<p>^^^ It wouldn’t hurt. When I was applying I tried that between Rutgers and MSU and I received additional aid. I did not try that for PSU though.</p>
<p>cwryan - which one gave you more? RU is another one on ds’ choices.</p>
<p>Penn State has never provided much financial aid. If you go to their financial aid page, the first thing it says is: expect almost entirely loans. If I remember correctly, Penn State reports they meet about 55% of need, and that includes Federal Pell grants, etc.</p>
<p>Pitt gives out merit aid to their top students from out of state. The goal is to bring the cost down closer to in-state costs for the people they really want. It appears U. Del. is doing the same thing.</p>
<p>Also, I just found out today that Byrd Honors Scholarships will almost definitely be completely eliminated, starting this Fall.</p>
<p>RU gave me extra money, I am out of state and it brought it down tremendously. But my package from PSU was nice and the honors college is what won me over for State.</p>
<p>I got roughly 5,000 a year total in loans. Pretty much what I expected and the same as most other OOS students.</p>
<p>So I’m looking at 40+ grand a year. I can afford it, but it’s not exactly comparable to Rutgers (I’m from NJ).</p>
<p>What does everyone think about the price value at Penn State?</p>
<p>Going crazy with financial aid / scholarships. Haven’t won any scholarships yet and PSU is my first choice. From the replies, my finaid packet is looking bad. I hope it isn’t so bad that it rules out my going there. D: Crossing fingers!</p>
<p>Okay, just checked & I’m estimated to pay about $21k per semester. That doesn’t even include room/board I believe & my loans are about 5x the grant I’m getting. LOL. I’m starting to question if $45k~ish/year is worth it now. Oh my.</p>
<p>I also checked their scholarship website and it seems I am not eligible for any. :/</p>
<p>I think that must include the room and board, lullabies. It appears my OOS D is in the same boat, and the FA statement pegs the total cost of attendance- certainly Includes room/board- at a little over $43,000. Still a hefty figure, looking as if the destination for fall for my D might be College Park (UMD), and not Happy Valley.</p>
<p>Did any OOS applicants/parents do ANY research on merit and need based aid at PSU BEFORE applying? This lack of financial assistance is certainly NOT a new policy and has been discussed/complained about for years.</p>
<p><<did any=“” oos=“” applicants=“” parents=“” do=“” research=“” on=“” merit=“” and=“” need=“” based=“” aid=“” at=“” psu=“” before=“” applying?=“” this=“” lack=“” of=“” financial=“” assistance=“” is=“” certainly=“” not=“” a=“” new=“” policy=“” has=“” been=“” discussed=“” complained=“” about=“” for=“” years.=“”>></did></p>
<p>That’s what I was wondering as well. When we did our tour of PSU, it was made VERY CLEAR (in the admissions info session and on the actual tour) that PSU does not give out much money to freshmen.</p>
<p>I am sure many of the posters - or at least the parents - did their research and knew the likelihood of merit aid was low. but lots of people hope that their children might beat the odds and get a small award. Is my d a little disappointed? A little (but not much as she’s aware of other attractive options). Am I surprised? No. I’ve been telling my DH ffor months that chance of aid from PSU was almost nil.</p>
<p>I think the statement in writing of the true COA at over $43k with books and personal expenses does cause a little sticker shock. But it’s good to have the true numbers and we are excited for decision time now…:). !!!</p>
<p>I have not toured yet, but from the research I did (which basically was online forums), there were several people who had a decent amount of aid. It seems most here just have the grant & loans, but with the research, I saw that some people actually received more. So, that’s what I based it off of.</p>
<p>You said that they don’t give that much money to freshmen. How much better is it sophomore/junior/following years for undergrad?</p>
<p>lullabies - I can’t give you any firsthand information, since my son is still a freshman, but the tour guides we had (and several other students/parents we talked to) said that once you are in your major, there are many scholarship/award opportunities. Obviously, it all depends on the student’s grades.</p>
<p>Lullabies, at our city’s accepted students day earlier this month they said that there<em>might</em> be better chances of getting merit aid based on your major/dept. in Later years with great grades, but I didn’t come away from the meeting feeling assured of it. Nothing to count on.</p>
<p>Yes, we did our research, surprised at ds not getting into SHC, still didn’t receive word on this freshman engineering scholarship ($5k/yr) but expecting that will also be a no…basically, no, I am not shocked at either the aid or sticker price. But now is the time to evaluate the options given our “EFC” is not do-able and the colleges with similar rankings but higher merit aid programs are going to have to be put on top. Kbiresearch is right, we always think our little darlings will beat the odds and be the one to get the merit awards. :)</p>
<p><<kbiresearch is=“” right,=“” we=“” always=“” think=“” our=“” little=“” darlings=“” will=“” beat=“” the=“” odds=“” and=“” be=“” one=“” to=“” get=“” merit=“” awards.=“”>></kbiresearch></p>
<p>LOL!!! I guess I’m the opposite. I know my kids are great, but figure there are lots of great kids out there. So, when they don’t get something - I’m not upset. And when they do - I’m thrilled!!! :)</p>
<p>With the Governor’s budget proposing a 50% cut in state funds, I wouldn’t be surprised if Penn State decided to freeze any unnecessary expenditures. That might include some merit money, although there never was much for incoming freshman.</p>
<p>Let me throw this into the fray. When we visited during the Summer of 2009, the PSU newspaper had an article about how poorly students thought they were treated whenever they had to deal with the Office of FA. Those hoping for more FA after the freshman year might want to spend some time talking with them now to get a feel for who you will be dealing with later…and their attitudes.</p>
<p>When I went to the gym today there was a Dad with a Penn State shirt on. I thought it was ironic as my D just got her OOS fin aid package which was just stafford loans the night before. I picked his brain a bit and he said that though his D is a junior at Penn State, she never received any aid.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I did my research on collegeboard which says …</p>
<p>Average percent of need met: 56%
Average financial aid package: $9,529
Average need-based loan: $3,455
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $6,812
Average non-need based aid: $3,304</p>
<p>My son’s financial aid package met 19% of our need. Need based scholarship was $1,500 (which I guess we should feel fortunate about since many people did not receive any!) Sadly, Penn State may be out for us now. I wish I hadn’t let my son get so excited about it :(</p>