Best and worst PASSHE school?

Not sure if this was talked about before but U of Maine will match cost of OOS flagship tuition
https://go.umaine.edu/apply/scholarships/flagship-match/

We are looking east, into NJ, as we are right on the border. Unfortunately, NJ doesn’t have a lot of great options either, in terms of academics, once you realize Princeton is not in your kid’s future.

My daughter is going on a visit to University of Maine Orono. Great opportunity but same cost as PSU.

@Gatormama We are east also, but couldn’t find too many good NJ options unless you are willing to pay OOS prices. Same with Delaware and Maryland.

We do know a couple of people in high positions at a couple of costly private colleges. How pathetic that those might be our best bets!
One of my alma maters, UF, is about the same cost as PSU for OOS. As much as it pains me, as a Righteous Gator, FSU is even cheaper, at about $31k total COA, and it offers OOS tuition discounts for certain stats. Worth a look, folks. It’s a gorgeous campus.

@Gatormama …We have a friend in our school that got into FSU. They are considering it. She received a good offer(not sure of the details) and I believe the COA is about the same as PSU.

Out of curiosity, I ran the NPC on Lycoming and Cleveland State. Lycoming for us was really no different than the other LACs we applied to (ETown, McDaniel, Randolph-Macon), at around 32K COA. Again, we don’t quality for need aid, so I would anticipate that would change things.

Cleveland State’s NPC is out of date, and only showed 2014-2015 numbers but was encouraging. Even without much info, they automatically showed a 6K grant, so COA was 23K.

@Portercat My son changed his mind about majoring in nursing and ended up not going to IUP or any other 4-year college. After a couple of false starts, he is now planning to go to Thaddeus Stevens (a 2-year technical school) this August in the Masonry program. Hope this one works out. @mommdc answered the SEOG question. She mentioned Lycoming College, which I second, as their NPC showed very good merit/need-based aid for our family. Too bad my daughter wouldn’t consider it (too small, not in or near a big city).

Thanks @kidzncatz, I have heard good things about Thaddeus Stevens.

Cleveland State COA(this includes incidental expenses). We are at about $19,000 before any athletic money. Kid has an official visit coming up in February.

http://www.csuohio.edu/financial-aid/student-consumer-information

@Portercat Yes, I suspect that this is true. I mentioned Lycoming because it offers merit of around $20k for even modest stats. If you attend PFEW you can get another $5k a year in merit. Of course the need based aid would depend on EFC. And if direct costs are about $50k, a $20-25k merit scholarship would still leave $25-30k to pay.

But it is a LAC and small, offers lots of majors. And if you qualify for some need based aid it can possibly be the same or less than the local PASSHE or PSU branch, if commuting, but you can dorm there.

I also saw that SUNY Fredonia had OOS merit awards of up to $8,000 for some science majors.

And Kent State has a COA of about $28k and seems to give around $10k merit.

@bester1 shoot me a message or post here if you hear any financial info from your PASSHE options. All we have in hand are the acceptance letters. I am curious about timing, as May 1st will come sooner than we think.

@portercat…will do. Please look at the individual school websites for scholarship applications and such. Most appear pretty simple.

https://bloomu.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com/CMXAdmin/Cmx_Content.aspx?cpId=977

http://www.wcupa.edu/_services/fin_aid/scholarships.aspx

Articles discussing PASSHE study/consolidation…just an FYI for those interested. Kind of an overload but gives a few different perspectives.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2017/01/26/State-System-options-merger-closure-in-review-of-Pennsylvania-state-owned-universities/stories/201701260147

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/01/state_universites_may_not_be_i.html

http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/01/lawmaker_its_about_time_state.html

http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/11835303-74/state-system-brogan

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/Pa-state-colleges-will-look-at-merger-closure-of-campuses.html

http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/pennsylvania-state-system-of-higher-education-ponders-merging-closing-schools&template=mobileart

http://www.lockhaven.com/news/local-news/2017/01/universities-face-tough-choices/

If you don’t quaify for federal or state aid, at the PASSHE schools all you would be offered is probably the student loan. Maybe a small merit amount.

Two years ago we got financial aid awards in March/April, hoping that your kids will find out earlier.

Regarding PASSHE Schools…the only safe bets are West Chester, Slippery Rock, Bloomsburg, IUP.

@bester1 I find these articles enlightening actually, especially the comments! Some are nonsensical and snarky (and overly political), other comments are smart and have good suggestions and stories.

Schools we found offering decent merit aid in PA and OH included Duquense, Geneva, Lycoming, Wilmington, Cleveland State, Muskingum, Mount Union, Otterbein, Baldwin-Wallace, John Carroll, and Wittenberg. There were a few others in OH, NC, IN. Several of these are small, but not all and not all are rural. The requirements varied on GPA and test scores. I agree it depends on what the student wants to major in and how far away they are willing to travel. We have friends whose daughter is at Cleveland State and is doing well.

@bester1 just curious how you make that assessment on those 4? East Stroudsburg and Millersville enrollment have been somewhat steady. Not saying completely safe, but maybe somewhere in the middle?

I think they’ll keep Mansfield and solidify its role in COPLAC .
But some of the three listed would probably worry.
Can Cheney become another passhe 's branch with specific specialties and historical majors Plus specialiazed research access?