<p>I was wondering how much UPitt actually cost for out of state students. I'm from northeastern Indiana, so the cost to drive to and from isn't all that much, comparatively. I also got a $10,000/year scholarship and was admitted to the Honors College. I know that the Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences is $25,420. However, the website seems to indicate that there isn't a set amount for the room, board, book fees, and everything else. If I were to go, I plan to live on campus my first year, but not the rest of the years. The main competitors for UPitt would be Indiana University-Bloomington (in-state tuition with $9,000/year scholarship) and University of Texas-Dallas (AES scholarship that would have me paying about $4,000-5,000/year). I'm planning on majoring in English and doing some language and political science work as well. Thoughts on these three would be helpful :) Thanks so much.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently an OOS student at Pitt. Her costs have varied depending upon dorm and meal plan choice. </p>
<p>The mandatory fees for this academic year were $860, which includes technology fees, transportation fees (bus system), health center fee and I can’t remember if there may be a few other items covered in this amount. These fees should be the same for all students, regardless of where you live.</p>
<p>I believe you can check the Pitt site for approximate housing prices and meal plan choices to get an idea of what you might spend. </p>
<p>Books can vary greatly, sometimes you may not even purchase the book for a class - each prof will specify the need for textbooks. I recommend purchasing used books from online sources, much cheaper than the bookstore. Or, another reasonable option is renting books online. Based upon my daughter’s experience, I would estimate each of her books was about $30-$50 (used), so multiply that by an average of 5 classes per semester to get an average cost. Remember, quite often you can sell back books at the end of the semester,either online or at the bookstore. The cost of books can vary greatly depending upon your major and the classes you choose. Freshman year Chem book was over $200, and no used copies were available as it was a new text!</p>
<p>Hey! I’m from Texas and going to Pitt, so I know a bit about both Pitt and UTD. Just my two cents, even for the money, I would choose Pitt over UTD for your major. UTD is fantastic for engineering and science, but their liberal arts are fairly underdeveloped and limited. If English is your passion, Pitt is probably the better choice, even with the higher cost.</p>
<p>IU is an excellent school - not sure I would turn that down if it’s a lot cheaper - especially for an English major since you probably will have to go to grad school in order to get a good job.</p>
<p>The room and board would be about the same as it would be for IU. So you would do better going there, as they are comparable schools. You might be able to do a little better moving off campus at Pitt after freshman year than what the costs are at IU, but not significantly. Certainly not going to make up the gap. I really like Pitt, prefer it to IU, but for the cost differential, I’d go with IU.</p>
<p>UTD has a very good chess team. Since I play chess, this could make the difference. At IU, I’d basically have to give up chess altogether during the school year. I like IU’s language programs a lot, and its English department is probably superior, and its more college experience-y…but UTD’s chess team/price is very appealing.</p>
<p>If I was in your situation, I would remove Univ of Texas at Dallas off the list. Now between pitt and IU, I would recommend IU just because it is in state and will be cheaper…pitt and IU are in the same level so closer to home would be better for your family and more importantly your self.</p>
<p>Yeah… the way I see it is UTD wins out on cost and chess, and the other two are essentially tied on academics. UPitt being approximately $25,000/year doesn’t make it reasonable, though, especially if its comparable to IU in academics. Finances are a pretty big part of my decision. </p>
<p>A side question for anyone who cares to listen/answer: If I’m going to grad school anyway, though, is the academic difference between UTD and IU even that important? I figure that anywhere I go I can pursue my interests. UTD’s focus on the sciences could even be a plus, since that means I can get more personal attention that IU’s massive class sizes would not allow. Chess is a really big part of my life. Even though I’m more drawn to IU academically, UTD offers that in a really unique and amazing way.</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about UTD to comment. I have always encouraged my children to pick the school they like the most, where they want to live, the feel, the vibe, the students, all of that stuff. Have you visited UTD? Also get some idea as to what the quality of the classes are. As I said, I have no idea. Is it like one o fhe Penn State or Pitt Branches? Is it primarily a commuter school? You need to know all of these things. Also, what you plan on doing now, at age 18 might be a whole other story 4 years later. </p>
<p>Pitt and UI are so similar that I don’t think it matters which one a person picks. That you can get away from home is the advantage of Pitt, but the price is much better at UI. An advantage of UTD is that you can get away, be in a big city, enjoy your sport, get a good price for your college education, and then be in shape to return for a graduate or professional degree in state if you so prefer. But I don’t know much about the make up of UTD and how it stacks up academically. I’m truly clueless about most schools in the southwest.</p>
<p>It used to be primarily a commuter school, but this is changing. The demand for on-campus living has skyrocketed. They just put in new, fancy freshman dorms. It used to have no social life, but this is also changing. I think I read online that the number of girls joining sororities is increasing by 200% or so. Also, the number of people who are going into the humanities is increasing by 25% every year. I have a lot of friends who go there so I am going to talk to them and visit in the spring sometime. Additionally, if i go, I’ll have an opportunity to room with my good friend. UTD is a burgeoning university. I foresee great things for its future, but maybe its not right for me to go there yet.</p>
<p>Brownhopeful - No one hear wants to stop you from going to a school you really want to go to. We just don’t believe the major you want goes well with UTD. </p>
<p>Southern schools and Greek life go hand in glove.</p>
<p>The thing is, I’m really indecisive. I could easily write a paragraph like that about IU. And another on all the things I don’t like about either school.</p>
<p>Of course I will continue to play recreationally, but the access to tournaments is so different at UTD. I’m a really serious chess player…I have competed internationally and won national events. My friend who goes to UTD was able to play in two major summer tournaments, the US Open and the World Open, for free because UTD paid for them. Additionally, they send teams out to every major tournament in Texas. There is also a thriving chess club in Dallas that is renowned around the US. IU doesn’t have the same access to tournaments, though Pittsburgh is a little better. However, Dallas is a chess capital, while Pittsburgh is not. IU is located at least 4 hours from any tournament venue except for Indianapolis. I would have to stop playing competitively except over breaks and the summer. Since UTD is so cheap, I would be able to hire one of the expensive grandmaster coaches in the Dallas area to train me. In general, my chess would thrive. </p>
<p>So, with all this said, IU and Pitt are definitely better at the sorts of things I would be interested in. But is the discrepancy enough to make me choose either one of them over the chess scene at UTD?</p>
<p>One of our state universities, UM Baltimore County, competes regularly against UTD. Too bad you did not look at that one earlier. It has some nice merit scholarships.</p>
<p>But would the fact that UTD focuses on math/science fields put me at that much of a disadvantage? I come from a difficult private school with superb English training. Will I feel like I’m not learning as much, even in the upper level courses?</p>