My whole life it was never really a question that I would go out of state for college. I have never really wanted to go to our state university- University of Arkansas. So many people from my small school end up going there. My brother is there now and I am a rising senior. My mom is a single mother making about 90k a year so idk how much need based aid I will receive. I have always wanted to go out west for college and Im really looking into University of Utah. I am going to apply to University of Arkansas and Mississippi State University. I can get a scholarship that covers oos cost as ms state so if I want to go oos it comes down to this: Mississippi State vs. University of Utah. total cost at Utah is about 40k and I dont know if I will receive any scholarships- Im hoping so! Is it worth paying about 20k extra to go oos? Any advice/opinions are welcome. Thanks!
You’re only looking at PUBLIC colleges. Often times, the generous FA granted by PRIVATE colleges make them a much better deal than OOS public colleges.
Private colleges don’t differentiate tuition cost by state of residency.
What is your major?
Why this particular list of universities?
How much has your mother told you that she can afford to pay each year?
What are your grades, and what are your ACT/SAT scores?
All of those factor in to where you would choose to apply.
ACT: 27
GPA: 3.78
Hoping to go into engineering.
Well I’m looking at MS state because it’s one of imy cheapest oos options that I really like.
I’m looking at Utah because I really love SLC and I’ve always wanted to go to school out west and Utah is cheaper than UC Boulder or California schools. I also want to go to a big university not a small private school
Unless you are looking at private schools in California, Cal states will cost you around $35K/year and UC’s will cost around $55K/year. OOS students receive little to no financial aid from California publics and with your stats, merit scholarships are highly unlikely. Go to your in-state university and come to California for Grad school.
I really don’t think UT is worth that much extra money. Go to one of the affordable schools.
NMTech and SD Mines have pretty affordable OOS costs. Not sure that it is affordable enough for you, though.
If you can re-take the ACT and pull your score to at least 30, you will have more options. How do you feel about that?
Get a hard number from your mom, it could be decisive.
Thank you for the replys! Yes I plan on retaking the ACT but I don’t know how much higher I can get if I’m being honest with myself. I started out at a 23.
I have looked as SD mines and NM Tech but both are such small schools and small towns which is a major turn off for me
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total cost at Utah is about 40k and I dont know if I will receive any scholarships- Im hoping so! Is it worth paying about 20k extra to go oos?
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???
Unless YOU have the money to spend, or your mom does, how could we answer that question?
Do YOU have the money? Will your mom happily spend the money?
If not, then how can it be “worth” it? Where’d the money come from?
If you haven’t yet asked your mom how much she’ll spend, do so soon. You need to know the answer.
Is your dad alive? If so, then some schools will include his info.
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ACT: 27 GPA: 3.78
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You need to retest. Try to get your scores in the 30+ for best chances for enough merit.
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Well I'm looking at MS state because it's one of imy cheapest oos options that I really like.
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You really need to find out how much your mom will pay. “Cheap” is not “cheap” if your mom won’t pay it. Also look to see what merit you’d get, and what the remaining costs are.
I’m in the same boat as you are. Run Net Price Calculators on all the schools on your list and try to find the one that isn’t too expensive and that you like. I’m considering OOS schools as well. You should look into Iowa State, Arizona State, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma state, and West Virginia. They all have fairly good tuition for out of state. I actually think Utah and Miss State were on my list at one point.
If you really want to go out of state, relax the size criterion. Note that the “feel” of a 1,500 student college is TOTALLY unlike that of a high school the same size, or even twice the size, due to the sheer number of buildings, labs, professors, fields, quads, dorms, etc.
Bring your ACT to a 30 and you’ve got automatic full tuition for engineering at UAlabama. Large school, out of state, affordable. 
Cal Poly SLO and Cal Poly Pomona, as well as SDSU, may be affordable if your mom can pay about 30K a year.
(Note that YOU cannot borrow more than $5,500 for freshman year, everything else has to come from your or your mother’s savings/income.)
For engineering, run the Net Price Calculator on Saint Louis University, University of Dayton, Tulane, ASU Barett.
Have you considered Whitman College? Great school, and they have a net price calculator as well.