<p>For example, assuming that their financial situations are the same, would a student from New Jersey get more aid than a student from Detroit if they both applied to Northwestern University? Do colleges take into account the varying transportation costs? </p>
<p>I'm kind of hesitant to apply out of the Northeast, since airplane tickets are so expensive.</p>
<p>Not sure, but I do know that if you live far away, some colleges add travel into the education budget. Really depends on how much FA the school gives out.</p>
<p>Yes, colleges do consider transportation costs when making financial aid packages. (Transportation costs are included your cost of attendance.)</p>
<p>Some schools, such as Baldwin Wallace near Cleveland, OH, offer an “out of state” scholarship (this year, they offered an additional $4000 on top of any other scholarships a non-Ohio student was offered). Baldwan Wallace is a small, private LAC.</p>
<p>Be careful though; some schools don’t have a lot of financial aid anyway, so even though they’ll acknowledge that it costs you more money to get there, they’ll won’t help you at all (or just give you additional loans).</p>
<p>Transportation costs figured for COA will not make a significant difference in aid. For example, we live in Michigan and Northwestern calculated $200 for transportation and Yale calculated $1000 so you are talking about less than $1000 difference.</p>
<p>I would spend more effort in looking at the schools that are more generous in their aid packages (also ones that offer merit based aid) than worrying about applying out of your home area unless you plan to come home every weekend. My son will have much less debt at Yale then he would have had at NU or U-M. Even factoring in the cost for him to travel home (although he will only probably come home at Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break).</p>
<p>*would a student from New Jersey get more aid than a student from Detroit if they both applied to Northwestern University? Do colleges take into account the varying transportation costs? *</p>
<p>Not really. </p>
<p>Colleges may have a different transportation cost for those who commute vs those who live on campus (and live somewhere else)…but they don’t do a calculation that says, you live 1500 miles away so you get more money for travel than the person who lives 750 miles away.</p>
<p>But keep in mind, schools are rarely issuing checks for travel costs (especially for the one that gets you to campus in the fall). Often schools have a “summer work contribution” and your earnings typically go for travel and books…purchases that occur before school even starts. </p>
<p>The travel calculations don’t seem to take into acct multiple trips home. Sometimes the calculation seems to barely include the cost to arrive in the fall and leave in the spring.</p>
<p>Also…keep in mind that if your parents have a “family contribution”, that money goes towards some of these things too.</p>
<p>Thank you for your responses. My parents want me to come home once a month and I get homesick (and miss my friends) pretty quickly so my transportation costs are going to be high, haha.</p>
<p>My parents want me to come home once a month and I get homesick (and miss my friends) pretty quickly so my transportation costs are going to be high, haha.</p>
<p>No school will even come close to figuring monthly plane trips home. And, often there are other costs…shuttles to and from the airport, luggage fees, etc.</p>
<p>You have a few choices to make…</p>
<p>1) Pick a school that is not too far away so that you can drive home once a month.</p>
<p>2) Pick a school that gives you generous merit so that your family’s contribution is so low that they can afford to spend a few thousand per year in monthly airfare/travel costs.</p>
<p>I know a girl who flies home about once a month, but her merit scholarship was so big that her family justifies the cost of airfare. To clarify, she flies home for 3 day weekends (I think there are 2 of these), fall break, T-giving, Xmas, spring break. That’s about 6 times.</p>
<p>She was a frosh last year. I don’t know if she’ll always do this.</p>
<p>BTW…flying home for 2-day weekends isn’t always that easy if the trips require stopovers and such. You may find yourself spending more time at the airport and in the air then with family/friends.</p>
<p>When colleges consider transportation costs, it is a rough estimate of the student’s cost to arrive and depart each term. </p>
<p>If you are on the east coast and want to return home monthly, you are probably better off finding a college within “megabus” distance.</p>