<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I have been granted a whopping $3,500 loan at each of the schools mentioned. At UCLA, I just received (about 5 minutes ago), a $1000 academic scholarship. So those costs do NOT reflect merit aid. Since loans don't lower the cost, I did not include those either. They DO, however, include tuition, R&B, books and supplies, and travel costs (basically everything added together).</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I agree that the loan should not come off the top.</p>
<p>First, when schools do adjust their packages, to my knowledge, it is generally not a deal-breaking/earth-shaking percentage. Second, it does not appear that you are in a position to negotiate with the out of state schools, in that they are offering loans only and in similar amounts.</p>
<p>Hmm, yeah you're probably right. Well I'll try tomorrow, the worst they can do is hang up on me!!!</p>
<p>If anyone DOES have any experience "negotiating," can you give me any tips on the info they'll want, etc? Thanks!</p>
<p>I think it really depends on how uncomfortable paying the difference in tuition would make to the OP's family. Obviously for in state CA schools are great value, but I put a lot of value on seeing other parts of the country. College is an ideal time to do it. I lean towards UVA, because of the Thomas Jefferson connection, and I am so not into college football. However I've only visited UVA briefly (friend in grad school there) and Ann Arbor even less (though my sil started a English PhD. there.)</p>
<p>^^ But as another poster stated, she could take a vacation in the area (and bring the whole family) or possibly take some summer classes at UVA/UMi (or both) to get a feel for the area and have a lot of money in her pocket and still attend great colleges. She could also head east for grad school. It's hard to pass up places like Cal and UCLA for a similar ranked state school OOS. </p>
<p>But, maybe she and her parents think the desire to live elsewhere for college is worth > $40K.</p>
<p>Haha, mathmom your football comment cracked me up! thanks for the advice, I'll see how far I get with contacting the schools tomorrow.</p>
<p>ucsd-dad: It's not the "desire" to live elsewhere; it's the experience gained from associating with different backgrounds. About 30% of the students at UCLA come from LA. To me, that's not very "different." At Cal and UCLA, about 92% are from in-state. At UVa, 75% are in-state, and at UM, 65-70% are in-state. Those are pretty dramatic differences. But I also realize that I will have a great time no matter where I go, and will thus give each school it's fair shot.</p>
<p>Again, thanks everyone SO much for your comments! You've made me re-think some things, and I'll come back when I have more information.</p>
<p>Gracias!</p>
<p>Assuming you'd like to experience a classic non-Left Coast college town, and not go to school in a major metro area, then here's my two cents:
If you plan to major in English, go to Michigan. Phenomenal program, but huge. If Int'l Relations, and want a career in the State Department, go to UVa. Its closest to DC and gets a lot of Beltway speakers and visiting profs.
In any case, if M.A./Ph.D. is in your plans, any of your four choices will put you in a good spot. If you want to do grad school on the West Coast, though, they do like to have kids from non-CA schools in their program.</p>
<p>You're correct about the in-state component of Cal and UCLA although a whole lot of those in-state people are really from various countries in Asia and India. Those campuses have a demographic far different than most places in California. Keep in mind that UVA and UMi likely pull in a fair amount of people from neighboring states which aren't a whole lot different than the state the college is in.</p>
<p>But yes, living in either of those locations would probably more different than what you're used to than the UCs would be although personally I don't find that big of a difference in the people themselves. I think some of the differences are exaggerated just as some 'NorCal' people make such a big deal out of 'SoCal'.</p>
<p>The real question is the value - is the value you'd receive at a similar ranked public back east worth the difference in cost? Maybe it is to you.</p>
<p>Regardless, you picked the top 4 ranked publics so the education should be fine at any of them.</p>