High cost of "public" University of Vermont - buyer beware

My child received a hefty $$ award from UVM. I was looking at their web site for net costs, and UVM noted "kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranked UVM among the top BEST VALUE public college in the country.So I went over to the Kiplinger’s site. This ranking is based on Dec 2017. UVM ranked 93 out of 100 out of state colleges (80 in-state) and was the most expensive for in-state and out of state except for William and Mary (ranked 11), U of Virginia (3) and the UCal campuses. All these were just a few thousand more but much better ranked. What’s up with UVM?? Even with the $$, it is still is overly priced.

It’s funded by out of staters… only 27% are in state the rest OoS… in reality in a few years Vermont should close down all state universities and just keep UVM… I think birth rate in Vermont is so low at around 5000 a year now.

I think Mass students lead now in state representation

UVM offers a solid education in a sought after locale, small safe city that is close to outdoor activities. Not too big, nor too small.D1 sports. Hospital next door for research. New engineering building, new dorms. Maybe of the kids attending come from New England and don’t balk at the price, especially with any merit.

Its supply vs demand.

Too pricy for where it’s ranked to be frank… my kid goes to Michigan state 35k and housing 10k compared to 42k to uvm and 12k housing… Lot of the research universities are cheaper and better ranked…

It should go private they get 42 million from the state… if other New England state schools start copy Umaine pricing to gain students they will create a problem for UVM

If UVM offers such a solid education, why are they 93/100? I want to see a good return on investment. Not, it’s near a great city (Burlington is great) and offers year round outdoor activities. Boston has become a huge Biotech hub. They hire only the best (if you’re kid is going in that direction.) shiny new buildings do not = better education. I wish my kid applied to Mich State. Got into UMass Amherst Sch of Engineering though. Someone just told me about a Boston Globe article on UMA. Have to look into it. Yes, UVM is mostly out of state students. Probably because the instate tuition is incredibly high too. Just food for thought.

Vermont has always been a small state. OOS students have been in the majority for decades. It has allowed UVM to offer a broader range of majors that the state’s population would call for.

If free public college tuition ever becomes a reality (I’m not holding my breath) I wonder how UVM would fare?

I assume free tuition would be instate only. So, UVermont would do very well!
If the plan is debt free college I also imagine the plan to mean “at your in-state universities” so I don’t think it’d impact UVermont. It may rain more Vermont kids would attend but since the state skews so old with so few young people (same thing in Maine btw) it wouldn’t really change enrollment.
UVermont has an excellent reputation among east cost prep schools and is listed as one of the ‘public Ivies’.

In fairness, however, though UVM attracts substantial interest from students at top privates, it may not serve as a preferred destination. In a recent five year period, for example, of 37 accepted from Middlesex, 1 attended.

https://www.mxschool.edu/academics/college-counseling/5-year-matriculation/

@MYOS1634

the various proposals for “free” public college tuition have been vague on this. Would public graduate schools and professional schools also be free?

Well, grad school isn’t college. All the proposals I’ve heard of were within the context of being able to afford your state flagship for college. No mention of grad school, private college, or out of state colleges. Some were limited to free community college (like TN Promise). It’s a mix of “what’s the point of having an instate public university if instate residents can’t afford it” and “technology is changing the economy, we need an educated workforce to meet its challenges and making college paid for cuts down on one obstacle”.
It’s not about indulging teenagers’ whims.
So, OOS students would still bring in their tuition dollars to UVermont.

93/100. 100 is a large pool to name. If they only named Top 50, UVM wouldn’t be on the list.

After merit scholarships and grants, UVM was one of my D’s better priced options, even OOS. The sticker price is just that, and I suspect that most applicants get a discount.

UVM has a high sticker price, but it ends there. The average loan indebtedness for out of state students is approximately $36,000 at THE END OF FOUR YEARS. That’s less than $10,000 per year to attend UVM as an out of state student! All things considered, $10,000 a year is a solid deal. While UVM doesn’t meet full financial need, they do a pretty good job of helping families bridge the gap. The combination of financial aid, merit scholarships, and other scholarships typically make UVM’s cost quite reasonable.

In addition, UVM is an actual research university with a teacher scholar model. UVM has 10,000 undergrads and the faculty are not only doing research but working with undergraduate students as research assistants. And, the faculty are the actual academic advisors for the students as well. As far as research goes, students can get involved with research at any point in their four years- they can get as much experience as they want. I also think it amazing that 98% of classes are taught by the faculty- from day one! How cool is that?! This is not typical for research universities. Additionally, someone else mentioned the hospital being right next door- that is an amazing opportunity for students interested in the health fields! UVM offers a ton of hands on experiences for all of their students and the opportunities really are boundless.

@BreezeEaze, that “less than $10,000 per year to attend UVM” is misleading. That’s the loan amount per year, one still needs to pay a substantial amount out of pocket each year.

It is another thread topic, but free tuition generally has applied to community colleges in general in the states that have moved on it. Which is still something.

Kiplinger’s best value 93/100 is simply stating they made the cut. There are a lot more public universities than 100!!!

It is also worth noting that the “most expensive” for OOS is assuming full price. Many publics offer little to no merit to OOS kids, whereas UVM does offer some and in many cases quite a bit more. UCal, for example, will not offer a penny so they end up being quite a bit “more” than just a few thousand, depending on what UVM offered an OOS Student.

Got a 20K a year scholarship to attend, so while it is still more money than our in state, it makes it cheaper than nearly any OOS public for us (we are in NY). The other OOS publics my son applied to don’t give as much in scholarships. The size and location is very attractive to many kids.

This Boston Globe article discusses the challenges faced by Vermont Colleges in general:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/30/higher-education-struggles-hit-vermont-hard/hiN0TRBKM147Qbdrvx4QHJ/story.html