<p>well…as with most things in life, you get what you pay for…</p>
<p>@warrior1183, are you suggesting that Pitt and Penn State are worth more than other state schools?</p>
<p>I think there are two distinct issues here.</p>
<p>First, how do PSU and Pitt compare to other Pennsylvania state universities? PSU and Pitt are more expensive than the other universities in the PA system, but I also think that the two schools offer significant advantages over those schools, not least in actual quality of education. The article mentions Kutztown, for example - no offense to that school, but does anyone think that a Kutztown student receives either the level of education or range of opportunities afforded to PSU and Pitt students? In this area I see no problem with the tuition - you are getting what you pay for. Please note that I am speaking in general - each of the other state schools probably has a couple of areas where it is a superior school.</p>
<p>Second, how do the two schools compare to their public peers in other states, and what is the reason for any inequity. Here there is a bit of a problem, in that there are several public schools that are as good or better and yet are still cheaper. On one hand this is irrelevant to actual students - since they would be out-of-state at those schools, the fact that they are cheaper to in-state students does not help PA residents. On the other hand, it is certainly worth exploring how it is that Michigan and UIUC and Berkeley are cheaper to attend - that is certainly something worth exploring, but unfortunately it is not addressed in these articles. Perhaps someone should do an in-depth study of funding and expenditures at these schools and see if there are ways that PSU and Pitt could be made more affordable.</p>
<p>I’m going to Penn State this fall and I just calculated the average debt i’ll in in 4 years with the loans/grants I will be receiving from FAFSA: $24-30K. Not bad at all. But I can definitely see why this school would be really pricey. If one goes to Penn State without any aid and they are from out of state, it would be $70K+</p>
<p>^^^^
FAFSA does not provide ANY loans/grants and Stafford loans are not even close to covering tuition plus R&B at PSU. Obviously you haver other sources of funding that you forgot to mention.</p>
<p>The point I was trying to make was that Penn State is an amazing University, and well worth what I paid for it. I was OOS, and yes, my parents paid for most of my education, but i graduated with roughly 25k in Federal Loans, and another 35k for my private loan for my fifth year…</p>
<p>I think it was worth every penny. Education is what you make of it, and no, its not just about getting a good job so you can retire early. I learned valuable lessons about life while at Penn State, ones that you really can’t put a price tag on.</p>
<p>So, yes, its expensive compaired to other places. Yes, other places might have better programs and be cheeper to in-state students. But for an in-state student, getting a decent part-time job while you are in college can really off-set the extra cost of attending a place like Penn State, and hopefully teach you some lessons you will never learn in the classroom…</p>
<p>(P.S. sorry for the long winded rant…)</p>
<p>@warrior1183, an in-state kid could get the same type of experience (what they make of it) at their in-state UVA, UMD, UCLA, THE Ohio State, etc., only cheaper. The cost vs. quality tradeoff really only applies within Pennsylvania, as cosmicfish explained in some detail. If you attended Penn State as OOS, that was an extra-cost choice, even a luxury.</p>
<p><<if you=“” attended=“” penn=“” state=“” as=“” oos,=“” that=“” was=“” an=“” extra-cost=“” choice,=“” even=“” a=“” luxury.=“”>></if></p>
<p>Yes, but worth it if the school provides you with everything you want/need…and even more-so if it provides you with things that your in-state flagship can’t.</p>
<p>Other than some different social experiences, what does PSU provide that is worth not going to your own in-state flagship or another in-state flagship that is less costly? I’m not suggesting that there is anything wrong with PSU, just that it is IMHO not worth the additional cost to MOST OOS students…and their parents.</p>
<p>aglages - Many things tipped my son (and us) toward PSU, but mainly the program that my son is in is not offered at many schools. In fact, accredited programs are only offered at about 20 schools nation-wide. </p>
<p>In our case, our in-state flagship does offer the program, but he felt the PSU program was stronger. And he had no desire to stay in-state. Yes, he did look at other (OOS for us) state-schools that offered his desired program, but when you compared the programs, there really wasn’t any comparison.</p>
<p>
Thanks for the reply Grcxx3. May I ask how much different the COA was from your in-state flagship vs OOS PSU? In the majority of cases the difference is huge. If all things were considered equal I would agree that the stronger program is more desirable but the employment benefits of graduating from one state flagship instead of another don’t usually justify the added debt. Just my humble opinion.</p>
<p>aglages - (rough guess based on conversations with other parents) - probably $10-12,000 for this past year, not including additional travel costs. The SHC scholarship certainly helps. Fortunately, we have the resources to pay for PSU without anyone going into debt. </p>
<p>UT-Austin would not have been a good fit for him. It’s a great school (my brother went there), but it’s just not what he wanted. And, he probably wouldn’t have gotten in due to the top-10% rule. So, it really was never on the table as a serious consideration. Without question, PSU was the right choice for him.</p>
<p>Oh - did I mention DS HATES the UT-Austin band uniforms??? ;)</p>
<p>I may have missed something but it looks as though the COA for In-State UT-Austin is about $20K.
[Cost</a> of Attending | Be a Longhorn](<a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/basics/finances]Cost”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/basics/finances)
The COA for OOS students at PSU (UP) is about $40K.
[Tuition</a> Rates Fall](<a href=“http://tuition.psu.edu/tuitiondynamic/rates.aspx?location=up#up-NonPA]Tuition”>http://tuition.psu.edu/tuitiondynamic/rates.aspx?location=up#up-NonPA)
Has the SHC scholarship increased to more than the usual $3K? </p>
<p>I can understand why your son hates the UT-Austin band uniforms!</p>
<p>I am basing this off conversations with parents of UT students who started last fall (like us). The ones with students in ENGR are paying around $24,000-26,000 (depending on dorm situation, meal plan, etc). And last year we paid much less than the $40,000 you list. OF course, things are going up, but that’s life! And the basic SCH scholarship is around $3500.</p>
<p>And he’s happy in his Blue Band uniform!!!</p>
<p>My point in posting this (as a PA resident…) was that it appears that the top flagship state schools in PA are overpriced compared to comparable state universities. U Va, for example, has an in-state tuition of $11,794. It just seems that Penn State and Pitt are over-priced compared to most comparable (or even more highly ranked) state schools. I would imagine this is mostly an issue with the state legislature and how it chooses to support the education system.</p>
<p>
I am not sure that this is the case - since state funding represents less than 10% of the total school budget, I think there are other factors dominating.</p>
<p>I think part of the problem is that people tend to think of PSU and Pitt as “flagship state schools”. While great schools they are not state schools…they are MUCH closer to actually being private schools. Pennsylvania does have public state colleges, but PSU and Pitt are not two of them.</p>
<p>So…what ARE the public state college choices in Pennsylvania if Penn State and Pitt do not meet that criteria???</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.passhe.edu/Pages/map.aspx]Map[/url”>Our Universities | PA State System of Higher Education]Map[/url</a>]</p>
<p>PSU and Pitt are “state affiliated”, which means they get a lower relative level of funding but are also under a lower level of control by the state government.</p>