Umass or New Paltz (NEED URGENT HELP)

HI guys, I am a senior who is probably gonna have to go to college and I have been on the fence about my college decision for months now. I dont have time anymore and I really dont want to choose the wrong school. I got accepted to a lot of SUNYS , but the two school Im looking at rn are New Paltz and Umass. I like both of these schools HOWEVER I am very distraught on which one to pick.

New Paltz is only 19K per year because of scholarship, but then I have to live and work in NY for 4 years or else the scholarship becomes a loan. That’s tricky because Idk if I will be able to work when im at school I always wanted to move away from NY because i dont like it a lot. Umass is 30k, but Umass has better rankings and more people there so I figured i could meet more people and it looks like there are lots of opportunities at Umass. I have been always against college debt, but my mom said it doesnt matter and my dad only knows about New Paltz and not about my acceptance to Umass. Im hesitant to tell him because he might persist and say no.

If i choose Umass I might be able to get a fund from my high school but im not sure. I am really at a loss here. I have been madly researching and doing online tours in order to see if i can choose, but I am still on the fence. I mean, I could just go for the cheaper option but idk if ill get into umass again if i was doing my graduate degree or if i can transfer.

I would pick New Paltz. If you are intersted in doing grad school having low debt is always the best option.

Ok lets start with the simple math, here can you or your family < afford mass at 30k, and if so it may be a good idea to let dad know you got accepted to find out the answer, if the answer is yes you have a decision to make, not sure what you mean by your HS fund, I assume you got some aid from mass to make it 30k a year, unless your instate. what is your desired major, what happens if you go to grad school outside of NY , do you have to go back to ny to get a job. We need more info to help you decide. Umass is a better school than NP but that is the easy part of the problem.

@ NJdad07090 my mom said “not to worry” about umass, but I dont want her plan to fail and then im screwed with debt. I also like umass since its in between where my mom and dad live also and it looks like a place i would like. I might change my major but its astronomy rn. I might wanna do biology or physics later on though becuase astronomy iscool and all but i dont think its practical enough :(. Im against biology because there have been opeople who get a degree in biology and then they are working at starbucks I DO NOT want that.

I am a little familiar with both towns and honestly I don’t see all that much of a difference. Aren’t they about the same size? Both college towns. New York is a varied state, so while you might not like one part, surely you can find another that would be ok for the 4 years? I vote less/no debt, and SUNY New Paltz.

@cinnamon1212 Is umass is a lot larger than new paltz? I tried comparing the demographics of people there using these links.

https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/196176/state-university-of-new-york-at-new-paltz/enrollment/

https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/166629/university-of-massachusetts-amherst/enrollment/

@abiabu sorry not to be clear, I was referring to the towns, since I don’t have knowledge of the two schools themselves specifically.

@cinnamon1212 I see

@cinnamon1212 , if the 2 towns you’re talking about are New Paltz and Amherst, they coukdn’t be more different.

Amherst pop = 37,000+
New Paltz pop = 7,000

UMass enrollment = 28,000+
SUNY NP enrollment = 8,000

Most of the UMass, Amherst College, and Hampshire College undergrads are not residents of the town, effectively raising the actual population when schools old is in session to 65,000 vs New Paltz with college students added = 15,000.

UMass is part of a 5 college consortium that provides regular free transportation between all 5 campuses, which gives UMass students easy access to nearby Northampton which combines with Amherst to be the 2nd biggest booking location in New England. Great music scene, lots of shopping, great resturants. The immediate Amherst/Northampton area has a population over 100,000 and is part of the Springfield metro area with a population of 700,000.

Graduate students at UMass bring an international population to Amherst, many of them with families. A friend who teaches in the Amherst school’s told me that over 50 languages are spoken by students in the Amherst schools.

In what state did you attend high school?

I guess I don’t think they “couldn’t be more different”. I have spent time walking around both towns and felt that the vibe was actually very similar. Ymmv.

The more important factor, though, to me is the financial aspect.

I went to high school in NY, but the Umass financial aid says i qualify for in state tuition, HOWEVER i also checked how much in state tuition is and people said it was like 17k and that confused me

Honestly go to NP. It’s low key better than Umass do to the fact that NP is mostly focused on undergrad students as where Umass is a research university. Your family must do well if new paltz is going to be 19 a year. For me it would be only 8,000 I used the NPC. Plus new paltz has really strong programs all around. What do you want to major in? New paltz has one of the best poly sci programs in the country if that’s what your into. Good engineering good business and good la. If your doing physics or bio new paltz has good programs in both especially in bio with the Suny upstate med school agreement.

UMass tuition and fees is about $17k. Room and board, books, etc., gets it up to $30k. It sounds like you are full pay in-state. Does that sound right to you?

@me29034 I just checked and the 17k was right but then htey are charging 14k for food and housing.

I asked because of your statement that you would have to live and work in NY. I’ve read the requirements to be considered a state resident and know they say that you must be in residence for 12 months prior. So the literal interpretation is exactly what you say.

However, if you have had a permanent residence in NY state, maintain a home address, came to a SUNY out of a NY high school, and can provide the necessary documents (NY state driver’s license, NY bank account, etc), I can’t imagine that they’d question where you spend your time. A family could have a second home at a lake or beach where they live in the summer. Does that mean you can’t go as you always have normally? When he was in college, my son had a summer job one year in Yellowstone (Wyoming). It didn’t affect his state resident status.

I don’t live in NY, so I’m no expert on this subject, but I would encourage you to see just how restrictive this is. It’s not like you’re an out of stater trying to establish residence. You already have it. How could they possibly enforce this?

Best of luck.

Yes, if you visited once and walked around town a little bit, I can see how you could get that impression - especially if it was summer and no students were around. Amherst can feel pretty sleepy in summer.

I know both areas very well and I can assure you that they are very different. Northampton & Amherst function in many ways as one metro area. I provided you with a number of facts about the 2 places to go beyond just an impression.

If OP has to live and work in NY after graduation from New Paltz then one of the state grants is in their financial aid package. The Excelsior grant, for example, covers ~$5-7k tuition per year. Students have to live and work in NY for a specific number of years after graduation (something like 1 year for each year of the grant) or it turns into a loan.

OP, how much can your parents pay without borrowing?

The scholarship is an Excelsior scholarship and in an email my counselor attached a website link, but it doesnt even work. I searched up the requirements for he scholarship and it didn’t say much about how restrictive it was.

is 30k too much for umass or is it worth it because a lot of people like it, has good food and the facilities look rlly large.