Just checked the NSILY program, never heard of it before. I think DD would have loved to have done that. She no loger would qualify.
Yes, mine would like to study abroad as well, and, no, it’s not about a cool trip! I think it was on Bloom’s website about a girl who actually did a total immersion semester in China. Now, of course, I can’t find it. (might have been a student newsletter type of thing?) But told DD, that is something to shoot for if she really wants to study Chinese.
@Gatormama, I think we are the last ones on this thread still looking for schools. DD could actually start applying to them now, but everything is still so up in the air. It was hard w/ DS, but he wanted electrical engineering, and all I had to do was find an affordable option :D, he had high stats. DD is much harder, as she isn’t definite on a major, her grades/test scores are good but not great, and again the affordable aspect is huge.
Are you looking at any LAC’s? I think earlier in this thread many felt they didn’t come in cheaper than our state schools.
My kid’s only starting her junior year, so I’ve got a year before I have to make her knuckle down on a decision!
And we’re not the only ones still looking; I think there are several others with juniors. Plus, I would like to think of this as a continuing thread for us poor PA parents who, year by year, suddenly realize we live in a crappy state for higher ed if you’re not wealthy or blessed with a high-stats kid.
I have several non PASSHE schools on the spreadsheet, but most are only gonna make the cut if D raises her stats. Some of the cheaper ones are Ohio U, Otterbein, Stockton, WVU, Baldwin-Wallace. Also, Susquehanna, Westminster, Allegheny, Ursinus, Muhlenberg… then there are reaches like Dickinson, Sewanee, Middlebury, Colorado. … hah…they’re just there to make me feel depressed
@Gatormama, A lot on your list are on mine. All the reaches you have would also be inaffordable for us and I relate to your depressed feelings about them.
I was thinking of having D do some very simple apps for colleges where we would only have to send scores and a transcript, a good merit was pretty much guaranteed. I started to look at Ohio U again, which has been in and off the list, but then I saw the $50 application fee and decided against it.
Baldwin-Wallace seems very nice. If you can get into their top merit category and the out of state award, the direct costs get down to around $20k. No jumping through hoops.
Stockton would be the cheapest for D with direct costs around $15K (unless Rowan surprises us, which isn’t impossible). I compare every college’s costs to that $15K now. But that also gets depressing. But I weigh it against the happiness of D not paying off loans for ten years.
Have to say I have some of the same schools, @Gatormama. Need to sit down and look at the costs of even applying. I, foolishly, spent the day looking at the need blind/full need schools. Stats on those kids are unbelievable and acceptances are sooooo very low.
With DD a senior, I have to stop looking for something that just isn’t out there; all I end up with for all my research is a tension headache. Although, now that you mention it, maybe I’ll go and check out Middlebury, don’t know if I looked at that one yet!
Not surprised by this @bester1. I posted up thread that DD is actually earned scholarships from CALU on the raise me site. I also liked the flyer they sent, but to commit 4 years to the lower tier schools is of huge concern.
I started re-reading this thread, and certain schools keep coming up. However, I was wondering if anyone looked at the SUNY school?
I know they are more expensive, but I have read that some offer merit aid to OOS students. However, I think this was before the passing of the Exselsior Scholarships in NY. ??
@MACmiracle I found two SUNY schools so far that actually have a BA degree for TESOLw with certification to teach ESL in grades K-12. Oswego is one of them! Still I don’t think the SUNY schools will work, even with some merit,
Maybe I’ll request some information anyway. Wish finances weren’t such a huge concern as it complicates the ability for DD to pursue her primary interests. From the PA schools, she needs to get a degree in secondary education, then add additional classes, more money, to get ESL certification. The TESOL appears to be a Master’s degree.
Since PA requires so much additional course work, makes me think the SUNY programs will only work for New York. ?? That could be a problem transferring out of state. More research, ugh!
Anyone is welcome to jump in here if they have any insight into anything I just posted. I might be totally wrong.
@laralei Years ago my H looked into PA certification and it seemed to have more requirements than some other states so you might want to be careful choosing an out of state program.
One thing to remember is if TESOL is pursued as a masters program, it might be paid for by a school district where she is already employed. I have a relative who is a teacher and she is getting her masters that way in an educational field but not TESOL.
TESOL is such a needed skill right now, I imagine your D could get help in getting it paid for once she gets a job in a school.
Yes, @MACmiracle, from the SUNY websites there is a demand for the TESOL certification; I am wondering if they are just trying to fast track educators because of the demand. IF we lived in NY, it would be a done deal.
I know she won’t be employed anywhere near us in PA for teaching, with cutbacks and connections, she won’t get in anywhere, but just from your H’s experience, I am thinking it would probably be easier to stay in state for PA certification. I was leaning that way, but good to get some additional input on that path.
does anyone think it will impact the state schools even further w/ funding? causing them to raise tuition/costs even higher? DD is on the verge of applying to WCU, Bloom, SRU and maybe IUP. They are barely affordable, and I would hate for her to start at one of them and then have to pull her down the road.
If that is the case, I would rather her start at CC and transfer, though she is very, very resistant to that. Dang, I wish PA would get it’s act together.
@laralei It certainly could, but it is hard to know at this point. I think that if the report had better suggestions it could have gone a long way, but there was really nothing concrete in there.
Maybe also look into online options at CC or PASSHE for part of the curriculum. I hate to say it, if CC Is off the table, commuting to a Penn State or Pitt branch would still probably be cheaper than PASSHE all-in (room and board).
These new Penn State dorms cost $50 Million to build and will charge $7900 per year (no board). Wonder where those construction cost funds will come from? So now Penn State Abington has housing and 4 year majors. More pressure on PASSHE to compete.
15k tuition +8K room = 23K, which is not too different than PASSHE cost
@Portercat, those rates for PS Abington don’t look too bad, but w/ meal plans and extra fees (there are always extra fees) it does push the costs up higher. And if it is as stingy as main campus w/ grants/scholarships, I don’t think it’s really a great bargain, but I am sure there will be many who go just for the PSU recognition. Also, a couple of thousand might not be a huge deal for some, but it is for us.
I am very resistant to the nearby PSU branch campus. Oldest DD hated it there, and we would have to get youngest a car and a license to drive.
@Gatormama , I think we got one from Bloomsburg as well. I think “I” would rather go to Bloom. Apparently DD could study Chinese at Bloom, but when she messaged the contact, she never responded. The course curriculum is not the clearest, so she doesn’t know if she could even fit it in. I don’t think it is even an option at WCU, although they are all starting to blur together at this point.
Junior year felt like we had so much time, and yet here we are without any specific plan, and applications are starting to open up already! We have to sit down and just pick some schools to apply to that offer DD the best options for getting where she wants to go, as cheaply as possible.
No Chinese at WCU - I just was looking at their majors last night.
No Env. Sci. either, or Parks Management
She’d have to cobble something together if she got her heart set on that one.
No Chinese at Slippery Rock either, but, for my D’s interests, it does have Parks Mgement, as well as Environmental Studies and Sustainability … and theater tech…
Bloomsburg doesn’t have anything interesting with Env. Sci. that I could discern - really focused on geology & drilling, from what I could gather.
Cheyney hanging on by a thread and now they are forgiving a loan? Couldn’t this money be better served for students at institutions that are actually doing OK?
