Why is out of state college so much more?

[njsweetP]

I am enjoying reading this thread and am getting a lot out of it. We are in the final stages of college applications for my oldest DD. She has already been accepted to a public state school and has received a generous scholarship. She is also applying to a private state school and 3 other out of state schools. But with all the info on the school sites, what you read, etc., I feel that until that letter is in hand you really don't have a grip on what schools will/won't offer. This is why I am soooo stressed right now. I would be thrilled if she said she wanted to go to the school she's already been accepted to and nix the other applications, but she just can't do that. This is her number 2 school. Sorry if I got a little off topic, guess I just needed to vent. We will have to see what happens with the out of state private school which is her #1 choice.

 

[agnes!]

Re:In-state schools...
This is just for one particular school, but here is what I was basically told by one of this college's admission staffers. In Virginia, the College of William & Mary has to reserve a certain percentage of their freshman class slots for Virginia students per Virginia law. I am roughly paraphrasing what I was told by this admissions-person, but it's something like this...
12,000 applicants apply. Of those 75% are from out-of-state and 25% are in-state. The Freshman class is approximately the size of 1400 or so students. Out of that 1400, 25% of the slots are reserved for out-of-state and 75% of the slots are reserved for in-state. So, 1,050 slots are reserved for 3000 Virginia applicants and 350 slots are reserved for 9000 applicants.

This is a great thread, am subscribing. Glad to see so much good info being posted, & it's to see MrsPete pop up here . Thanks to Virgderon for their experience with local scholarships, we'll have to look into that.

agnes!

 

[agnes!]

I am enjoying reading this thread and am getting a lot out of it. We are in the final stages of college applications for my oldest DD. She has already been accepted to a public state school and has received a generous scholarship. She is also applying to a private state school and 3 other out of state schools. But with all the info on the school sites, what you read, etc., I feel that until that letter is in hand you really don't have a grip on what schools will/won't offer. This is why I am soooo stressed right now. I would be thrilled if she said she wanted to go to the school she's already been accepted to and nix the other applications, but she just can't do that. This is her number 2 school. Sorry if I got a little off topic, guess I just needed to vent. We will have to see what happens with the out of state private school which is her #1 choice.

Gack, I *wish* all the apps were in around our house. My DD's HS has an oddly bureaucratic and time-consuming way of generating the needed transcripts.

agnes!

 

[agnes!]

All about college apps, having HS seniors, etc., etc. - thought maybe some of the Budget Board folks would find these to be helpful .

"Starting down the college path for my kids, clueless!"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2570375

"High School class of 2011"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2535270

agnes!

 

[njsweetP]

All about college apps, having HS seniors, etc., etc. - thought maybe some of the Budget Board folks would find these to be helpful .

"Starting down the college path for my kids, clueless!"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2570375

"High School class of 2011"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2535270

agnes!

THANK YOU!!!! I know what I'll be doing today -- a lot of reading!

 

[Jennabeth]

You will get the most financial aid from schools that are looking to boost their student population, or boost the academic stats of the school. If your child is way above average academically, there are many schools that will offer scholarships for the difference between in state and out of state tuition.

The problem is that these may not be the high profile, name schools that many kids want to go to.

My daughter goes to Grand Valley State in Michigan, and she got the difference between in state and out of state in scholarships, plus some. The problem is that outside of the state of Michigan, not a lot of people know that school. That may hurt her applying for jobs outside of Michigan.

Just had to repond to this, I got my BS and MS from there. Our football team is helping us get more national recongnition! Go Lakers!

 

[crisi]

Some schools have "quotas" essentially, and they only take a certain number of students from this county and that county -- that gives something of an advantage to the rural students. And I'm sure that the "gotta take em" rule is gone. At least around here I know there's no such thing.

Minnesota still has it, but its the community college/tech college system that grants automatic enrollment to Minnesota residents. The State College system (which is NOT the University of Minnesota system), you have to generally be able to answer yes to ONE of the following questions.

* Did you graduate in the top half of your high school class?
* Did you score 21 or higher on the ACT standardized test?
* Did you receive a combined score of 1,000 or higher on the SAT standardized test?


http://www.mnscu.edu/students/admissions/index.html

I graduated from a MNSCU school, and frankly, we had mouth breathing morons in my program that shouldn't have managed to pass high school, much less been admitted to college. I had to take Algebra because I hadn't taken a math course in 20 years - and the math skills of the students admitted where really substandard.

 

[Topper]

So my second born kid is a Jr and we're starting the college thing all over again. He's naturally out going and gregarious so it wasn't a big shock when he said he wanted to go across state for school. Well, actually the kid wants to leave the country but that's a whole other thread.

Anyway we were researching University of Texas. In state tuition is ~10K. out of state tuition is 31K. I was just trying to figure why the 3X price difference. If I'm reading the website correctly it's not room and board, that's an additional 10K.

Does the professor know who is out of state and who's not? Does the chair? I know it sounds silly but why does a kid from NJ cost more to educate than a kid from Houston?

Why not just call one of the Texas schools and ask? Here's the number for the campus in Austin: (512) 475-7348.

 

[punkin]

However, I think it's more important to choose a college that's sized right for you. If you're the person who NEEDS that small school interaction, the person who would fall through the cracks without lots of personal interaction, then it's a mistake to go for the big school.

It's too soon to say right now, but I think my youngest child might just be a small school girl. If, by the time she's a junior/senior in high school, that's proven true, then I'll make sure she chooses a small school -- even though I personally prefer large.

Yes, yes, yes. I have two girls. The older one is now in college at a small, nurturing liberal arts college. Believe me she needs the support. My younger one will probably end up at a huge sports school. They are just so different with such different needs.

There are schools of each type at every price range and selectivity level. It really bothers me when people have the "perfect school". There are plenty of "perfect schools".

 

[SDSorority]

So my second born kid is a Jr and we're starting the college thing all over again. He's naturally out going and gregarious so it wasn't a big shock when he said he wanted to go across state for school. Well, actually the kid wants to leave the country but that's a whole other thread.

Anyway we were researching University of Texas. In state tuition is ~10K. out of state tuition is 31K. I was just trying to figure why the 3X price difference. If I'm reading the website correctly it's not room and board, that's an additional 10K.

Does the professor know who is out of state and who's not? Does the chair? I know it sounds silly but why does a kid from NJ cost more to educate than a kid from Houston?

Check with private schools... we (at my private college) give lots of $$$ for out of state males.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Again, I've been teaching high school seniors for 19 years, and I agree that there's just not as much scholarship money out there as "they" would have you believe.

Your advice about applying to one -- I call it a safety net school -- is good. I tell my students, "Where could you go, what could you do ENTIRELY ON YOUR OWN if everything in the world went wrong. If those admissions you're counting upon don't come through, if no scholarship appears, and if your parents suddenly had a financial emergency that'd mean they couldn't help you . . . what could you do ON YOUR OWN to at least begin your education?" Depending upon the student, this might mean community college. It might mean driving to the very good university just down the road from us. It might mean attending one of those places part time.I attended a large university (which has doubled in size since I graduated), and I know that my oldest daughter -- the one who's making college choices right now -- is going to choose a big school. I agree with everything you said about more opportunities.

However, I think it's more important to choose a college that's sized right for you. If you're the person who NEEDS that small school interaction, the person who would fall through the cracks without lots of personal interaction, then it's a mistake to go for the big school.

It's too soon to say right now, but I think my youngest child might just be a small school girl. If, by the time she's a junior/senior in high school, that's proven true, then I'll make sure she chooses a small school -- even though I personally prefer large.I don't know anything about Colorado schools specifically, but getting into college is different today. It's much more stressful and complicated than it was back in the 80s when I finished high school.

Some schools have "quotas" essentially, and they only take a certain number of students from this county and that county -- that gives something of an advantage to the rural students. And I'm sure that the "gotta take em" rule is gone. At least around here I know there's no such thing.

I was there in the 90s and yes it could have changed--but I like making sure a certain number of slots do go to your in state students. It was a relatively new thing when I was in college--trying to "fix" a couple of school that were selecting out of state kids intentionally to boost revenue.

 

[QueenRocks]

Re:In-state schools...
This is just for one particular school, but here is what I was basically told by one of this college's admission staffers. In Virginia, the College of William & Mary has to reserve a certain percentage of their freshman class slots for Virginia students per Virginia law. I am roughly paraphrasing what I was told by this admissions-person, but it's something like this...
12,000 applicants apply. Of those 75% are from out-of-state and 25% are in-state. The Freshman class is approximately the size of 1400 or so students. Out of that 1400, 25% of the slots are reserved for out-of-state and 75% of the slots are reserved for in-state. So, 1,050 slots are reserved for 3000 Virginia applicants and 350 slots are reserved for 9000 applicants.

This is a great thread, am subscribing. Glad to see so much good info being posted, & it's to see MrsPete pop up here . Thanks to Virgderon for their experience with local scholarships, we'll have to look into that.

agnes!

The College of William and Mary actually took more out of state students than instate students in 2009. My friends daughter had a gpa of 4.5 and ranked 7th in her class and got wait listed. She had to settle for UVA.

 

[Anne34]

LOTS of states do this. You have to be a pretty good student to qualify, but it's a good deal for the right person.

For this one you don't have to be a good student -- it qualifies for all the state universities in Wisconsin ( and there are many!) We had lots of MN people at college in WI.

 

[Sadie22]

The College of William and Mary actually took more out of state students than instate students in 2009. My friends daughter had a gpa of 4.5 and ranked 7th in her class and got wait listed. She had to settle for UVA.

SETTLE for UVA!! Are you serious? She settled for a public Ivy...

 

[QueenRocks]

SETTLE for UVA!! Are you serious? She settled for a public Ivy...

Yeah, I know! I should of put this smiley . It is tougher to get into W&M because the freshman class is much smaller.

 

[Sadie22]

The College of William and Mary actually took more out of state students than instate students in 2009. My friends daughter had a gpa of 4.5 and ranked 7th in her class and got wait listed. She had to settle for UVA.

SETTLE for UVA!! Are you serious? She settled for a public Ivy...

Yeah, I know! I should of put this smiley . It is tougher to get into W&M because the freshman class is much smaller.

I understand now! I completely missed your smiley. I hope the young lady is as happy with her education at UVA as my son's friends are to be teaching there.

 

[agnes!]

The College of William and Mary actually took more out of state students than instate students in 2009. My friends daughter had a gpa of 4.5 and ranked 7th in her class and got wait listed. She had to settle for UVA.

Well, that's not what I was told but I'm sure it's not the first time this year someone has fudged their facts in a conversation with me. I'd like to find out what all the actual figures are (size of class,how many applied, etc.)

agnes!

 

[crisi]

For this one you don't have to be a good student -- it qualifies for all the state universities in Wisconsin ( and there are many!) We had lots of MN people at college in WI.

And vice versa - you don't need to have decent grades - just good enough to get into the school you are applying to. (as I said, Madison is tough, but Stout is easy to get into). ANY Minnesota resident pays Minnesota in state tuition to go to a Wisconsin school and ANY Wisconsin resident pays Wisconsin tuition to go to a Minnesota School. Schools are matched - UofM-Twin Cites to UW Madison and Stout to St. Cloud State for instance.

 

[tar heel]

If I were a Virginia resident and William and Mary really admitted more in-state than out-of-state students, I would be pissed. UNC's out-of-state quota is 18%. It's a teensy bit easier for out-of-state alumni children to get in than out-of-state with no connections. Only the very top students in the state are accepted, but it's way easier than being out-of-state.

 

[agnes!]

You know, you'd think one could find this W&M information (in-state & out-of-state demographics in the most recent freshman class) but dang! it is hard to come by.

agnes!