Is it common to attend a public university as an out-of-state student?

College Search & Selection
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<p>For example, if I live in Texas, and decide to apply to/attend a public university, does it make sense to apply to UNC or any of the California schools? I know UNC and the UC schools are ranked higher in most "public universities academic rankings", but is that worth the extra money to attend those schools as an OOS student opposed to going to UT Austin or TAMU as an in-state student and much cheaper price?</p>

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<p>Is it common? More in some states than in others. I think UNC-Chapel Hill has one of the highest proportions of OOS there, for example. Other state systems that are less well-known - like the Midwestern schools with the exception of Wisconsin-Madison, Michigan and maybe Minnesota - have fewer OOS students because the draw is lower.</p>

<p>It is worth it? Not necessarily, it depends on what you want to do. If you want to be a high-powered i-banker on Wall Street it may make sense to pay for UCLA. If you want to be a nurse, TAMU is just fine. The thing to remember is that except for public schools who really want to attract some top OOS, most schools don’t give good merit aid to OOS students and few will give them any need aid. Alabama is notorious for giving good merit aid to top OOS students; Iowa does too, and UGA has a scholarship they give to students with a 3.75 or higher (it’s not automatic, that’s just a criterion).</p>

<p>Some public universities are also relatively cheap for OOS students. Minnesota is one of them - I think it’s like $15,000 per year in tuition for OOS students, which is less than some private schools. SUNY’s OOS tuition is a bit less than $13,000 (total COA = $27,000).</p>

<p>“Worth” is also a personal designation. Financially speaking, will you make enough “more” going to UCLA or UNC to cover the extra loans and then some as compared to having a degree from UT-Austin or Texas A&M? Probably not.</p>

<p>Me personally - I went to high school in Georgia, and that’s where I was a resident. Had I not gotten a full ride at a private college, I would’ve gone to the University of Georgia, even over Emory. It wasn’t worth it for me to go into the debt (and Emory would’ve put me in a lot of debt).</p>