FIU vs MDC vs UM for a Computer Engineer Student (Miami: credit, how much)

[wilmer007]

Hi everyone i am a Miami native (graduated from Miami Sunset) but i have been studying overseas in Central America for the last 2 years and i am in the middle of moving back to Miami within the next month and so i have to start figuring out where i will go to complete my education. So i am looking for help from other Miami natives especially someone who also studied overseas and then returned.


My major is Computer Engineering but over here the system is different. I have completed 4 programming classes (C, C++, Visual Basic, and PHP) and i know that in the 5th programming class the professor will be teaching Java but i will more than likely be back in miami so i won't be learning Java. I've taken 2 Database Classes (one with Access and the other with MySQL), Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, Differential Equations, 2 Physics, 2 Statistics, and then some general math classes such as Introduction to Accounting, some Alegbra class they give and some other general classes they had us take.


anyways i'm looking to see which of the 3 universities would be best for me to finish my career. Cost is also a factor but don't mind going to a better one as long as it is not that more expensive. Overseas i am currently paying around $187 a month at a private university and would like to be able to stay in that ballpark if possible or somewhat close to it after financial aid.


i've seen that FIU and MD require me to go to get my International Credits evaluated by a professional evaluation company so i'm hoping to hear from other's and what their experiences were with international evaluations since from what i have seen it looks to be a headache and nightmare.

[pierrekid]

If cost doesn't matter then of course the University of Miami. Really there is no competition here. UM has an amazing computer engineering program, massive ties to tech startups/ major corps after college and national recognition as a top university ( no offense to FIU or miami-dade, just the way it is).

[wilmer007]

Originally Posted by pierrekid

If cost doesn't matter then of course the University of Miami. Really there is no competition here. UM has an amazing computer engineering program, massive ties to tech startups/ major corps after college and national recognition as a top university ( no offense to FIU or miami-dade, just the way it is).

yeah but how much can i expect to pay for UM. i would imagine it is alot more than the $6,500 per year for FIU. i am trying to graduate with no debt so i'm hoping to be able to stick to paying around the same as i do now ($187 per month or around $2,400 per year).


with Financial Aid and 50% tuition reduction i should be able to stay very close to the $200 per month range with FIU but i doubt UM will be any closer to that.

[FlyMIA]

UM will be close to $40,000 a year. Even with a big scholarship $187 a month is not happening. That's not happening anywhere unless you get full scholarships.

FIU and UM are your choices. If you have the creds to get into either go there over MDC. FIU will be a lot cheaper, UM has much more national name recognition.

[wilmer007]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

UM will be close to $40,000 a year. Even with a big scholarship $187 a month is not happening. That's not happening anywhere unless you get full scholarships.

FIU and UM are your choices. If you have the creds to get into either go there over MDC. FIU will be a lot cheaper, UM has much more national name recognition.

yeah $40k a year for UM is too much. FIU is $6,500 per year and i saw they give 50% tuition for transfer students so that brings it down to $3,250 a year plus financial aid so with that i should be able to be close to the $200 per month range i hope. like i said i want to be debt free instead of paying interest and having that burden afterwards.

maybe i score high on the SAT score but since it's been almost 15 years that i graduated high school i will probably end up with such a low SAT score that i wouldn't qualify for higher scholarships.

[flyboytampabay]

FIU graduate here. It is a good school, and despite being the 2nd largest university in Florida. Very few people have heard of it outside of South Florida. Even in central Florida where I live, nobody has heard of it.

[wilmer007]

Originally Posted by flyboytampabay

FIU graduate here. It is a good school, and despite being the 2nd largest university in Florida. Very few people have heard of it outside of South Florida. Even in central Florida where I live, nobody has heard of it.

yeah i remember like 10-15 years ago it was a no name school that was a low tier bottom of the barrel university. thankfully it has grown alot since. i went to admissions last month and saw all the construction going on and last year they didnt even have constructions so that's good to see them expanding.

[OptimusPrime69]

If cost is a factor than forget UMIAMI.
It's over $40 grand a year.

FIU will be your best bet. Still a very reputable school and it's huge too. Almost 40,000 undergrads. I mean, 40,000 ppl can't be wrong, plus if u get instate tuition, it'll be afforadable.

[flyboytampabay]

Originally Posted by wilmer007

yeah i remember like 10-15 years ago it was a no name school that was a low tier bottom of the barrel university. thankfully it has grown alot since. i went to admissions last month and saw all the construction going on and last year they didnt even have constructions so that's good to see them expanding.

It is a good school, and I am a grad. It still has low name recognition outside of south Florida. I live in central Florida and very few have heard of it..

It is still your best bet for reasonable cost education.