Apply to top ranked publics OOS if money is a concern.

<p>So I am a NC resident and of course have applied and am waiting to hear from UNC, my first choice. But If i dont get in I have only gotten into some other state schools which are good schools but nothing special. I was just curious as to how finical aid works for top OOS publics such as U of Michigan or U of Wisconsin, i only list those 2 because i believe most other top public deadlines have passed(u of Florida and Texas). I know for UNC it is extremely hard to get in OOS, is this the case for Michigan and Wisconsin as well. Also if i applied to theses schools and got in would i get any aid or would i have just wasted my time and be forced to pay the 30k a year? Any advice on any of the topics covered would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Sorry but it’s very unlikely that you would get OOS financial aid. If I were you I’d go to UNC, it’s a very good school for an affordable price. There’s nothing wrong with going to a top state flagship, especially if you’d only be leaving for Wisconsin or Michigan. Not that they’re bad, though.</p>

<p>You can try the “net price calculator” at each school’s web site, but do not be too optimistic about out of state schools other than Virginia (which does give decent financial aid to out of state students) and Minnesota (which has a low out of state list price).</p>

<p>Most OOS at Michigan pay much more than 30 grand. Think more like 50 if you are thinking of applying here-you have to add in room and board to the cost of tuition. Michigan rarely gives money to oos since they count on them to subsidize the lower instate tuition.</p>

<p>Oh, and to answer your other question yes, Michigan is extremely hard to get into if you are out of state.</p>

<p>For most OOS public Us, particularly the flagships, you will only get federal FA which consists of loans, and a Pell Grant if you’re very low income. That doesn’t make much of a dent in total COA. If you have high scores and grades you might get some merit $ but at schools like UMich that is fiercely competitive.</p>

<p>UW-Madison has a program that meets full need for OOS students with extremely low family incomes (below 30k/year). I was selected for it and very nearly ended up going there instead of Grinnell. [BANNER</a> | 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>It might not be entirely income-based, though. I had a 34 ACT and there was speculation that I might have gotten selected based on my test score as well as my family income. There’s not a whole lot of information on the site about how people are selected for it.</p>

<p>I don’t know if your income is low enough to qualify, but it’s something to consider.</p>

<p>It’s almost certainly harder to get into Michigan OOS than UNC in-state, but not because of admissions quotas. Michigan’s student body is 35% OOS, and I believe their last few entering classes may have had an even higher percentage of OOS students. They don’t meet 100% of need for OOS students, but on the other hand they claim to meet 90% of need on average for all their students, so even if they’re meeting 100% for in-state students, some significant fraction of OOS students must be getting pretty substantial FA. But you certainly do hear stories about OOS applicants who don’t get attractive FA awards from Michigan.</p>

<p>UVA claims to meet 100% of need, but only 32.6% of their students receive any form of need-based aid, and only 29.3% receive need-based grants or scholarships. So either they attract an unusually affluent student body, or their definition of need is very restrictive, or both. But in either case UVA gives out a lot less FA, both in absolute terms and on a per capita basis, than Michigan. Total undergrad scholarships/grants, per 2011-12 common data sets for both schools: Michigan $181 million, UVA $81 million. Total undergrad enrollment: Michigan 26,538, UVA 15,762. So Michigan’s about 68% bigger, but dispenses about 123% more grant/scholarship aid.</p>

<p>Minnesota is a low-cost OOS option.</p>