<p>romani.
No getting to our CC without a car. Our CC costs over 4,000 before books and all fees + we are lucky enough to live close enough to Philly that we have surcharges on auto insurance - above $3k for college age to have car insurance. My family is fortunate enough to be near a commuter rail station that goes to Temple. So for our family, Temple works out close to cost of CC if we include transportation.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how we’ll pay for S1, but at this rate I’m sure we CANNOT pay for D who is in 5th grade. We have considered moving to a different state.</p>
<p>@long- It’s a sad day when you have to switch states just to afford a community college. <em>shakes head</em>. There is something so wrong with this scenario.</p>
<p>try Penn State Main. nearly 16k in JUST tuition plus 9 in room and board. Even if you get full pell and full stafford loans, and make 5k/year, you’re still looking at a 10k gap.</p>
<p>For many PA students, their state school isn’t even a feasible option</p>
<p>@LongHaul Move to Florida! State college is apparently free there for many kids! I know people who seriously considered moving there because of the free college education (from good schools) their kids could get.</p>
<p>Found this on City-Data: "You might be thinking of the Florida Bright Futures program for public universities in FL. Yes, if you satisfy certain requirements upon graduation from high school (FL residents only), you will qualify for a scholarship that may cover up to 100% of tuition to a public FL university (or, they will give you that amount toward tuition at a private or out of state school, but not 100% of those schools’ tuition rates, which are usually exponentially higher than the resident rate at public FL universities). </p>
<p>I received a 100% Bright Futures scholarship and attended the University of Florida without having to pay any tuition. My parents had prepaid for my college education (Florida Prepaid | Prepaid College | Florida 529 Plans) and locked in the tuition rate when I was a child. By the time I went to college and received the Bright Futures scholarship, the tuition rate had gone up, so my parents received all of their money back when I received the scholarship."</p>
<p>Born2dance, things have changed with Bright Futures. My D will be getting “100%” next fall, which now only equals $101 per credit hour or $3000 per year. Not really full tuition, which now rangers between $4800-5700 per year. We also have Florida Prepaid, so we will be in good shape, bu not 100%, unless other scholarships kick in.</p>
<p>@SouthFloridaMom But would you say most people are in good shape to afford their kid’s tuition in-state in Florida? IDK b/c I don’t live there, but what do you think?</p>
<p>Best option is to go to a public university–assuming you want a four-year experience–in your home state. But if you want to go another state the tuition rate will jump a lot. </p>
<p>There’s an exception: next year West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX is offering Texas resident tuition rates (plus $30 per credit hour) to anyone from the other 49 states. This makes tuition about $7,400 a year. According to the College Board average tuition for students in their home state is $8,244…West Texas A&M is a lot less.</p>
<p>sk8rmom, I feel your pain. There’s always the fear that my car will break down, and since I live in one of the Northern states, and since it’s an hour drive, I am NOT looking forward to December. I should be glad I live pretty close to the coast, so it shouldn’t get too bad, at least for the first half (and safer) half of the drive.</p>
<p>My boyfriend’s over an hour away from his, and the snow’s worse there. Some states are lucky…but in others, commuting’s not as simple. </p>
<p>Tuition at University of Rhode Island’s about 11.5 grand, and they’re looking to raise it more…and it’s not even a good school. I can’t imagine the average being that “low”…</p>