Which is better: Penn State-University Park vs Syracuse University school of engineering.
S24 accepted into both schools of engineering, Civil Engineering specifically, we are grateful. COA is a concern. PSU offered zero aid, Syracuse offered $38K/year. Appreciate any insight as this is a huge financial decision. Any Pros/cons are welcomed.
With the Syracuse $38K in FA that means COA would be about $48K give or take? Are you in-state (~$33K) or OOS (~53K) for PSU?
Fundamentally, I would choose the one that is most affordable, which ideally does not include parental loans. The max student loans of $27K over 4 years would be ok (IMO of course).
I would look at the engineering outcome reports, I expect both show good results. Here’s Syracuse report, on a quick search I don’t see one for PSU undergrads. If the website doesn’t have one, contact the career center and ask.
PSU civil engineering does have secondary admission, but the college GPA threshold is only 2.6:
https://bulletins.psu.edu/undergraduate/colleges/engineering/civil-engineering-bs/#howtogetintext
Thank you so much for your reply. We are OOS for both schools.
We were informed of the secondary admissions for civil engineering at PSU when we attended admitted student day a few months ago. It was presented as simply a matter of completing the required courses with the minimum GPA, with lots of support given to students to meet the expectations. Basically, not much to worry about.
Since both schools have ABET accreditation, the curriculum is pretty standardized. I’m sure there are some differences but either school will prepare them appropriately for employment.
My kid is studying engineering (not civil) at Syracuse on scholarship and has been very pleased with his experience there. He likes the small program and class sizes in engineering, while also being at a larger school. He has also enjoyed the resources that come with a private school. I believe there are less than 2K engineering undergrads there. Penn state has ~10K engineering undergrads, and some students prefer huge programs like this.
Does your kid have a gut feeling or any preferences of one school over the other? Has he visited?
Which is better?
The one you can afford.
Did he get into any in-state options?
As long as you don’t have to go into crippling debt, pick the one you can afford.
I appreciate this insight very much. Thanks for sharing that about your son. The class size might be a factor, although, I see him doing well at both schools, but his personality - an introvert - will fit in better at a small/midsized school. However, going to a big school might be what he needs to spread his wings. We are considered a mid income family (I think it’s subjective really…I don’t make a lot of money). So, trying to see which school/program makes better sense with such a huge financial investment.
PSU just built a new engineering building so that’s a plus. Any information on the engineering facilities at Syracuse? We have visited PSU but not SU.
Thanks so much
He only applied to 1 in-state school, regrettably, and he did not get in. He really wanted to go out of state.
Thank you so much!
This is exactly the same with my kid. He almost chose a huge school but decided he wanted the smaller classes and has been very pleased with that choice. It’s the right thing for him. He would have been fine academically wherever, but had the gut feeling that he wanted a smaller program/classes. Every school has a career center, so I can’t speak to how Penn state would do it. But my kid has really appreciated the staff:student ratio in his program for his courses and for other services.
As for facilities, they’ll be smaller than PSU since it’s a much smaller program. But I don’t recall touring the civil facilities so I can’t offer personal experience, sorry. Have you done any virtual sessions? Their admissions guy is really helpful. You can also get a sense of things if you explore their insta at syracuse.cee
If you can squeak in admitted students’ days, I’d highly recommend it, for both schools if possible. The visits were a big part of our kid making his decision.
Definitely with you on small class sizes my kid is at a small size HS school.
We did some virtual sessions but not too in-depth. The admitted students day would be helpful. Just got the invite for it, it’s on April 13th and will try to make the 6+ hours drive. Was really hoping not to but I think it’ll be worth it…all things considered.
Thank you so much!
Syracuse for this price is a good investment as long as it doesn’t require parental loans. Good school overall, smaller engineering is a plus to make sure your son isn’t lost in the crowd.
If neither is affordable there will be a list of schools that miscalculated yield in May and some universities are still accepting applications.
Yes, I agree. I don’t think it’s worth spending a bunch of money unless that money is available to spend. Our budget was small and Syracuse (with aid) ended up being nearly the cheapest option (cheaper than in-state).
OP, if you’d like suggestions for how to find a good-fit engineering school that won’t cost as much as Syracuse, I’m sure folks here can help with that.
There will be some parental loans with both schools, but less with Syracuse.
Good info about Yield! Did not think about this, makes sense. But I’d imagine schools pull from their waitlist, or do they also re-evaluate applicants who were denied? He was denied at the one in-state school he applied to but I’m not sure if it’s worth appealing. If there’s such a thing where one can appeal a denial/rejection…?
Thanks for your reply!
Many good colleges are still accepting applications and in ~May there will be a list of colleges that miscalculated yield.
If you can give us your son’s stats we can try and look for universities that won’t lead to parental loans and would be OOS.
Students who were denied aren’t re-evaluated 
Just searched on common app, there are 740 colleges still accepting apps for Fall 2024! (go to college search, then filter by Fall 2024 and deadline on or after April 1, unfortunately can’t narrow it down by engineering major). There are definitely schools not on that list that are still accepting apps too.
If you let us know the budget without parental loans we can help.
Yes, please do provide us some details and we can recommend schools that might be a good fit and would be cheaper.
Besides your child’s unweighted GPA and test scores, it will be helpful to know your state because there are some schools that offer reduced tuition or automatic merit scholarships to certain other states.
Colleges that underyield will look to their waitlists to fill their classes.
Parent loans are typically not a good idea. Are there any more affordable admissions? Is the community-college-to-state-university path in your state good for engineering majors?
My S19 had the same situation as your S24 five years ago. He was accepted to both schools. We were OOS and while I am a Penn State alum, the school offered zero aid. However, Syracuse offered scholarship and grant money around what they offered you. Five years later, he graduated with an aerospace engineering degree and stuck around an extra year for his Masters (4+1). While he would have excelled at both schools, Penn State could have offered him some extra options in terms of electives, but Syracuse ended up being the perfect fit in terms of size. Medium sized school overall, but engineering was smaller and more closely knit. The aid was definitely the deciding factor, which made the school even more attractive than our in-state Rutgers. Fast forward, my S24 will be attending in the fall with a dual degree majors in Whitman and Newhouse. Feel free to DM if you have any specific questions about Cuse. Good luck!
We have not explored community college - state university because he really wanted to go out of state. But this might be worth mentioning. Thanks!