<p>Hello I am currently a sophomore in high school, I know I have time, I have 3 years ahead of me but I don't want to decide last minute like some people do. Anyways my dream universities are USC(university of Southern California) and Stanford university, the problem is I live in Georgia and tuition is very expensive especially if you're an out-of-state student. Also i'll miss my family a lot.my parents told me that I could get scholarships and they could try, since I didn't want them to have to pay a lot and I'd miss them a lot.I decided to check Out some of the universities in Georgia. The best one in Georgia is Emory but unfortunately they closed their journalism program. According to some people UGA isn't bad but i don't know,I don't want to go there.also the reason I want to go to usc and Stanford is because they both have great journalism programs. By the way I currently have a 3.45 Gpa and i am currently volunteering.
Should I chose in or out-of state? Thank you (:</p>
<p>It’s not as simple as deciding whether you’re going to go in or out of state…first you have to apply to colleges and see what the financial aid offers are and all. You don’t want to go into a lot of debt. You seem to be brushing off the financial aspect of it, but that’s very important.</p>
<p>A few things:</p>
<ol>
<li>I don’t know the rest of your stats, but in general, a 3.45 is pretty low for both of those schools.</li>
<li>Stanford only has a grad program for journalism, not undergrad. </li>
<li>If you want to be closer to home, there are a ton of great journalism schools closer to you. For instance, UGA has an excellent program. (Plus it would be a lot cheaper.)</li>
</ol>
<p>The colleges you listed (USC and Stanford) are both private universities. So they cost the same no matter where you live (a lot). They do offer need based financial aid. Honestly, with a 3.4 GPA, Stanford is likely out of reach for you. USC might be possible depending on your test scores.</p>
<p>It does sound like cost will be a very important factor for you. Each college has something called a Net Price Calculator on their financial aid webpage. If you get your parents to help you run that, you can get an idea of what kind of financial aid you might get from each school on your list. This is a very important step so you don’t spend a lot of time pursuing admission to a school you can’t afford.</p>
<p>I think University of Missouri has a very strong journalism program, but it is a public university and you would be out of state – current cost for OOS students is about $38,000/year. Most public universities don’t give very good need-based financial aid to out of state students, too. But you can run the net price calculators to see.</p>
<p>Ok thanks 
</p>
<p>I guess I can’t do anything :’(</p>
<p>I know that i have to Apply obviously</p>
<p>Going OOS to California is going to cost your family some serious cash. Both Stanford and USC are running close to $60,000 per year and that doesn’t include your travel expenses. By the time you graduate, that cost will probably be even higher. </p>
<p>For perspective, work a summer job and try to earn $1000. You will see how long it takes you to earn that amount. My daughter was surprised how many hours it took her to earn that in one summer.</p>
<p>That $60K is a LOT of money for those of us who live in California, let alone someone from Georgia.</p>
<p>I agree that your GPA of 3.45 wont get you into Stanford and it probably wont get you into USC. These are two of the most competitive schools in the nation and they are extremely picky in whom they choose. My son, with extremely high stats and near perfect score on the SAT got into USC but got waitlisted at Stanford. My husband went to Stanford so our son was a legacy and didn’t get in! But our son did get accepted to Caltech which is even more selective! So, it’s a crapshoot. </p>
<p>Your grades have to be as perfect as your SAT’s plus . . . . your parents need to pay a LOT of money to send you to these schools IF you even get in.<br>
Go in-state and save your parents some grief, stress, and money.</p>
<p>Get your grades up, do well on the SAT or ACT and then see which makes sense. BTW, USC and Stanford are Private Us so your home state doesn’t matter. Stanford particularly is hard to get into (5% admit rate) but does have excellent need based aid.</p>
<p>you’re right to be concerned about homesickness, but you can begin to address this issue by planning now to spend some summer time away from home. going to a summer camp is something you could do this coming summer, if your family can afford it. if they cannot, then look to get out of Georgia and spend a week here and a week there with a family member or friend. Next summer, plan to spend more time away, say, a month. Look into Student Conservation Association or some such organization where you will learn a great deal about independence and working together in small groups far from home. During the school year, get involved in jobs, whether volunteer or paid, that offer you responsibility and a chance to work with a team. Learn the satisfaction of contributing to the lives of others.</p>