Can anyone give me info on potential out of state tuition breaks for upperclassmen? My son had been offered admission for Fall 2019. He is a Texas resident. Unfortunately, he has not qualified for any aid (merit or financial). We are considering him doing a year at community college in Texas, then applying for transfer his sophomore year, which will make him eligible for some transfer scholarship based on college GPA and help save money over the 4 years.
If he were to go to OU his freshman year (and pay full out of state tuition), what kind of scholarship or aid might he be eligible for? It would be great if he were offered enough to offset the out of state prices. I just can’t justify out of state tuition prices for all 4 years.
There usually is no change to the OOS tuition one pays, and some schools even have a policy (or even a law) that says if you enter as OOS, you remain OOS. There may, of course, be scholarships for continuing students and often those are from the major or minor department (engineering, art, education).
I doubt anyone here can accurately predict future scholarships OU will offer to OOS students, especially without knowing stats. OU does appear to give some sizable scholarships based off ACT/GPA for OOS students, however. I believe that OU lets students take the ACT even after they have committed to earn additional scholarship money, so that could be an option if his score is on the threshold of earning a scholarship.
I personally don’t see a reason to pay OOS tuition for freshman year at OU. Even a year of community college saves tens of thousands, and he won’t miss much avoiding huge freshman gen ed classes.
http://www.ou.edu/admissions/affordability/scholarships
As @bvbfc09 said, going to community college even for a year will save money in itself. That’s a big plus!
There are merit scholarships available for transfer students, as well as some competitive ones based on leadership. I also believe that there are some colleges within the university that give departmental awards to upperclassmen, but I presume you would have to be very high achieving within that department. The sooner heritage scholarship also sounds ideal for your family. http://www.ou.edu/scholarships/ou/SoonerHeritage
There are some great options to make OU affordable. That being said, if your son doesn’t have his heart set on OU, Texas has some great state schools (not just UT)! If you’re looking for other good options, I believe Texas State University in San Marcos is still accepting applications (they do rolling admissions). As a Texas Resident, it may be worth it to apply just to compare the costs. However, if that doesn’t appeal to you, I definitely think there are ways of making OU affordable for OOS students, and it may be worth it to set up an appointment with somebody at the financial aid office or general admissions office just to inquire.
Good luck! I wish your son all the best. 