Need Help With Selecting! (Public Unis With Cheap OOS Costs)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hey guys, I'm looking for a match/safety school that I can afford full tuition, and I have reduced the list down to the following:</p>

<ol>
<li>University of Minnesota, Twin Cities</li>
<li>SUNY Binghamton</li>
<li>SUNY Stony Brook</li>
<li>Cal Poly San Luis Obispo</li>
<li>Truman State University</li>
<li>University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire</li>
<li>University of Houston</li>
</ol>

<p>Here are the criteria:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>International student friendly. I want the school to have a significant international population so I can feel a little safer socially. (Around 10% is enough)</p></li>
<li><p>Good computer science department with flexible curriculum. By flexible I mean high maximum credit and no core curriculum. General requirements are fine as long as I have a choice of which courses to take.</p></li>
<li><p>Internship/Research opportunity.</p></li>
<li><p>Good (enough) prestige. This isn't so I can brag around. I'm actually planning to transfer to a better school if I end up in one of these schools. Reason? Good SAT but bad high school records to get me to better universities. But this is a pretty low priority so don't get too concerned about it.</p></li>
<li><p>Good residential system. I'm not looking for a sweet room. I just don't want prison cell like dorms. Good food would be plus but not required.</p></li>
<li><p>Moderate party scene. Not crazy but still all around the calendar. I also want an environment where partying won't be the major factor in social life.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>I don't really care about the surrounding neighborhood and the weather.</p>

2

<p>I’d like to add one more criterion while it’s still unanswered:</p>

<ul>
<li>Beautiful campus is a big plus.</li>
</ul>

3

<p>“I’m looking for a match/safety school that I can afford full tuition”</p>

<p>You need to be sure that the full Cost of Attendance (COA) is affordable, not just the tuition. Housing, meals, books, transportation, personal expenses, etc. can easily come to more than $12,000 each year. Check the websites for the estimated COA for international students, and adjust the costs by your own best estimates for transportation from/to your home once or twice a year.</p>

<p>“I’m actually planning to transfer to a better school if I end up in one of these schools.”</p>

<p>Then make sure that your potential transfer-to colleges/universities are also affordable. Financial aid for transfers is limited, and financial aid for international students is limited. This means that aid for international transfers is extremely hard to come by.</p>

4

<p>[Financial</a> Aid | 2012-13 Cost of Attendance | West Virginia University](<a href=“http://www.finaid.wvu.edu/aid_at_wvu/cost_of_attendance/2012-13-cost-of-attendance]Financial”>http://www.finaid.wvu.edu/aid_at_wvu/cost_of_attendance/2012-13-cost-of-attendance)</p>

<p>COA at West Virginia University, in-state and OOS. </p>

<p>[Undergraduate</a> Scholarship Office | Scholarships for Nonresidents | West Virginia University](<a href=“Scholarships | Financial Aid | West Virginia University”>Scholarships | Financial Aid | West Virginia University) </p>

<p>Merit Aid for Non-Residents</p>

5

<p>You’re an int’l student?</p>

<p>What are your stats? GPA and test scores?</p>

<p>What do you mean by: bad high school records? what is your GPA?</p>

<p>What is your budget since you’ll be full pay at probably most schools??</p>

6

<p>Of your named schools, Minnesota, Stony Brook, and Cal Poly SLO have the most reputation for CS.</p>

<p>What about Virginia Tech, NCSU, Iowa State, San Jose State, New Mexico Mining, and South Dakota Mines? If you want a small LAC, there is also Minnesota - Morris.</p>

<p>Also see this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For CS courses and curricula, you should go to each college’s CS department web site to see what courses are on offer and what requirements there are for the CS major.</p>