Applying To Out Of State Public Schools

I have learned so much from the friendly contributors here at CC. So I have managed to figure out that the published cost of a private school can sometimes be reduced for a high achieving applicant. Likewise for our in-state public schools but probably considerably less since the price is lower to start with. But I am confused about applying to out of state public schools. Their published prices often exceed what we might be expecting to pay at a private school that offers merit aid making them not very attractive without a grant of some kind. Should I just scratch all public out of state schools off the list? I’m leaning in that direction. It would be a big waste of everyone’s time to apply to expensive schools that we know in advance are not going to provide any assistance. How could I find out which, if any, out of state public universities would possibly offer some kind of merit scholarship funds such that I might want to consider applying?

Some public Us give grants that allow higher performing students to pay in-state rates. Others (UCB and UCLA) do not. As to how to find out, look at the pinned threads at the top of this forum. You’ll have to verify if the info is still accurate but it will give you a start. I know the non-flagship Ohio schools give grants to OOS students.

A lot to process in the pinned threads here. How would you suggest that I go about verifying that what I’m seeing is current? Could I just call the admissions office on the phone?

Look at website of each school you are interested in. If you call, they’ll simply refer you to website. Easiest way is to google “name of school” + “merit aid.”

Are you seeking need-based aid as well?

Or you can go to the financial aid page of each school’s website and see what merit aid, if any, is offered to OOS applicants.

Some schools offer merit (auto or competitive) to out of state students. A few examples - Alabama has auto merit. Oklahoma, Kentucky and UT Dallas have NMF money. There are others - just some to start.

Not seeking need-based aid. So everything I need to know will be spelled out somewhere in the school’s web site and whatever is not there is just not available? That’s is certainly the most straightforward although the sites can sometimes be difficult to find things.

This is a thread that discusses your subject:

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-for-good-merit-aid-p1.html

You are generally correct though. Most state schools are subsidized so that in-state students pay a lower cost. The only reason for the state school to accept out of state students (generally) is to generate more money to subsidize the in-state students. The pricing of public universities makes them a bargain for full pay students relative to full pay private schools. The state schools are not attractive to out of state student seeking financial or merit aid. There are some exceptions (e.g. Alabama) discussed in the long thread above.

Some state schools offer reciprocity to neighboring states: sometimes it’s in-state tuition, sometimes it’s 150%, but less than full out-of-state tuition. It’s pretty clear on the websites. Some of the PASSHE schools do this, as well as a bunch of schools in the midwest. And there’s something called a WUE agreement out west.

D18 got offered nice merit money to U of Iowa, Nebraska(Lincoln) and Miami U (Ohio). Nothing much from Indiana, Minnesota, or UIUC. Tippy top scores have a chance at merit from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio. Forget about Wisconsin (Madison).

Got it. Our state schools are fine for state schools. Just wanted to check if I was missing something. There are a couple oos public schools we might consider paying full price for if we got admitted but even that probably won’t make make the cut. Wisconsin is not on the list

We can help you better if you tell us…
Stats
Major
Career goal
Your budget

Thanks WISdad23. This link is exactly what I’m looking for

Have you tried running the Net Price Calculator for each school? That should give you an idea.

Thanks austinmshauri. The NPCs are much more helpful than I had originally thought now that I figured out how to streamline the data entry and run it for schools that I already know are looking to provide some kind of assisstance.

I know Kansas State has very good auto OOS merit. It brought our costs way down plus departmental scholarships on top of that. They were easily found on their Financial page. We found the same at Auburn, Colorado State (not as good), and Mississippi State.

Ask about specific schools and give the basic info @mom2collegekids asked - gpa, scores, major, region you are interested in.

These things tend to run in regions. Alabama-Miss-LA have merit scholarships, Wyo-Utah-NM. The major can trigger a suggestion you may not have thought of, like Utah for gaming or dance, Iowa or Missouri for writing and journalism.

“We”? Who is getting admitted? You or your kiddo. There is usually nit a “we” in the mix…it’s one person.

Are you the student or the parent?

Regardless…use the net price calculator for these OOS publics just as you did for the other colleges. Some NPCs ask for stats…and also give you merit award potential.

If you tell folks here what colleges you are considering, the can tell you about merit aid potential at those schools…as long as you also include your SAT or ACT score…and your GPA.

Top OOS public schools aren’t going to offer much, and by top I’m talking top 100, having said that the further you go down the list the more they will offer to attract Ivy caliber students. So the top 10 public’s are going to offer zero for 99.9% of OOS applicants. Your actually better off going after a big scholarship from an outside agency that you can take to any school then to try and get merit aid from a top public. That’s just the way it is,

I think as others have posted you are going to need to check out each school’s website. I do know that Ohio State offers scholarship to OOS students based primarily on GPA and ACT/SAT. These are competitive so not everyone who meets the stats criteria will get the scholarship but a lot of kids do get them. The scholarships were enough to make the cost of OSU comparable to our in-state flagship.