I am a HS senior in Mass and am applying to schools in New England and a few Mid-Atlantic schools. As of now, I am not applying to any state schools because I really don’t like any of the UMass (the only one I’ve considered was Amherst) because of size and the fact that I will know a good 50+ kids there already and I’d like to go somewhere completely new… well maybe knowing a few kids, knowing I won’t see them in a 10k+ pool. The state schools on my radar are UVM, UMD, UNC (Chapel Hill), and UVA, the latter two I know I have slimmer chances. My question is, should I even bother applying, regardless of my major? I will take that into account if I think its even worth it to apply. I know UNC and UVA have a large majority of in-state residents so would I be an outsider? And how is financial aid for OOS students? Thanks in advance!!
@raider659816 The answer is generally very bad. If your stats are good enough to consider UVA and UNC, you will get much better aid at a very selective private school. One example would be Holy Cross and there are many more both north and south, religious and non-religious.
OOS are capped so your stats will need to be way high just to get in.
A few southern schools like Alabama have big merit deals for high stat students.
I personally see no reason to consider state schools other than your own, especially if you are applying for aid.
It is true that most public universities have a large % of in-state residents. However, Univ. of Vermont is an exception due to their small in-state population. According to their website, only 31% are in-state, 66% are from out-of-state, 3% international. I heard they are also quite generous with merit aid for out-of-state residents. Another state university with more out-of-state students than in-state is UDE.
UMD, UNC, UVA have much higher proportion of in-state residents. I think you might feel a bit like an outsider at these schools.
As far as whether it is worth it, I would say only if you get merit aid or are rich enough so it doesn’t matter. If money is a big issue, you should suck it up and go in-state. It really doesn’t matter much to employers which school you go to, one state university is more or less the same as another.
One thing to take into consideration is where you would like to live after college. Since most companies recruit locally, it might help to go to school near where you would eventually want to live. UVM is such a big school though they probably still get plenty of recruiters. I would check with their career placement office to see which companies recruit there, especially for your intended major.
If you are considering other New England state schools, be sure to check out the regional discounts offered:
http://www.nebhe.org/programs-overview/rsp-tuition-break/overview/
Eligible majors vary based on what state you are coming from, and what state/school you are going to. If your major is included for a school you are interested in, it reduces your tuition cost to something in between IS and OOS. And you are generally still eligible for any merit aid as well (although some schools have a limit), so if you have the stats for a merit award, you can end up with a great deal.
Another state school to consider would be William & Mary. All of the state universities you mentioned are very good schools although I don’t know much about UVM. There is definitely a financial aspect to this. A better OOS state university is going to cost $50k all in. Some merit scholarships are offered but you have to be at the very top of the applicant pool to get significant merit aid at a state university. I mean top 10 or top 50 out of maybe 10,000 students applying to get a large merit scholarship. A private university is going to be $65k - $58k all in but, if you are a reasonably strong applicant for many private colleges you might be awarded anywhere from $5k to $30k/year in merit scholarships. If you are a strong student and your family income is too high for financial aid, it’s quite possible a private university will end up costing less than an OOS public college. If you qualify for financial aid in most cases a private college (particularly one with a big endowment) will offer far more financial aid than a public college will. In terms of selectivity the better OOS publics vary. In some cases they are harder to get into OOS and in other cases they need the extra tuition money and it’s easier.
Thanks, everyone! I’d like to think my stats are fairly strong for these schools, not considering my OOS status but hopefully good enough for OOS. 10 APs junior and senior year (mix of 4s and 5s)… 1960 on first and only sat but taking again this Saturday and hoping to get close to 2100 mark, strong ECs. UNC has a strong science department and that is probably what I’ll venture into. Aid isn’t a huge problem but definitely a factor I need to consider. If I had to, I could pay the full OOS tuitions, but would most likely choose a school where I would be paying less. Nonetheless, they are still options I am open to. Thanks again for the info!
Don’t expect much need-based aid at OOS publics besides UVA and UNC-CH. Use the net price calculators to see.
The answer to your question is…these days, no.
But with strong stats some, repeat SOME of the elite public universities welcome out of state applicants. U Virginia, UNC-Chapel Hill, Texas A&M, Indiana U. Excellent schools such as U Washington-Seattle want strong non-resident applicants, but they are looking for full pay kids, in the main.
Also, don’t fret about being from another region. Bevies of kids from far away locales are the norm at loads of public colleges these days. There are exceptions, of course.
Actually, UNC is one of the few state schools that promises to meet full need for admitted students. Getting admitted out of state is very hard, as you know. Your SAT score would have to come up significantly I believe.
Good point in comment #1 about your stats being good enough to get merit aid from privates. Just to clarify, though, Holy Cross does not give merit aid; they only offer need-based financial aid, so they may not be an option.
By the way, have you excluded UMass-Lowell? It has been widely reported that the school is on the rise. Traditional engineering has always been good at UMass-Lowell and might even rival Amherst in that regard.
There is a sweet spot the OOS state schools fit in. Picture the kid coming from an expensive market. Parents make a little too much for aid at most schools. But really don’t want to pay and can’t really afford $60k+ a year. And the kid won’t be admitted to a top private.
So the choice becomes:
- in state public they may not be thrilled with
- low tiered private with minimal merit
- OOS public at a better school than in state and net cost in the $30-35k range
Where? Schools like UF, Penn St, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana, etc
Seems like the OOS publics that fit that description are more like Minnesota, Iowa State, NC State, Cal Poly, SUNYs, etc. that cost less than schools like Penn State.
Penn State = $47.5K. http://admissions.psu.edu/costs-aid/tuition/
UMD = $45.7K https://www.admissions.umd.edu/costs/
UF = $42.8K http://www.sfa.ufl.edu/basics/cost-of-attendance/
Wisconsin = $44.6K https://finaid.wisc.edu/undergraduate-cost.htm
Indiana = $47.9K http://admissions.indiana.edu/cost-financial-aid/tuition-fees.html
Time to recalibrate those cost vectors @ClarinetDad16
IIRC, UNC-CH has OOS capped at 18% of admitted freshmen; UVA (and I think W&M) cap OOS at about 27% of admitted freshmen.
For fullpay students, OOS public schools are still a bargain compared to private schools.
True…in some (perhaps many) cases/
SUNYs are ~$30k for OOS students. That’s a real bargain.
@Erin’s Dad - and Rutgers is $31,286 IN STATE. Penn State even more …
Some of the OOS options for full pay at major public universities are great options (especially when small discounts are given to entice enrollment) not far different in cost than instate, and as @GMTplus7 also stated are bargains compared to privates…
You must be talking about another Rutgers - $26K. http://admissions.rutgers.edu/costs/tuitionandfees.aspx#3
I agree Penn State (and UIUC) are very expensive for in-state students and they can find less expensive schools OOS - the usual suspects for those are SUNYs and the Dakotas. But you should check your facts before making blanket statements and recommendations. And yes, OOS publics are frequently less expensive than privates, but what’s the gain of swapping an in-state public U for an OOS one at a higher cost? The classes likely won’t be smaller as they might at many privates.