@servmom, I think they are required by the Fed govt to offer unsubsidized loans regardless. Not that it is a great deal, in fact it stinks as the interest capitalizes immediately.
@laralei did you mean, you can ONLY afford the PASSHE schools? Maybe I misunderstood. Thanks for your input. I liked the Shippensburg tour, the campus felt pretty big and atractive. My D preferred Millersville and WC.
We toured Bloomsburg over the summer and they didn’t say tripled would be eliminated with the new dorm, just reduced. I think that’s a bigger deal for the girls! My son didn’t seemed phased. We loved Bloomsburg, the biggest downfall for me were somebfreshman classes with 100+ students . I know my son, and that won’t work! That’s one thing we’re going to confirm at Millersville - I think that have fewer lecture hall classes. And I know York has none. That’s a big plus for me.
I don’t know about PASSHE schools, but the biggest lecture classes are usually the intro bio and chem, or psychology classes since a lot of (pre-health) majors require them. Usually there is a recitation offered in addition, where they work in smaller groups.
Millersville CS looks pretty solid (ABET accredited,good range of classes), how does it compare to other PASSHE schools such as Bloomsburg or Wcu?
I get that it’s not top if the line compared to, say, psu or Lehigh but it looks better than other offerings plus it’s on commonapp.
Also, how does it compare to York 's program?
What other PASSHE schools are on commonapp BTW?
That makes it easy to apply.
And yes, the cost of tuition, fees, and on campus room and board, about $20,000 at PASSHE schools, can be hard to pay for some of us, if the federal and state aid covers at most about half of that.
So either they qualify for merit, which might earn a few thousand $, or they might have to commute. Often there is no school in good commuting distance, or it doesn’t have the major.
My D was able to get enough merit to be able to afford her school. We will have to see how things go for my S.
I think I read at some PASSHE schools, the Val and Sal of a HS can get free tuition (board of governor’s scholarship)?
But I am definitely not ruling out the Pitt branch that offers $5,500 Panther scholarship for living on campus and costs $23,000 for tuition, fees, rom and board.
Or Lycoming with quite generous scholarships for average stats, plus need based aid.
Or the local PSU branch that is close enough to commute.
Or the PASSHE school honors college, where the honors students live in their own hall, and get extra scholarships.
@Portercat Yes, I should have been more clear. Even if your EFC is above the cost of a school, if you still do decide to apply for financial aid , you will get offered the unsubsidized Direct ( used to be Stafford) loan. But, as you say, the loans accrue interest right away if they are unsubsidized. We had both our kids take out minimal unsubsidized loans as they were not required to pay anything upfront for their college costs. It at least helped with our cash flow for the 8 straight years we were writing tuition checks! And you can pay some or all of the interest on the loans while they are still in school. That was what H and I did and that did help bring down the amount due once they graduated.
My D is borrowing her (subsidized) loans, and saving them for grad school. Interest rate is lower and doesn’t accrue while in school.
Same could be done if you don’t need your loans while at the branch, and then transfer to the main campus since that will be more expensive.
Err… Anyone with any opinion on my Millersville CS query?
@MYOS1634 I was actually surprised in looking at the ABET site, that the PASSHE schools do have as many accredited BS programs in CS as they do. Shippensburg, Bloomsburg, ESU, California, Edinboro, IUP, West Chester, Millersville, and Slippery Rock , all offer CS. So, at least the PASSHE system seems to be responding to the current need for CS majors. Might need to actually tour the individual departments and talk to faculty, current students, ask where their graduates are getting jobs,etc. Milllersville has a list on their CS page that gives an idea of where their kids are getting internships. That kind of info can be helpful. Hopefully, someone here has first hand experience with the programs you have asked about (Millersville, Bloomsburg, West Chester, York).
In terms of the Common App question. Millersville seems to be the only PASSHE school that uses The Common Application (according to their website- in a search for Pennsylvania schools that use it).
If we were offered subsidized loans, saving them for grad school would be a good strategy. We weren’t. We have saved as much as we could, no vacations, old cars, all of that. EFC is high, and cost of living is high in our area (which these calculators don’t take into account).
It doesn’t even take a sky high EFC in many cases to end up with unsubsidized instead of subsidized. If PASSHE is is in the $20,000 or $22,000 a year range and you have more of a $28,000 or $30,000 type EFC, you would probably end up with unsubsidized loans . Many people are unfortunately in that boat , not super wealthy (and sometimes in higher cost of living areas) but not poor either. So, are not going to qualify for much, if anything. That was our case . But, it is what it is.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/interest-rates
The fees and interest rates of unsub loans are still lower than those of grad/grad plus loans.
3.76% versus 5.31% and 6.31%
@MYOS1634 …I found this portal for PASSHE applications…https://secure.applynow.passhe.edu/
Thanks.
It’s easier to add a school when it’s on commonapp and there’s still space there though. +1 to Millersville.
@MYOS1634 the PASSHE app is really easy. We didn’t even use the common for Millersville because once you do the PASSHE you can send it to all the schools easily.
State School Learning Curve…http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/learning-curve-for-state-schools-1.2163050
State schools encourage applications…http://www.mcall.com/news/mc-pa-future-of-passhe-schools-20170301-story.html
In terms of environment and ‘suitcase’/ weekend situation, how does Millersville compare to Bloomsburg?
Regarding the above article : cost of tuition, following steep state budget cuts, is one reason for declining enrollment. For many families there are colleges that provide better value, either through equivalent price and better facilities /graduation rates, or through slightly higher price but added value.
'consolidating ’ campuses that miles and miles apart just means closing a vital economic center for rural communities. It’s be devastating for the counties where the universities are located.
@MYOS1634 my son is at Bloomsburg. There are tons of kids on campus on weekends. He has never been short on people to hang out with nor does he ask to come home.
Thanks!
Millersville may pull more local kids and commuters due to its proximity to Harrisburg, Lancaster and Hershey. We were there over the summer and it was definitely quiet, but that is not a good indicator.