My daughter got admitted to undergrad in CS in Arizona state ( net cost 45k ) ; SBU ( Net cost 45 k) CS Intent ; Rutgers New Brunswick ( Net cost 55k ) ; UT Dallas ( net cost 56k ) ; Minnesota Twin Cities( 55k ); Wisconsin madison ( 58 k) ; Penn state ( 57k) ; NC state ( 55k) . She is an International student and main criteria are academics and cost. Any suggestions on which university we should decide. Net cost per annum after taking into consideration scholarships is also mentioned.
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What can you afford cleanly to send her plus expenses ? What type of environment would she like to live in? What are some of her favorites from her own research?
Check the secondary admission to CS requirements at SBU, Minnesota, PSU, NCSU.
All are great. Some may have secondary admission.
If costs matter, drop the more expensive.
I’d drop SBU- there will be some local element - like going home on weekends.
Travel - some are in cities. Penn State and Wisconsin both have small airports - may be harder to get to.
These schools are mainly substitutional in the U.S., but how will they be seen in your home country ??
UMN is most urban. NC State’s program is a short bus ride or 20 minute walk from the main campus.
What does she seek environmentally. Raleigh is a lot warmer than Minneapolis, etc.
You have given the net costs for these acceptances. The question is…are they affordable for your family without parents taking out loans?
The most important question you need to answer for yourself is….the amount you can pay annually for your student to attend college.
Did she get into any Honors college (ie , ASU Barrett, PSU Schreyer, for instance - listing these 2 because they’re tops in the country but other honors colleges could offer benefits such as priority registration, better dorms, smaller community, better access to professors, etc?)
I would remove SBU because it’s less residential and more “suitcase” than the others, with less going on for students on the weekends.
I personally don’t like the split campus set up at Rutgers, where students have to take buses to other parts of town to get to class, so I’d cut it compared to other offers, but ymmv and the College of Engineering is good.
My worry with ASU is that state financial issues have led to major cuts; students in Barrett are relatively spared (though they have to pay a fee for the Barrett dorms,caf, and opportunities) but the cuts seem to impact freshman classes a lot (class size& availability, ability to meet with prof/TA…)
NCSU is probably the best bang for your buck, with relatively easy access from airport, good weather, Research triangle, nice campus, solid Engineering.
UMN Engineering is top-notch, in metropolis with many Fortune 500 companies, cold weather (very cold but very sunny/bright), excellent Engineering.
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But competitive secondary admission to CS after entrance as engineering undeclared. Does not have an automatic admission GPA like Minnesota’s 3.2.
Then that makes UMN a front runner imho, unless there’s an Honors college or special program with benefits in the mix. 
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Finally we have to decide between University of Minnesota and University of Alberta ( Canada) Alberta is cheaper by USD 45k over four years. what is the suggestion considering current and likely future scenario after four years.
In terms of what? No one here has a crystal ball regarding job opportunities, if that is what you are asking.
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We got ASU confirmed .Stony Brook AOI and Minnesota. All are CS undergraduate. How hard will it be to convert from AOI to confirmed in Stony and Minnesota ? if we take a chance with AOI then which one is better - Stony Brook or Minnesota. Cost wise all are similar and affordable. Internship and prestige is important .
What do you mean AOI?
Minnesota is in a big city with major companies so it would facilitate access to internships but ASU is fine, is in a city, and has way better weather.
Note that she will be limited in terms of off campus internships (they fall under CPT and cut from the time allowed in OPT) - probably 2Ă—2months full time and 2 months spread thinly would be a maximum.
AOI - Area of Interest.
CS major is not confirmed in Stony Brook and Minnesota. Need to get minimum GPA of 3.2 in select courses for confirmation in these two. As an international student should we take chance at Stony or Minnesota ? or go ahead with ASU confirmed? Are Stony and Minnesotta much better than ASU in terms of prestige and internships?
Sbu would be tough due to the “suitcase” nature of the campus, not recommended for OOS/internationals.
Not sure UMN is worth such a big premium over ASU. If she does well at ASU she’ll be fine. 
She also got Penn state option at 57k per annum. ASU is 45k . Is Penn state prestige more in CS under graduation and worth paying 12k more ? what about Cal Poly at 60k vs ASU ?
How easy to pay is the cost difference for you?
Will it make a difference in your country?
Yes, UMN and PSU (assuming University Park) have a better reputation than ASU overall but not sure the 3 CS programs are that different and in CS you’ll only have strong students after the first semester.
You can compare the required courses as well as the course catalogs.
All will have large classes but you can look into class size on the schedule of classes for Fall.
You can look at the curriculum: do they have Engineering design/CS right away or do they need to take pre-reqs in Math and Physics first?
She’d need to request a Living Learning Community such as WISE (Women in science and Engineering) or a quiet floor at all of them.
Did she get into the Honors college anywhere?
That would make a bigger difference in terms of learning environment&opportunities.
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Since it’s well past May 1st, I suppose your daughter has already committed to one of these schools by now?
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It’s after May 1. What was her matriculation decision…
She committed to ASU but full pay internationals can receive offers until June 1. Her parent is wondering whether these offers would be better.
I really think “better” can be defined in terms of OPs country recognition, specifics of the curriculum, class sizes, weather, environment, any honors college. I’m not sure what else they could look into to determine the better fit.
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Thank you for clarifying. So they have these other post-May 1st offers they can choose from? That wasn’t apparent to me from their posts.
(And I’m still not clear what “if we take a chance with AOI” means).
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