<p>I think it depends on how many people you can deal with at school–what is an environment that is most conducive to your education? Also, how much are you able to pay for college? It’s really both personal preference and finances. But many sites I’ve been on (not to mention my counselor) said not to worry about the price tag when searching for schools this early on in the game–it’s especially good that you’re getting a head start. First, find a good fit–do you like bigger or smaller schools? You could go to a cheap/well-priced school but hate it.</p>
<p>Also, in response to fall2016parent, I started my college search sophomore year–I think that it’s good to at least good to get an idea of what’s out there. Junior year, in my opinion, is a bit hectic, and it’s been hard to schedule a lot of college visits. Sure, you could wait until summer after Junior year, but I like to think ahead, I guess (I’m a bit neurotic, so it may be different for a lot of other people out there).</p>
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<p>Rutgers’ in-state cost of attendance is about $29,000 to $30,000 per year. You may want to check the list of schools found [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html]here[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1294383-less-expensive-list-price-less-obvious-schools-attract-good-students.html]here[/url</a>] to find private and out-of-state public schools whose cost of attendance is around that much (or less).</p>
<p>Assuming that you are looking at a STEM major (based on mentioning Georgia Tech), consider Minnesota Twin Cities, North Carolina State, Cal Poly SLO, Stony Brook, Virginia Tech, Maryland Baltimore County, NM Mining and Technology, and SD Mines and Technology. If you have high stats and need something cheap in you application list, consider the University of Alabama campuses (Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Huntsville) with their big merit scholarships for stats.</p>
<p>However, if they are only paying Rutgers in-state tuition, not total cost of attendance, then your cost constraint is much tighter. Look at the University of Alabama campuses if you have the stats for the big merit scholarships there.</p>
<p>What I meant was that they will pay all Rutgers tradition but will also pay for any school pretty much under 42k total a year. I will owe them the extra money and will have to pay it off with work. For example, if GT is 39k a year and Rutgers is 29k I will owe them and have a debt of 10k a year. I tend to like bigger schools as my top five would be Wisconsin, Maryland, Texas, GT, and Mizzou. Looking at Naviance these are all in range schools that if I keep my grades up, I will be accepted to.</p>
<p>Don’t think it would be “no big deal” to pay off $40k in debt…even if it’s to your parents. That’s still a hefty monthly payment…even if interest free. Newish grads are often making just enough to cover their living expenses…not a bunch of extra money for debt.</p>
<p>GPA alone isn’t what gets students admitted. UT accepts few OOS non-hooked students. Test scores are very important as well.</p>
<p>What is your likely major?</p>
<p>I honestly don’t really know now. I think I may enjoy statistics, economics, journalism, astrophysics, or engineering</p>
<p>My family member (nephew) went to the Rutgers honors program (Engineering) so I am very familiar with the campus. Actually Busch campus is pretty nice (or at least it used to be :)) and New Brunswick is a nice college town. The campus bus system is pretty good. There are enough resources and research lab to swing on campus jobs. He worked in a computer lab.</p>
<p>My nephew now works for one of the top firms so their recruitment is pretty good too. I see a lot of NJ locals discounting Rutgers but really it is more the perception. You wont get any different education by going to any other state public school. And I have been to the football games too…that is also fun. I remember they have a nice gym as well in the busch campus.</p>
<p>Some of the “cheap” schools in post #23 will cost about as much for out-of-state as Rutgers in-state costs, but are excellent schools in many subjects. For example, Minnesota in economics, math, and statistics, NCSU and Cal Poly SLO in engineering. Rutgers itself is good in math, computer science, physics, and statistics.</p>
<p>^ Don’t forget U of Minnesota in chemical engineering.</p>
<p>I have looked at U of M and it is possible. I feel that Minnesota may not be that great of a school</p>
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This was not true for my son … at UVM and UDel as an OOS applicant he did not receive financial aid but he did receive merit aid … and this aid significantly closed the gap with our in-state state flagship option … these OOS state schools were the next cheapest options for him … cheaper than privates that gave him some merit aid. This will come out different for all applicants but I’d certainly suggest keeping OOS state-schools in the mix for strong students.</p>
<p>This posts illustrates why you should not begin to have a college list based on 3 semesters of high school. My 2 cents - get through sophomore year, get through your PSAT and SAT by 2012 end. Then things will be far more clear to you as a junior in 2013. I also agree that Rutgers is comparable to a lot of OOS school. So if you are gonna pay OOS tuition, go for a semi-reach school. Got cousins from NJ who chose William and Mary/UVA/Hopkins/NYU/Georgetown. But going cross country or to the cold north is worth it only if it is a great fit (Northwestern, UChicago, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley, USC…).
Else stay put in NJ and save the money. Not sure if Penn State has reduced tuition for NJ.
Also as you go through your junior courseload, you will have more of an idea of your intended major and the kind of school that fits your profile (based on the scores/grades etc)</p>
<p>tryingforcollege: I have the list based off of my grades and it serves as an inspiration to work hard. I wanted to know advantages to both public and private colleges. I doubt I will go to Rutgers by the way</p>
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It seems to me that is a false dichotomy. What do you believe are general traits that separate the two? .</p>
<p>Types of students, costs, opportunities with internship</p>
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That is so not true.</p>
<p>A great public university has a lot of resources. A small private college (I am not talking the top 20) may not have as much research/internship opportunities either. </p>
<p>Another college you may want to look at is Case Western. Got a friend who didn’t want to (like you) choose a college in her backyard and went to Case Western (got partial tuition waiver). Again college is what you make of it.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the alumni networking and name recognition advantages of a private even when it’s ranked below a public university. Not that it justifies the much higher cost in most cases, but rankings aren’t that absolute.</p>