So far I’ve been accepted by Minnesota (Twin Cities) and Penn State (University Park), waiting to hear back from UT.
I am majoring in Chemical Engineering and I am a PA resident.
This is the way I see it as far as pros and cons go for each school
UMN:
Pros
-Top 5 ChemEng program
-Great Location (lots to do)
-Middle tier for costs
-Lots of Fortune 500 companies in the city (good for internship opportunities I assume)
-Maybe I’m wrong here, but its “stock” seems to be rising in the academic community
Cons
-COLD (especially since I have Reynold’s syndrome)
-More expensive than PSU (but only by $6000)
PSU:
Pros
-Close to home
-Cheapest of the three
-James Franklin’s resurrection of the football program
-Know lots of people going there
-Large Alumni Network
Cons
-Lowest ranking of the three
-Rural setting
-Sandusky stink
-Weather
Texas:
Pros
-Highest ranked undergrad program of the three
-Location
-Weather
-I want to live in Texas some day, oil industry
-Everything’s bigger in Texas (partially joking)
Cons
-Most expensive (that’s about it)
As of now, I’m leaning toward Texas if I’m accepted. But anyone with input on the schools would be much appreciated, especially on their ChemE programs, housing, food, campus life, etc. Consider Penn State vs. UMN just in case I don’t get into Texas.
Parent’s contribution will be around $8000 per year
Penn State~$31,000 without aid
Minnesota~$37,000 without aid
UT~$48,000 without aid
I haven’t received any info from UMN and PSU about financials yet, once I get that, it will help clear up my decision a bit. Anyone know if UMN or PSU typically gives out more money?
If your parents can contribute $8,000, add your savings from a job and the $5,500 loan you’re allowed to take and you’re falling WAY short of the cost of instate Penn State. As of now, there’s no college you can go to, at least among those three. Things may not be dire but you need to move quickly to prevent any problem.
Your best bets would be
1° apply NOW to Pitt Johnstown
2° apply NOW to YSU, UAkron, Cleveland State
3° Run the NPC on UA Huntsville, Trinity Texas, Trinity Connecticut?
4° Have you applied to UDel on time for the Honors College and special scholarship consideration?
You likely won’t get any. Merit there is super super tight. You will be on the hook full-pay for OOS tuition. You will have to take out private loans which is a horrible horrible idea.
Also I should’ve mentioned this before, but my parents are looking to sell our house and move into a smaller renting situation. They are willing to take out loans to help put me through at first, then once the house sells use that money to help pay. Trust me guys, I have the financials under control, not that I’m not taking them into consideration, I am, but I wouldn’t have applied to these schools if I didn’t have a way of paying for them.
I appreciate the concern, but can we please shift this back to my original inquiry which was: “any input on the schools would be much appreciated, especially on their ChemE programs, housing, food, campus life, etc.”
If you have any specific questions about ChemE at Penn State, I can attempt to answer them. For general fit and feel-of-campus type stuff you should probably just visit, if you haven’t.
Will they be able to pay off the parent loans after downsizing and have money for their retirement?
Check each school for whether there is a secondary admission process to get into your major. It looks like both Minnesota and Penn State may require as high as a 3.2 college GPA to get into the chemical engineering major after enrolling, but check the web sites and ask directly to verify.
@ucbalumnus Yes, our house is valued at around $250,000 and we have an agreement that I will pay them back over a 10 year period after school. So it’s essentially like I’m taking out a loan, but without any interest and the expectation that I don’t have to pay them back until I have a steady job and I’m on my feet. And @bodangles I have visited the campus and I like it compared to some of the other PA schools I visted. I guess I do just really need to visit UMN, I think I want an urban environment, but there’s only one way to truly find out.
I’d still go with PSU instate…
If you want an urban campus, then UMN-Twin Cities, as your stats will likely fetch some merit aid to bring costs down to PSU level or near it.
Do take advantage of Bodangles’ offer, as she’s a ChemE major also in Schreyer who had to face tough choices like you Spring senior year.
Merit is pretty unikly at Uminn. Stats are pretty average for CSE. UT austin is so unlikely for admission that it doesn’t merit such cerebral sweating IMO. Personally I think your financials are way too tenuous to have any of these OOS schools, you should look to your cheapest ABET school. There is no guarantee you would make it past weed out at such schools as don’t admit direct to chen (Uminn) and be aware 50% of eng kids drop out of eng/change majors.
The debt burden, even to your parents, can make some of your career and life choices more difficult. Also, your parents probably want a term life and disability insurance policy on you to insure your labor that they are presumably depending on to fund their retirement.
^those two posts explain why I think your instate flagship remains your best choice.
That being said, 4.2W/1460 does fetch merit for OOS applicants at UMN, enough that it’d be down to the cost of PSU (37-> 31K) in my estimation.
The issue is that your current budget is not 31K, even if your parents sell the house and use the money partly for you. (Theyll need to find a place for themselves and set money aside for retirement, too - and as aging adults, they shouldn’t be renting, they should be buying a place where mortgage will be paid by the time they’re 62).
8K from parents + 5.5K federal loans + your savings + your job earnings, so, 13.5-18K.
It means your parents would loan you 13-20K a year, X4 = up to 80K IN ADDITION to your federal loans. Keep in mind that in general it takes 10 years to pay back 27K (which make 31K after 4 years). So basically it means you’d be in your mid 40’s before the money is free for a mortgage (so you and your family can stop renting and start buying) except it means no college savings for your own kids… that you wouldn’t be eligible for jobs that require a security clearance… You have to think about it carefully. I understand borrowing from parents isn’t the same as borrowing from the bank - in fact, you could borrow from your parents the whole amount you’re gapped and not even take the federal loans to avoid compound interests, but it’s still A LOT. Everything has to go your way (for instance, finding a job will depend on internships, and internships will depend on having a 3.0, which is hard to have in Engineering…)
Try to find an alternative, just in case all of this doesn’t pan out.
There are countless kids, every Spring, whose parents had said not to worry, who are stuck and/or can’t go to the college they thought they would go to, etc.
I wouldn’t have applied to these schools if I didn’t have a way of paying for them<<<<<<<
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But you actually don’t. Are your parents English language speakers? US citizens, naturalized? What you are suggesting is exploitative if they are naive enough to do this.
@Sybylla orrrrr… maybe rather than suggesting someone on the internet you’ve never met is intentionally trying to mislead and deceive their parents, you could consider that my parents and I having a loving relationship and that they trust me and want to give me opportunities to succeed. Plus, as a previous poster pointed out, this can be done contractually. Finally, THEY ARE NOT LOSING ANY MONEY IN THIS DEAL. I’m not robbing their home equity, I am paying them back, and they are downsizing by choice, because they want to rent and live in a community living situation.
As for having a way of paying, I will do some math here.
31,000- 8,000 (EFC)- 5,500 (federal student loan)- 6,000 (my savings and future money from a part time job)- 4,500 (private scholarships from my high school)= 7,000
This is where the borrowing from my parents comes in. I’m only borrowing $28,000 total over four years of their expected $250,000 equity in the house, and again, the key word is BORROWING. I don’t why this seems so foreign, if I just told you my EFC was 15,000 no one would bat an eyelash. After looking closer at the financials I agree Texas is pretty much out of the picture, but to say Penn State is not affordable is a bit of a stretch.
I appreciate the advice from others to apply to other state schools, I should’ve mentioned earlier that I am accepted to Temple, and will receive considerable merit aid there due to my SAT and GPA, possibly even free tuition.
The original intent of this post was to compare the schools, not accost me for borrowing from my parents.
Can you borrow $12,500 from your parents rather than 7k? Because that way you wouldn’t pay the interest on federal loans.
Basically UMN is going to be huge, urban near a cool neighborhood, cold.
Penn State is going to be more contained, college town with lots of stuff nearby.
intent of this post was to compare the schools, >>>>>>>>
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You haven’t any real idea at the cost of these schools AFAIKS. When you have the FA or merit award, you will be able to see what the reality is. You are citing your EFC as if this means you are getting FA at OOS publics. Is this your assumption?