USF does offer generous merit awards, based on test scores/GPA to OOS students, while having a fairly low OOS tuition rate ($17,324 a year).
http://www.usf.edu/admissions/freshmen/admissions-scholarships/nonflorida.aspx
USF Green & Gold Presidential Award (the highest award) is $48,000 (up to $12,000 per year):
4.00+ GPA (weighted) and 1360+ SAT (Evidence-Based Reading/Writing and Math) or 29+ ACT
Then they have “stackable” scholarships. For example, a National Hispanic Scholar finalist would award $20,000 ($5,000 a year), a USF honors College Scholarship is $2,000, etc.
USF has a strong engineering program and Tampa is nice, while not being expensive.
If you apply to GT, make sure it’s Early Action (EA) (last year it was on Oct 15th), so you’ll be considered for the competitive scholarships.
FSU would offer your son an OOS tuition waiver (in-state tuition is about $6,500 a year), plus a “freshman” scholarship. UF is expensive, unless you’re awarded the Gator Nation, and perhaps the honor’s college scholarships (given out via admissions). Both schools use the coalition application and student self-reported academic record. if you apply to one, you may want to go ahead and apply to both. The application fee is only $35 for both schools.
Thank you @Gator88NE we are very interested in those schools in Florida you mention. Which engineering program do you think it better FSU or USF?
FSU is the better school, but USF has the stronger engineering program.
You may want to use the ASEE engineering program online profile to compare these two (and other school) programs.
http://profiles.asee.org/
Oh geez I have no idea what even to look for, ha ha. We know nothing about engineering.
Flying in and out of Tampa will be easier (cheaper) than Tallahassee.
@Skippy00 Is 20k a year an O’k amount to spend?
We are willing to do 10k (student plus parent) in loans and will pay OOP 5k total 15k don’t really want to go above that. A lot of those NPC include the cost of books and “other expenses” so I am deducting those because grandma is going to help out with that stuff.
^So your new budget is about 20k.
@Skippy00 Really kiddo should be working every summer including this one for his other expenses and contributing 2k per summer rather than relying on grandma.
USF costs about 20-21k with the best scholarship and a stackable added on.
If you deduct the 5k they have for books and others it’s down to 15k right?
Yes but that doesn’t mean that those costs aren’t real and that money for books, laundry, travel, incidentals etc. has to be available. Grandma just has to commit to 3k or so a year. And junior has to work.
How much is Grandma actually willing AND able to contribute?
If its in the $15K range=$60K overall for 4 years, then you are golden.
Grandma will “help” pay for books and other expenses. S will pay for incidentals as well from working (never said he wasn’t working). We would like to keep our contribution (loans and cash) at 15k max.
Well USF will likely be costing 20k a year with the best case scenario of stacking scholarships and frugality. That should be the target however you get there.
How did you come up with that number? Estimated cost of tuition with meals books etc comes to 33,432. Minus the 5,300 (books, etc) comes to 28,132. Then if you deduct the highest scholarship 12k (which my S qualifies for ) and the honors scholarship of 2k that brings it down to $14,132. Not including pell… am I correct with all these calculations?
Plus can’t he also do a work study?
You can remove the $5300 but those costs remain so you simply need a plan. He may indeed receive the maximum scholarship AND a stackable scholarship but those are not automatic. Those are possible. But hoping for the best, you still have $5300 for books, air fare, buses, pocket money, healthcare, laundry, personal supplies, school supplies, entertainment. His mental target should be whatever that number is. He can get work study or simply a job during the school year and he can also work summers. He simply needs a plan and grandma needs a target. But this IS putting you at 20k total costs so when you look at other schools, 20k is what you seem comfortable reaching for with the kid working/grandma plan.