My son has admission to UCF Orlando for Mechanical Engg with Biomedical Engineering and this week got admitted to Purdue for Biomedical Engineering. We are FL residents so he gets the Bright futures scholarship covering his UCF Tuition. The fee in Purdue is going to be about 30K per year. (Dorm and living expenses are same in both ). I am trying to convince my son about the 120K in extra expenses going to Purdue along with the almost 1000 mile distance to Purdue from FL (NE FL) and also that we are throwing away the Bright futures scholarship if he goes to Purdue. Looking for any suggestions on what kind of discussion I can have, we have just about a week remaining to decide.
I don’t believe he’s in biomedical at Purdue. It’s not direct admit (all are in first year engineering - then apply for a major) and biomedical is a tough get. Plus, salaries are lower than other majors and grads are struggling to find jobs in that discipline. It’s not assured in other words - point UCF. Point Purdue - it’s accredited biomed. UCF isn’t - not sure it even offers undergrad. That’s important I think.
If you’re able to afford the delta, let him decide since money shouldn’t matter. But since you are posting, I assume it does.
For what it’s worth, my kid turned down Purdue with merit for Alabama. He wanted his own dorm room vs a triple which he expected at Purdue (this was 2019). I went through all the ranking stuff etc and he told me that’s for magazines and parents, not the real world.
At least in his case, he was right - a MechE. He had five well paid offers by Xmas and works with Purdue and Michigan grads…as well as Akron, W Michigan and more. If you read job descriptions, they want ABET accreditation. They all make the same.
In the end, it’s your money. Did you set financial boundaries up front ? That’s very important to do. If you said you can apply but it can’t cost more than Florida, it’s easy to say no. If you didn’t, now you have relationship complications.
But while restricting late isn’t good, it is your money.
Good luck
Ps Btw in 2023 Purdue shows a $71224 average. UCF doesn’t. Ask them their biomedical average. You may get another data point to show.
These are the only biomedical accredited in Florida. Any other bright future options ?
You noted MechE. I believe it’s more versatile.
Good luck
Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Fort Myers, Florida, United States
Melbourne, Florida, United States
Miami, Florida, United States
Gainesville, Florida, United States
Coral Gables, Florida, United States
Tampa, Florida, United States
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What is affordable for you (without parent loans)?
What cost limitations did you talk about before he made college applications?
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IMO, He shouldn’t go somewhere that will result in 120k++ student loans after he graduates, not when he has Bright Futures.
The requirement to pay back student loans is starting up again in a couple of weeks. There are many people who will struggle to make those payments. It’s not something to YOLO about at age 18. Maybe show him some of those stories.
All Purdue engineer majors on main campus start in first year engineering and transition to their majors after freshman year. Usually it’s a seamless straight forward process but BME is one of the most competitive and caps the number of students. No guarantee even if meeting the gpa requirement. IMO that’s another big negative for Purdue.
If he has direct admission to BME, that would mean he’s on the Indy campus which is not the same experience.
Stay in FL. He can always leave the state for grad school down the road. Debt free is a big gift!
We did not place any price restrictions on our kid’s college choices. We did agree on the application list they created. Once the acceptances came in, it was up to them to choose, because we were willing to fund any college to which they got accepted.
Neither one chose the least costly option. In our case, this was fine, because we were able to fund any of their options without jeopardizing our financial situation. This is a family choice some folks make, and a gift to their students.
We discussed things with both kids like getting them a car, buying a condo for them to live in, or saving the money for expenses after undergrad school. Or to fund fun things. Neither one was interested in these other options. You can try…
Is Purdue affordable for your family? If not, that is the discussion you need to have.
OP didn’t say loans. At least that I saw.
Loans - heck no !!!
Can I be your child or send you two of them. They will take you up on your offers lol
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What is there to convince? Who’s the parent in this situation? We had an extensive excel spread sheet. Our kid’s knew our finances on colleges. We are privileged enough to spend the extra to send both out of state even with great local choices. But… Free is hard to beat. My kids are so appreciative of the fact at 26/28 they virtually have no student loans to pay back. Their friend’s aren’t so lucky and even with good paying jobs are struggling to meet financial goals. Plus the world is changing. Factor in 1 20,000 over 10 year repayment cycle and show that to him. Those are real numbers. One major factor for biomedical also. Most times to get a better job you need a masters. Many programs have a BS/MS program or 5th year option. This to me would be the important point to make. I don’t know how the Florida program works but whose paying for that 5th year?
Most engineers in similar majors at the same company make the same starting wage also.
I don’t think the distance argument holds water unless he is a kid that wants to go home on the weekends. Plane fares etc should be factored in to your college expenses and how to get his things back and forth when living that distance.
My daughter didn’t go to her #1 school since #2 gave her great merit. Not the same situation as you but at 27 and in grad school she’s grateful she made the right choice.
Good luck.
I didnt set the financial boundaries up front. What is the Purdue average here $71224 - is it the average salaries offered ? I can find that for UCF
It’s the average first year salary for BME grads from '23 (they haven’t updated it yet for the class of '24). Purdue has a very robust data digest that you can look up all kinds of “first steps” information by major. Salary data, companies, locations, etc… The percentage of students responding is also quite high so the data is robust. Purdue CCO
That’s what they list - but let’s make sure we’re talking about the right campus - because another poster brought up a great point. @momofboiler1
You are talking about W Lafayette, not Indianapolis, correct?
Yes, that is the most recent average salary reported by Purdue in 2023. That # is based on who reports to them - so it’s not every student. Some don’t report. Anecdotally, that might be because they made less or can’t find a job but there’s no way to know.
For UCF, since they don’t report, I’d reach out to the school and ask.
It’s likely within a similar range.
Companies pay by location, moreso than school.
It’s tough for Florida kids to leave the state due to bright futures.
But yeah, if you have more kids, set financial boundaries up front. For example, we’re a full pay family and we have a Hope scholarship (not as generous but still something). I had $50K limit so when schools came in higher, there was no discussion. They simply were not considered.
When you don’t do that, it’s tougher - but in the end, you still have veto power - because if you don’t send in the check, the student isn’t going to school!!
Maybe you can offer to buy him a car in exchange 
I do wonder how he’ll study biomedical at UCF. Are any of the other schools in Florida that are ABET accredited options for him?
Good luck.
Just want to clarify that salary data from the Indy campus is not yet available because the first class hasn’t graduated yet. They have another two years left to go.
Purdue has one of the highest response rates for their next step survey and average between 85-90%/year according to the career center. They followup with phone calls for new grads that don’t complete the online survey.
OP should make sure they are comparing apples to apples when getting UCF’s salary data. Ask for the percentage of students responding. If the response rate is too low, the data becomes meaningless.
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Here is an update, he has been admitted into the Purdue University in Indianapolis
Does this mean he has direct admission into the BME program ?
" Congratulations! The Purdue University Admissions Committee is pleased to offer you admission to Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering at Purdue University in Indianapolis for Fall 2025."
Are there Dorms available for the Indianapolis campus ? Is this as good as the West Lafayette campus ?
Yes there are dorms but it is very much not the same experience as being on main campus in W. Lafayette (over an hour away). I’d do a deep dive to see what classes are being offered at the Indy campus and how the BME are being supported.
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Oh, in this case, UCF and it’s not even close.
Purdue Indy is like going to FGCU and living in Fort Myers…that’s not Purdue.
Technically it is - but it’s not. That’s like USF…St. Pete Campus.
All that said, as UCF doesn’t have bio tech undergrad - although meche might be a better degree and you can still work in biotech.
Do the financial boundaries make Purdue Indianapolis unaffordable? It can be a hard conversation since the student applied not knowing what the affordability conditions were.
However, it does seem odd for the student to want to go to an out of state probably mostly commuter school at a high price.