Help Deciding: Temple Honors vs Bentley for MIS/CIS

Hi everyone, I’m an international student who’s lived in New York for the past two years. I’ve been accepted to Temple University (Honors Program) and Bentley University for Management Information Systems / Computer Information Systems. I need to make a decision soon and would really appreciate any insights based on the following:


Colleges Accepted To:

Temple University (Pennsylvania) – Fox School of Business, Honors Program, Division I

Bentley University (Massachusetts) – CIS program, Division II

Net Price (after scholarships/aid):

Temple: ~$30,000/year

Bentley: ~$70,000/year

Max parent contribution : ~$10,000/year

Enrollment Term & Campus:

• Both are for Fall 2025, main campus, no online or alternate placements


Major & Career Goals:

Major: Management Information Systems (MIS) / Computer Information Systems (CIS)

Goal: A career in IT management, combining business and tech


Student Preferences:

• I’m looking for a strong college experience — a sense of community, active clubs, campus life, and school pride

• I like what Temple offers overall, but I have some hesitation about the campus location in North Philly

• Bentley has a great reputation in business and is ranked #1 in career development, but it feels small and possibly limited in student life

• I also care about class size , campus culture , and access to internships in nearby cities


Why I Applied to These Schools:

• Both have strong MIS/CIS programs

• They’re somewhat close to home (New York)

• I’m trying to find a good balance between academic strength and a fulfilling personal experience


My Question:

Which school offers the better overall experience and long-term outcomes for someone pursuing MIS/CIS and aiming for IT management?

I’m especially interested in hearing from current or former students in either school’s MIS/CIS program.

Thanks in advance for any advice or personal stories!

How can you attend either of these if your max parent contribution is $10,000. Where is the additional money coming from?

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How is either option affordable? Do you have a concrete plan in place to fully fund four years of college?

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You are an international student. You will need to complete a certificate of finance to get a student visa to attend college here. You will have to demonstrate that you have the funds to pay for college. This can include money your family has, already approved loans, already granted financial aid. It can NOT include future sources where money might come from.

What sort of visa do you currently have?

Scholarships, I received 20k per year from Temple and 17k from Bentley. The contribution is just an estimate.

I’m currently on an H-4 visa, and my green card is being processed.

I echo @thumper1 and @Mwfan1921

You need to know the true parental contribution.

If it’s $10k, you need to start again. Neither works.

And unless $10k becomes $70k, there’s really not a choice here.

You can study MIS many places. And perhaps cheaper than Temple depending on your gpa and sat.

Temple is currently the more affordable option. They awarded me a $20,000 scholarship, significantly reducing the overall cost. For Bentley, I estimated the cost using information from their website and subtracted the $17,000 scholarship they offered. Since their net price calculator isn’t available for international students, the estimate is rough, and I’m still waiting for a response from their financial office for more clarity.

While I don’t have every detail finalized for all four years, these are my current payment options. Financial aid in the U.S. is still new to us, but here’s the plan we’re building:
• Scholarships already awarded
• Personal and family savings
• Possibly private loans

What is YOUR net cost for these colleges? The amount you received in scholarships plus the $10,000 your parents can contribute will not pay the full cost of attendance for you.

@MYOS1634 @Mwfan1921 perhaps you can comment on the speed of green card processing these days.

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Between scholarships and personal and family savings, how much money per year is that?

I would reach out to the CUNY schools (especially Baruch) to see if they are still accepting applications (Feb. 15 was the official deadline, but some schools still accept late applications). This would let you remain close to your family, you would have in-state costs, and the CUNY schools, particularly Baruch for business, are well thought of and will cost less than $10k/year in tuition for New York residents.

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For an MIS degree. Nope. And depending on your stats you might find even cheaper options.

The question is can you afford Temple. Forget Bentley.

The net cost for Temple is $30,536. I don’t have an exact number yet for Bentley because I’m still waiting to hear back from their financial aid office.

So…your parents can contribute $10,000…leaving you with a $20,000 balance at Temple. It’s likely to be a lot more at Bentley. The cost to attend Bentley is over $81,000 a year. So even with the aid they gave you, it’s not going to be $10,000 a year.

The CUNY suggestion is a good one…and could very well be an affordable option.

In case you want to read up on the CUNY option, here’s the CIS program at Baruch:

https://zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu/academic-programs/undergraduate/majors/computer-information-systems-cis-track/

And in looking at its website, February 1 is the priority deadline, which means they’re still taking applications (it’s rolling decisions through July):

https://enrollmentmanagement.baruch.cuny.edu/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/

And here’s the info on costs:

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If you’ve lived in NYC for years and will graduate from a NYC high school, you should qualify for instate tuition.
Apply immediately to Baruch. It’s certainly not your preferred fit but you need an alternative. If you got a scholarship from Temple you may be able to get into Honors at Baruch which makes things significantly easier there wrt community.. and red tape.
You will need to contact someone at the email address

Next, SUNYs - they accept applications till the major is “full” but for a popular major, apply today and even that is pushing it.r
https://www.suny.edu/attend/apply-to-suny/how-to-apply/
Based on your interests I would contact Albany first, and contact their Ho IRS program.

Green card processing depends on where the applicant is from. There’s often a 10-year backlog for families from countries that have lots of applicants.. and the current gutting of administration just made it almost impossible to predict.

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