<p>
</p>
<p>The annual cost of attendance at Penn State is very expensive for Pennsylvanians, and it was a whopping $46,156 in 2013-14 for out-of-state students. I hope whoever advised you to go with the better “investment” took your family’s financial situation into consideration and that you won’t be saddled with a lot of loans to pay for your educatoin. Otherwise, you received very poor counsel.</p>
<p>No one should apply to Penn State looking for a lot of financial aid, especially out-of-staters and internationals. There are state flagships that throw gobs of money at high-stats students, but Penn State is not one of them.</p>
<p>^^Which state flagships throw gobs of $$ at high-states students? I’m especially interested in those within driving distance (10 hours or so) of NYC.</p>
<p>* What would you guys say if money wasn’t part of the equation? *</p>
<p>This is an irrelevant question. Money is part of the equation; there’s no point in making a decision that hinges upon affordability by ignoring the affordability of the options.</p>
<p>Sure, college is an investment. But just like ANY investment, you wouldn’t borrow more than you can afford to pay back. If Penn State is $50,000 a year (including room and board) you’re talking about $200K of debt after college. College graduates can’t hope to make that much out of college. Rutgers would’ve cost you around $28K a year, or about $112K over 4 years. </p>
<p>@CHD2013, not sure about the driving distances–that would depend on how fast you drive, I suppose :-D–but check out these CC threads for ideas, which include some flagships (and other great schools):</p>
<p><a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<p>My son chose Alabama over Penn State, even though it was a lot farther than he originally wanted to go to school. Half the price (we live in PA) after adding up the scholarship dollars, entrance into the Honors College, and he just liked it better in general. </p>
<p>Just to clear up a few things, as people seem to lack understanding of my situation…</p>
<p>So first of all, @juillet the reason I posed the question “What if money wasn’t part of the equation?” is since my family would be considered WELL OFF, as compared to most people. Thus, paying for college wasn’t a huge factor in deciding. I understand that in the end it will be around 200k, but with some help from my family and my own willpower with getting a job, I can surely handle that amount. </p>
<p>Also, as I stated before (and you can google it for yourself if you don’t believe me), Penn State is known for having the largest alumni network and is considered high up on the list in terms of corporate recruiter’s choice (in fact i’m pretty sure it’s ranked number 1). So if some of you even think for a second that when two candidates are going for a job with similar stats, and the recruiter is a PSU alumnus, and that the Rutgers student would get the job, you need to open your eyes and look the world we live in. </p>
<p>@woogzmama you mentioned “a wonderful, small museum, and 2 excellent repertory theaters,” and you’re entitled to your opinion, but let’s be honest, those things aren’t going to make your college career super exciting everyday. Personally, the only thing in the vicinity of Rutgers that stands out FOR ME would probably be Greasetrucks, so I don’t really think i’m missing out on this great culture you speak of. (Trust me I live like 30min from rutgers and have been on and in the vicinity of the campus MANY times, which could be why I’m not as interested in the area around RU)</p>
<p>So, I guess only the future can really tell if this was a good choice…</p>
<p>If your family can afford it from income, savings, a college fund… then certainly Penn State is a wise investment and I think you made the right decision.
The problem is that sometimes/often, kids who say that mean “I’ll take on some loans” or “my parents don’t really know but will figure it out”. Remember that you’re not the sole poster on these boards with similar phrasings and so, for senior members, all student posts are seen in a context, which is why we always want clarifications about that.</p>
<p>I personally like State College better than New Brunswick for a college student, but this is a personal opinion, the reverse would be equally true depending on the person. Businessfuture, woogzama was speaking about a phenomenon that’s very frequent, ie., the university far away seems better than the university nearby, so that kids who live near State College would “like” Rutgers better and think New Brunswick is so much more exciting, being near big cities, than State College which is in the middle of nowhere. </p>