I was accepted at both institutions as an international student and I have some difficulty deciding where to go. I heard that both schools have strong academic reputations. Can you please help me decide where to go for computer science?
Total Cost for Wooster: around $20000 per year
Total Cost for Truman: around $15000 per year
Thank you.
You may want to compare upper level CS course offerings and how frequently each is offered.
https://www.wooster.edu/academics/areas/computer-science/courses/
https://www.wooster.edu/academics/registrar/courses/
http://catalog.truman.edu/content.php?filter%5B27%5D=CS&filter%5B29%5D=&filter%5Bcourse_type%5D=-1&filter%5Bkeyword%5D=&filter%5B32%5D=1&filter%5Bcpage%5D=1&cur_cat_oid=14&expand=&navoid=681&search_database=Filter#acalog_template_course_filter
https://shale.truman.edu/admin/bwckschd.p_disp_dyn_sched
Which of these can you and your family afford without taking on any debt other than the federal student loans?
Truman will be more affordable. We will have to pay $5000 more per year in Wooster.
Is there any significant difference in academic strength between these two institutions? Wooster is a top liberal arts school. Truman is also known for its rigorous academic reputation.
Should we pay $5000 more for Wooster?
In the grand scheme of things, a 5K difference doesn’t seem very large, but is it for your family or are you wondering whether the added 5K are “worth it”?
Have you been put in touch with a CS major and/or a student from your country? If not, can you contact both schools and ask?
I am not sure that paying 5K to Wooster will give more opportunities to me. Truman is also well known for its value. But, if there will be a significant advantage in Wooster, I will go there. Anyway, thank you for your suggestion.
Wooster alum here, is great place and the small size is great as you get to know professors very well, to me its a small vs. larger school argument, Woo is a special place.
Thank you for your comment. Is Truman State also well known in Midwest?
Yes it is.
Both have an excellent reputation academically.
The main difference is between a larger, public university (with more resources but more students to use them) and a smaller, private university (with more resources per student).
So Wooster is really good? I asking because my son 1 March applied to Wooster as backup option and already admitted with 45000$ scholarship. At first sight that good but as I know some colleges declaring huge virtual prices and then offering huge virtual scholarships to anybody who agree to enter.
I haven’t any idea about Wooster reputation and value. How it is in comparison with Top 20?
Alezzz, I heard Wooster is very academically rigorous. I am inclined towards Truman because I can move off-campus after freshman year and save money. In Wooster, I have to live all four years on campus, which is expensive. If the costs are the same, my only option will be Wooster.
Wooster tends to attract academic students, since they will all conduct a year long research project senior year. This takes rigor, creativity, and fortitude.
I lived in MO for six years. Truman is a very good school, a rare example of a public liberal arts college. There are others (St. Mary’s of Maryland, U of MN-Morris, UNC-Asheville). It’s cheap but provides much of the same academic rigor of private LACs. And can I tell you that MO doesn’t really have any well-regarded private LACs? Truman is a bit larger than a typical private LAC, but it’s reputation is that it attracts very bright students and offers them a challenging curriculum.
The OP asks if Truman is well-known in the midwest. The answer is no, but that’s okay! It’s known in MO. Outside MO, sadly, most have never heard of it, and if they were to guess, they’d think that it is a typical non-flagship public uni. Good news, though. The average person has never heard of Wooster either! The average person has never heard of most LACs, even the so-called “elite” ones. I attended a CTCL school in the midwest, so, yeah, I know all about people not knowing the name of one’s school.
Who cares? You go to the school that suits your needs and hit the ground running. If the OP has plans for graduate or professional school, Truman will be a fine choice, as its rigor will prepare him/her for post-graduate education. So will Wooster of course.
Thank you all for your suggestions.