Ok my son has gotten Acceted to Binghamton, Stony Brook, ROwan University and now we are waiting on Stevens Institute of Technology.
Does anyone have any suggestions on which is the best choice, Granted Stevens is 3 times the price of the others and assuming he gets accepted there.
Its not my decision, he will be making it. Im just looking for info
Can you afford all of them?
to add to the info, he was offered a full scholarship at LIU Post, 1/2 at Rowan, a small one toStonyBrook and nothing to Binghamton. He was hoping to get into the honors program at Stonybrook, but fell short. So, he was favoring Stonybrook but now doesn’t know. I’d appreciate any input on any experiences; good or bad with any of the schools. Which is a better fit for a smart kid that wants engineering and possibly double major in Business. I hope hes on here too. I hear nothing but good things about the community here at college confidential
What are the cost of attendances for each? Which types of engineering is he interested and do all of the choices offer what he is interested in?
If it were me, I would maybe lean toward Rowan. But my kids would probably roll their eyes and choose something else!
afford? i can pay for most, not stevens though. But, I always said if one of my kids got into an IVY league school we would do whatever it took.
I dont know if rowan Grads have job offers etc?
Out of those 4, I would stick with StonyBrook - great school - has what he wants and affordable.
I’ve heard very good things about Stony Brook’s engineering. D15 applied there but ended up at another school. We are OOS, but several kids from her HS have been very happy there.
Stevens boasts of great job offers at good salaries upon graduation. Question is, is that available at the other schools as well?
Stevens does well in employment surveys because most of its graduates are engineering or CS majors. But many other schools do as well when just looking at engineering or CS majors, even if the entire school does worse due to having lots of biology majors, for example.
In any case, if you cannot afford Stevens, there is no way for him to go there.
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can pay for most, not stevens though
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???
Then how will it be your son’s choice??? If you can’t afford Stevens, but he picks Stevens, how will the bills get paid?
But, I always said if one of my kids got into an IVY league school we would do whatever it took.
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Lol…yeah, a lot of people say stuff like that…but money doesn’t grow on trees, so often a reality check dooms that belief.
I dont know if rowan Grads have job offers etc?
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If an accredited eng’g dept was graduating students who weren’t getting jobs, do you think it would still exist? do you think parents would continue to send their kids there?
How much can you pay each year?
Sounds like one of the SUNYs or Rowan will be best. Maybe revisit each to decide.
Stevens sounds like it should be off the list since it’s unaffordable.
You do realize that companies don’t pay more based on the name of a school. A company would pay a Rowan eng’g grad the SAME salary as a Stevens grad, a Bing grad, or a Stony grad.
No matter where a student goes, they are going to have to put in effort in classes and to get jobs.
A neighbor recently went to a private school for engineering and dropped out after the first semester because of fit for both the school and engineering itself. Now is going to a community college while figuring out the next steps. The private school was a great one that boasted of its 90 something percent after graduation job placement. Didn’t help this kid. And I met a parent of a kid who graduated from there not too long ago who was one of the less than 10% who hadn’t yet found a job in his field. He also didn’t seem to be taking much initiative to find one, continuing with an unpaid internship and waiting for the company he was with to finally offer him a paid job.
My point is that if they have the degree and a decent GPA, no matter where they go they still need to put some effort in to getting a job.
didnt say Stevens was unaffordable. I would refi or take a loan to help my son. It is his choice.
Same thing happened at Bentley University with my older guy. Was it affordable? No, but we make it happen .
I wouldnt want a golden opportunity to be lost over being short sighted due to $$. ROI is extremely important
@Frank L but where is the higher ROI going to come from if there is essentially no salary bump for Stevens?
Rowan engineering has a great reputation- no shortage of job offers! A friend’s husband is an SVP for an engineering company and it’s one of his annual recruiting stops. The program would definitely give the best ROI, especially if he’s getting money to attend.
But what others say is also true - a kid with a great personality and motivation and work ethic will do well wherever they go!
I’d say the best fit is wherever he feels he can best succeed. And that means socially as well as scholastically. Visualizing is the first step to success.
Another consideration is where does he plan to live after college? Entry level jobs are generally in the same region as the college. If he likes the college but doesn’t like the area it’s in, odds go down. If he goes to Binghamton but doesn’t like western NY or NE Pa, will he get quick ROI? Maybe, maybe not. During the summer, is he more likely to come home or continue to live/work near the college?
Socially, does he prefer to stick with people like himself, people who are different, or a mix? Is he more of a frat person, a floater, or a loner?
How important is class size to him? How important is direct access to a professor? Can he understand what they are saying and vice versa? Are they “plugged in”? How is the food?
Forget annual costs for a second. Consider longer term. Will he be able to get the classes he wants and succeed with them in four years, or will a fifth or sixth year be necessary?
As far as entry-level pay, I’ve found as a 25+ year recruiter that entry-level jobs pay the same, only the numbers on the checks are different. By that I mean that, if you’re line-charting, the salary line and the cost-of-housing lines run parallel. If you’re living in South Jersey (which is median to low with housing costs across the country), the wages will be less than the SF/San Jose Bay area (which is perennial #1 in housing & wages). Boston, NYC are also perennial top 5. Generally, upon graduation and depending on engineering discipline, wages will be lower in SJ and the Philly area and the western NY area, and higher in the NYC/LI area. But we’re talking about low $20s/hour vs. high $20s/hour.
Frankly, the dual-major thing scares me. Does he want to be an engineer because he doesn’t know what else he would do, or is it because he’s smart enough that people mentioned it to him because of the career options and higher wages? I’ve found that engineering professors have a tendency to flush the latter out - usually 2nd semester sophomore year. And I do not see how someone can major in engineering and business at the same time; as college progresses, engineering labs/co-ops/internships/projects take a lot of time and energy. Maybe it’s possible, but at what cost? A withdrawal from the “college experience”? In most engineering schools, the curricular track is pretty set from the jump - general ed is incorporated with the engineering classes and there are fewer electives outside of the major.
My personal experience: Son graduated HS in 2009, the height of the economic downturn. I’m self-employed and investments weren’t worth what I had put into them. Didn’t say anything, but I’m sure he felt the gloom as it affected everyone he knew. Top 3-4 of his class of 500 - 3 classmates went to Harvard, 4th to Bucknell. Son wanted to be a civil engineer and was also a soccer player. Offered opportunities at Cornell, Binghamton, and Rowan for both. Also considered Penn State and Virginia Tech for school only. Didn’t like “city” schools and small schools (“I don’t want to go to a place smaller than my HS”). More of a club person/floater than a frat person. Definitely not a loner or a “techy nerd”; enjoys time with the nerds but also the “commoners” and jocks. Early, Rowan was at the bottom of his finalist list. Dad had always told his kids that he doesn’t pay for college, weddings, or bail bonds (earning dirty looks from other parents, especially Moms) - since he’d seen far too many results from parents who had. One of the beauties of high level club soccer is that it gives the opportunity to see many different areas and college campuses, and we did.
Anyway, we go to Rowan, last on his list. Familiar with it, as it was a pass-through to one of his youth soccer teams and he and my daughter had competed there. We went mid-week when it was bustling, and he had a chance to talk to students and professors, and observe a class. He sees a kid outside a lab and starts talking to him. Turns out, he’s a junior Civil Eng major and the soccer goalie. So, they start talking about the balancing act. An overhearing professor walks up, looks my kid dead-in-the-eye, and asks, “Do you want to be an Engineer or a Soccer Player?” I started laughing and my kid blushed. An impression was made.
My son chose Rowan. He played club soccer rather than varsity, which allowed him to get out in four years ('13), get all the classes he wanted, and get involved with other clubs/activities. Got four years of tuition and housing at the top of the grid, provided that he keep his GPA over 3 (he did). Also did some soccer refereeing which provided extra money. Summer of junior year, he worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and a NC/TX contracting firm on the AC beach replenishment project, just before Hurricane Sandy. Had a job lined up before graduation with a North Jersey firm. He has relocated to MD because he met a girl (recently married). His employers have brought him along well, and he’s on-track to get his PE license within the next year. Doing 50% design work (a requirement for the PE) but also remediations, site inspections, road construction, forensic work (reconstructing car accidents). No college debt. He’s worked on projects with engineering grads from many places (including some on his list) and doesn’t feel he has ever taken a back-seat to any of them and, more often, has felt better prepared than many. Plays in an adult soccer league on weekends. Loves his life. What every parent wishes for.
I can tell you that 100% of the Rowan College of Engineering class of 2013 either got a job in their chosen field or attended grad school (including the goalie, who now is also an assistant coach). I’m assuming that is near par, since I haven’t heard or seen anything to the contrary. Word has gotten around.
I’m familiar with the schools on your finalist list and do not see what Binghamton and Stony Brook offer on paper that’s better than Rowan, scholastically or financially. Stevens is much smaller, more expensive, but it’s known to incorporate business/entrepreneurship into their curriculum. Again, it comes down to where your son sees/feels himself succeeding scholastically and socially and after college. He’s gotta wanna be there. Still, given just two options, a Helicopter Parent > a Boomerang Kid (especially when parents are co-signers to binding legal documents).
Good luck!
Wow, thank you for the honest assessment on Rowan. We just got back from Stevens and I am still suffering from the sticker shock. We are going to admitted students day at Rowan on Saturday and Stony Brook on Sunday.
I care about one thing; the end result. Will he be able to find a job with a degree from his chosen school. I know you get what you pay for, but its hard to swallow over 60K at Stevens. He did receive a small scholarship award, but not nearly as generous as what other schools offered him proportionately speaking.
I only heard of Rowan through a friend and did not know if they have the same retention rate, job offers etc. Your honest comments were very helpful and eases my mind, if he chooses Rowan. Nick ( my son ) really likes the Entrepreneurial Engineering curriculum offered at Rowan and was just notified that he was accepted into their Honors Program.
Being we just saw Stevens, they are also on the top of his list. I see he is losing interest in Binghamton and Stony Brook.
Rowan or Stevens may be where he winds up. But i know one thing, its his choice not mine. i’m just trying to provide him the information he needs to make an informed decision.
Thanks Again
That whole where does he want to live thing is overblown. My Long Island son graduated Alabama engineering, and had job offers all over the country. OP’s kid can go to any of his accepted schools and have the same opportunities.
Well the good news is my son has eliminated a few schools. He is now deciding between Rowan University or Stevens Institute of Technology. One school affordable, very affordable. The other very expensive. Money is NOT our sole criteria for making this decision. Luckily we have some resources to make it happen regardless of the school he chooses.
However, after visiting both schools it seems Stevens has a big leg up in CoOp and Internship programs as well as job placement assistance. When we spoke to students at Rowan that was the only negative they mentioned. Carear fairs were their only on campus employment assistance.
So attend Rowan and have no debt when finished. Or attend the much higher regarded University where he will apparently have better prospects upon graduation and $80K in debt. I will be paying 1/2 he will have skin in the game by paying 1/2.
anyone else with a similar dilemma?..Thoughts?
$80,000 in debt is a large burden for a new college graduate. Also, much of that debt will be yours, since it greatly exceeds the limit that he can borrow without a cosigner.