<p>Penn State, Pitt, Temple are all decent deals for OOSers but they are expensive for those who are PA residents in terms of being a state school. PSU and Pitt had the ignominy of coming in first and second on the list of the MOST expensive state schools in the country for its own state residents. Whatever the structure they have of not being true state schools, that really is the best way to categorize them The same goes for UMich, Wm &Mary, and UVA, but those schools have kept costs down for their own residents though they charge the whazooie out of anyone from OOS. </p>
<p>PA is miserly with education monies anyways, so those schools could not operate with the budget scraps that the state throws them. I believe Pitt was once private. I know it has a lot of private funders and it once gave some of the most generous merit money to those with the right stats. They’ve cut that drastically now, but there is still more merit to be found than at PSU. Also there are programs to help pay for Pitt if someone lives in the city of Pittsburgh and is low income which does bump up the need met numbers for Pitt. If you live in Pittsburgh, they are pretty much the only game in town when it comes to a 4 year degree at state prices, which can make it tough. You either have to drive aways upping those commuting costs drastically to find anything else or commute and pay the Pitt tuition to get your BA if you live in Pittsburgh, as your lowest cost options if you don’t get merit money or financial aid. I 've known a number of families in that situation. Actually Duquesne University does not charge a whole lot more than Pitt and with some awards, and they give many, can cost about the same or less. </p>
<p>The same goes for living in Philly and the situation with Temple. it is not an inexpensive school tuition wise.</p>