Lehigh vs Colgate vs Umass vs Syracuse vs UMD college park

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We do not qualify for aid, and were not expecting anything from the schools. Some came back with merit aid.

UMD- $12K merit aid, OOS, Liberal arts school -Spring start

Accepted to honors at Syracuse, $36K merit,

Umass Isenberg- instate tuition

Colgate -liberal arts

Lehigh-liberal arts not business school

Since we were expecting to not qualify for financial aid, we are prepared to handle the costs of school. Of course, paying less is always nice. IF all things are otherwise equal, we are having a hard time deciding between full pay for a ‘better school’ vs. big university giving us a discount.
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My son is torn because all the schools are so very different & there is something about each that he really likes. At the end of the day, it is worth going to a big school to compete with other students for networking and internship advantages, or go small and get to know professors better and more interaction with networking and alumni and internships…..especially if you want to work after college right away before getting a masters.

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My two cents is there is no objectively better and worse in cases like this, there are different mixes of possible pros and possible cons, and it is a question of personal preferences, interests, and so on.

Some kids are going to end up with a strong preference, to the point they might be concerned about whether they can really thrive some places, which I think should be taken seriously.

Some kids are really very flexible, and they are rightly confident they will make a great experience for themselves at a variety of colleges.

The latter sort of kids could do a lot worse than just choose the lowest cost option (among reasonable options at least). It is a concrete, knowable benefit, and can really make it easy for them to freely choose what they do at college, and then whatever comes next, without worrying about justifying a higher expense.

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First off, big congrats to having wonderful options!

I want to address the quoted sentence because this was not my daughter’s experience at a big state school at all! She knew professors very well starting in freshman year. The alumni network is huge and there were tons of opportunities for networking and internships and students were collaborative, not competitive.

Secondly, where has your student been admitted for the major they really want? Sounds like he wants business?

I’m also not a fan of spring start so I’d be narrowing it down to U Mass and Syracuse for the big schools. Between Colgate and Lehigh, I’d give Colgate the edge but the vibe there is much different than the other schools on the list.

Will your son be able to go back for admitted student days?

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I agree in general, but “spring start” is a bit of a misnomer at UMD. Spring admits have the option of starting in the fall via the “Freshman Connection” program. They can live in dorms, take classes, and earn credit toward their degree. The only restriction is that they are limited to classes starting after 5pm.

I know several students who did this, and they didn’t have issues getting the classes they wanted. After the fall, no one knows whether you were a spring admit or not. So I’d recommend OP’s son look into this if UMD is of interest.

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It would help to know what he likes about each school.

Also, any interests, likes/dislikes, & career goal.

Without more, enjoy Colgate.

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Congrats to you - what does he want to study - that’s #1. You got UMASS in state in business. Then you got Lehigh not business and Colgate is obviously not business. No sure what SU is. UMD - I get the Freshman Connection if eligible for it - but you need a way to eliminate one, so that’s a good way I suppose.

I’ll disagree with this entire sentence:

“At the end of the day, it is worth going to a big school to compete with other students for networking and internship advantages, or go small and get to know professors better and more interaction with networking and alumni and internships”

Getting to know profs is on the student - and that doesn’t matter big or small. If the student sits up front, participates and goes to office hours, they will get to know the profs. And if they don’t, they won’t - regardless of it is Colgate or UMASS.

Same thing with jobs and internships - it’s on the student. No school is handing them out and any student can contact alumni. Many, even most today, are finding online - so that will be on your kid - regardless of where they go. Do they hustle? I get alum emails from Syracuse students regularly.

So I start with major - where can he study what he wants - and no, Econ isn’t business. I’m unsure from his acceptances what the desired major is.

And i would not say there’s a “better” school here which I think you’re implying about Colgate. It’s not better. It’s different. There are many kids at all the others that either got into Colgate or could have gotten into Colgate. Colgate is a different experience from locale/surroundings to size to what you study - and even though you don’t want to consider money, there’s that too - $140K.

In the end, your student and not the school name will make their success. But I’d start with - what do I want to study. I’m not sure if it’s business (UMASS), something else (Lehigh) or what school you’re in at SU.

I do know this though - if he’s an eater, UMASS is going to win - hands down!!! They’re a top 3 for food in most every ranking - and if food isn’t good as my two experienced, they get low blood sugar and then mom has to settle them down :slight_smile:

Good luck.

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Can you clarify if your student is planning to study business, or was that just an example? Is he able to select a major that he wants at all these schools or does he have to apply for a major at any? What currently is he considering for grad school? (though this could change). Most students will grow where they are planted, but that said, if you are in the enviable position of letting them choose without the cost factor hopefully they can visit this month to help narrow it down.
I am biased b/c I love small schools, but IMO at large schools if he wants to really get to know professors, the smaller schools allow for it more easily, IMO. Often at smaller schools there are no TA’s teaching classes or sections and the classes even at the lower levels are small, so great opportunities to get up close and personal with professors outside of their sometimes limited office hours.

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In the most recent time Forbes posted such an article, Colgate was included among these colleges “worth every penny”:

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More details would be helpful on your student, what they want to study and where they would thrive, and what they think they want. I have a child at Colgate and friends with kids at Lehigh and Syracuse. Colgate has been a great experience for him and the access to professors he has is really amazing. He had a slow start socially as we had no connections at all to the school and there was zero kids he knew when he started. He made great friends but it took a little while for him to find his people and he did join a fraternity his second year. I’ve been impressed with the alumni loyalty and have seen him get opportunities and visibility and peer experiences that I don’t think he would have gotten at some of the other schools he was considering (my opinion) - which were all bigger schools. That said, it is remote and small and cold for large chunks of the year. He didn’t think it would bother him (actually argued with us that he wanted that) but he will admit that the remoteness and tough weather is hard for a west coast kid.

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I have a student at Colgate. Academically it is excellent, the network is strong and she does have an internship lined up which cannot be said for all her friends at various good schools across the country. Socially it’s a mixed bag and the winters are LONG. I’ve consistently felt that Lehigh was the one that got away.

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IMO this boils down to: 1) finances; 2).what the student wants to study; and 3) what environment the student wants for the next four years.

Financially, consider if any money not spent on undergrad could benefit the student down the road (ex..grad school, post graduation nest egg, etc.)

In terms of curriculum I would strongly suggest looking at online course catalogs. A b-school program will be markedly different from a liberal arts course of study.

In terms of size of school, the answer will not be the same for everyone. My D wanted the small school experience and was focused on LACs while my S felt LACs would be too confining and attended a mid-sized university. Both made the right choice for them. Yet others thrive in large universities. It is very individual.

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Very different experiences for males versus females at Colgate. Very different !

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IMO I don’t see paying for UMD if you have Isenberg and in state tuition. For the private schools, I like Syracuse. It offers what the other two private schools do in a bigger package and you get merit. Colgate: 35K, Lehigh: 88K, Syracuse: 250K living alumni which is a really important metric. Also I don’t believe Colgate offers a business program and economics is not really a substitute.

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Yah - OP needs to clarify major at each. Did they get into Whitman ?

I always recommend major over school. You should study what you want or it may be a long four years.

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First things first, I don’t know a lot about UMD, its strengths, where it places well, where it doesn’t, etc. But it’s not a flagship business school that jumps out at me as a “go if you get in” like Ross, Haas, Darden, etc. So, I’d want to really dial in the merit, understand if that’s permanent for all 4 years, conditions, etc. in comparing.

Regarding major and the idea of studying “business”, many people, me included, have a more nuanced view than has been shared here. First, econ is a great substitute for business (and I personally think a better overall education), unless you want to study accounting. If you want to do that, which is a really great choice for anyone who wants to study business, you have to be at a business school. The good news is that it really doesn’t matter which one. Though the Big 4 have their favorite feeder programs, all the offices are full of people from state directional and flagships that are nowhere near the top 20. If you want to study finance, generally speaking, there is more pressure to attend a higher ranked school with a bigger name. That is my experience and observation.

So, if accounting, then you have flexibility to choose amongst any of the schools with B schools (which includes Lehigh).

If not accounting, but still business, then I’d think hard about Lehigh, which has a solid reputation on the Street.

If you’re willing to give up business school for econ, I’d think hard about Colgate, which also has a solid reputation on the Street. It’s also worth noting that you can study finance as a concentration as an econ major at Colgate.

Syracuse and U Mass are solid universities but I don’t perceive their names as being on the same footing as Lehigh and Colgate, particularly the latter.

In terms of location, I’ve heard nice things about College Park. Hamilton, NY is quaint but very tiny and isolated as all get out. I’ve never been to Bethlehem, PA. Syracuse, ooof! I’ve been there plenty of times and it is ROUGH. The campus itself is very nice but the city of Syracuse is blighted and needs a lot of help.

Knowing what I know now, I’d look really hard at Lehigh because of its name and the flexibility it will offer by having a business school and then at Colgate. If the intention is investment banking, it would be worth talking to one of the posters here who are current and close to Wall Street recruiting. Both schools will get you there but there’s always a view on this topic.

I will leave your finances to your good judgment.

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Did OP mention investment banking / wall street?

I don’t see it - is why I’m asking.

They mentioned working for a few years and then a Masters but I didn’t see a career path listed.

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No, but he also didn’t ask about food … :wink:

The OPs OP is sufficiently broad in its scope of inquiry that it allows a wide range of discourse that can follow and still be on point. When/if the OP returns, he / she can narrow it down.

My response was meant to cover at least some of the gamut, and it’s important to understand that there is a gamut, of objectives and outcomes involved when people talk about studying “business”. The number of graduates with business degrees doing a job that didn’t require a business degree (or even a college degree) are legion.

With that in mind, it’s not that unusual for business degree seekers to aspire to work on Wall Street or pursue an equivalent career course with similarly selective employers (management and other consulting, other finance-related pursuits, etc.). So, I wanted to cover that end of the spectrum, where the school you attend ABSOLUTELY MATTERS, regardless of what you think you’re seeing on LinkedIn. I also mentioned accounting, because that is a hugely underrated and, IMO, underappreciated way to learn about business fundamentals and be almost guaranteed a job at a large global firm (assuming your grades are decent), and the opportunities from there are endless. I see this up close. And that path is less reliant on school name/selectivity - actually not reliant at all.

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Thank you all for the response. Busy visiting Colgate and Syracuse this weekend. Oof, Syracuse is rough ! compared to the idyllic setting of ‘suburb/rural’ schools….

His major is something business adjacent if he pics LAC, Econ/finance looking towards a career in banking. But he is unsure exactly what. I think because being outside the business world, I want his options to be open for his career path.

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Yes got into Whitman….but wasn’t thrilled with Syracuse campus.
Someone else mentioned picking the major before the school, and I agree…..

Obvs at LAC he has to pick Econ/finance.

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At an LAC, he’s likely picking Econ. Finance is in a business school. Econ is not finance. So don’t put those together.

Campuses are subjective. I’m an SU alum, last visit 6 years ago. It was as beautiful then as 30 years ago.

I liked Lehigh when I visited but I swear, it was so gray they can make a horror movie there :slight_smile:

What did your kid (not you) think of each? It’s what they think matters ? How did they like the size of each - population wise, etc.

More visits ahead ?