I was accepted to the school back in October and as of right now I have not received any Merit Scholarship. As I analyze and compare all my acceptances, I am starting to turn down some of these acceptances based on the interest I have as well as financial packages I have received. It does not seem like I will be getting anything out of UM other than more email spam and form letters. LOL!
Having said that, I noticed that my initial interest was based on the fact that it has a tremendous Business School in a great city (although extremely cold) and what I perceived to have a great price tag for OOS students. However, I noticed that OOS tuition was increased by almost 15% from last year to this year which I did not know. (the information at the time was from the year before) In addition, the administration just approved another 15% for next year and another for the year after. Basically, UM went from a very affordable option, assuming merit, to a very expensive option with or without merit.
I just want to bring this out for those of you who are not aware of these ridiculous price increases. An increase of $3700 for next year plus another $4000 for the second year of attendance. All of this pretty much will offset what looks to be a very average $10,000 Merit Scholarship. Not sure what UM will do to attract out of state students. They already suffer from Geographical diversity which perhaps they might not care…Lets not forget that just a few years ago, they were offering Out of State waivers vs the current $10,000 scholarship. Great school but I am probably writing it off altogether.
OOS tuition that places UMN squarely in the middle of the Big Ten is ridiculous? Perhaps you should consider UIUC, UW-Madison, UMich or IU - hopefully one of them will give you that scholarship that you feel you deserve.
If you had done your homework you would have known that significant tuition hikes have been in process for a few years now, that they’ve had essentially no impact on selectivity, and that adiditional hikes were expected. Probably a good idea that you are writing off Carlson - it’s a rigorous program and you are expected to be prepared.
@JBStillFlying Wow you are really taking this quite personally…I guess you find it OK that 15% annual tuition hikes are OK… Whether you are instate or OOS, I do not think its OK. The cost to attend college is ridiculous to begin with. YES I DID MY RESEARCH and YES I GOT INTO CARLSON as well as other Big Ten Universities
“Probably a good idea that you are writing off Carlson - it’s a rigorous program and you are expected to be prepared.” LOL! Have we met? Just as prepared as anyone who has been admitted.
And by the way, I was not trying to offend you or anyone else. Minnesota is great school thus the reason I applied.
Note that the 15% increase only applies to tuition for incoming OOS freshman. Other costs, like fees and room & board increased at 5.5% or less. Also still a big increase, but based on the last two years, there seems to be consideration for somewhat smaller increases after the first year for returning students at least.
I ran some numbers here- http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-minnesota-twin-cities/2051851-big-2018-2019-non-resident-tuition-hike.html#latest
It’s true that Minnesota was a great value a few years ago when tuition was much lower and the National non-resident scholarship was essentially a waiver for resident tuition rates. Now that they’ve done away with that, it’s approaching average in terms of value. With similar merit awards, it’s similar in cost to Iowa now.
I’d guess they are losing a lot more highly qualified non-residents than before as that is the tradeoff for increased revenue from OOS students. Always good to have options… One of my kids went elsewhere and the other is undecided, but Minnesota is still a top contender and still lower in 4-year TCA than all but one of their other schools so far. Honestly if we didn’t have frozen in-state tuition at UIUC, Minnesota may have been the top contender for both of them. On the other hand, when my youngest is applying a few years down the road, I probably won’t even let them consider Minnesota if these price hikes continue.
Taking it as personally as the rest of the rest of the good people of Minnesota – pretty much all of whom believe it’s not necessary to subsidize out-of-state applicants when our engineering and business programs, among others, are considered top notch.
The reason there is a 15% tuition hike is because current tuition for out of state is still too low. Again had you done your homework you would know this. That’s what I mean about being unprepared. Unless you feel that you are somehow owed a big tuition break?
I’m sure you were admitted because you had a very strong application. No argument there. There are others who would gladly take your spot. As you Probably realize, the financial returns to a business education at a top school are sizable. However, if you feel that the cost is ridiculous, you can always take a gap year, work, and reapply to more affordable schools such as Iowa State.
@lllinoisx3 They have not experienced any negative impact in terms of admission stats. In terms of enrollment stats. a couple of the colleges have dropped a point on the low-end of the ACT But that’s not a big deal - they are also increasing outreach and opportunity to low SES and first gen. which might account for any such drop. Those are most likely going to be in-state enrollees anyway.
From what I understand, President Kaler is keeping a close eye on the impact and has seen favorable trends in that area. The revenue impact has also been sufficiently positive to warrant a continuation of the strategy till they reach similar tuition levels to other comparables.
@JBStillFlying What is it that you are subsidizing? So much about out there about this OOS vs Instate argument. First of all, the majority of Out of State students pay more than in state students even with some merit. But lets not minimize the benefits of having OOS students. Why so much negativity? I think having students from other states or areas is good even from a diversity standpoint. How about all those extra dollars that come in from parents and family visiting during parents weekend, graduation, etc. Does this help the local economy by helping the restaurants, hotels, shops, you name it? Even the Carson school of Business requires an international experience. I wonder why? Many of these students end up staying in the area after graduating college, which is good for the economy among other things. Didn’t you just host the Superbowl?
I am not arguing that out of state students should not pay more than those students from Minnesota. .That was never my intention with my post. You are taking this way to personally I was just pointing out how UM is planning on raising tuition by a ridiculous percentage. Keep in mind the approval came in after I applied. And yes, I did my research, I knew that this was a possibility, I just did not think it would be a reality. Oh and thank you for your suggestions. I am good!
“@JBStillFlying What is it that you are subsidizing?”
The taxpayers of MN provide funding to the university, and the less you pay, the more we pay. That’s why the OOS tuition discounts have been discontinued. UMN is a recognized-enough brand on the national stage that to continue them would be free money for the OOS’ers.
“So much about out there about this OOS vs Instate argument. First of all, the majority of Out of State students pay more than in state students even with some merit.”
- yes, that's true at all state universities - as the uni receives funding from the people of the state, they charge less for in-state residents.
“But lets not minimize the benefits of having OOS students. Why so much negativity? I think having students from other states or areas is good even from a diversity standpoint.”
- Couldn't agree more. You'll be interested to know that since the tuition hikes have started taking effect (as of two years ago), the % of in-state enrollees relative to OOS-domestic and international actually declined a point or two. Midwest schools have always had a higher percentage of non-residents than, say, the UC system or UT, just due to numbers. UMN's In-state % is lower than Illinois and higher than WI or MI just due to numbers of college-age residents. All schools, UMN included, will favor their in-staters for admission, but that doesn't mean OOS and Int'l aren't welcome. Quite the contrary. And, btw, Int'l admissions alone can easily make up for any gap caused by fewer OOS US residents.
“How about all those extra dollars that come in from parents and family visiting during parents weekend, graduation, etc. Does this help the local economy by helping the restaurants, hotels, shops, you name it? Even the Carson school of Business requires an international experience. I wonder why?”
Because study abroad is enriching and business is increasingly international. Carlson is one of the few that actually REQUIRES the study abroad, btw.
“Many of these students end up staying in the area after graduating college, which is good for the economy among other things. Didn’t you just host the Superbowl?”
Yes - because we just built US Bank Stadium so that was a reward. Doubt it’ll happen again as -20 windchill wasn’t much fun for my BIL from FL. LOL. But I digress. The reason so many stay in the area is due to the large number of Fortune 500 companies in the area. Carlson has something like a 97% placement rate for its undergraduates. Haven’t checked most of the other big 10 schools (and NU doesn’t have undergrad. business anyway) but Carlson’s placement is higher than WSB’s - or was when we were researching this last year.
As to extra dollars - that’s precisely the point. Imagine if local hotels and businesses decided to offer huge discounts to the Superbowl crowd in order to “bring them here”. How dumb would that have been. Discounted OOS tuition is the same - giving away money to customers who would be using your product anyway. It’s a simple case of economics - the price of a university education is NOT elastic. You raise the price, you can raise the revenue. That’s what UMN has done.
@collegeisago - out of curiosity, what state are you in and what are the ranking and OOS tuition of your flagship’s B-school?
Very well articulated @JBStillFlying
You seem to agree with me in pretty much all my points. I must be up to something. Not sure about your point on the discount of the Superbowl. That is not what I meant… As proud as I am to have been accepted to UM and Carlson, its not like i got into Harvard. We will just agree to disagree on the others… I will be end this argument on a positive note. Minnesota is great school. Carlson is special. COA is reasonable but with the annual 15% tuition price increases, I just can’t see as a choice destination for many OOS. Time will tell…
I can’t imagine that after a few years of these big hikes, there won’t be any significant change in the profile of OOS students accepting admission, even if only on purely objective measures like ACT/GPA. If that does turn out to be the case, then it’s a no-brainer to keep cranking up non-resident tuition until there is. For 2018-2019, I think it’s still very competitive in value with schools like Iowa, Purdue and OSU, depending on merit aid of course. If it eventually gets to the point where it’s similar in non-resident TCA to UIUC, Wisconsin, Indiana and Penn State, I think they will definitely see a difference in the quality of the pool of enrolled non-resident freshman. At that point, some very good private schools with generous merit aid are competing for top academics, too.
I have to agree with the poster. Accepted to Carlson in the early rounds as well and I find these future 15% annual hikes to be “ridiculous” as well. UM is not longer an affordable option due to this. Minnesota winters can have a negative impact if it becomes too expensive.
For incoming non-resident freshman in fall 2018, non-resident tuition will apparently be $28,734.
Based on the last couple years of increases, when you return as a sophomore, you will NOT see a 15% or even 10% tuition increase. Increases for returning students have been closer to 5% in total cost of attendance including tuition, room, board, fees and other expenses. Still higher than inflation, but also more manageable than the 15% increases for new incoming freshman.
That said, the value vs. cold winter is a legitimate factor here, too.
^^@illonoisxe3 at #11, state uni’s will always struggle to compete with the privates when it comes to funding. Among other things, the top privates can often meet full demonstrated need and practically guarantee you will graduate in 4 years. Many states, including IL, have had significant budget issues that risk compromising the university at some point. This is an area where UMN is in a relatively strong position. We have our politics, but our state economy and budget are both reasonably strong.
UMN won’t be cranking up non-resident tuition beyond what the public comps are charging. The issue is to get to that point. This is not a situation in which UMN is raising the price over-and-above what the substitutes are charging so families substitute away from the more expensive to the more reasonable option. The tuition hikes are probably discouraging those with more modest means at their disposal but those families can always apply to their own state flagships rather than complain about another state uni’s tuition :). It’s not like they are even stakeholders after all., Most really won’t change their behavior just because the party is over because again, money was being left on the table for a high-ranked, selective program such as engineering or business or bio through CBS.
You guys are making way too much of the cold weather. Based on the state of the industry and economy here, not to mention the flood of OOS’ers who have moved to the TC the past 20 years (my family included), it’s simply not a compensating differential the way you are thinking. Anyway, most wear shorts and flip flops till its below 0 degrees and there’s the wonderful Gopher Way to navigate if you get “uncomfortable”. Be big kids and face the Brisk. Get to the LL Bean store at MOA if you need to.
@JBStillFlying I agree. Technically it’s my child making it a concern, but that it is a concern is a valid issue and can certainly affect their choice along with cost, strength of program, etc. And that’s from someone in the Chicago area where winters aren’t all that warm to start. Personally I think Minnesota is the best choice right now even if not the least expensive, but ultimately it’s not my decision of course.
As for the rest, we’ll see if they publish stats a couple years from now in regard to enrolled freshman non-resident profile to compare to a few years ago. Like you said, it’s not changing my behavior [as the one paying the bills] right now for a child enrolling in fall 2018, but it may in a few years.
^^they publish class rank and ACT/SAT stats by college every year for the entering first year class. Lots of history for everyone to see.
https://oir.umn.edu/student/characteristics
I’ve seen that, but I couldn’t find a way to sort by non-resident?