Going to college out of state?? I don't know what to do!

College Search & Selection
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<p>HELLO everybody. I pretty much have one problem: I don't know if I should apply to colleges outside of Illinois.</p>

<p>I want to study Engineering. I'm looking for a big school with a solid party reputation. Right now I'm looking at UIUC, IIT, and tbh I have no idea what else - maybe Bradley. </p>

<p>I'm definitely not rich. My mom is retired, and my dad makes under $30k a year; I'm probably going to get some good financial aid stuffs. So with cost being a major concern, I'm debating on whether I should be looking at schools out of state. I've heard from some people that colleges can give scholarships to entice OOS students, but I've also heard that this isn't the case.</p>

<p>What do you guys think I should do?</p>

<p>P.S. Are private schools always more expensive than public ones? I know that private schools have more money and can give better scholarships, but would it be enough to be cheaper than public schools?</p>

<p>I forgot to mention: My ACT was 33, and I'm ranked 10% in my class. I think this opens up my options considerably - I can either go to really competitive schools or some not-so-competitive and get more merit based aid (or am I wrong?).</p>

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<p>Should I even be worrying about cost?</p>

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<p>Top Private schools will most likely be cheaper for someone like you whose parents make under 30k a year</p>

<p>You should look at Rice and Cornell who give great packages to people whose parents make under 80k a year and are great engineering schools.</p>

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<p>You should definitely be worrying about the cost. It’s the biggest factor in admission. </p>

<p>Privates will often be cheaper because they have more money to give. OOS publics may be too pricey unless you qualify for large scholarships.</p>

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<p>I’m concerned that your major enticement is a school with a "solid party reputation". My daughter is a senior engineering major and her course load would be impossible to pass if she were constantly partying! You may want to think about another major. You’ll be wasting your time.</p>

<p>OOS will be expensive; you also need to include costs of travel. Some schools may give you nice packages, but these may not cover your full costs.</p>

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<p>Does your mom have a retirement income? If so, then the family income isn’t just $30k per year.</p>

<p>Yes, you need to be concerned about cost. MOST schools don’t give much aid EVEN if you supposedly “qualify” for aid. </p>

<p>I’m probably going to get some good financial aid stuffs</p>

<p>Maybe, maybe not. There are a whole bunch of schools that won’t give you much aid at all. </p>

<p>OOS publics rarely give much/any need based aid. some are known to give merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Many privates don’t give great aid either. The ones that give the best aid are the hardest ones to get accepted to. With an ACT 33, you may not get accepted to those schools.</p>

<p>With your ACT 33, if you also have a strong GPA, then apply to a couple of “back up” schools that will give you large merit for your stats.</p>

<p>UIUC doesn’t meet need, so you’ll likely be gapped a LOT there.</p>

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<p>Thank you everyone for the replies!</p>

<p>And @mom2collegekids, thanks for the PM! I can’t reply because I don’t have 15 posts, but I’ll definitely be adding that to my list of schools, especially as a safety school.</p>