Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-09-2013, 07:07 AM
 
48 posts, read 96,663 times
Reputation: 21

Advertisements

It seems my son has narrowed his college search to ASU and U of A. He is accepted at both, but we have not received financial letters yet. Any information from current students, alumni or parents might help us in our decision.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-09-2013, 07:19 AM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,201,302 times
Reputation: 10719
We need a bit more information from you. What is your son's field of study? If he (and you) have visited both, what were your impressions? Where do you live now?

I have two degrees from ASU and am a life member of the ASU Alumni Association. I think ASU has made great strides in a number of academic areas, there are all kinds of clubs and extracurricular activities, not to mention all that just being in a very large metro area offers. The multiple campuses have been a plus as well. That said, I know lots of people who went to U of A and sent their kids there, I considered going there myself but decided to stick with ASU (that was MANY years ago ) So, there are good things about both places. Let us know what some of your thoughts are.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Detroit, MI/St. David, AZ
205 posts, read 569,131 times
Reputation: 284
Both are great universities. If your going health field stick with UofA, business field ASU. Thats my opinion in a nutshell.

More details will help narrow down your choice.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 09:04 AM
 
48 posts, read 96,663 times
Reputation: 21
We are from NJ and my son is interested in engineering. We visited the ASU campus during spring break last year so we didn't get a good idea of what it is like in session. Some close family live in the Phoenix area.
He applied to 12 schools, not accepted to some, and others have lost their appeal. Neither my wife or myself have attended college, but most of his cousins have their degrees. Loren, and Gabby the ASU and U of A grads, seem to have had a good college experience and are happily employed in their fields. That is what drew him to those schools.
The costs are daunting, but he really wants the college experience. His grades have never been great, but seems to have aptitude for math.
Local community college does not appeal to him, although it would probably cheaper. We will help him with cost but he still have a pile of student loans. Marty D
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 09:24 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
38,960 posts, read 50,889,529 times
Reputation: 28140
I went to both: engineering at UofA and B school at ASU. I thought then and I still do that UofA feels a lot more like a university than ASU. ASU is so BIG that it can be overwhelming with the number of students etc. The architecture at ASU is a hodge podge with no unifying theme. It just doesn't feel as much like a college campus. UofA has an older, more traditional look to the campus. The student life at ASU is far better than UofA though because the school is in a much bigger metro and in a much better part of its metro. ASU is a better party school.

Really, though, for an undergrad degree it does not make a hill of beans difference as long as both have the field of study he is looking at.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 09:56 AM
 
Location: SW OK (AZ Native)
24,173 posts, read 13,032,012 times
Reputation: 10533
Been to both, grad and alumnus from ASU. The engineering college at ASU is, in my opinion, better than UofA, in part because of the greater number of engineering-based companies nearby. The ASU alternative energy program is a relevant course of study that I would've been interested in had it been available to me when I graduated (too) long ago.

The campus at UofA as mentioned above IS more collegiate in feel. The campus at ASU was huge when I was there and some recent visits feel even bigger. There are satellite campuses throughout The Valley.

There are a lot more "extracurriculars" to offer a college student in the Phoenix area than Tucson, but now I prefer Tucson for reasons unrelated to this discussion.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 09:59 AM
 
2,672 posts, read 2,705,617 times
Reputation: 1041
Students that graduate from ASU have a better chance of getting a good job after school. Many will land jobs in the Phoenix area. Tucson will be harder and students have to leave the area unless they are in a medical field.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 07:05 PM
 
Location: Metro Phoenix, AZ USA
17,914 posts, read 43,201,302 times
Reputation: 10719
Given all you've said, the presence of family in the Phoenix area for those "just in case" situations tips it in favor of ASU.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 07:42 PM
 
92 posts, read 200,414 times
Reputation: 117
If your son will need to find a part-time job to support himself after knowing his financials then I strongly suggest going to ASU. Metro Phoenix has more job opportunities than Tucson. If funding isn't a problem and that your son is not into the college 'party' scene, I'd suggest he enroll at UofA. UofA has more of an Ivy League feel than the urban gargantuan ASU. Both UofA and ASU engineering programs are about the same. However, pure science such as Physics, Astronomy, Biosciences, Anthropology etc... are tops at UofA.

And btw, congratulations to your son's acceptance at Arizona's universities. You must be proud of him being the first one (?) in your family to go to college.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-09-2013, 07:45 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
1,112 posts, read 3,980,903 times
Reputation: 1233
U of A is more respected overall, but ASU has the better engineering program, I believe. I know a few people who went through it, and it kicked their butts, but it was well worth it.

Honestly, academics aside, of the two, I would pick U of A. But it's more because it's in Tucson and there's a completely different vibe. Then again, it didn't sway me much because I didn't pick either. I went to NAU in Flagstaff instead.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Arizona

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top