholarships? If so, what happens when you drop below that GPA? Do you have a semester to pull your grades back up, or is the money gone forever?</p>
<p>Thanks Happymomof1 for that site! I’m going to use it and see what happens. </p>
<p>@ucbalumnus: yeah PINYU’s COA that I mentioned is not accurate since I only counted tuition and fees. Haven’t count transportation or anything else. MY EFC is 0. I would need to work in the summer to pay for extra costs. </p>
<p>My Syracuse FA package is this:</p>
<p>Syracuse University Grant- 26,100.00
Chancellor’s Scholarship- 8,000.00
State Grant- 5,000.00
Federal Work Study-3,200.00
Federal Grant- 6,645.00
Remaining are federal loans (direct and perkins)- 7,500.00
Aid Year Totals- 56,445.00</p>
<p>Syracuse COA: </p>
<p>Activity/Co-Curricular Fee- 410.00
Books-1,146.00
Board- 6,624.00
Communication Fee/Allowance- 400.00
Student Health Fee- 680.00 (necessary? I have my own health insurance)
Personal Expenses- 960.00
Program Fee- 800.00
Room- 6,350.00
Supplies- 212.00
Transportation- 618.00
Tuition- 38,970.00
Total : 58,250.00</p>
<p>Yes I must maintain a 2.75 in order to renew my scholarship award.</p>
<p>Looks like your Syracuse net price is $12,505 from an assumed combination of loans ($7,500), work study ($3,200), and what you must come up with from your own work or parents’ contribution not covered by any aid program ($1,805).</p>
<p>You may want to check whether you can frugalize some of the expenses:
Books: see if they are cheaper on-line than at the campus book store (even with quick shipping)
Student health fee: see if your other insurance coverage is sufficient and can waive this fee
Personal expenses: live frugally
Transportation: figure out the cheapest way from NYC to Syracuse
Room, board: check which options make the most sense for you</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice! I don’t understand much about FA packages since no one around me can help me look this though except on CC. Is it possible for this thread to move to the FA and scholarship forum? I might as well repost on the engineering major forum and see which school would be better for engineering? or not…</p>
<p>I guess my parents can help me provide a bit of money but for the most part I will need to work to pay for my part. Is 7500 in federal loans a lot of money? Am I guaranteed in work study since I got work study? I think the insurance I have can work anywhere in my state as long the doctor accepts my insurance.
Also, what is Communication Fee/Allowance?</p>
<p>Work study is your on campus job, use that for spending money and personal expenses.
Work study does not reduce your COA. </p>
<p>Clarkson sounds pretty good at 5k per year!
I grew up about 60 miles from there, one of my children went to St Lawrence in Canton.
I am an alum of Syracuse University.</p>
<p>Well I mean I don’t get how this FA thing works… How do I know what’s affordable for me? I have a 0 EFC. so… i should pick something that will cover all my cost? How do I interpret those loans? My parents will not cosign for the plus loans…</p>
<p>Do an EXCEL spreadsheet, add up all billable costs as the COA. Do not include travel, books, personal expenses.</p>
<p>Include only direct costs that will appear on your bill from the college.</p>
<p>Next deduct the grant money.</p>
<p>List each loan and deduct those from the COA. </p>
<p>List that total as net cost or EFC from family.</p>
<p>You can also total “gift aid” and “loans” separately. This is how much they are giving me in gift aid, money that does not need to be repaid. This is how much they want me to borrow.</p>
<p>PLUS loans are not meeting your need. Any school that includes a PLUS loan in a FA package is engaging in a financial slight of hand. They expect your parents to borrow this! Do not list PLUS loans in your EXCEL spreadsheet. </p>
<p>Do this spreadsheet and then see where you stand. Hope this helps! :)</p>
<p>Add up the financial aid and scholarship grants (not loans).</p>
<p>Subtract this total from the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>You then have the net price. This needs to be less than your AFC + ASC. AFC = actual family contribution (what they can actually contribute, which may or may not be the same as your EFC). ASC = actual student contribution, which is loans plus your savings from work.</p>
<p>A realistic ASC is probably no more than about $8,500 = $5,500 Stafford loan + $3,000 work earnings.</p>
<p>lilmelonred: congrats on getting some solid scholarship offers. I’ve seen you worrying on this board about whether college could be affordable for you, and those offers should make college workable for you.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid to negotiate with the financial aid office at your top choice. Show them your best offer, or all of your offers, tell them you want to go to their school, and see if they will do better. The worst thing they can do is say no.</p>
<p>By the way, regarding a first choice, you don’t have to have one. All of those schools are well-respected, have good engineering departments and you will get a good job coming out of any one of them if you do well (there is a shortage of engineers now, and it is projected to only get worse).</p>
<p>Pick the school that fits you the best - don’t worry about rankings - and the one that you can afford.</p>
I’m going to use it and see what happens. </p>