Congratulations – he has some great choices. IMO it is all a matter of degrees…but here are some random questions I’d ask myself…
– Binghamton is a great school and a fantastic value but you are fortunate to be in a position where fit can weigh into the equation. I agree that Binghamton is a “logical” choice. But does he think he can be happy at Binghamton or is the school a turn-off to him (other than price).
–In terms of IU, is the price differential huge? Is IU affordable without hardship/loans? Is having that rah-rah spirit important to him? How hard would it be to transfer into Kelley if he became interested in doing that?
–Sounds to me like Penn State is more or less out of the running due to affordability. Is that a correct assumption? And Syracuse and USC are still unknowns.
– Would there be a major difference in terms of helping your S pay for his MBA if he went to Binghamton over IU? If so, does he understand that? (recognizing that most MBA students work for a few years before going back for a graduate degree).
@MYOS1634 , can I read between the lines? Do you think USC is worth the wait, and that Syracuse isn’t? And point taken about Kelley, and an MBA. That’s a ways in the future.
I like the point an earlier poster made about jobs. As in, jobs from IU are likely to be based in the Midwest, whereas jobs from PSU and Bing are likely to be based on the East Coast. But I guess that’s crossing a bridge too soon.
@happy1 , he has visited Bing and thinks it is a solid “ok.” He believes he can be happy almost anywhere. He makes friends easily, etc…but I am asking him to do an overnight, which is going to happen very soon. Honestly, my gut says he won’t like it, but I’m not him. And PSU is still in the running. Rah rah spirit is majorly important to him, and Bing has little of that.
@wisteria100 Penn State will be cheaper than Syracuse. Syracuse would have to give him a really huge scholarship to make it the same price.
I don’t think Syracuse is better than PSU (or IU) but USC in my opinion would be.
While there’d be more recruiting in the region where the universities are located, all three have a national reputation. You can explore their respective alumni networks.
Good news! Accepted to Syracuse! Bad news. Not a cent in merit aid, which I am a little surprised about. They did offer some FA, but it would still be $12k more expensive a year than Penn State. I honestly don’t think Syracuse is worth that much more money.
More Good News! Offered an extra $5k annual scholarship at Indiana, meaning $13k a year in scholarships. That makes Indiana second-most affordable, after Binghamton.
Now, we’d love your feedback please!!!
Econ major, with an eye on business. His very simple and honest goal is to be rich one day. (I swear he’s a super likeable kid who loves his cat and his sister.)
Penn State: Most expensive, but probably his top choice all along. Likes it a lot.
Indiana Bloomington. Nice merit awards. Liked the school a lot, and thinks he’d be happy there. Good school spirit, good sports, beautiful campus, all of which are important to him.
Binghamton: Super affordable. Good reputation, but no school spirit or sports vibe, and not-beautiful campus. BUT, he did an overnight a couple of weeks ago and had a great time. He was ready to deposit there a couple of days ago, but wants to think about things. My absolute gut feeling is that he will not be happy there in the long term.
Any thoughts about where an ambitious kid who wants to get rich should go?
Last year my daughter received a half tuition scholarship from USC but not a penny from Syracuse where she’s a double legacy. ?
I think Indiana sounds like a great fit for your son. Sounds like it meets his short term criteria-sports, spirit, etc. and will also help him achieve his long term goals.
We are in-state in Indiana, and know many super talented, super nice kids there. Something like 30-40 kids from my kids’ high school go each year. Football is not great at IU, but basketball is huge. Little 500 is a huge campus fundraising (ok, and there’s some day drinking that goes with it) event. Excellent academics, not too hard to get in and out of in terms of travel, since Indy airport is about an hour to Bloomington. Bloomington is a sweet, charming college town, small enough to be cozy. Kids blossom there. A big state school kid – anywhere (another of mine went to Wisconsin) – need to be self-advocates, people willing to go to office hours, go to the events.
@Lindagaf i would go with either Binghamton or Penn State U. (PSU) as my first two choices, then IU as third choice. Reason being because of their ability to better place kids for internships and jobs in our NYC area. I would think differently if your son got direct admit or was assured transfer to Indiana Kelly, which has a great national reputation, high stat kids, including a lot from the NYC metro area, and good alumni network in the NYC area. Syracuse Whitman business school is excellent, but not worth going to the liberal arts school there and paying the outrageously high cost of attendance (amongst the highest in the nation) in comparison to your other choices. If your son wants to be rich and have better job opportunities on the east coast, then Bing and PSU are the better choices IMO. Especially since your son visited both and felt comfortable at each place. They both have terrific career planning centers and good alumni networks for the NYC metro area. Checkout Binghamton’s NYC site visits.https://www.binghamton.edu/ccpd/students/nyc-visits.html But Binghamton doesn’t have a football team or basketball team capable of competing against the Big 10 (other than perhaps Rutgers), and it lacks the top-notch academic and recreational facilities as compared to Penn State.
If you can swing paying the extra money for Penn State I think that is the best choice. As an alum of Michigan and with my son at Ohio State, I am partial to going to Big 10 schools with great academics, modern facilities, nationally ranked football and basketball teams and fantastic college towns. And regarding football, its more than just a game—There is lots of excitement all Fall semester in watching, attending, cheering and participating in all the activities associated with the team, including pregame tailgating, parties, pep rallies with the marching band, and there is nothing like a Penn State whiteout football game at nighttime. And as parents it makes for 4 years of fun weekend trips in the Fall to get-up in college gear for the Football game and relive the euphoria of our youth vicariously through our kids.
Congrats on all the great acceptances. My feeling is that if he’s ambitious and wants to make money he will do well anywhere. Of the schools you mentioned I would pick Penn State if he can tolerate the size. We went to one of those accepted students days and what was the most impressive was their career services. I personally felt overwhelmed by it’s size, but many people thrive there. I know a very successful grad fwiw. As for Binghampton, I have had several friends graduate from there, and all went on to get graduate degrees, and all are successful. I visited these friends many moons ago, and I did not like the campus, but it’s a good school. Syracuse is very popular around here. Kids seem to love it. It’s a nice alternative to Penn State if you want the school spirit and total college experience in a smaller package. Indiana has a great midwestern vibe and great town and campus. I personally think it’s great if you go to the business or music schools. I don’t think he will graduate with the same opportunities as he would at Penn State. I believe the starting salaries coming out of Penn State will be higher. So… my vote is Penn State.
And don’t rule out USC. You just never know. My D got into a school I didn’t think was possible. She got deferred from a couple of schools that were matches.
An advantage that Penn St offers is there could be tech-related business/entrepreneurship opportunities that feed off the school’s strong engineering program. Since his goal is financial success, that could be a good angle to play.
@Lindagaf, I love Syracuse a ton, but the first step to your S being rich is to bank the price difference and attend a less-expensive school. If he was interested in one of SU’s top programs (Newhouse, Bandier, Drama, maybe Falk or Whitman) that would be one thing, but it sounds like that’s not the case.
Syracuse does not bring anything more than the others. Without a scholarship, the value just isn’t there.
Is UDenver out of contention?
Pros and Cons of IU v. PSU:
IU: + scholarship, (did he get Honors College? Sorry, I don’t remember - if he did, it’s a +, if he didn’t, it’s a -), the vibe he likes, excellent match /- less of a professional reach away from the Midwest (but the university is well-known throughout the country)
PSU: + opportunity to be in Paterno Fellows then Schreyer, better career services, opportunity to have a Smeal Business certificate to add to his degree, “school spirit” turned to 100 / - more expensive
Both will be good for outdoorsy kids.
I would discourage him from joining a fraternity (if he’s the honors college/Paterno Fellows he’d be part of their “house” already, if not there are Living Learning Communities). If he’s intent on doing so, read up everything about what the university does about hazing (not just the words, but how their policy is enforced and punished).
What are your thoughts on Bing compared to IU and PSU?
We did talk about Paterno Fellows. I will remind him of that. I suspect wherever he ends up, he is frat-bound, and if he isn’t reading up on it, I certainly will be. I have already done a lot of my own research on frats. If we don’t like what we discover about a frat, we will not being paying for it.
@Lindagaf A few follow up points—in case your son decides he wants to switch from economics to business you should check the ease of transferability to the Binghamton SOM, PSU Smeal and IU Kelley. What are the admissions requirements for transfer? I know SOM is the smallest of these three undergraduate business schools, which may make it more difficult to transfer given the lack of space and limited spots. You want to have a realistic backup major/plan. Also, if your son wants to join a social fraternity, he should look into how the fraternities differ at each of these campuses and also where they are located. Some allow rushing right away first semester freshman year but others require waiting until second semester. There are different fraternities that fit the different types of students. I can speak from personal experience with myself and my son that not all fraternities are wild and crazy party animal houses. Also, some universities like Michigan, Ohio State have stately mansion size homes in nice residential neighborhood within ten or fifteen minute walk from campus. They are great, safe, places to live and students live there during sophomore, jr and senior years. It’s a great way to socialize and cultivate friendships. In contrast, other universities have fraternity houses that are not big enough for students to live there —they are just meeting places for hanging out and social events. When we visited Binghamton we did not see any fraternities or sororities—are they within walking distance or in the city? Are students able to live in those houses? Do you need a car or bus to get there?