Why is out of state college so much more?

[linnylu]

It's important to find an affordable college, whether that be in-state, out-of-state, public or private. Private colleges may have more funds to give to deserving students, to meet additional financial need, to provide a more diverse student population, because they have no tuba players, etc. Some colleges offer so much off tuition to every member of the National Honor Society. Some offer so much to Eagle Scouts, and so on and so forth.

If your son excels academically he might be invited to apply for full scholarships such as the Dupont at University at Delaware. It pays to check out every avenue such as corporate scholarships and private scholarships through different universities. Encourage your son to explore a variety of schools.

Okay, but how do you know what private colleges to apply to if your guidance department offers no guidance. I have a dd who plays trombone, is in the National Honor Society, and got a 32 on her ACT. How does she know which colleges might be looking for a student like her? People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

 

[Sadie22]

Okay, but how do you know what private colleges to apply to if your guidance department offers no guidance. I have a dd who plays trombone, is in the National Honor Society, and got a 32 on her ACT. How does she know which colleges might be looking for a student like her? People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

She won't know which colleges might be looking for someone like her until she does a lot of research. Some guidance offices have computer software available to aid in this search. Some local libraries or even community college libraries have this service. Libraries may have volumes describing colleges and scholarships.

There are scholarships offered by corporations. Perhaps a parent's or grandparent's employer offers one. There are scholarships offered by historical societies. There are scholarships offered to members of various ethnic groups. Colleges have private scholarships available.

Is your DD a high school junior? If a senior, it's very late to be doing research. You and DD can search on the Internet for schools and scholarships, visit every college fair you can drive to (search online), collect brochures, send away for more, visit college open houses, whatever it takes to learn more so she can find out where she should apply. At the college fairs she can talk to admissions counselors, but on college visits she can hopefully talk to faculty members. At one such open house my eldest spoke with the department heads of two departments and learned for the first time how easy it would be to do a double major in those fields, and that is what he did.

When my sons were looking for colleges our state put out a handbook of schools in the state as well as descriptions of state scholarships and how to apply. My sons had incentives to remain in state although we did visit some out of state schools. They went with the highest financial aid offers among the schools that they determined offered good programs in their chosen fields of study. The smaller private college offered the eldest the double major, a job every summer in his field, help in applying for national competitive programs for research projects, and what it took to get into graduate school.

 

[StephMK]

DD is a Jr too & we're also dealing with the sticker shock. I knew prices were high but her top pick so far is $50k a year! Their site claims they don't like loans and offer grants, etc. to make it affordable. We'll have to see if their idea of "affordable" meets our view and bank account!

For the OP looking for specific scholarships, websites like scholarships.com have extensive surveys to complete. That might help narrow down any unusual interests options. DD's "job" this year is to hunt for all possibilities & start applying for whatever scholarships she can.

 

[MrsPete]

People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

Having taught seniors for 19 years, I can tell you that I've never had a senior earn a scholarship for something "odd".

 

[MrsPete]

Some states will have a reciprocity program - Minnesota has one with Wisconsin and North and South Dakota. It allows you to pay in state tuition to one of the other state's schools.

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.

 

[riley2008]

Shoot, it's almost impossible to get into UT as an IN STATE student too! Unless you are in the top 8-10% of your class, UT is out of reach for many Texas students too!

I think it's eased up in the last couple of years. 3 years ago a couple of students from our area (within TX) didn't get their first choice of UT, but did their 2nd - Harvard! Tuition and board ended up being less too because of scholarships. There was even an article in Texas Monthly about how difficult it was becoming to get into UT and Texas A&M.

UT is a great school and the airport is easy getting in/out of. I love Austin, but it has grown and changed dramatically in the last 15 years.

OP-best of luck!

 

[allison443]

Okay, but how do you know what private colleges to apply to if your guidance department offers no guidance. I have a dd who plays trombone, is in the National Honor Society, and got a 32 on her ACT. How does she know which colleges might be looking for a student like her? People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

You can go to collegeboard.com, the website of the company that adminsiters the SAT. There is a feature for students called "find your match" or something similar. The student can enter criteria they would like in a school (size, location, majors, your gpa and sat scores) and it will generate a list of possibilities.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Okay, but how do you know what private colleges to apply to if your guidance department offers no guidance. I have a dd who plays trombone, is in the National Honor Society, and got a 32 on her ACT. How does she know which colleges might be looking for a student like her? People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

When she applied for the ACT, she should have entered information about her current GPA in HS, her plans for the future, etc. They match her info up with schools all over the country. With her ACT score she should be getting info from all over the place. Lots of smaller private schools could probably offer her merit money (not financial aid that you pay back or have to fill out the FAFSA for).

My son has been getting e-mails and snail mail from schools all over the place. He's just a senior and has already been accepted at five schools and offered a $48,000 (for four years) merit scholarship at a smaller private Catholic college, which would bring his per year cost down to about $18K per year. And his ACT composite wasn't nearly as good as your daughter's.

We did a college road trip in July to visit six schools that he was interested in and he wound up applying to five of the six. He's narrowed his choice down to one and we're hoping he'll get some merit money in December from this school.

Get a copy of Competitive Colleges by Peterson's. They have a whole series of books that you can find out info about various schools. You should be able to get one at Barnes & Noble or some other bookstore. Even Amazon has these books.

UT is a great school and the airport is easy getting in/out of. I love Austin, but it has grown and changed dramatically in the last 15 years.

Austin has gotten horrid in the past years. I graduated from UT-Austin in 1972 (yeah, the Ice Age) and it was a nice, friendly town with a university of 40,000 students (even then). I think it has 60K now. I told my son (when he was talking about St Edwards - his cousin is there now), that it would be too bad if I never visited him in Austin if he went to school there. We were there last Spring for a wedding and I will never return.

Now, College Station is a different thing. I graduated from there in 1978 and will go back again. But my son just isn't interested in A&M.

 

[bluesaturn]

Okay, but how do you know what private colleges to apply to if your guidance department offers no guidance. I have a dd who plays trombone, is in the National Honor Society, and got a 32 on her ACT. How does she know which colleges might be looking for a student like her? People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

In my opinion, there's a lot less scholarship money out there than people lead you to believe. It's very hotly debated on this board, but the idea that people are waiting to throw money at you is very much like an urban legend to me. One that I totally bought into prior to applying to college. Mostly spread by people that have no kids in college yet (or maybe one kid who applied to one school) but heard about all these scholarships from friends of friends.

After taking the PSATs and SATs I received a lot of mail from colleges. Most of them were not schools I wanted to go to because I would have been at the very top of their application pool (which is why they wanted me). The schools that were a better fit (my grades/scores were on par with the student body) were less likely to beg me to apply, as expected. It really is up to the student to do the research regarding where she will fit best.

Tell your daughter to do herself a favor and apply to at least one college she is very, very sure she will get into, and that is financially possible without a drop of scholarship money. She might not have to go there, but if things don't turn out as you hope she will be glad to have that option.

 

[csharpwv]

OK folks - I have to laugh - I am a college recruiter and this conversation is so 'at work' for me.

First and foremost - if you have sticker-shock - it is rightfully so.

Higher Education is expensive - and frankly the price tag on the education is not connected to the quality, quantity, or 'after graduation' value of the degree conferred.

As so many previous posters have said - the in-state / out-of-state costs are directly linked to public subsidy - and then on the next level it is linked to supply and demand.

I work for my Alma Mater - I recieved a top notch education that prepared me to be a life long learner. I had amazing faculty members that cared about my education and invested themselves in my personal development. So it is very easy for me to 'sell' a school experience that changed my way of thinking, my desire to learn, and above all else had such a profound impact on my life.
So - I love it when parents react to our out-of-state costs by asking - "So that's your in state cost - what does it cost for out-of-state students???" To which I respond "That IS our out-of-state cost!"

Education costs are soaring - and there are schools out there that ARE affordable for both in-state and out of state students. You just have to look for them..... WHY? They can't afford to market themselves in a way that would put their name "OUT THERE". It doesn't make sense or fulfill their purpose to spend large amounts of money on marketing.

Another reason - a smaller school equals a smaller graduating class - thus fewer alumni. Proud Alumni really provide a great testament to the quality of education.

Yet another reason - smaller schools don't have the ability to send recruiters all over creation to recruit only the top 10% of every class - at every high school. So you may not see them at a college fair, you may not hear their name - or see their information in a guidance counselors office - but the school it out there - MANY with programs that are far better then programs at much larger schools - WHY? Because the faculty members invest themselves in their students, because the student's success is a mirror image of the professor's finest work. It's like buying a custom tailored suit - IT FITS the person it was made for. Professors at smaller schools have the ability to 'custom fit' a student's interests, both personal and career/professional.

So at larger college/universities, classes are so large that professors teach to jammed lecture halls often times of 200+ students. That professor doesn't know the student's names - let alone what their personal/professional interests are. Thus creating a more 'off the rack' or cookie cutter education. Nothing custom or customized about it.

So why does an 'Off the rack' education cost more?
There are many reasons - just a few below:
You know those great college football games on TV - everyone loves to watch the game and cheer on their favorite team....
Well in the process you are cheering on higher tuition, higher facility costs, increased security costs, increased coaching staff costs, and a host of other costs that ADD to your bottom line.
For instance in 2009 The University of Arkansas spent almost 60% more of their total revenue on Athletics versus academics? Is that FAIR? NO WAY!

There are in fact very few college athletics programs that are self sustaining - Most schools charge athletic fees to ALL their full-time on campus students some as high as $1,000 PER SEMESTER - is it work $8,000 in student loan debt to pay for cash-hog athletics programs with bloated budgets? NO WAY!

And yet another reason - so many universities have become major research institutions that they have an abundance of faculty that work with as few as one student (in recent reports about a major school) yet they make $100,000 a year? To NOT teach?

If your pockets are not deep - and you need to look at the cost of education look at the ways schools spend the money that you have worked so hard to earn and save over the years.

Look for schools that do not have bloated research budgets - look for schools where athletics are not "King" - and more importantly look for schools that give you the time of day - and ones that don't just assume that you want in - and want to be a part.

Look for a school that welcomes you - not just your money.

It takes a village to raise a child - not a major metropolitan area.

What are you buying? What are you investing in?

Is it a party school? Can you buy a keg on every corner?

Education is too expensive to mix with drugs and alcohol. (interjecting my personal opinion)

Take a walk on the wild side -

Here is what I consider reasonable:

Tuition+Fees+Room+Board= Less than $18,000 a year.

If a student has a GPA of at least 3.0 and an SAT Combined Critical Reading and Math score of at least 990, drop the above figure to $16,330

That's the school I work for - yet we've produced stellar graduates - in many cases that were ABLE to be successful because they didn't saddle themselves with unnecessary student debt on their way up the ladder.

With the Masters degree being the 'NEW' Bachelors, it makes WAY more sense to save $$$ on your undergrad and invest in a good graduate school.

Who do you want writing your son or daughter's letter of recommendation to graduate/professional school - the custom tailor who walked your student through their own personal self discovery and was with them every step of the way - or the professor who never had the time to learn your student's name until their senior year of college?

Don't waste your money - this is the budget board after all!

Don't let BIG schools sell you on quality, when in fact you are just a number to them.

Shop around - GREAT schools are out there - ready to take students to the next level - for a reasonable price.

If you would like to name of the best school that you've never heard of - PLEASE feel free to PM me - I don't want to post it because I did NOT post this out of self interest, I posted it to encourage families to SHOP AROUND!

 

[bluesaturn]

OK folks - I have to laugh - I am a college recruiter and this conversation is so 'at work' for me.

I agree with a lot of what you say, with a few exceptions.

I applied to many small private schools, and one single large university. The large university was without a doubt the cheapest (even with the scholarship money I received at the other schools), however it was also in state.

I had some opportunities at my large university that I never would have had at a small college, especially in regard to research. I was able to work on studies that would not be done outside major research institutions, and because of that I received rec letters from professors that were known in my field. You can secure very good recommendations at a larger university, but it is harder because you have to get to know faculty members on your own time. I never would have thought about this as a high school student.

I learned a lot of independence because of the size of my school. From the very first day you were on your own and no one was going to hold your hand through anything. This can be bad and good, and I think it depends on your personality whether you sink or swim. It very much prepared me for the "real world", so it was a good thing for me.

I will say that in my opinion, people from small schools are always more passionate about their school and the education they received, which is certainly a good sign.

 

[MoniqueU]

I get the point about the tax dollars funding that, I hadn't thought of that before. But my son is a senior and we live in CA and both the big and small schools are horribly hard to get into. Kids with great GPAs are getting waitlisted at tiny no name cal state schools. I see the average GPS for some of our bigger UC schools and they are 4.0 and UP. My son got stellar Sat scores but his gpa isn't that great most likely due to profound hearing loss that he was diagnosed with a bit late and then refusred to wear his hearing aids for. (his fault) and we are ssweating it even looking at the eligibility indexes and acceptance percentages. Our neighbor who's daughter was in special programs but got a decent GPA in lowrer level classes was waitlisted at the local cal state which is in a town no one would really CHOOSE to be in but was accepted at Boise State. So while I get it some people might have to pony up like us because thats where we can get our kid in at. We get some form of contact from Tulane at least twice a week. We sure can't afford it but hell I am thinking of having my son apply just to get them to stop hounding us or to see what they will offer to a out of state, minority half deaf kid! Hell ya never know.

 

[mickeysmate65]

I understand the rationale for a lower in-state tuition rates - taxes;etc. If my taxes are supporting the college then why is it my child is denied a spot for an out of state or out of country child?(rhetorical) Even with decent grades and SAT scores our state colleges are ridiculously competitive. Yes, it is about money to support the college but that doesn't make it right for in-state students. I just have trouble with the thought we are all paying state taxes to support schools that our kids will be bumped from.....

 

[NHdisneylover]

I understand the rationale for a lower in-state tuition rates - taxes;etc. If my taxes are supporting the college then why is it my child is denied a spot for an out of state or out of country child?(rhetorical) Even with decent grades and SAT scores our state colleges are ridiculously competitive. Yes, it is about money to support the college but that doesn't make it right for in-state students. I just have trouble with the thought we are all paying state taxes to support schools that our kids will be bumped from.....

I can see that being an issue. Way back when I was in school (not sure if this is still the case or not) there was a rule in Colorado to make sure the local kids did get priority. There was a minimum SAT and ACT score that as long as you had that and applied on time, if you were in state they HAD to take you. I don't recall what the level was--but it was nice knowing I had no worries about being accepted.

 

[crisi]

I understand the rationale for a lower in-state tuition rates - taxes;etc. If my taxes are supporting the college then why is it my child is denied a spot for an out of state or out of country child?(rhetorical) Even with decent grades and SAT scores our state colleges are ridiculously competitive. Yes, it is about money to support the college but that doesn't make it right for in-state students. I just have trouble with the thought we are all paying state taxes to support schools that our kids will be bumped from.....

Because schools have a number of different objectives to meet. Taxpayers not only want their kids educated, they want the school to be respected and give the kids certain experiences. For instance, the school may have a mission towards cultural diversity (not ethnic diversity) meaning that they want a certain number of international students or students from other parts of the country). Some states have mandates that some instate school has to have room for pretty much every kid who wants to go. At the University of Minnesota twenty years ago, this was the General College program. Not sure if its still there. And now for a lot of states community college fills that roll - if your grades are good enough to transfer into a four year school after community college, you transfer. If not, you got a two year degree.

Some states have poured a lot of tax dollars over the years into having a very broad and extensive state college/university systems - their schools are not all very competitive to enter (though their flagship schools often are), because they have a lot of room for students. UW-Madison is hard to get into - getting into UW-Stout or UW-LaCrosse really isn't - Wisconsin is a place that has a lot of public colleges per capita. Other states have not funded higher education as well. If your parents weren't paying high taxes for schools, your children will have fewer schools to choose from. State University systems don't spring up over night - they are the work of generations.

But, as I said upthread, there are state schools nationwide that have fairly reasonable out of state tuition and room and board. You don't NEED to spend $40k on school if your kid can't get to an instate school. Valley City State University in North Dakota is around $10k a year - tuition room and board, and not difficult to get into. Of course, North Dakota isn't exactly a happening place to go to college.

 

[eliza61]

Okay, but how do you know what private colleges to apply to if your guidance department offers no guidance. I have a dd who plays trombone, is in the National Honor Society, and got a 32 on her ACT. How does she know which colleges might be looking for a student like her? People always say there is a lot of scholarship money out there for "odd" things, but is that true or just something you hear?

My suggestion would to first try to see if she has any thoughts on where she may want to go. that may help you look for money. With my first kid, a bunch of aid he recieved was very specific. He had to go to a college offering X program.

 

[MrsPete]

In my opinion, there's a lot less scholarship money out there than people lead you to believe. It's very hotly debated on this board, but the idea that people are waiting to throw money at you is very much like an urban legend to me . . .

Tell your daughter to do herself a favor and apply to at least one college she is very, very sure she will get into, and that is financially possible without a drop of scholarship money. She might not have to go there, but if things don't turn out as you hope she will be glad to have that option.

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 had some opportunities at my large university that I never would have had at a small college

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 can see that being an issue. Way back when I was in school (not sure if this is still the case or not) there was a rule in Colorado to make sure the local kids did get priority. There was a minimum SAT and ACT score that as long as you had that and applied on time, if you were in state they HAD to take you. I don't recall what the level was--but it was nice knowing I had no worries about being accepted.

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.

 

[Virgderon]

For the OP looking for specific scholarships, websites like scholarships.com have extensive surveys to complete. That might help narrow down any unusual interests options. DD's "job" this year is to hunt for all possibilities & start applying for whatever scholarships she can.

For us, the national scholarships were a lot of work and we did not get anything out of it. The small local scholarships from the Jaycees and the chamber of commerce were much less competitive, and my DD got a couple of those.

Remember that those kinds of scholarships really only help the first year. It's a better idea to concentrate on schools that will offer 4 year merit scholarships or grants .

 

[csharpwv]

I agree with a lot of what you say, with a few exceptions.

I applied to many small private schools, and one single large university. The large university was without a doubt the cheapest (even with the scholarship money I received at the other schools), however it was also in state.

I had some opportunities at my large university that I never would have had at a small college, especially in regard to research. I was able to work on studies that would not be done outside major research institutions, and because of that I received rec letters from professors that were known in my field. You can secure very good recommendations at a larger university, but it is harder because you have to get to know faculty members on your own time. I never would have thought about this as a high school student.

I learned a lot of independence because of the size of my school. From the very first day you were on your own and no one was going to hold your hand through anything. This can be bad and good, and I think it depends on your personality whether you sink or swim. It very much prepared me for the "real world", so it was a good thing for me.

I will say that in my opinion, people from small schools are always more passionate about their school and the education they received, which is certainly a good sign.

Of the VOLUMES that I typed I forgot to say that the school I work for is a public institution. Sorry about that!

 

[Sadie22]

For us, the national scholarships were a lot of work and we did not get anything out of it. The small local scholarships from the Jaycees and the chamber of commerce were much less competitive, and my DD got a couple of those.

Remember that those kinds of scholarships really only help the first year. It's a better idea to concentrate on schools that will offer 4 year merit scholarships or grants .

Many of the smaller scholarship may be renewable. There are some scholarships available only to freshmen whereas there are others available to upperclassmen, so a student who needs more funding should continuing searching.

Community college for a couple of years and then transferring to a four-year school is another alternative for making college more affordable.