Which University to choose? My son loved Michigan and Ann Arbor when we visited, but we are OOS in NY and cost is a big concern. Also, he wants to pursue undergraduate business but he was recently denied pre-admit to the Ross School of Business, but accepted direct admit to Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business and Binghamton’s School of Management. Tuition and room and board per year at each is as follows: Michigan ($53,000, no merit scholarship); Ohio State (OSU) ($25,000, with merit scholarships) and Binghamton ($22,000, no merit scholarship). We will not qualify for any need-based aid. Michigan is the most highly ranked of these 3 schools, but is Michigan worth paying approx. $112,000 more over 4 years than going to OSU or Binghamton? If Michigan is not an option, then my son prefers OSU Fisher College of Business. Is OSU worth paying approximately $12,000 more (plus airfare) over 4 years than Binghamton? I would need to take large amounts of loans to afford Michigan, but much less in loans for OSU or Binghamton. What do you think of the cost differences and relative merits of attending each of these schools?
Do not take the loans. UMich is a fine school but so are the others, and IMO $100K+ in loans is crazy. The difference in cost between OSU and Bing can be solved by a student loan or work over the summer. Has your S visited Bing to be able to compare the schools?
@"Erin’s Dad" Yes he visited Binghamton first and liked the campus, the students, the school program. But then he visited Michigan and Ohio State and he liked those two schools even more.
If you have to take out loans to cover the full cost of his education, then you should encourage him to attend Binghampton. You/he is/are going to have a big payment each month upon graduation as it is without adding another $12,000.00 to the loan. If your son decides to make extra money, then of course that can pay down the bill at Binghampton. Prestige-wise, and that is a consideration for a business degree, only Michigan would make a difference. I wouldn’t pay the premium for OSU if money were very tight.
Are the merit scholarships to tOSU guaranteed for all years?
OSU is a school on the rise. Students have a great time there and get a great education as well. I would think its a great choice.
How much in loans are we talking about?
I would tend to think Fisher is worth the $3,000 difference with Bing, but if you are taking loans to pay the $22k and the 3k will be added to other loans, then it’s not reasonable in my opinion.
@UCBChemEGrad The merit scholarship–the National Buckeye for OOS students, is a generous $12000 scholarship offered to students who meet specific class rank and SAT/ACT scores and makes an otherwise unaffordable OOS school more within reach! Its guaranteed for four consecutive years as long as a 2.5 gpa is met. I think my son should have no difficulty satisfying that. The additional scholarship of $3000 requires that a 3.2 gpa be maintained. I think my son should be able to meet that as well.
@MYOS1634 If you add misc. $3,000 in expenses for books, travel costs and personal expenses to tuition and room & board, we are talking approx. $25,000 in loans (total all 4 years) for Binghamton, $37,000 in loans for Ohio State and $145,000 in loans for Michigan. My son loved Michigan and Ann Arbor, but the amount of debt to assume for being OOS makes it unrealistic. I realize that. But he really liked Ohio State and the Fisher College of Business program. And OSU, being in the Big 10 conference, offers more of the full college experience --similar to Michigan, than Binghamton or any of the SUNY schools. He liked OSU’s campus, school spirit, the ability to go to Big 10 football and basketball games, modern facilities, including one of the largest recreational facilities for students (the R-PAC) in the country. He also liked the college town atmosphere along North High Street, with the benefits of the city of Columbus only a mile or two down the road from campus. Binghamton has no football team, and the basketball team is not worth watching. It is an enclosed campus off of a highway, and you need a car or bus to get out of the grounds. Unfortunately, aside from academics, it does not seem to compare. You can see where I am leaning, i just need that push to spend a bit more to give him this full college experience he wants.He worked real hard in high school to achieve great results, so I feel he deserves this chance even if it amounts to taking on more debt.
Are those loans in addition to work study earnings and the federal loans that your child would take on, or does it take everything into account (your loan + your child’s). It seems very high for an in-state school.
Tell him that if he wants tOSu, he needs to take on a job NOW, and keep working until summer, when he’ll work full-time and set every penny aside for his education; that he’ll use his work study or have 10hours of work (job) a week to help pay for his books and other expenses.
If he starts now, he should be able to earn $4,000 by the time college starts, thus making tOSu equal in cost to Bing, without forcing you to sacrifice so much.
@MYOS1634 Thanks for your feedback. The loans take everything into account (it would my parent plus loans and/or the federal loans my son can take). Binghamton cost $25,000 per year (for tuition/room&bd plus books, travel, personal expenses) or $100,000 over 4 years. They built new dorms and passed on the cost to students, so the cost for room & board is about $14,000. Several other state schools–Penn State, UPitt, Illinois/Urbana cost even more for in-state residents. My son works and would contribute earnings to meet additional costs.
I’ve only been to Ohio State a couple of times and it was a while ago so I can’t compare it as well but Michigan I know quite well. It is a wonderful university in a wonderful location. Illinois/Urbana is an amazing campus too. If you are used to SUNYs and were taken to one of those campuses without knowing it was a state university you’d never guess. And most NYers would be surprised by the difference between the SUNYs and the flag ships. There is such a disconnect between those campuses and SUNY but they are expensive for OOS. It comes down to what you want to pay for, what is important to you and how much financial latitude you have.
If you could swing it, I’d recommend in favor of the schools your son seemed to like. Yes, in comparison to OSU (the vague recollections I have), Binghamton looks a little like a large or extended NY middle school. A bunch of squat buildings from the 70s with some newer buildings isolated from any town and off a highway with no quaint cafes or nice student centered areas around it. It is a cold utilitarian campus.
Ohio State has many opportunities for jobs and internships for students (many walkable). There are many people driving back to upstate NY, so catching a ride for breaks won’t be an issue. I’m a fan of Binghamton, but if he likes OSU let him go there. You’ll have a great time at games and parent events, too.
If you and he can swing it without creating an untenable loan burden, I would recommend Ohio State over Binghamton. In my experience in the business world (25+ years) OSU is much better known.
My wife and I are Michigan business school grads. Go to Ohio State Fisher. Since no pre-admit to Ross, there are no guarantees of getting in the 2nd year. Then what? We would not let our D apply to Ross because she would not be a pre-admit. Too risky. The decision for my D came down to Fisher/OSU and Kelley/IU. She was a direct admit to both. She really liked both schools and so did we. She chose IU, but it was a hard call. Fisher has a lot to offer. I told her if she chose OSU we would be very happy, but we would not route for the OSU football team!. The Big 10 is the way to go.
I think that if he really likes the OSU and the loans are your total for 4 years all included, then I’d let him go to tOSU.