Advise for MN student

Parents Forum
1

<p>DD is wants to study psychology and trying to find some possible choises for her. We have no GC at our very small private christian school. Her gpa 3.4 UW and 28ACT (took it just once). She is currently a junior and hispanic.</p>

<p>These are some of the schools we are looking at.</p>

<ol>
<li> Uof MN-Twin Cities</li>
<li> Iowa State</li>
<li> Truman State</li>
<li>U of Alabama</li>
<li>U of Alabama-Birmingham</li>
</ol>

<p>U of Alabama she could attend the honors college
U of Alabama-Birmingham has some great merit aide.</p>

<p>Would it be better to attend Uof MN as a average student or go south as a possible honors student?</p>

2

<p>Has she visited any of those schools? The U of MN is HUGE. Coming from a small Christian school, is she ready for that? Given her GPA and ACT, she would be a candidate for some substantial merit aid at a lot of private schools bringing the cost of those schools well below the U of MN and Iowa State. Truman State she would get about $5000 in merit/out of state awards bringing that cost down to about $15,000–WELL below the U of MN. Personally I think she has too narrow of a list. Alabama is a long way away from MN, is she prepared to go that far away? If so, she need to expand her search nationally to some other schools outside of just the state system.</p>

3

<p>We use to live in Texas until 4yrs ago so she and have done a lot of traveling both in the US and oversees. We have no family so just looking for best school/fit. I agree with you aboout the size of UofMN but DD and DH think the school has a great rep in psychology. As far as privates, Hamline here in MN would give her a great merit package.</p>

4

<p>Please see the Hispanic Students forum (under College Admissions, Specialty Topics). Start with the Resources sticky thread, there’s lots of information about scholarships, results, summer programs and flyin opportunities.</p>

5

<p>She could get great merit at 100’s of schools around the country. Personally I LOVE Truman. Both of our seniors have applied there and have been accepted. It was high on DD’s list but she decided to go to another school. They have outstanding relationships with any number of businesses, etc. and have a very high number of students doing fantastic internships. What does she want to do with her psych degree?</p>

6

<p>UA Birmingham (uab) is where my son goes…if you have specific questions feel free to pm as well</p>

<p>they have very good honors colleges. its an urban campus of about 11k undergrads. great teacher student ratio, dorms are suite or apartment style (full kitchens etc) , wonderful rec center. birmingham has an airport so easier travel.</p>

<p>the blazer elite scholarship would leave you with about 10k out of pocket per year, however if she makes national hispanic scholar she would get a full ride (tuition, dorm and a stipend) at uab</p>

7

<p>She wants to be a counslor. Shes planning on going to grad school but has not ruled out possible med school. Shes worried that a smaller school might not have as many different types of psychology classes as a larger school would. I’m wanting her to look at different schools not just the U of MN. She and her dad are convinced that she’ll get in there but I want her to have options if that doesn’t happen. Also I’m not sure paying extra money for the U of Mn is worth it when there are a lot of other choises.</p>

8

<p>newfaith… uab is home of a top med school, and is ranked as a high research university. as an undergrad she will find lots of research opportunities and professors that love undergrad teaching and welcome them into their labs. the campus is surrounded by 7 hospitals, so if she is interested in med school…so many opportunities for volunteering and shadowing! son has been doing research since first semester freshman year. she might even like the neuroscience program at uab which is psych based. [Neuroscience</a> Undergraduate Program](<a href=“CAS - Undergraduate Neuroscience Program | UAB”>http://www.unp.uab.edu/)
if she does continue to decide on med school, lots of opportunity to do a glide/gap year there doing research and then qualify for instate med school tuition… (about 18k per year now i think…but much lower than many at 40K plus per year)</p>

9

<p>I can answer questions regarding UMN if you have any, either here or via PM.</p>

<p>That’s a good list to start with. Not sure I understand the draw of IA State for a psych major compared to in-state options in MN. Check out reciprocity or low OOS price options in WI and the Dakotas as well.</p>

10

<p>Note that Minnesota has a small inexpensive public LAC in University of Minnesota - Morris.</p>

<p>Minnesota residents also get close to in-state tuition at Wisconsin public universities (there are also deals with North Dakota and South Dakota, although public universities in those states are relatively inexpensive even at regular out-of-state tuition).</p>

11

<p>The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities has a psychology department that is generally regarded as one of the top 10 in the country (ranked #8 at the grad school level by US News). So, too, does the University of Wisconsin-Madison, essentially a second in-state flagship for Minnesota residents, given tuition reciprocity. </p>

<p>The downside for some people is that these are huge schools, and it’s hard to get around that in a field like psych which is a very popular major, so that even many upper-level classes will be large lectures. Some people are fine with that; others, less so. UMN does have an honors college, but your D’s stats are probably not quite strong enough for admission to that program. But I certainly think both UMN and UW Madison should be on her list, along with perhaps some smaller schools. You can run the net price calculators, but those are only estimates; you can’t really do comparison price shopping until you have actual FA offers in hand.</p>

12

<p>MN residents get less expensive overall costs in Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota schools then they do in MN state schools. If she wants to stay in MN I would suggest considering Bemidji State for a counseling program. They have a very well respected program. Truman is a great choice for that as well. I agree that Iowa State isn’t the best option for counseling programs, but I LOVE that campus. Some of the smaller LAC’s in MN would be great for her goals, St. Thomas, St. Ben’s, St. Scholastica, etc. and those schools have had 100 acceptance rates into medical school for the past several years.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>UMN-TC is $24,718 for MN residents. UW Madison is $26,941 for MN residents, though just using tuition, fees, books, room, and board, the price is a very small amount less than UMN-TC (the difference is higher estimated personal and miscellaneous expenses at UW Madison).</p>

<p>[Estimating</a> your costs](<a href=“http://onestop.umn.edu/finances/costs_and_tuition/cost_of_attendance/index.html?year=2012-13&residency=resident&program=undergrad&CSOM=false]Estimating”>http://onestop.umn.edu/finances/costs_and_tuition/cost_of_attendance/index.html?year=2012-13&residency=resident&program=undergrad&CSOM=false)
[The</a> Cost | Office of Student Financial Aid - University of Wisconsin–Madison](<a href=“Office of Student Financial Aid – UW–Madison”>Office of Student Financial Aid – UW–Madison)</p>

<p>North Dakota and South Dakota public schools are rather low cost to begin with; a lot of students in other states (even without reciprocity agreements) will find them cheaper than their in-state public schools. For example, South Dakota State is $15,846 for most non-residents, $15,806 for MN residents (but these do not include personal and miscellaneous expense estimates that most schools estimate a few thousand dollars for).</p>

<p>[Cost</a> Estimate](<a href=“http://www.sdstate.edu/admissions/financing/undergrad/cost/index.cfm]Cost”>http://www.sdstate.edu/admissions/financing/undergrad/cost/index.cfm)</p>

14

<p>Has she spent her entire life to date living in MN? I ask only because I have lived in MN for the past 25 years. However, I was raised on the east coast. My H, also from the east, went to a very southern school. Last year our D applied to two schools in the south. He was not enthusiastic, even though one was his alma mater. He felt the culture of southern girls would not be a good fit for a girl who had been raised her entire life in the midwest. While her first choice was west of the Mississippi (and is where she is attending), another friend of hers did indeed choose to attend his alma mater and as fate would have it, she is now transferring due to his very prediction. </p>

<p>As has been pointed out, there are a lot of schools that might fit in terms of grant, scholarship and a size where she wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed with the size. Of course, some kids who attend very small high schools are ready for the big pond, which also might be found just across the border in Wisconsin (where although slightly higher than UMN cost wise, we do enjoy reciprocity). But for what it’s worth, I think UofMn is a much better choice than Alabama honors, especially if she has a desire to live and work in the Twin Cities. Not only is it a good school, it’s a great town… even if it’s cold as bejeesus in winter. Good thing they have a very good labyrinth of tunnels! They don’t call them the Gophers for nothing!</p>

15

<p>modadunn…very different vibes between ua and uab… ua is 30+K students, big football sorority school. uab is 11K, only 6% greek, and definitely not a football school…so imo i dont really think you can generalize about all southern schools overall…even between these 2 in the same university system…its very different. Even the honors college system is different between the 2 schools. much smaller, and more theme oriented and selective at uab, vs honors at ua is for all students with a certain gpa.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>This is not always the case. Total COA for a Minnesota resident at UMN-TC is slightly lower than total COA for a Minnesota resident at UW-Madison; tuition is the same, some of the student fees are different, room & board is slightly higher at Wisconsin, and Wisconsin figures higher travel costs for a MN resident, which is probably realistic. Net COA, you just don’t know until you get an actual FA offer.</p>

<p>Second-tier publics in both states are cheaper than the flagships. Here are some representative tuition charges for MN residents:</p>

<p>Minnesota: </p>

<p>MSU-Mankato $7,532
Bemidji State $7,146
St. Cloud State $7,452
Minnesota-Morris $11,720
Minnesota-Duluth $12,756 </p>

<p>Wisconsin:
UW-Eau Claire $8,700
UW-River Falls $7,214
UW-Stout $8,940</p>

<p>North Dakota:
U North Dakota $7,733
North Dakota State $6,708</p>

<p>South Dakota:
University of South Dakota $8,253 ($4,446 tuition + $3,807 fees)
South Dakota State $8,610 ($5,100 tuition + $3,510 fees)</p>

<p>Room and board costs vary somewhat, but are generally pretty comparable. </p>

<p>It’s generally the case, then, that the MNSCU colleges are a little cheaper for Minnesota residents than most of the public universities in reciprocity states, while units of the University of Minnesota are generally pricier. But that’s just the sticker price; actual net COA after FA will vary.</p>

17

<p>We are not tied down to any area. DD was born in Texas and lived there until 13yrs old. Until she was 10yrs old she always thought she was going to be an Aggie (lol). SteveMA, I love St.Thomas and she did too but is convinced U of Mn has best program. After your message went to St.Thomas site and plugged in numbers and it would not be that much more to send her there. I’m going to have her revisit and think about how much easier it would be to have smaller class sizes. What intrigued me about University of Alabama-Birmingham was the great merit aide. She could attend for about $6,000 a year and be exposed to clinical settings and hospitals right away (I think). For the price savings the cost of flying her home for breaks would not be a problem. Shes very social so not worrried about her finding a group of friends. The reason Iowa State is on the list is because it looks like a fun place to be. She and her dad are going to visit in the spring, hopefully once all the snow melts (lol).</p>

18

<p>UAB links:
[UAB</a> - About the Department of Psychology](<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found)</p>

<p>there is an honors program for psych
[UAB</a> - Honors Program](<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found)</p>

<p>the honors colleges of uab…she would probably like university honors best?
[UAB</a> - The Honors College Signature Programs](<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found)</p>

<p>some rankings for uab… click on tabs at top:
<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found;

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<p>I’m not sure Iowa State’s counseling psychology program(at least at the grad level) is as ‘bad’ as people think. I would guess that the undergrauate program is better than any directional school.</p>

<p>[The</a> Chronicle: Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?year=2007&primary=3&secondary=25&bycat=Go]The”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?year=2007&primary=3&secondary=25&bycat=Go)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/fileadmin/user_upload/grad/Buboltz_2010.pdf[/url]”>http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/fileadmin/user_upload/grad/Buboltz_2010.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>bclintonk-I said overall costs. Add them all up, room, board tuition fees, books–which are included in the tuition price at the WI directionals…net cost can be close to $2000 or more depending on the school but even so, schools like St. Thomas, etc. usually end up being less anyway so the point is irrelevant.</p>