Should I go to penn state Abington? Anyone go there? Is it true you’ll go into debt? I’m deciding between here and Hunter College.
To answer the question in your Subject - yes.
To provide an opinion that may help you, please provide more information such as your intended major, home state, financial aid situation, etc. The more info you provide the better responses you will receive.
Thank you! So I wanna major in Psychology. The aid they gave me was 16,000. There tuition per semester is 10,000. I live in New York and I’m scared of leaving but in a way I wanna. I don’t know what to do
Ok, to be be clear:
- Which school offered the aid?
- Is the $16,000 per year or spread over 4 years?
- Is the aid in the form of grants/scholarships that do not have to be repaid?
- How will the balance of cost be funded (cash, loans, etc)?
- Do you plan to go to grad school?
Approximate costs (according to BigFuture.CollegBoard.org)
$26,600 Hunter College (in-state)
$50,870 Penn State (out-of-state)
Scenario #1 - parent’s can fund some but you will go into debt with loans, etc.
Outcome - chose Hunter
If Hunter is giving the aid per year, I think this is a no-brainer.
If I assume PSU gave the aid per year, the out-of-state net cost is about $35,000, and still about $8,000 more than Hunter. That’s $32,000 more debt in total over 4 years on top of the loans needed to go to Hunter.
Scenario #2 - parents can fund all of it and have no problem writing a huge check.
Outcome - Give your parents a big hug and kiss and chose PSU.
Do you live in NYC and would commute to Hunter?
Or would you commute to Abington?
How would you pay for each university?
Penn State is one of the most expensive public universities, so I’m guessing you got little aid and Hunter is cheaper - in that case, pick Hunter.
@MYOS1634 @junkpix thank u so much… I’m just nervous because I have to decide by tonight. I love Penn so much. I know you shouldn’t decide based off atmosphere either. Also penn gave me the 16,000. What confuses me is that penn is 10,000 a semester, so will the 16,000 cover each semester?
Is that Penn or Penn State (Penn = Ivy League in Philadelphia, Penn State = Pennsylvania’s flagship in University Park/State College)?
Can you list your Penn/Penn State aid package exactly as you got it?
Oh I’m sorry! Penn state University not the ivy. And okay sure
Grant 1: 5920
Grant 2: 1,200
Loan: 3500
Loan: 6000
Total I accepted: 7,120
How much I will get if I say yes to loans: 16,620.
Are you instate for Penn State? Would you be commuting to Abington?
Dorming
If you were dorming (is there a dorm in Abington?) you’d have extra costs.
If you are OOS, Penn State Abington would cost you about 35K a year.
You got $7,120 in grants/scholarships, meaning you’d have to pay 28K.
9K would be loans (already a lot).
You’d still need to pay 19K. Where would that money come from?
Can your parents spend that much from their savings and income?
The dorms at Abington are brand new for the next year and I don’t think there are enough rooms for the number of people that go there, so housing may be full already.
The aid you describe comes in a large part from loans. Be careful because those need to be paid back of course. The grants will not. For OOS, PSU Abington is 35K (with tuition and housing). If Hunter is cheaper, I’d go with that. I LOVE Penn State as do most people here, but I am not in favor of going into a lot of debt for undergraduate college. MYOS is right above. That 16k in loans and scholarships is for an entire year. That means you’d still have to come up with about 20k a year AND you’d have 9K in loans each year.
Figuring that you get private loans for the other 20k. That’s 29K in loans per year times 4…>That’s 116k in loans you’d have to pay back at the end of 4 years. Penn State isn’t worth that for anyone, much less an undergrad psychology degree that you can get anywhere. In Psychology, it’s your PhD. school that will matter. Not your undergrad. If your parents can pay the 20k per year, then you’d only have about 36k in loans. That’s more doable. So it really depends on how you are financing your education.
But be clear, that 16k is PER YEAR. Abington is 20k per year JUST for tuition.
Thank u for this information. Do you go to Abington too? How do you pay ?
@jlhpsu is a PSU parent (one kid at UP, one kid soon-to-be at Altoona). As for me, I’m not a student but work with them and know Penn State well (you can check the post number below someone’s name, and the indication junior/senior member).
Yes, that’s right. I am also an alumni as is my husband and I am a PSU Parent Ambassador. @MYOS1634 is extremely knowledgeable about PSU so take their advice to heart. As for us, we are currently paying for my daughter’s UP college out of savings. She will need some loans before it’s all said and done, but not that many. My son is going to Altoona in the fall and it will be the same for him. Mostly savings, some minimal loans at the end.
My son almost committed to a PASSHE state school but since we own rental housing at UP campus and his housing would be “free” for his last two years at UP, the cost was very similar and PSU is a better school - so he went with the 2+2 with Altoona and UP.