As the title says I’m wondering if out of state colleges are ever worth it. I applied to mostly in-state schools and have recently come to the epiphany that I probably won’t get into my top two picks. I’ve also realized that I dread the idea of going to any of the other in-state options I have applied to. I live in North Carolina so we have incredible in-state schools and my parents just think that going out of state doesn’t make sense which I agreed with until I realized what I said before. I’m planning on majoring in Comp Sci and my dad said he thinks oos tuition loans would be doable if that is something I really wanted to do I just genuinely don’t know what to do. I don’t want to take out all of those loans but I also want to go to a school I love. Plus what if I end up switching my major and career path then will I be totally screwed by loans? Basically, if you graduated from a school out of state or are about to graduate do you regret taking out the loans?
Any input is appreciated!
Sometimes the OOS schools can give FA to bring the price down. It all depends on how much your instate tuition is, if you can get into the school(s) you want to attend, and how much you will need to borrow.
My daughter went to an OOS public school, but it was Wyoming which gave her (and everyone) a lot of help financially. Others she knew went to Alabama and Ole Miss because they got some money.
Being in-state or out-of-state does not matter for private colleges. Many offer need-based financial aid. Try using the Net Price Calculator for any college to see if they might offer enough financial aid.
@evergreen5 Are those actually accurate? The only out of state I applied to so far was UGA because I love absolutely everything about the school. I used the calculator on their website and they showed me a really good price which I thought was odd since I didn’t think I qualified for need-based aid and they didn’t ask for my stats for merit.
Berkeley CS, especially if admitted directly to the major (EECS not L&S, which is competitive.) Not a guarantee of a job but DEFINITELY boosts your chances if you do well.
Depending on your state, OOS public schools may offer much better education options. As can private schools.
As mentioned, In/Out doesn’t make a difference in a vast majority of non-Public schools.
And OOS schools may actually be cheaper, especially if you’re in Pennsylvania.
@recougar UGA (excellent school but for Covid handling) has some great scholarships that include OOS fee waivers, which they give to the best OOS students. If you get one of those, the price is very reasonable. Otherwise, it’s a reasonable option for out of state students from wealthy families, as the OOS cost isn’t as high as many other good flagships. That being said, UGA isn’t worth full OOS cost if you need to take out loans. Choose one of your excellent in-state options in that case.
@recougar , Here are a few tips from a NC parent who just shepherded a son (2020) through this process.
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NC has great public universities not named UNC and NCSU. I understand the shock of realizing you probably won’t be accepted at one of those two. I understand the initial disappointment you may feel at realizing your future probably lies in Charlotte or Boone or Greenville or Greensboro. But now it’s time for you to put on your big boy (or big girl) pants and research just how good each of those schools are. Research the outcomes for CS graduates at each. Speaking of that …
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Computer Science is a very valuable degree. There is no rule that says you have to graduate from a state flagship (or 2nd flagship) to have a successful career with a CS degree. It certainly doesn’t make sense to waste money trying to attend an OOS flagship just because it has greater name recognition to you and your peers. However, if your family can spend an extra $80K over 4 years and not miss it, don’t worry about the extra money - just go where you want.
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When looking for merit money from OOS public universities, there are three almost universals. A)You will need fantastic stats to earn enough merit to be comparable to in-state NC tuition. Stats, that if you had them, would probably get you into NCSU or UNC in the first place. B)These schools are not in places where you’re probably hoping to go. Not UGA, not VaTech, not UVA, not UT, not UCLA, not UW, not Penn State, not UMd. C)Most of the more realistic merit options for your stats will probably be at OOS non-flagships, which brings you to question of would you rather attend UNC-Charlotte or spend more money to attend U of South Alabama?
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If your stats are just shy of getting you into UNC/NCSU, maybe they’re high enough to get good merit aid from a private college. It won’t be a private college with easy name recognition like Wake Forest or University of Miami. It likely won’t have 30K students like NCSU or UGA, but many kids don’t want to go to a school that big anyway. There probably won’t be huge football games or televised basketball games. Even with merit, it will still cost 1.5 to twice as much as attending a NC public university.
I know recent graduates of about 10-13 different public NC universities, from Charlotte to A&T to Chapel Hill to Greenville and many others, and EVERY ONE of them loved their college experiences. You probably will too.
At one point early in the college search process, my son also said “I want to go to a school where I think I already that I’ll love it - NCSU or UGA or VaTech or FlState - not one of these other schools.” Now that he’s nearing the end of his first semester at one of these “other” schools, he’s loving every minute of it. Heck, he loves it so much, I’m going to have to force him to leave campus for the semester break. You will most likely love wherever you end up, too.
TLDR; unless your family is wealthy skip the dreams of OOS publics, take a flyer on three or four privates you like after you research them, embrace and apply to at least 4 instate options in addition to UNC/NCSU.
Good luck.
@itsgettingreal21 yeah I looked over my SAR last night and came to that conclusion ??
@EconPop i had a heart to heart with my mom last night and we agreed that probably the reason I don’t feel as excited about my other schools as UNC or NC State is that due to COVID I’ve never actually got to tour them where as I’ve been to the other campuses multiple times. I’ve seen the downtown area of Boone and drove around Wilmington’s campus but that’s the most I’ve seen of either. I toured ECU a few days before everything shut down but it was Spring break so the campus was pretty dead. Once I hear back from uncw and app though she said we can go back to Wilmington and Boone for actual tours which made me feel a lot better about my options. Thank you for the reply though it was extremely helpful!
My son and I went to all the campuses and it made a difference for him. Initially, he was mostly familiar with UNC and NCSU because we had been on both campuses several times over the years, for concerts, readings, arts, and sporting events. He knew those two and loved those two … only those two.
But as we visited other campuses, one by one he came to love most of those too. He loved UNC Greensboro when we visited and it shot to his top non-top2 choice. Then we visited Charlotte and it became his top non-top2 choice. Then ECU. He wasn’t as crazy about the campus of Wilmington, but he liked it … and he really liked Wilmington. Then we visited Boone and ASU became his top non-top2 choice. After if was all over, he would have been happy attending any of those five non-top2 campuses. And we visited even more in-state options. The more you visit, the more I think you’ll realize you could like them all.
I think you’ll find you really do like them after you visit.