<p>I am a community college transfer and an Illinois resident. Other people have recommended that I look out-of-state because UIUC is so expenseive for a state school. I simply can't understand where they are coming up with this.</p>
<p>Here are my top school choices and their tuition and fees (in-state if in Illinois):
University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign $13,802
Illinois State University $10,679
Southern Illinois Universty $9,813 (yes, it is cheaper but I do not really want to go here!)
University of Illinois at Springfield $8,894 (maybe a little more - again, I am not as interested in this state school)</p>
<p>Now, here are some of the out-of-state schools I am interested in and their tuition and fees rates:
University of Wisconsin Madison $22,270
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities $15,542 (I'm not very interested in because it is so far away)
Purude University $25,118
University of Iowa $22,198
Iowa State University $17,870</p>
<p>Isn't it still more cost effective to stay in-state? I am kind of overwhelmed (so many choices!) and I don't want to apply to so many schools. I am attending college currently and so I have limited time to devote to applying to every school I see. Besides, I think I have done a fairly good job of narrowing down my choices - I just am not sure how I could afford out-of-state. Any advice would be great! Oh, and I am perfectly happy with my in-state choices, I just don't see how going out-of-state would be more cost effective (as others have suggested).</p>
<p>I will likely live off campus, so that is why I did not include it. For comparison purposes, these are only the base rates for tuition and fees. </p>
<p>The cost estimates above are for tuition and fees only. I will most likely live off-campus so this is why I did not include it in the estimated cost. However, I have looked at each of the cities in which these schools are located, and rental apartments seem to be approximately the same. So, for comparison purposes I only compared tuition and fees. I would be a life sciences major, so it would cost a little more. Most of the universities do this anyway. So, for comparison purposes I was only comparing the base rates. </p>
<p>So, following that reasoning, aren’t out-of-state options still more expensive?</p>
<p>For the schools you listed, it appears that oos would not be cost effective unless their aid policies were significantly different. Do any of them offer better scholarships, meet a higher percent of need, or have other incentives such as tuition remission that would apply to you? As you probably know, relatively few people would pay the full sticker price and the devil is always in the details.</p>
<p>When people recommend looking at OOS options, they’re not really saying look only at those closest to you although I understand that may be what you’re most comfortable with. There are a number of states where tuition would be lower than your instate. For example, SUNY tuition and fees would be about $8400 this year.</p>
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<p>I think you posted on the other thread that its $4K more at UIUC. I’m not aware that this is the normal practice for life sciences majors at most universities unless you’re in a specialized program like pharmacy or physical therapy - maybe a few lab fees but $4K? I would certainly investigate and factor that into the mix as that seems unusually high.</p>
<p>I have looked at scholarships, and none of them seem to offer much of anything that I would personally qualify for. Some of them may meet a higher percent of need, but only marginally more than my in-state options. Perhaps I should stay in state because the medical schools I would like to go to are in Illinois and they often give preference to in-state students. I don’t want to reveal my age on the internet, but lets just say Idon’t want to move too far because I am still quite young. I started college much earlier than the average student. Not that I don’t want to move away from my family. As a pre-med student I won’t have time to visit. But, I’m not ready to move very far away (such as New York). So, in this case my closest out-of-state options do not appear cost effective. Please correct me if I am wrong!</p>
<p>The only way to be sure of how much your major will cost is to call or e-mail UIUC and ask how much tuition and fees are for your exact intended major.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re under 18, you can’t sign a contract. That might make it difficult or impossible to rent an apartment, because you can’t sign the lease. In this case, you may have no choice but to live on campus. There might also be a rule requiring students under 18 to live on campus no matter how many credit hours they have. Again, calling the universities in question is the only way to know.</p>