<p>In California, there is a 2-tiered system of universities - the UC’s are at the top & cost about twice as much in tuition as the next level, the CSU’s. My son was a National Merit finalist & had a 4.0 unweighted academic GPA in high school, 4.3 weighted. He is at a CSU. </p>
<p>After reading post #31, I decided to go online and check out Pennsylvania, since I know Pitt & Penn State are highly regarded. I wanted to find out if, like California, there were more affordable options for students who are willing to take a cut in prestige. I found that indeed there are a number of public universities where in-state tuition is about $6000 - $7000 a year: Bloomsburg U, California University of Pennsylvania, Cheyney U, Clarion, East Stroudsberg,
Edinboro, Indiana U. of PA, Kutztown, Lincoln, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, West Chester. </p>
<p>OK, its not as cheap as the Cal States and I’ve never heard of most of those colleges… but it is about half the cost of attending Penn State or Pitt, and if I were a nontraditional returning student hard up for cash, I’d take a serious look at that option. </p>
<p>I found the same thing when I searched New Jersey --Rutgers is pricey, but I could find public colleges which charge about $7000/year in tuition like Montclair State or Ramapo.</p>
<p>Yeah, I know, these schools probably aren’t considered to be all that great. But my son reports that his teachers are capable and very dedicated to teaching; and his fellow students are serious about learning. The classes are easier than he would like, but I always ask him what’s stopping him from reading further on his own. (He says he’s “too busy”… LOL) The fact that my son seems to be one of the more capable students at his school doesn’t hurt either - the school offers some fantastic opportunities to a select few, and he is in a position to take advantage of those opportunities.</p>