Hi I am a high school senior from India with an interest in Business and Computer Science. I have been accepted to Tulane with a FULL merit scholarship while the University of Rochester gives me 41,000 dollars a year (not bad!). However, I know URoch has a better CS program. Can you guys suggest which University will be better to get a high paying job at a big tech firm afterwards, and potentially attend the best business MBA program (Harvard or Stanford)? Those are my future aspirations and I want to know which university serves me better to get to those, keeping the finances in mind.
Interesting dilemma. Rochester is the better school for what you want and in general has a higher caliber student body. Can you afford to go to Rochester with the grant they gave you? It’s going to cost you in the neighborhood of $65,000 not including travel. Do you have the additional $24k? One thing you can do is contact the admissions office and tell them you really want to attend Rochester, but you received a full ride elsewhere and are wondering if there’s any possibility of getting additional funding.
I do have the ability to pay it, but I really don’t want to be a burden on my family. Do you think the email will work?
@lilalzi , I know that you are looking for a clear answer based on deductive reasoning, and that this answer might seem like it comes with a hint of condescension, but I would be remiss if I did not tell you to go where you will fit in, stay true to who you are, and thrive academically, which is what I know you would like above all else. These are two top notch schools. They offer amazing opportunities. Tulane is obviously a culturally unique city with a character and atmosphere like nowhere else. The city also has challenges and, as I am sure you are aware, community service would be an integral part of your Tulane experience, as would the highly interdisciplinary course academic offerings and the ability to craft a unique major. Rochester has been a very strong school in many areas for a long time. It apparently has a stronger computer science department and, if computer science is your passion, you should certainly follow it to the place where you can advance your interest in it to the max. In addition, if money is the reason you would choose Tulane, I would say go to Rochester and take the loans. You definitely don’t want to wind up somewhere where you feel you had to go because of financial reasons, You would lament it and be a morale sapper to those around you.
The one thing I cannot let go is the comment that the student bodies are not of equal caliber at both schools for all intents and purposes. Rochester’s admit rate last year was a not too shabby 35%, with mid-ranges on standardized tests of 1250-1490 and 29-33. Tulane’s admit rate last year was 17% an is projected to be 13% this year, with mid-ranges on standardized tests last year of 1350-1490 and 30-33, which are also projected to rise based on a huge percentage of the class being filled by ED applicants and the need for Tulane to reduce the size of the entering class based on higher than expected yield in the past few years. (Sources: The College Board for the Class of 2022, and Tulane Admissions Office for the Class of 2023 projections.) Thus, aside from a larger standard deviation at Rochester, which may or may not say much about quality, the student bodies seem quite similar to me.
The good news is that you have excellent choices and should be very proud of what you have achieved to date. Best of luck to you!
The student body at both schools is super smart. I would say that there maybe a more of a CS culture at Rochester. The whole IBM thing. There may be more of a “i am Computer nerd and proud of it” feel to Rochester if that’s your comfort zone. But all of these observations are complete generalizations on my part. Tulane may be a bit more fun given its westher and location.
But both are great. I would go to Tulane especially with the economic benefits. No doubt for one minute. But I am not from India and I am not a cs focused student either.
I would just add as a caveat that unless you are a US citizen, you should look on being successfully sponsored for a job in the US afterwards as a bonus rather than an expectation.
Rochester was part of the “rust belt” and has lost both Kodak and Xerox labs. IBM has shrunk in upstate New York as well, although still has locations, they are all far south of Rochester and IBM seems to engage more with RPI than U of Rochester. With that, Rochester as a city is making a comeback with many new start ups in medical devices, and software thats medical related. Rochester Medical programs and hospitals are A+.
Tulane would be a very different experience in a more Ivy League type of school, so pre law majors and many humanities and social science majors. The weather is much much nicer in Louisiana as well. Culturally the food and music is more interesting in New Orleans compared to upstate NY.
Rochester is a much less culturally diverse area than New Orleans but you will have access to Toronto and other cool cities in Canada from Rochester. The Finger Lakes region of NY state has thousands of waterfalls and lots of new wineries today. The lakes are pretty but you may not get down there without a car. Its hilly and snowy and has wonderful fall colors.
If it matters, Tulane has about 11% internationals while Roch has about 26%.
The good news is that you have to excellent choices. Congratulations. Here are a few comments in no particular order.
- I would agree that UR is the more STEM oriented school and if finances were not different, I'd probably recommend you go to UR.
- However, finances are different. Looks like it is an additional $25,000 or so a year difference between the two schools -- that is $100,000 over four years. Is that something your family can comfortably afford?
- Look at the financial requirements of each school carefully. Even at Tulane with a full scholarship there will be costs of attendance that likely won't be covered -- travel, health insurance, books, student fees, spending money. Be sure both are truly affordable options.
- If you go to Tulane would you have that price differential available to you to help defray the cost of grad school or other things you might want? That is a question for your parents.
- What you do after college graduation will have a lot to do with what you accomplish in college, during internships etc.
- Have you visited both schools? Do you have a strong preference?
- Getting into a top MBA program is exceedingly competitive and the programs are quite expensive.
Does the weather matter to you?
Average high temperature in Rochester in February is 1° C and they average 84" per year of snow.
Average high temperature in New Orleans in February is 19° C.
thank you so much @NJDad68 !!
@happy1 These are all extremely good criteria. I think I will run them all individually by my parents to get a solid idea of what I should do. Thank you! @SJ2727 I guess what I was asking is, and let me rephrase here, that if I hypothetically achieve a lot in both schools, say an equal amount, and then apply for a job or an MBA, which school will give me leverage in terms of their reputation with employers and with top MBA programs.
Take the full scholarship at Tulane.
For whatever it’s worth the weather in Rochester is a brutal winter and western NY died a long time ago crippled by NYS taxes. Go south. That’s where the future is.
I suspect both schools are pretty equally respected, though sometimes one gets a location preference. U Roc would get that preference for jobs in the north. Tulane for jobs in the south. In my circles we’ve mused about why this happens and we think it’s name/alumni recognition or familiarity. That’s definitely not 100%, but it seems to happen more often than coincidence.
If diversity of student body matters, U Roc wins. If wanting warmer weather in the winter matters, Tulane wins.
I can’t personally compare much more (other than via google). I don’t know anyone who has gone to (or applied to) Tulane. They aren’t a big draw in our area ¶, but certainly are in other areas of course. I suspect someone who works in a public high school in the south could easily say the same about URoc, so again, no difference.
The money difference you mention is significant, so be sure if you choose URoc that your family can truly afford it.
With record applications for the class of ''22 (29.6% acceptance rate), the University of Rochester seems to be really popular right now.
@lilalzi How much do you know about social life on American campuses? UR is more diverse than Tulane. Is it possible at all for you to visit? The campuses are in very different parts of the country.
Also, pay attention to the posts that have already explained that sponsorship for a job is not a given and elite MBA programs are very competitive. My kid applied for several tech internships . He has an Indian name but US citizen, and the first thing they told him in interviews is that there is no visa sponsorship. He had to reiterate he was a US citizen . Browse through intership ads for CS on Linkedin . Note how many mention that they will not sponsor.
@lilalzi , apart from what @momprof9904 says, even if you are offered a job with sponsorship it is no guarantee that your H1 application would be selected - there is always a lottery because there are more applications than annual visas available, and the H1 system is also being changed to tilt in favor graduate degrees. So you should bear in mind if either of these colleges has a better reputation back home too.
The chances of being accepted into an elite MBA straight out of undergrad anywhere are tiny. It’s been a while since I looked at them, but don’t most of them still require work experience?
Neither.
For employers it will matter what you do during undergrad - grades and (esp) internships.
For MBA programs, it will matter what you do after undergrad- they will both want several years of post-undergrad work experience (+ GMAT ofc).
Tulane is requiring classes on diversity, and located in a culturally and racially diverse city.
http://www.kedm.org/post/tulane-requires-classes-racial-diversity-new-students#stream/0
Rochester as a city is 44% white, 42% black and balance Asian American and Hispanic.
New Orleans is 60% black 33% white and about 7% Hispanic and Asian.
I would not turn down Tulane based on the race of students, look at the programs you want.
To get into an MBA program you, must have some business related summer and at least a year of
business related work. I believe Tulane can get you there.
If you are very interested in technical classes, Rochester is a bit better,but I still think Tulane is
good enough to get into a masters at GaTech for instance, and Tulane grads do get into GaTech masters programs in computer science.
Don’t jump ahead to permanent visas and work sponsorship, you can work in India with a US education.
There are ways to get work visas as well. Go one step at a time.
I am a graduate of UR Simon School with an MSBA. (Similar to MBA; fewer classes but wrote a thesis). At the undergraduate level UR is not strong for business at all. I know everyone here has focused on CS, but you mentioned Business as well so I thought it important to mention that.
The economic engine in Rochester is driven primarily by Higher Education and Health Care. UR, RIT, Nazareth, St. John Fisher, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneeso, are all there. Outside of higher ed it’s a good area for startups, but those seem to quickly get bought up or moved due to the extremely high taxes. Rochester has a bit of a brain drain problem - very few from my generation stayed in the area and only move back when forced to care for aging parents.