I am a resident of IL. COA at UIUC is $30.5K for engineering ($20.5K for Tuition/Fees and $10K for R&B) for in-state. When you look up Tuition on the site it is very tricky because they give you a rack rate and then in notes show a $5K surcharge for engineering.
UMN is cheaper for OOS in engineering than in-state at UIUC. A sad situation here in IL. That is why no one wants to do reciprocity with UIUC. UMN is petty close to UIUC in engineering as far as I am concerned.
@Mamelot Forgot to put name
@CycloneGrad that’s edifying to hear. The financial crisis in IL is disgraceful - even by IL standards! (I say that as a former resident of IL).
UMTC has a lot to recommend itself to OOS families but one thing I’d be skeptical of would be whether that super-low tuition can last over the long term. When you consider UMTC’s level of selectivity and the amounts charged to OOS - and in-state in some cases! - by other flagships it seems reasonable that the tuition is going to creep up in order to more closely match the rest of the Midwest. Something to think about for your budgeting.
On the other hand UMTC also maxes out the tuition at 13 credits (so if you take more then it’s free) and has the four-year guarantee. Those are excellent indications that the university truly cares about keeping the cost of education there in the “affordable” category.
Finally, something to share with your kids to get them prepped for visiting the Twin Cities. A bit outdated but still educational. Good luck to them!
@Mamelot I saw a study on the UIUC common data set that compared in-state tuition/R&B across the Big Ten publics. UIUC (rack rate) is number 2. UMN is number 4.
My feeling is UMN subsidizes OOS costs with higher in state. Unlike Iowa or Madison.
@CyclonesGrad You are correct about the in-state tuition subsidy - UMN has had a captive market historically and that is a hard image to shake. I wouldn’t expect in-state to decrease, but I would expect to see less of a subsidy in the future (over time). That just makes economic sense to me. Right now MN is supposed to be harder to get into than WI, IL or IA/IA State. So unless there is something very wacky about the published admission rate, the premium shouldn’t continue to exist like it does. I could be ignoring other important factors, of course, such as the four year grad rate - there MN is higher than IA or IA-State, about the same as WI, and lower than UIUC. There are other factors that make up a ranking, there’s populations and reciprocity agreements, state budget considerations, and of course there is the “weather”. . . I’ve just seen that UMTC is harder to get into over time, and they are trying to boost their graduation rates. That’s why I would expect less subsidizing of OOS students. But for now they still waive the application fee and they can’t change the weather . . . so who knows.
The 2016-16 tuition will be released soon I think so at least you’ll know next year’s costs very soon.
@Mamelot you may very well be right about OOS going up. Hopefully my kids get gold national scholarship which gives guaranteed in state tuition for all 4 years.
All we need to do is survive 4 years and we will be done with college for all of our 4 kids, thanks for everything so far. You have been great! I will let you know whT happens.
Thanks @CyclonesGrad and good luck to them both. The Gold Scholarship is a great feature!
Good luck to your daughter also! I hope everything goes great!
@Mamelot forgot ID
@mamelot Went to CSE preview this weekend. Very impressive and well done. Son decided to go into CSE with a major in Chem Eng. His stats are above. I do not think he will have a problem getting accepted. What do you think?
What is very important is getting the Gold National Scholarship. What do you think the chances are of my twins getting that?
BTW, the new fitness center is incredible! Almost made me want to work out right there 
Wow @CyclonesGrad this is a great testimony as to how important it is to visit these schools!
And yes, these kids today get really great facilities. It makes ME want to re-apply to college.
I’m afraid my assistance going forward is going to be limited at best. My D applied to and was was accepted by CLA last year (and is attending another school back east) so I can only go off what I’ve been reading and know from others. There are a LOT of CSE parents on CC so you might want to repost as a “chance me” and provide the stats along with the ACT subscores - the more detail the better. I’ll bet you’ll get great feedback.
Chem E is a wonderful major based on everything I’ve read and heard. I know people who have graduated with the major - one woman told me you can basically write your ticket with employers in pretty much any technical field. The program is considered to be one of the best in the world. Also, Pres. Kaler is a chemical engineer - how’s that for support from the highest levels!
I guess if it were my kid, I’d look at the Honors College stats - which I’ve pasted below - figuring if he qualifies for Honors, he would definitely qualify for admission. Or if he comes in just under, then UMN is probably a match.
http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/honors/review.html
As for the Gold National scholarship, I thought that was based on top 10% of graduating class for applicants who are not in the reciprocity states. So your son should qualify, unless I have misunderstood the criteria. Probably best to check that with the university itself or with other parents whose kids have received that scholarship. Unlike Honors College with different stats applying to the different colleges, the Gold is a university-wide merit award and I thought whoever met that criteria received it.
Admissions takes a close look at the senior course load so he’s in good shape there with the B/C calc. and chem and also the Lit. All the AP will help a lot because it means he’s challenging himself and not slacking off.
Hope he gets in. Good luck to him!
@mamelot Good luck to your daughter. Amen to reapplying.
@Mamelot Per our earlier discussion about on-state/OOS tuition not having as big a difference as other states, i.e. WI, IN, IL, MI. See the link below because I think it shows what you were saying regarding that UMN is gradually making the difference larger:
http://www.oir.umn.edu/static/tuition/TuitionUMNTC.pdf
We definitely need the Gold National if my kids are going to go to UMN.
@CyclonesGrad thanks for sending this. Has UMN released 2016-17 tuition and fees yet? I thought that would be out pretty soon.
Good luck to your kids and Gold National. Hopefully the criteria is pretty straightforward so you’ll have an idea of their chances.
@mamelot I did not see anything on CDS about 2016-17 Tuition and fees. I think it will come out in December when the 2015 CDS comes out.
As for Gold National, it say top 10% of class but also says that for National Excellence (1/2 of diff IS vs OOS). Not clear how they decide which one is offered. Both DS and DD are top 4% out of class of 500+.
@CyclonesGrad yeah, you are right - we are doing some college stuff now with D2 and NOBODY has next year’s tuition numbers out. What’s up with that? LOL.
I totally understand how your kids are facing uncertainty w/r/t which of those scholarships they would receive and it can make all the difference in terms of where they end up. Perhaps the admissions rep. can give you some insight but I’m guessing that within that top 10% group there’s going to be some further stratification based on those primary and secondary factors the admissions site keeps mentioning.
I can’t recall when the university-wide awards were distributed last year - some got them early-on, some later on. I think everything gets doled out by March or so but I seem to recall either last year or the year before there was some discussion about Gold awards arriving with the admissions packet (so not available on the Tracker) - but whether they were for OOS or just NMF’s I can’t recall. Perhaps you can go through the previous threads and find out more info - or post the question to see if someone can share their experience. BTW, if there is even a small chance of the kids ending up at UMN then they will want to spend the $25 to reserve their residence hall spot once that process opens up in Nov. The earlier you sign up, the better your chances of getting your first place dorm (and you can change your preference all you want till the deadline in May 2016).
@mamelot They want to keep you in the dark about 2016 - 17 tuition so you sign up before knowing the cost I would think my kids would get the gold considering DD (30 ACT, top 4%) and DS (32 ACT, top 4%) have good stats. We will see.
Too bad that UMN does not give guaranteed money based on stats for OOS like Iowa State ($19500 Tuition/R&B - $1500 of that is legacy/$8000 for stats) and Ohio State ($21,500 for stats). They should maybe be a little more aggressive.
@CyclonesGrad I hope they get the Gold National. They are smart kids. Be sure to let us know what happens. Hope they get a quick notice too.
Iowa’s universities are wonderful in that you know your status immediately and the scholarship descriptions are very straightforward so that you can begin to plan financially. No surprises. That has to be the most pleasant application process around.
@Mamelot Agreed about ISU application. My nephew goes there after I suggested to him while he was waiting on UIUC and Purdue. He is very happy there.
I will let you know what happens with UMN.