University of Arizona and Arizona State University: battle of the Grand Canyon State

College Search & Selection
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trying to round out my daughter’s list with some safeties. She is a pretty high stat kid (4.0 UW GPA, 1530 SAT). From NJ- yes, I know Rutgers is great, but she wants to leave the state and specifically wants warm weather.

So which of these 2 Arizona flagships is the better choice, taking into account academic rep, the campus, the location, the student life…?

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Both are great schools. Coming from NJ, flying into PHX will be your route. ASU is only minutes away from PHX, whereas UA is about 2 hours away.

ASU also has several specialty colleges (Business, Journalism) which might be worth thinking about.

With her stats she might get the full tuition scholarship. This would mean that the costs for both schools would be about the same.

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Thanks. That transportation info is very useful and a big factor, IMO. But does ASU have multiple campuses that might mean she has to do some cummutomg once she is there?

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I assume she is a HS junior. Can you share a little more about her? What is she interested in studying? What is she looking for socially and academically? What are you looking for financially?

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ASU cut max OOS merit to $15,500 for this year’s incoming class. Also, the head of Barrett Honors College retiring after being the long term architect of that successful program.

If truly 4.0 unweighted, University of Arizona will give you OOS free tuition, and the newly named W A Franke Honors College has new buildings and just got a boost through $25 million cash infusion. My daughter seriously considered before deciding to stay in state (chose TAMU engineering honors).

Basically, for an AZ play, the OOS momentum has shifted from ASU To UA.

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Yes U of A. Flying into Tucson is easy. A quick Uber ride to campus. A more traditional campus I think, a little cooler weather and most importantly with a 4.0 unweighted you get $35k off the $38k tuition. At least as of now. Tucson is smaller and nicer.

The Honors dorm is epic with a dining hall on the bottom and gym adjacent.

ASU is a fine school. It will be more expensive. They are leaders in supply chain and journalism. It’s where I got my MBA. It’s very big. I don’t think you’d be multi campus in most cases. It’s Barrett Honors College, along with U of SC, are top rated.

Just throwing out more names. Alabama will be dirt cheap as would Ole Miss, Miss State ahd UAH for mid size.

Others that would discount decently would be Miami of Ohio, U of SC, and College of Charleston if you became a fellow could be cheap too….just to give you other options. Florida Staye would be cheap too with the likely out of state waiver.

Just to give you other ideas for financial largesse.

Good luck.

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Thanks. That’s really helpful. Seems like U of Arizona is the better fit for her.

Miami of Ohio and U of S Carolina I don’t think will be on her list for other reasons. College of Charleston is one we need to examine though.

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I live in the PHX area, used to live in Tucson. Here are my opinions, for the 2 cents they’re worth (haha!):

ASU:

  • HUGE total undergrad enrollment across all campuses - in the >60,000 range
  • pay attention to majors interested & what campus those are offered in.
  • the Polytechnic campus is in Mesa, close to the Mesa airport. That campus is boring & deserted on weekends, nothing to do nearby unless you have a car.
  • Barrett honors college is a great program, ~6000 total undergrad enrollment.
  • probably ~15-20 min car ride from PHX airport to Tempe main campus
  • has traditional dining halls & other food options, too
  • in major metro area, easy employment opportunities for internships & such due to proximity. Many companies in the area hire from ASU.

UofA:

  • all in 1 campus, not 4-5
  • slightly cooler weather all year round. In summer (which is May-Oct here), it’s often about 4-5 degrees cooler in Tucson. Tucson area will get snow a couple of days a year, but it’s often on outskirts of town & only lasts part of a day
  • no traditional dining halls
  • brand new honors college dorms which opened 1-2 yr ago.
  • probably equal in terms of school spirit w/ASU. Lots of rivalry between the 2 schools
  • has an MIS program that’s in the top 5 nationwide.
  • smaller airport than PHX, but all major airlines fly there & it’s ~15-20 min car ride from the airport to campus. So instead of maybe a direct flight to PHX, you’d probably be looking at changing planes in order to get to Tucson.
  • not nearly as many employment opportunities in Tucson post-graduation, so after graduation, I would recommend to plan on living elsewhere. I say this after having lived there for 13 years. It’s a beautiful place. But a lot harder to find work in certain fields there. Employers in PHX area recruit from UofA all the time, though.
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ASU’s main Tempe campus is the one that traditional college students mostly attend. The other campuses appear to be more oriented toward non-traditional students (Downtown, Polytechnic, West) or those in a distant underserved region (Lake Havasu).

Note that the Phoenix metro area (where ASU is) includes most of the state population. Still, about 3/4 of ASU Tempe frosh lived on campus before COVID-19 (Phoenix metro area is quite large, so some parts may be a fairly long commute from the campus). Tucson (where UA is) is the second largest metro area in the state.

When selecting a major, pay attention to which campus it is hosted at. Some majors can be done at more than one of the campuses.