<p>This school pretty much moved up to #1-2 on my college list, especially because they give amazing scholarships! But then reality hit…HARD. I would never be able to get one of their scholarships as I can’t get my test scores that high, especially now that this is my last year to test. :(. It sucks because I have the GPA for it, just not the scores haha. But other than that, it seems like I would fall in love with the school. It took some research and some encouragement from Mom2CK for me to apply but I am so ready to! </p>
<p>What’s killing me is being SO close to a scholarship but never being able to reach it! That feeling sucks haha! </p>
<p>Do you think it would be worth it for an OOS student to attend with no scholarships?</p>
<p>That’s a very personal decision. Anyone who says yes or no doesn’t realize how complex this issue is. It depends on how wealthy you are, what your other options are, and how comfortable you are with debt.</p>
<p>Also, if you are close to a scholarship, then STUDY!!! You have 5 more chances to take the SAT and ACT. When there’s 120k+ on the line, it’s not worth just giving up.</p>
<p>Woah! THanks for the fast reply!!</p>
<p>Yeah, it is pretty complex. The thing is, my dad is just as excited for me to apply as I am (one reason being he knows it will make my grandma mad lol), it’s just the scholarship thing that’s kinda bugging me. Really only a minor issue but it’s just like “GRR! That could’ve been me!” We will have enough money to where I will probably only have minimal debt.</p>
<p>When I mean close I mean halfway. I need a 200 point increase in the CR and M section. I exaggerated a lot, sorry haha. I am not close in terms of scores. Maybe I will be by November.</p>
<p>depends on a lot of different things, so the answer will be different for every student.</p>
<p>lots of students attend from out of state with no (or little) scholarship money.</p>
<p>I will apply whether I get a scholarship or not because it really seems like a nice school and from what I’ve read on the internet I think I would do well there</p>
<p>Sounds like you’ve taken the SAT have you tried the ACT?</p>
<p>^^ Take the ACT, you have 2 dates to take it. Study! Start with a practice test, in test conditions, see how you do and then focus on those areas that you need the most help in. Do another practice test two weeks before and hopefully you will keep improving to get a scholarship!</p>
<p>Could you afford OOS costs at UA without taking a large amount of loans, keeping in mind that the cost of attendance increases each year? If no, then I would have a very hard time suggesting you attend UA. If you can afford the costs, the answer is maybe.</p>
<p>Note that the large merit scholarships are designed to attract students with certain high academic credentials. Most students don’t have these credentials. In fact, there are thousands of OOS students attending UA without scholarships. If you can raise your test scores to merit scholarship level, congratulations on the scholarship. Remember too that some students with scores or GPAs below those required for the automatic scholarships may still receive certain departmental or university-wide scholarships, though those are generally for smaller amounts. Good luck with the SAT and in your college search.</p>
<p>Is the OOS public school gonna cost as much as a good private school w smaller class size?</p>
<p>Don’t assume that smaller privates have “smaller class sizes”. That’s a common myth that’s out there. Privates have some large class sizes as well. </p>
<p>Both public and privates have large class sizes for those lower division gen ed type courses. </p>
<p>Bama and many privates have many/mostly smaller class sizes once you get into the upper-division courses. </p>
<p>Both of my kids went thru Bama and their only large class sizes were their jogging and conditioning classes that they took for fun.</p>
<p>The OP’s test scores may not be high enough for honors classes his first semester, but if he gets the right GPA as a fall frosh, he can join the Honors College and then take THOSE small classes of fifteen students. </p>
<p>When my older son started at his elite private univ for his PhD, he took an undergrad class just for fun. that class was huge. Surprise! They didn’t even have enough seats, some had to sit on the floor, then the class got moved to a larger lecture hall. </p>
<p>Bama shouldn’t cost as much as privates. The tuition alone at many privates is more than tuition plus room and board at Bama. </p>
<p>As for the OP’s question… </p>
<p>Most OOS students are full pay or nearly full pay. Percentage-wise, only about 10% of freshman have those full tuition scholarships. Some others have the 2/3 scholarships. The rest of the OOS students have either very small scholarships or no scholarships.</p>
<p>Wontgetin one thing to consider is taking an SAT/ACT test prep class at some place like Huntington. It would cost $2000-2500 but if you get your test scores up it could be worth several thousands in scholarships. </p>
<p>The worth the cost of an OOS at UA can only be answered by you and your family. Sit down and look at all of the costs to attend UA as well as the costs to attend the other schools you are looking at, especially in state public schools.</p>
<p>Once you see the full cost to attend a school per year (tuition, housing, meals, books, etc), have your parents honestly tell you how much per year they can pay for and then you will know how much per year in loans you will need. Add up 4-5 years worth of the student loans and then research where you would get those loans and their payment terms. You can then roughly figure out the monthly payments and how many years you will need to pay them off. </p>
<p>Once you see all of that information you can decide if it is worth it. If you need $100,000 in loans over the 4-5 years that is like buying a small house. It is a big decision that you and your family must really think about. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I think in part it depends on how expensive your alternatives are. For us, Bama OOS tuition, without scholarships, for my D’s major (business) was less than $2000 more than our state flagship. I viewed that as a wash. She did end up with a scholarship, but Bama would have been a serious contender even without one.</p>
<p>@socaltobama, I have not taken the ACT yet but II definitely plan on it! Hopefully I will do better!</p>
<p>I have talked to my dad before and he said we’d have enough money to pay full tuition each year, but of course a scholarship wouldn’t hurt haha!</p>
<p>All of my alternatives are the same price at the LEAST or about slightly more, but my dad is encouraging me to go out of state</p>
<p>ACT! DS did well enough on SAT for scholarship, but his ACT score was much higher. The ACT questions are straight forward questions. The Science section is less about science knowledge and more about reading the charts and tables. Go to the library and get a prep book or order one from Amazon. </p>
<p>Don’t give up yet!</p>
<p>As far as money issues – we found private schools gave more in financial grants. In our mid-Atlantic region, I believe many private schools published cost of attendance is tuition discounted 90% for household incomes in the $80-120k range (by grants) and the published price is only to make the schools look competitive by pricing the same as the academic peers they wish to be compared against, but that is just my opinion.</p>
<p>The cost also depends on where you live. We live in PA. For us, Bama at full price would be worth it.</p>
<p>Penn State tuition charges different rates for different majors (DS is in Engineering). Penn State has increased they tuition + fees percentage consistently at a higher rate than Bama. If we were full pay, the cost difference for DS for Bama was only about $4000 for year one (based upon similar type of housing). Given the off campus housing choices and costs, years 2-4 would have likely been less of a price gap. $16,000 more is not a negligible amount, but for DS was enough that he did not even apply to Penn State.</p>
<p>At this stage, focus on getting a good ACT score, pay Bama housing deposit in early October and apply to a few other schools just in case something changes in your family finances.</p>
<p>And as far as class size – I went to a LAC. I love small schools. DS decided any class over 50 kids was going to feel large to him and be completely lecture style. So 50 or 250 really did not matter to him. And the private school intro course (esp science) have 50 students. The plus side to him is having a choice of professors at Bama for the intro courses.</p>
<p>EDIT – OP your Username shows a pessimistic attitude. Change your outlook! You will get in to multiple schools with a good attitude and planned strategy!</p>
<p>Hello I am a senior next year. I began taking SAT practice tests my sophomore year. At firt my scores were really low. However, my sophomore year summer i began to study as intense as ever and this went on until the end of my junior year. I suggest you just put all your focus on the SAT’s and see how it goes. Like I mean study as hard as a bodybuilder does before his competitions. I am sure your scores will jump. My sophomore year I was devastated. However, after doing so well on the SAT’s options have opened up with UW Madison, UDub, UT Austin, and U of M. Just study hard for it! and on a side note I for one do believe Bama is worth it! The school is constantly improving and will keep improving. Thy have great sports and the location is great. Worth it but if you can get scholarships even better! Good luck :)</p>
<p>@Longhaul…I think what messes me up most on the SAT is not getting the questions, especially the math questions, so I just guess! I really want to do the ACT because I heard it would be easier for me!</p>
<p>Haha, my username came from me looking at schools and seeing the average GPA to get in. </p>
<p>Thank you for answering!</p>
<p>Definitely take the ACT! It’s a different type of test and might play to strengths and seriously consider a test prep course. They help give strategies for taking the test. My daughter raised her ACT score 3 points after taking a class. </p>
<p>You can find smaller companies (some private) that are often better than the Huntington/Sullivan courses and are a lot less. My daughter took the class from a professor at a local college. It was only $500. Well worth it as the score increase helped her qualify for full tuition.</p>
<p>You can take the test multiple times even after you apply and they’ll take your highest score. Don’t give up!</p>
<p>Hello everyone!! I practiced some questions with the ACT and I can definitely say that I feel more confident with the math, without a doubt. But some problems are SO straightforward that I make extremely careless mistakes! I only had to guess on a few. I guess I just need to brush up on my math skills. I took Statistics junior year and I forgot all other types of math it seems haha! I was able to finish on time though</p>
<p>But the English section is WAY different so I need to learn how to comprehend some things better and ACTUALLY read the directions, which I never do lol :). </p>
<p>Tomorrow I will do the Reading and Science parts.</p>