Room and board looks exceptionally low for Bloomsburg (lower than any school I’ve seen) I wonder why
@Portercat son’s Bloomsburg spring semester:
Housing $2868- traditional double dorm
19meal plan $1388
Flex spending $200
Total = $4456
The new dorm opening up in Sept will be suites and will be approx $4000/semester & will be for upperclass students from what we hear
Looking at Blooms room & board fees, they are probably using the cheaper dorms/meal plans. Makes it look good, and could probably get away with it, though most kids won’t go that route.
Cheapest to attend in the PASSHE system I believe.
Every school can add these extra estimates into the COA but they seem to vary alot in their estimation.
When I compare, I just look at tuition, fees, room & board and then subtract aid such as scholarships and grants.
The latest numbers available are probably from year 2016/17. My D’s school updates tuition and other fees and room and board rates in July.
Not sure about PASSHE schools.
So the FA award will be still an estimate based on current rates, and average room and board costs.
Actual costs will depend on rates for 2017/18, room and meal plan choice, courses registered for, if parking a car, etc
This is a great thread. I was about to thank @bester1 for starting it, checked, and not! You and @Portercat are the backbones of it. Thank you both for the info you have shared.
Thanks @oldbrookie! I think this topic resonates with some folks, especially PA residents, for several reasons:
- PSU/Temple/Pitt are so very different than our other state schools, both in reputation and cost, so we are really trying to understand our options when it comes to PASSHE schools.
- Many folks talk about getting similar offers(or COA) from a range of private schools as from state schools. While that may be true, it is really really dependent on higher stats, especially test scores. A few of us on this thread have kids with borderline stats for merit.
- I am encouraged by how many parents can or are willing to pay close to $20-25K COA, but once we get into the 30, 35, 40K (or more) per year, we either can't pay, or aren't willing (or it is not worth it) to let our kid get into such crippling debt after undergrad. So then it really becomes about how to split the difference, or make some very hard decisions as a family.
- PA is really funky in its funding of higher ed. Very few major deals with bordering states for tuition discounts. However, there are some unusual deals or pulls from schools surrounding our state to lure in kids that are close, some being private schools.
Feel free to add WHY you think this topic resonates!
Right now, for the most part, all the dorms at Bloom are traditional doubles and triples with a communal bathroom in the hallway. Elwell is the only dorm that is air conditioned and offers some single rooms from what I have heard for kids with medical issues (and therefore priced a bit higher). The dorms are old but have all had their communal bathrooms updated and I must say they are very nice and are kept extremely clean. The lack of air conditioning was an issue back in Aug/early Sept but they do allow certain floor units to be brought in. My son did not complain at all, he had a fan and made it work. The new dorm being built will be more on the line of what many schools now offer- suite style, fancier amenities that come with a more expensive price tag. Bloom also offers a great downtown area with plenty of very convenient and affordable off-campus housing which my son will be taking advantage of next year. The price was right for us and has worked out well for him.
By the way, I created another thread about trying to evaluate static merit offers (same for 4 years) combined with unforeseeable tuition increases. I rec’d some good advice.
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20253940#Comment_20253940
PASSHE Price per credit news…doesn’t sound like it is working in their financial favor…
Thanks @bester1.
Quick update here. We went to visit her lead small LAC in Virginia this week (she is already accepted). She loved the tour, the school spirit, the look of campus,the admissions folks (great presentation), the town, the 4 year graduation guarantee, internship opportunuties, and the fact that most kids stay and live on campus, even in junior and senior years. We had lunch with a student and she was great. My D felt the “fit”! Problem is the cost (~30K COA Year 1). We met with the director of financial aid while my daughter was in the “sample” class and we had some time to kill. The Director said that she was offered the Dean’s award but sounded like there was not much more they could do for us. We tried to ask the “negotiation” question, and she told us to fill out a form but it sounds like this only works for need based aid. Year 1 doesn’t look so bad with federal loan, but I am very worried about tuition increases in years 2,3,4 (merit award doesn’t go “up”) ; and the fact that my D2 will be in college in 2 years also.
So, we are back onto West Chester. Since it is so close, we will go on another tour soon, but I told her we need to get moving, so hopefully in next 2-3 weeks. I have a couple of new concerns. I have been reading about overcrowding and the lack of guaranteed housing for upperclassmen. Is this real? Also, she wants school spirit. I am reading mixed things on that front. Also, she doesn’t see herself living off campus in junior and senior years, which many kids seem to do.
@Portercat…Sound like you have great options.
I think it is almost impossible for a high school senior to imagine being a junior or senior in college and what living arrangements they will desire or need. I would not worry too much about that. I think WC has a good bit of school spirit(not like PSU or WVU). Overcrowding is a concern everywhere. Honestly, I think WC is a great option.
Hang in there.
@Portercat, is your D willing to work close to full time in summers, get a campus job, and take out full loans to help pay for the VA school?
Have you asked the guidance counselor or people here at CC if there is maybe another school like her favorite, that might be cheaper?
What are the conditions of the Dean’s scholarship and is there a possibility that she could earn departmental scholarships in future years?
What about York College? Does she still like it, is it cheaper?
Thanks @mommdc. She could get a campus job, and I think it could help with incidentals but they recommend not more than 10 hours per week. She would have to be willing to take the full federal loan but it is only offered as unsubsizided. At 10 hours per week ($9/hour?), that is $90 per week before taxes. Not to minimalize the importance of a job, but it is relatively small in the scheme of things.
Most merit deadlines have passed, so not sure we could open it up to a whole new round of applications at new schools. What is cheaper really anyway for LACs (without merit?). I seem to think we researched a lot of them. She was accepted to 2 other LACs and they were slightly more expensive actually. Her test scores didnt warrant more merit.
I guess departmental scholarships are an option in the future, but that would be relatively unknown at this point so hard to make a decision based on that. She has stepped up her external/private scholarship applications (25+ by now) recently, but again, no guarantees so hard to make decisions based on those.
York is definitely still affordable but she has really cooled on the idea - the tough town, the school spirit, no football (funny, I know). stories from friends about how “uninvolved” students seem.
Something else you can’t count on, but if she plans to live on campus anyway, maybe apply for being a RA for sophomore year and up?
Outside scholarships, unless they are renewable, would only be for freshman year. Of course they would still help and she should still apply.
I was an RA in 1986 and I still have the scars to prove it!!! LOL. However, it helped me get through school with out paying for housing!
I thought I read here (?) that one of the concerns at West Chester is the off campus housing can be quite high due to the area?
Everyone keep posting, it is very helpful. So many threads on CC talk about so many schools giving great aid, but what the posters would consider reasonable or affordable is still WAY over anything we could pay. And I would never take out loans, other than the federal ones they get.
Hope not to offend anyone here, but I look at these threads on the PASSHE schools as geared toward lower income with students who are not high stat kids.
@laralei From what I have heard, West Chester off campus housing can be pricey but that may depend on what type of apartment or house you want… One friend I know was paying $900 per month for her daughter’s apartment senior year, but she admitted you could find something for less.
I think it depends on what you mean by “not high stat” kids? By definition, aren’t most kids not high stat kids? I’m not quite sure why low income and “not high stats” are the same?
We would not qualify as low income or high stat, but live in PA, so the affordable options are very limited. Could my kid get into Pitt? Yeah, very likely (maybe not), but at 34K COA per year, we would have to sacrifice some significant retirement savings as well college payments for my other kids.
I’m not offended, but what are the better options in your mind? Most of the CC threads center around higher stat kids, and I am happy that this one does not.
From the threads, posters on CC might consider $30K a year as doable and are thrilled if they get merit awards to hit that number. That is not a number we could ever even consider, we don’t have the income for it. We are lower income, but I don’t want to depend on need based aid, finances change over 4 years. So maybe instead of lower income you could consider these PASSHE threads as lower cost, more affordable schools. Again, that number means different things to different people.
High stat kids: receive full tuition, full rides, enough merit awards to bring the COA down to $10K to $13K. My son was one of those. If you are a high stat kid, not a good kid, not a great kid, but one high enough to get those great merit awards, they are probably not as interested in these threads.
That is why I am very grateful for these PASSHE school threads. If you have kids who aren’t going to get the great merit awards, or families don’t have the funds for the $30K + / year schools, these threads are invaluable. And this is especially helpful for PA families who come looking for help here.
I am not sure how this discussion changed but the reality is that for my daughter, ACT 26, 3.3 with excellent rigorous curriculum and a household income the disqualifies us from aid is struggling to find a good fit. Bloomsburg and West Chester seem to be the best PASSHE bets at $19-23,000/year. The privates and larger oos schools are in the $25-30,000/year with merit. Hence, if you have other children, adult parents to care for, other financial commitments/concerns…You are in a difficult position in the state of PA. I do not consider my child to have low stats or are we lower income…But that is how it is for us.