My D was accepted to Clemson engineering but she was not offered any Merit and we don’t qualify for financial aid so basically we’ll be paying everything out of pocket. We are from CT and still waiting for her UConn decision. She’d love to go out of state but not sure it’s worth it.
Anyone from OOS who was in a similar situation? Just really need to know if it’s worth the expense.
Tough call. Clemson is in state for us. My son looked at some out of state schools but decided that unless he got enough merit to make the cost roughly the same, he was going to Clemson. We will have two in school at the same time and don’t qualify for need. Financially it makes a big difference for us. If you can stroke a check for OOS without it affecting you much, it is probably worth it. Otherwise I would strongly consider staying in state.
We are sending our twins from OOS, and giving up a ton of scholarship money to Baylor, UTK, and UGA. It’s a tough call, but our boys truly felt at home on Clemson’s campus. My husband and I are both grads and we did NOT force this. We went on 19 college tours. At the end of the day, if you haven’t toured, make sure you do. That’s the key component for most (I also teach 12th grade). Clemson’s engineering school is excellent, but I also don’t know what else you’re comparing it to?
@twinmomcu1997 She was also accepted into Penn State and Maryland(not for engineering but undecided). So I think Maryland is off the table. She was deferred at several schools so crossing fingers for a few more options.
We are hoping to visit CU over April break.
Gotcha. Maryland’s engineering is great, but I agree, if not admitted, I would explore other options.
For me, that answer is completely dependent on your financial position and your personal comfort level in you/your student taking on debt or spending from savings. If there isn’t a comfort level there, my answer is no. Your student can get an equally good engineering education and have great social and service experiences at many, many other schools for less than $240,000. But again, that is a personal decision. And just be prepared for the full 4 years of payments (tuition does tend to increase a little each year). I have a son at Alabama and I have read many times about OOS parents who realized after the first year or so that the financial impact was harder to absorb than they had initially thought. Best of luck! Clemson is a top choice for us, but the money is definitely a serious consideration.
@Rubix1
I think it’s definitely something my daughter will need to think about after visiting. My oldest D is at Delaware and we are paying her school basically UConn’s tuition/room/board and then she has to make up the difference. My younger daughter definitely more frugal so she might not want to deal with loans. I guess it will depend how much she loves the visit.
For what it’s worth…I’m a Penn State Engineering grad and my DD is in her freshman year (Eng’g) at Clemson, so I’d like to think I have some perspective on those two schools. We are OOS (TX.)
My sense of Clemson is that it’s a smaller version of Penn State; both have great school spirit, both have excellent academic programs, both campuses are intimately tied to their downtown areas, both are nestled against the Appalachian mountains and both are a little isolated from the rest of the world. Clemson wins on weather (a primary reason my daughter ruled out PSU early!), and in my impression intimacy (i.e., physically less spread out, smaller classes, better opportunity to get to know professors.) Certainly the success of the football program has helped Clemson become a more recognizable name and that has value when the time comes to actually translate the degree to a job; PSU’s alumni network is stronger generally both across the country and internationally although the effect of that is probably not as great as the alumni association would have you believe.
My DD did receive a solid mid-level merit scholarship which does help offset some of the OOS cost but we are still paying nearly twice what we would have had she stayed in TX. Keeping that scholarship requires a 3.0 GPA which is not a given, especially in Engineering, and I have thought about whether or not I would want to pay the full OOS cost if she were to somehow lose it. (I’m still not sure I know the answer; maybe I’d take out a loan and hope that the political movement for academic loan forgiveness wins out!)
Needless to say I’m a strong believer in both Clemson and PSU. But if PSU is lower cost and is appealing for your daughter, then I (with obvious bias) would suggest that’s a better choice than paying the full ride at Clemson. As others have said though, only you and your daughter can decide what environment would best allow her to achieve her goals. Good luck with your decision.
@PSU83EE
Thank you so much for your response! I appreciate you sharing some details because it helps hearing it from someone who has insight on both the schools. We are visiting PSU Sunday and Monday so I am very curious what my DD will think of the campus. We will be attending an Engineering info session and tour of the Engineering buildings on Monday.
I’m trying to get her to sign up for a similar info session and tour at Clemson for April break. I know her heart is set on NCSU but she was deferred and I’m not holding my breath on that one…we need to be realistic and prepare for a rejection.
It may not be too late to add Alabama to your daughter’s mix of schools. Cost would be less than half that of Clemson because of guaranteed OOS merit scholarships at Alabama. Incredible campus (equal or better than Clemson’s campus). Amazing engineering facilities. Great dorms (mostly new).
The application takes less than 30 minutes and then you could add it to your campus visit list for April.
Yes this is a personal situation unique to everyone. My daughter was accepted and is attending Clemson but I do still keep hoping it’s worth it. She walked away from significant scholarship at Tennessee. She was also admitted to Penn State. There is a recent article on Greenville Online about the rising costs of out of state tuition at Clemson and even the student they interview says she thinks its worth it. I do think that my daughter will take advantage of it and realize the opportunity she has and not squander it. It helps that her program requires two paid internships and has great job placement. The Clemson career center is #1 in the country I think. Honestly there seems to just be something special about Clemson. I cannot tell you how many adults have congratulated her and mentioned the people they know who attend and love it. I have been really blown away by the warmth and generosity of the Clemson parents on the Facebook groups too. That all being said, I would not recommend someone making that decision if it meant real financial hardship and burdened by significant loans. One thing that we are factoring in is that for at least one semester she plans to study abroad through one of Clemsons programs and that is considered in state tuition for that semester. But I will admit that we have resources that will keep my daughter from having to take out any significant loans and if she did have to, she likely would have gone with her 2nd choice.
It’s potentially hard to work through, but the DOE released earnings data for college salaries in late 2019. This can maybe help you work through the monetary ROI on colleges you are considering. For us, it showed that there was such a little difference in expected income for his major no matter where he attended (that was on his list)–that paying high tuition at some schools wasn’t worth it (in terms of degree attainment) unless there was some other aspect (social/service) in the college experience that justified the increased cost.
@Rubix1
Yeah that’s what my husband has always told my kids. He went to Michigan State for a year for engineering then transferred to UConn to be close to home and he has always had amazing jobs and is doing very well. He has some co-workers with fancy degrees from fancy colleges and don’t make any money.
My oldest is an early childhood ed major at U Delaware and basically we’re paying all this money plus she has loans just for her to graduate and make no money. On the flip side, she is doing well in school has made good friends(unlike in high school) and has matured greatly and become independent living away from home. That was very much needed.
I guess I just want them to go where they feel comfortable and it feels like home. High school for my kids has been a so-so experience and I want them to enjoy being at school and like going to class and learning something and to meet new people. We live in a stereotypical predominantly white upper middle class town. The school system is great which is why we are here but my daughter does want a college that is large and diverse. She wants out of our town “bubble” as she calls it.
We are OOS, also in CT. My DD did receive merit although I have heard it will be less than last year & we are not eligible for any financial aid. It is really a personal choice. For us we were not expecting anything & knew we were getting a bill.
We have visited Clemson many times & love it
Go to Tiger Days, you will have the opportunity to meet kids & families of students that she will go to school with if she attends
We signed up for the Spring Engineering tour which looks like a similar tour we are doing Monday at Penn State because she doesn’t want just a regular tour, although we’ll do that too. She wants to learn about the programs so she can decide which she likes better. Although I’m guessing Clemson will have have an edge because of the weather too!
@jmsstb This was my oldest…needed to get out of here, wanted a fresh start and to experience a whole different environment. He is at Alabama (chose it over Boston College) and so far it has been everything we hoped and he needed.
Tiger Days are not general tours & everyone there was accepted. Have you visited Clemson before?
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@CollegeorBustNE
Nope we’ve never visited. I was going to have her sign up for Tiger Days but she wants to learn about the Engineering program.
At Tiger Days she will learn more about the program than in spring. You are broken up by school & then by major. Feel free to message me