<p>I wonder if Indiana residents recognize the phenomenal bargain that their state universities offer them. Even without any of the automatic scholarships, to be able to attend IUB for $20Kish including room & board, is a huge deal! I wish the State of Illinois had a clue as to how to achieve such success for its’ residents. But that will never happen here.</p>
<p>When my son chose IU in 2007, after taking into account the Faculty Award of 7K at that time, the difference in cost between IU and Illinois was negligible. We did know that IL’s tuition would be frozen for the 4 years, while IU’s would continue to grow, but we still believed he was getting a good deal at IU.</p>
<p>Now, I’m not so sure we would make the same decision. Families each have their own financial tipping points, and especially in today’s economy, if you are looking at a COA over $40K in 2 years, some will decide not to even look at IU because of the price. </p>
<p>I believe the highest automatic scholarship is $9K (please feel free to correct, if this isn’t still true). So, even if your OOS student earns that discount, your end price is still over $30K. Think forward and add in future projected tuition increases and that will be enough to dissuade a lot of OOS families. </p>
<p>And frankly, for many IL families, the University of IL is even out of the question from a price standpoint. Which leaves us with only a couple of viable second-tier public choices (ISU and UIC, in my estimation.) </p>
<p>I’m sure IU weighs all of these factors when they come up with their tuition formulas. Obviously, their first allegiance has to be to their own residents. I just fear that they are closing in on a tipping point that will eliminate a viable option for IL students. I am so glad that my son was able to graduate from IU before the cost became prohibitive.</p>