<p>@BillysDad2014 </p>
<p>I totally understand about the $$
(I’m a father of a college-bound son myself and we are walking away from a pretty big pile of scholarship money as well).</p>
<p>I’m a Brandeis grad and I have some family members who’ve gone to Syracuse. Syracuse is a fine school but it’s not even close to what he would encounter at Brandeis. There is a reason why schools like Syracuse need to have an honors program to attract kids like your son. </p>
<p>However, if the big school with lots of sports and fraternities is in any way appealing to him, then he actually would probably fit in better at Syracuse. Like I said before, they really are polar-opposites in terms of what they offer in terms of student experience.</p>
<p>The other thing is that the greater Boston area is one of the truly great places to spend four years studying. Upstate New York… well let’s just say less so.</p>
<p>Good luck in any case.</p>