@Portercat I know Toledo, Cleveland State, and Youngstown State are good possibilities for merit awards/out of state tuition waiver for ACT scores in this range. My daughter was offered an excellent aid package (combination of merit and need-based) from Toledo. I ran the NPCs for Cleveland and Youngstown and the results were likewise excellent. Unfortunately, my daughter wouldn’t consider these schools due to colder weather than here in South Central PA.
Thanks @kidzncatz. Out of curiosity I did the NPC for Toledo vs. Ohio Northern and that OOS waiver makes the difference for Toledo! A big one. I wonder about the policy/history on why some schools adopt this.
We never considered Ohio Northern, since it is a private school that doesn’t come close to meeting need and my daughter was only interested in a large school. But yes, the OOS tuition waiver at Toledo is good for a savings of over $9000 a year. This is in addition to the merit scholarship (in my daughter’s case $4000).
@Portercat …all of the schools listed are possibilities. I would add Bowling Green as a friend of ours will be attending in the fall and they received excellent merit.
Re-Cap - all of these schools will try to get you at or below the PASSHE costs. No doubt. Some state that in ordr to keep the merit for 4 years the student is required to maintain a 3.2 gpa. Not a huge deal but one to consider.
This list is interesting as you have a mix of rural and urban schools. All are publics on the large side and welcome residents from PA with open arms. Most definitely worth looking into.
Youngstown State
Cleveland State
Ohio University
Kent State
U Akron
U Cincinnati
U Toledo
Thanks @bester1. Was there a press release or something a while back to initiate this OOS waiver thing? It seems like it was an concerted effort on the part of these schools at some point.
@Portercat I wanted to tell you that was also quite impressed with Toledo’s outreach/followup to admitted students. My daughter received calls twice from a current student and at least one personal email from the admissions office. Since I received a copy of the email, I responded to inform admissions that my daughter would be attending West Chester. The admissions rep sent a gracious reply. I liked the very personal touch, which I found surprising for a large state school. Neither West Chester nor Temple contacted her at all during this time period!
@Portercat …I recommend contacting the admissions office of any school that you are interested in. You can ask questions or hopefully find the rep that is charge of your local area. As kidzncatz states…I think you will be impressed with the level of attention your child may receive. If you explain your situation and what you are trying to achieve, they will work with you to get a coa under those passhe schools. Websites also can lead you to admissions and the merit links. Many will tell you which counties might be a direct target. If your area is not, talking to a rep may help your situation as they are all seeking students at this time.
Will do. Just starting this process with my younger daughter. She knows and sees all of the issues I have had around cost of attendance with her sister, and wants to avoid the hassle and angst as much as possible.
Now one of her top considerations is cost. She is now my favorite (kidding!).
Merit will depend on stats. And need based aid (at the privates) on EFC.
I ran the NPC for Kent State with a 3.0 GPA and 24 ACT and it came back with $4,000 merit.
A3.5 GPA and 24 ACT yielded $10,200 merit, and a 3.5 GPA and 26 ACT $10,700 merit.
So if direct costs are at around $28,000, then that could bring it down to under $20k.
For Ohio Northern I got $11,000 merit for 3.0 GPA and 24 or 26 ACT, and $17,000 merit for 3.5 GPA and 24 or 26 ACT.
Also they showed need based aid of $8,000 for $3,000 EFC, and $6,000 need based aid for $15,000 EFC.
With direct costs of about $42,000 it might be affordable for a high stats student who also qualifies for need based aid.
Bowling Green State U. offered my PA kid over $8,600 in merit scholarships/OOS discounts three years ago when my son applied. Made it competitive with IUP.
Youngest is considering math or English education with a minor in linguistics. Looks like she can do that at either Bloom or West Chester, the 2 I think she should consider over the others.
She would also like to study abroad, an additional expense, but I would like that for her since she is really interested in in doing so. Trying to plan for that as well.
I have been to Bloomsburg with oldest and really liked the campus and town. I am thinking it would be cheaper to go to Bloom over West Chester just do to the area and cost of living? Or am I wrong? Any opinions?
@laralei I think the actual tuition and fees will be relatively similar between Bloomsburg and West Chester. The differences are in the off-campus living (higher for WC) and the other housing options. I know Bloomsburg has been building new dorms, so not sure of the cost of those, and whether the old ones will be still available.
For WC, there are “traditional” (OLD) and “affiliated” (NEW) dorms. The affiliated dorms are right on campus but not actually owned by the college. Affiliated dorms can be upwards of $4000 more per year than traditional dorms. As I mentioned, I am not sure if Bloomsburg will have the same model (old and new). Some PASSHE schools like Millersville only now offer new dorms. This can be confusing if you are trying to compare multiple schools.
Yes, it looks like room and board might be a bit cheaper at Bloom.
Did you look at Chatham, @laralei?
check into study abroad aid for Pell eligible students:
https://www.iesabroad.org/study-abroad/scholarships/more-funding/pell-grant-first-generation
@mommdc I ran the NPC for Chatham and she “might” qualify for $16K which barely even puts a dent in the COA. IMO.
When we visited Bloom with my oldest, they had the traditional dorms, but overall I really liked the campus. I think the size of the school and town are also very nice. I see youngest there more so than West Chester, but she “thinks” she wants a bigger school. I am not big on visiting until after applying, but I might do so with these two.
Thanks for the link on the Pell funding, I will definitely keep that in mind!
Here is the info on the new residence hall at Bloomsburg. To be opened this August. Check out the webcam - guys are onsite now.
From what I understand, the new dorms at Bloom are for upperclassman only, the freshman will be housed in the traditional dorms.
I am not sure if it is a symptom or not…many if not all of the PASSHE University presidents have resigned or been replaced in the last year or so…this is the latest to announce from Clarion University(she is a staunch supporter of Clarion)…longest tenured president in PASSHE at 8 years.
Did anyone’s kid apply to the Honors College at any of the state schools?
Also, would anyone consider some of the others more affordable schools mentioned here: Youngstown State & Cleveland State for example to be superior to our state schools? DD thinks it would be better to leave PA, but in state she would get the PHEAA grant, and I hate to give that up if there really isn’t any benefit.
@laralei, you probably need to think about what you are looking for in those schools. Some individual programs may be better, but overall rankings are not necessarily better. Of course, it depends which ranking you are using. There is US News, Time/Money, Washington Monthly, Economist, Forbes, Educate to career, etc. West Chester, Millersville, Bloomsburg, and Slippery Rock rank well (some better) in most of these when compared to the Ohio directionals.