Is there a balance between affordable and good academics?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>While my conceptions may be way off about a lot of schools, there doesn't seem to be. Schools are generally either expensive, or not as strong academically. For example, Louisiana State or Colorado State. Both are fairly cheap schools, especially since I can use the WUE at CSU. However (and feel free to correct me), they aren't necessarily the strongest schools. On the other hand, schools like CU-Boulder seem to be better schools, but are ridiculously expensive.</p>

<p>Should I only bother focusing on schools like CSU or LSU that I can afford? I don't really know where to look for options that fit in the middle... especially since my family won't get any FA, and I'm not a stellar student that will receive merit money. </p>

<p>As a side note, is there any easy way to gauge the quality of a school? I more than likely will have little to absolutely no time to visit any colleges. I've visited CU-Boulder and CSU, and I will probably be going to LSU in December. Other than that, I'm more or less applying blind.</p>

2

<p>What good would it do to look at schools you can’t afford? CSU is ranked #128 by US News, UC Boulder #94. <a href=“http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-colorado-boulder-1370[/url]”>http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/university-of-colorado-boulder-1370&lt;/a&gt; As to whether that difference is important, no one agrees. If you know what you intend to major in you could look at strength of that program through US News or Ruggs. You need to find out what your parents are willing to pay for school.</p>

3

<p>

Not true. There are outstanding state schools, honors colleges within strong state schools, and strong programs at most state schools. Certainly there are strong programs at LSU and CSU, where a committed student can be well-prepared for his or her career. Much depends on how you define “strong academically.”</p>

<p>In addition to finding out what your budget is, you need to know what you’re looking for in a school. What do you want to major in, what’s your preferred geographic area, is grad school on the horizon, what are your stats? If you come back with the answers to these questions, other posters can help you draw up a list of strong schools for you to consider.</p>

4

<p>not as academically strong, says who? don’t believe the hype!</p>

5

<p>If you don’t qualify for financial aid or merit aid, then your best bargain is usually going to be an in-state public. If you don’t consider any of your in-state publics to be “good”, then WUE or other OOS publics that charge low OOS tuition will be the next to look at. For instance, Minnesota schools charge very low OOS tuition.</p>

<p>Even if your stats aren’t good enough for merit aid, they might be good enough to get OOS tuition waived at some OOS schools. What are your stats?</p>

6

<p>It is a little hard to define and measure what one means by “academically strong”.
Many good students gravitate to selective private schools or to state flagships. The “directional” state schools tend to have lower sticker prices. However, there are many more of them; they get less attention on some of the College Confidential forums; they usually don’t show up too high in the college rankings. So it can be hard to identify which ones are academically strong.</p>

<p>To gauge quality, first consider whether a school has the major(s) you want. Then browse the on-line catalog to see if it has a good selection of courses in those areas. You can Google for data on graduation rates or average class sizes.</p>

<p>Look at the Kiplinger “best value” colleges ([Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/]Best”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)). Click-sort on the columns for in-state and out-of-state costs. Truman State is a small university with a high freshmen retention rate, small average class sizes, and relatively low costs for both in-state and out-of-state students.</p>

7

<p>If your family’s financial situation is such that a state flagship at in-state prices is “ridiculously expensive,” then I think you are being a little hasty in assuming that you will not get any FA anywhere. You may also be overestimating how strong a student you have to be to get merit at various schools.</p>

<p>I suggest you share your state, your stats, and your interests in order to enable people here to give you their best advice.</p>

8

<p>I agree with the Truman State and Minnesota recommendations. Also, Grand Valley State University in Michigan is very similar to Truman State, though GVSU is closer to a city (Grand Rapids) and has a larger enrollment. The out of state tuition at Grand Valley State University is $14,000 a year, or the same cost as a lot of schools for in state tuition.</p>

9

<p>Sometimes, lower ranked schools have strong individual programs. Examples…</p>

<p>U Wyoming has the top faculty scholar andone of the top programs in the country for natural resource ecoomics.</p>

<p>U Iowa has a top 20 classics department.</p>

<p>Univ South Carolina and Univ Idaho have top geography programs.</p>

<p>Any state flagship or major state university will give anyone an outstanding education.</p>

10

<p>Colorado State has some departments that are better than Boulder’s. And it offers fabulous opportunities as well. I know an engineering major who worked for two summers at NASA. </p>

<p>Most state schools offer good academics, and many are reasonably priced. For one, it’s so hard to get a job in academia, that many of even smaller state campuses boast Ivy PhDs among their full time, tenure/tenure-track faculty. And it’s hard to keep a job (get tenure) even at state schools, so these will be engaged, published professors. If you’re more academically inclined, more outgoing than the majority of students, it may be easier to stand out, and to receive individual attention at a state school than at a school filled with overachievers.</p>

11

<p>Here goes. If I miss anything important, let me know.</p>

<p>I’m from Washington. I have absolutely no desire or interest in going to an in-state school for 2 reasons. First - I’ve lived in Washington for 8 years, and I really don’t want to spend another 4 years here. Second - every college I’ve looked at has an end date in mid June, which conflicts with an activity I’ve done for the past two years and is a major part of my life (drum corps, for those interested). </p>

<p>So far I have a 3.8 GPA, 1960 SAT, 1410 writing+math. Nothing crazy on my schedule, the only AP I’ll have when I graduate is AP Physics this year. </p>

<p>I’m planning on majoring in percussion performance, with a minor in something else - not entirely sure what, at the moment. After that I’m planning to go into the military to pay for grad school.</p>

<p>Geographic areas… See, this is the tough one. Not even gonna lie, I’m way too picky with where I want to live. I’ve toured the country the last two summers, and that gave me some ideas. I was not a fan of the midwest - dry, flat, boring, flat. The northeast wasn’t as bad as some places, but not my favorite. I’ve spent a lot of time in the south, and while I like it in a lot of ways, I also don’t like being surrounded by religious people, so I’m not sure how that would go.</p>

<p>I’d definitely like to go to a large school, probably a flagship. More people, bigger marching band, more opportunities for minors (probably?). </p>

<p>Sorry, I exaggerated a bit - they’re not ridiculously expensive. My family is right in that range where we aren’t “poor”, but we aren’t too rich either. In addition to that, my parents are in the middle of a divorce and so I can’t get too much solid information on what we can afford for a few weeks.</p>

<p>My current list is CU-Boulder, CSU, and LSU. I’m trying to add one or two more schools to that to round out my list. As I said, if there’s anything else I should add to this let me know.</p>

12

<p>You could check out University of Denver, a private, which does award merit money. With your grades/scores you might qualify - check what they offer. DU, as it’s called, has a very respected music school, and is strong in business and international relations. However, it’s not nearly as large as Boulder of CSU.</p>

13

<p>Katlia - thanks. I checked it out just now. They do offer some nice scholarship money, I have to admit. On the other hand, though, they don’t have a marching band, which I have to admit is a fairly big part of my decision.</p>

14

<p>Try University of Northern Iowa for marching band. The OOS cost is not hideous, and the band has some paid staff positions for a few students after their first year.</p>

15

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<p>First of all, living somewhere as a college student and an adult is completely different from living there as a high school student. I was determined to get out of Atlanta, my hometown, in college but I didn’t quite escape. I ended up loving Atlanta as a college student and now that I’m finally out for grad school, I can’t wait to get back. So don’t rule it out, especially since your state choices are likely to be the most affordable.</p>

<p>Second of all, if you join the drum corps as a college student the corps’s schedule will be adjusted to fit the schedule of the university you go to.</p>

<p>Thirdly, I grew up in the South. Depending on where you go, you won’t necessarily be surrounded by religious people, and even when you are, it’s not that bad. I’m an atheist.</p>

<p>Strong band programs: Ohio State (one of the best band programs ever AND their football team is great), Texas A&M (strong marching band and also may be appealing to you if you are interested in the military), University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Jackson State University, and Florida A&M (historically black but has a strong marching band - but their band was recently suspended for hazing). Two other HBCUs with strong marching bands are Tennessee State and Southern University. A lot of HBCUs have strong marching band traditions. Also check out UGA, Ole Miss, Auburn, UAlabama, But if you aren’t rich, you may not be able to afford the out of state admission.</p>

16

<p>Alabama has guaranteed merit-based scholarships that can bring the cost for an OOS student down significantly. Check the website to see if you qualify. A re-take of the SAT may be in order.</p>

17

<p>Your stats are good enough for full tuition scholarships at LSU, Alabama, Utah State, and several other schools, and also good enough for a full ride at Louisiana Tech and a few others. See:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14748711-post112.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14748711-post112.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Those are all automatic awards. Being eligible for those also means you would have a good chance at competitive awards from peer schools.</p>

18

<p>Go to schools where you can limit your debt because that will end up killing you. Now these ‘good’ schools have aid (merit or need) that can also really help.</p>

19

<p>Don’t buy into the hype of school reputation, private/expensive does not mean much and is not worth the hassle unless you can coast on a full scholarship, or come from a very wealthy family that can afford it. </p>

<p>Do yourself a favor and go to a public school, they’re cheaper and will make your life easier. Specially if you’re not going into Medicine or Engineering.</p>

20

<p>Schools do NOT care about your “writing + math” score.</p>

<p>WHAT is your CR + math score.</p>

<p>Bob…Bama will only give him that scholarship if he made a mistake and wrote “writing” instead of CR.</p>

<p>If your M+ CR is a 1410 (Not W+M!!!), then Alabama would give you free tuition. That’s the highest ranked school that will give you that much merit assured for stats. You must apply before Dec.</p>

<p>Bama is ranked HIGHER than UColorado-Boulder, and Bama has the top-ranked Million Dollar Band. Last May they performed in Italy as well.</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay for college???</p>