As I continue in my college search, I realize that I need to take into consideration public universities as well. Yes, private colleges offer more prestige, but there are also very excellent public schools out there as well, such as UF. However, I am finding it hard to locate great public schools. Almost every college that I’ve been referred to is private and has a hefty price tag of 45,000+ just for tuition. I believe that my family could pay for a private university, but we would struggle quite a bit, and I do not want to bring them discomfort when it comes to money. Education wise, I want to go somewhere that offers excellent academics, of course. Knowing that public universities could potentially have a lower tuition, can anyone throw me some names of great public schools? (Keep in mind, my family can pay for a school such as University of Florida OOS, and we can easily pay for OSU, as I am in-state, so anywhere in those ranges would help). I want to be able to keep my options open by focusing on a wider range of schools, and not just the most prestigious schools. Thank you to anyone who can help, it is greatly appreciated!
Well the top ranked public universities generally are considered to include Cal-Berkley, Michigan, NC, TX, UCLA, UCSD, Wisconsin, UIUC, among others. OSU is a strong school and being in-state for you, you should definitely apply to. Outside of HYPSM, these universities will offer as fine an education as any other top private. Like individual privates, some have more specific strengths in certain academic areas than others. Cal, MI and TX have all around strengths, UIUC will be strongest in engineering, Wisconsin in the sciences, Indiana in business, etc. So do your research but by no means pass up their opportunity.
Thank you for these names, I will take a look at them! @wayneandgarth
Since you are an Ohio resident, you should add Miami University to your list of publics. Generally it is considered better for undergrad than OSU (except for engineering). Plus it feels like a private university. Maybe look at the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University at Athens. Amazing program.
Also, most public out of state universities do not offer good financial aid (although there are some exceptions, such as University of Alabama). In many, perhaps most, cases a private school will be cheaper than an out of state public because they are more generous with aid. Harvard, for example, claims that for 90% of American families it will not cost more to attend there than the family’s state flagship. Don’t be afraid of private colleges.
That’s assuming you’d qualify for need-based or merit aid. If you would not, then most state universities will be cheaper (even at OOS rates) than most selective private schools.
What major are you considering? Some publics are all around good schools but many have large strengths and possibly even just as large weaknesses. Also add Georgia Tech and UVa. Both of these are elite public schools.
“Yes, private colleges offer more prestige…”
Wrong!!! It’s an outdated notion, and never held much weight when schools like Michigan, Wisconsin-Madison, U California, Virginia etc. were among the applicant’s options. And if you’re an aspiring engineer, there are really few private schools that are superior to the strongest public undergraduate engineering departments. In you own state of Ohio for example, if you want to get involved in polymer engineering research, there’s no better place than U of
Akron and its Goodyear Research Center.
Publics with lower OOS costs include Minnesota, SUNYs, NC State. Small LAC ones include Minnesota Morris, Truman State, New College Florida, UNC Asheville. Small engineering focused schools include the Mines schools in South Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado.
There are also big merit scholarship schools like Alabama.
OP, have you had The (financial) Talk with your parents? You’ll want to know how much they can afford to pay per year for college. And you’ll want them to run some sample Net Price Calculators for a few schools, along with running an estimate of their FAFSA Expected Family Contribution (generally 25-33% of your family’s annual income). Your family needs to figure out if you will be looking for schools that offer strong need-based aid, strong merit aid, and/or a low sticker price.
It’s complicated stuff, and it’ll take some time to work through, but that is an important early part of the search.
The University of California system will almost certainly be out of budget for you as an out of stater, btw.
Thank you to everyone for the advice, it really helps.
@SlithyTove Yes, I’ve spoken with my parents about finances and all of that, but like a lot of people, I still can’t shake off the fear of not being able to pay for college. We’ve looked at some Net Price Calculators, and they’ve given me some insight on how much we would actually be spending. I’ve been told that schools offer more when it comes to need-based students; is this true?
And yes I agree with your opinion on the UC system and I don’t think being so far away from home would help me either. I plan on staying somewhere in the East/Southeast region.
@collegekid3456 I am considering a major in either history or anthropology, but am leaning more towards anthro. I’ve never looked at a college such as Georgia Tech, thinking that I could never get into there, but I’m always open to new searches and I will look into both of the colleges you have suggested!
Is your parents EFC relatively high? Public schools may have a lower sticker price, but private schools will do a much better job meeting your need. Unless you are close to full pay, then you should not write off applying to private schools.
O.K., so thus far it’s your intention to be a liberal arts major. If that’s the case you should most definitely apply these Ohio publics; Ohio University and Miami University. Ohio U in particular has several scholarship awards. Additionally, as CollegeKid said, keep some LACs and midsize privates on your list. These aren’t terribly far from your home;
Ohio Wesleyan University
Earlham College
College of Wooster
Juniata College
U of Tulsa
Saint Louis University
Washington University
Washington and Lee University
…a bit farther Southeast
Belmont Abbey College
Wofford College
Furman University
^ Add Sewanee – The University of the South (a fine anthropology department) and Rhodes College to this list.
@collegekid3456 I’m not particularly sure what exactly an EFC is; if it’s anything related to income then my parents’ income is below $25,000 (I apologize if that’s not what you meant at all, I’m not familiar with the term EFC)
EFC means expected family contribution. There is a federal EFC calculated from FAFSA information, but each college’s calculation of EFC for you may differ from others and the federal EFC. The federal EFC is used to determine eligibility for federal Pell grants, while colleges’ own EFCs are used to determine colleges’ own financial aid grants.
With a low family income, your application strategy probably includes the following:
- Schools with automatic-for-stats (that you have) merit scholarships leaving net price under $15,000 (if you can add a Pell grant to bring the net price below $10,000). Lower net price is better.
- Schools with competitive merit scholarships leaving net price under $15,000 (same as above with respect to Pell grant).
- Schools whose need-based aid (from the net price calculator) brings the net price under $10,000 (they assume the Pell grant is included).
Generally, higher GPA and SAT or ACT scores will help in getting scholarships or admission to good financial aid colleges.
The junior year PSAT can make more scholarships available if you score high enough for National Merit.
If your parents’ income is less than $25,000, you should apply to a lot of privates. They may have enormous sticker prices but they will meet more of your need than publics. You should definitely apply to OSU as a cheaper option but do not be afraid to apply to private schools.
@collegekid3456 Okay, thanks for the advice! I’ve been told by numerous people that privates have more to offer when it comes to financial aid, and I will definitely keep that in mind as I continue in my college search!
Even if your parents’ income is quite a bit higher than $25K (up to ~$150K or so), it may make sense to focus on private schools with good need-based aid … rather than on OOS public schools with low sticker prices, or on less selective schools offering big merit scholarships.
The appropriate strategy depends on several factors, including your family income and your stats.
You say you can afford colleges with net costs of $20K-$40K.
That suggests you must be a middle income family, not a low income family.
Run the online net price calculators for some of the following schools:
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need
If your family truly can afford to pay $20K-$40K out-of-pocket, then these colleges will not offer net prices below $10K. However, after aid, they may be competitive in price with TOSU or UF ($20K-$40K net) … although, most of them are more selective.
If the estimated net prices for those “full need” schools do turn out to be higher than your ~$40K limit, then you may want to consider some of the OOS public schools mentioned in post #7. Add the University of Wisconsin (if you want a big school like TOSU) or check out New College of Florida (if you want a smaller college).
Another strategy would be to pursue smaller merit scholarships from private schools that are a bit less selective than the “full need” colleges. Beloit College, for example, seems to have a strong anthropology program. Its sticker price is ~$50K, but for 2014-15 it awarded merit aid to 95 entering freshmen. Grants averaged ~$18K each.
http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=lib_arts
http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=prv_univ
If your family budget (but not your EFC) turns out to be much lower than $20K, then consider the University of Alabama. It’s one of the few USNWR top 100 schools that guarantees full tuition merit scholarships for OOS students with specific stats (>=1500 SAT M+CR and >=3.5 GPA). You may be able to find other schools with net prices below $20K after merit aid, but they probably would be much less selective than TOSU, UF, or any of the listed “full need” private schools. You may not prefer them to your in-state options.