<p>Hello. I have recently been admitted to the University of Florida (FL resident) I have also been admitted to the University of Texas at Austin.</p>
<p>I want to study engineering.</p>
<p>But aside from the obvious financial incentives of staying in-state, what are the other reasons for going out0of-state.</p>
<p>I mean this friend of mine has been trying to convince me to go out-of-state for sooo long.
He says like "itll be a great experience, itll expand you horizons, and like ive talked to pplp that have gone OOS and they say "im over $50k in debt but im having the time of my life""</p>
<p>is going OOS really worth accumulating mass amounts of debt?</p>
<p>I really see no reason to go out of state in this case because I would think the quality of the two schools is very similar, and we as a nation really need to stop placing ourselves in debt...</p>
<p>
[quote]
He says like "itll be a great experience, itll expand you horizons, and like ive talked to pplp that have gone OOS and they say "im over $50k in debt but im having the time of my life""
[/quote]
They probably are. But talk to them in 20 years when they can't buy a house and I'll bet they're singing a different tune. Or even in 5 years when they can't afford to pay down their debt and rent an apartment, so they're back living with Mom & Dad. And nothing says that they wouldn't be having an equally good time at their state schools.</p>
<p>You can still have "the time of your life" without going into debt. In fact, it may be easier for you to have fun knowing that you're not destroying your future.</p>
<p>There may be a certain value in attending a school with a nationwide and global student body. But going OOS to another state's public mezns that the vast majority of students will be from just that single state.</p>
<p>I went out of state for college because my state universities lacked the areas I was interested in. I was exposed to a greater breadth of material at a substantially better institution than what would have been available locally. I also gained a sense of independence that I wouldn't have if I had had my parents an hour away. I did incur a lot of debt but I also had the freedom to take my career in the direction that I wanted to and i think that makes it all worth it.</p>
<p>“I went out of state for college because my state universities lacked the areas I was interested in. I was exposed to a greater breadth of material at a substantially better institution than what would have been available locally. I also gained a sense of independence that I wouldn’t have if I had had my parents an hour away. I did incur a lot of debt but I also had the freedom to take my career in the direction that I wanted to and i think that makes it all worth it.”</p>
<p>Good for you. But if that doesn’t apply to the OP, who cares? </p>
<p>If the only reason to go OOS is the “experience”, it seems like a waste of a good chunk of money. That is what I got from your post. OP: Evaluate whether that Texas college has enough exclusive things worthy of your $$$.</p>
<p>I doubt he’d readily admit to you that he had regrets about going OOS. I know my friends refuse to despite some failing pretty hard. I don’t view Texas as much different than Florida -academically or culturally- so why pay the premium?</p>