@LuckyCharms913 yes…Ohio U provides help. We were offered $7,000/year with a lock in on that award/price for 4 years as well. Gets you to the $26,000 - $27,000 range but still more than the $19,500 - $22,000 for the PASSHE schools. Interestingly enough I had a discussion with a co-worker yesterday regarding Pitt. He swears that Pitt is a state school and that because of that the COA is low. I shared with him options in many other states and how the actual truth is that Pitt receives funds but charges fees more in line with private schools and has private school admission requirements. I made the case that they would prefer OOS students as it is all about the money. Fascinating how PA residents have been tricked into thinking that PSU/Pitt/Temple are “State Schools”.
@bester1 Did you convince your co-worker? No offense to him/her, but there is a lot of PSU/Pitt/Temple kool-aid drinking. Some amazing marketing.
I would like to hear if anyone has had a SUNY offer as a PA resident, with merit, down to 20-22K (COA). There are a lot of good suggestions on this thread for students with modest stats at SUNY and private schools, but most are still in the 27-30K range. While these differences may seem small to some, they can make a huge difference over 4 years. If the COA is still 30K, is becomes harder to justify.
Have to admit, @bester1, that I did not know about the distinction between PASSHE and state-related schools until a few years ago, when my first kid was looking --and I have lived in PA my whole life.
Agree that it’s interesting how the benchmark for the cost for a “public” education is different in PA than in other states. My S, who is a very average student, has merit offers from a couple of good (Catholic) privates that will put our cost at $30,000-$33,000/year. That’s a lot more than the PASSHE schools, but lower than the state-related schools. But since many Pennsylvanians (including me) are practically conditioned to accept $35,000/year as a “normal” cost for college, anything less than that seems reasonable.
But it’s all relative. At Christmas, a relative (also from PA) was asking about S’s college options. When I mentioned the two privates, she asked, “Won’t they be expensive?” (I didn’t find this intrusive as she is a close relative and has already put 4 though college). When I said, “Well, it will cost less than Pitt,” she nodded and smiled. But another relative at the same party, who lives in Florida, was horrified by the cost–because his kids, who are at good FL publics, pay $6,000-$10,000/year (after Bright Futures and other awards).
At least 10% of each year’s senior class (30+ students) at my kids’ HS go to Penn State. Some of them have to do summer session, which adds several thousand to the cost for Year 1. But the pull of that school is such that the students (and their parents) are just so happy that they got in, that they are willing to pay whatever it takes. Yes, @portercat, it’s kool-aid. (That’s not a knock on PSU, by the way.)
@portercat…nope, he said you can’t put a price on a good education and that the Pitt/PSU/Temple model is the best route. I can’t allow myself to drink the Kool-Aid.
Also, we received information last year from SUNY Cortland. They followed up with a call and stated that they could get cost in the PASSHE range. I think they could be a great deal. My D is a swimmer and did not like their level of swimming otherwise I think it was a possibility.
@LuckyCharms913 …In my kids high school. if you are not going to Pitt/PSU/Temple or better…you are thought to be a loser. It is a real problem. We have friends that purchased property in Florida and plan on gaining in state tuition rates. I do think that PA residents need to gain a better understanding of what we are getting for our money regarding higher education. It is not right.
Canisius College has come down to about $31,000/year and that is with academic and athletic money. That is before the loan amounts. If it was $26,000/year(before a loan) I think we would take it.
We are in a similar boat, Randolph Macon with academic merit and an OOS $2K provision is down to about $30K/year before federal loan, so about $25K after. But, we need to assume 4% raise in tuition per year (that is historical average). We need to do some real number crunching to make that happen.
I agree, but some of this understanding of education in PA is more about reputation than real learning. I will agree that reputation leads to opportunity, internships, name recognition etc. It makes these decisions all the more difficult.
I would say 30% of our seniors go to PSU/Pitt/Temple, not exaggerating
I tend to think that desire gets the opportunity and internships…perhaps I am wrong.
@bester1 I think that is true, but in some cases recruiters and companies (out of efficiency and habit) will go to certain schools in order to place internships and positions. You can obviously find them with other schools, but you may need to be more proactive.
We visited…you might be surprised but things are changing at this affordable school…
http://www.ysu.edu/news/youngstown-tops-list-ohios-most-affordable-college-towns
@bester1 Are you still applying to regular decision schools, or just working with the list you already have?
@portercat …we are primarily working with our current list but I heard her on the phone with a coach from Ball State the other day…lol…so I guess we are still open to opportunity(if that makes any sense?).
How about you?
Penn State does have an amazing alumni network and career fairs/career center. However the costs are too high - isn’t the state only contributing something like 10% or less? Which it gets away with because the state calls it “state-related”, as if justified making costs almost as high for residents as paying OOS elsewhere, especially with high stats. 
(12 years ago instate tuition was something around 7K, so it hasn’t always been so, even as a state “related” institution).
@Portercat: I know SUNY Plattsburgh offers automatic $7,500 scholarship to all admitted OOS students*. Old Westbury used to have scholarships for 25+ ACT, no idea if it’s still true because scholarship info has disappeared. They do have an annual “residential” scholarship ($7,000) for students who will live on campus.
- Edited to reflect latest scholarship. http://web.plattsburgh.edu/offices/admin/financialaid/welcome-to-ny.php
My son received a $7,000 scholarship from SUNY Albany which was for simply being out of state.
@bester1 We are not expanding the list. Most merit deadlines are past, so it doesn’t really make sense to apply to more. She in not interested in more state schools than the ones on the list.
With financial award…Cleveland State comes in at $19,000 not including incidental living expenses. She will also likely decent athletic scholarship money. Not my preference but she is pleased with it. Still can’t believe they come in under PASSHE schools.
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Are you leaning that way (Cleveland State), or decided? Do all colleges have this May1st deadline for deciding? I am worried that we won’t figure all of the offers out until late March, so less.time to decide, but that’s just me.
Still a process for us. Her worries are on the school Facebook pages that potential new roommate s discussing living with one another. Different times and worries for students today.
My D has found the accepted students snapchats for some schools. Very useful in some ways.
@bester1 , I was also wondering if you are leaning towards Cleveland State. Does it concern you that it is apparently a commuter school?