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I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I just feel strongly that these days, no single blanket statement about affordability is necessarily true. It's a wait and see exercise.
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<p>Not a hijack at all. A considerable reason for the appeal of state schools is the price. If the total price is higher than some privates, that is a major consideration. I don't foresee D getting any financial aid and she would have to go pretty far down the rankings for merit money, so a state school is definitely in her plans.</p>
<p>I think anyone checking out public schools should research state funding and the current status of budget deficits. In our case, PA is hurting, but PSU is funded only 10% by the state so cuts aren't as severe as those schools with richer funding.
Also, for top students, the honors program has priority registration, making it easy to get the classes you need for your major. That's on top of the heavy AP credits that many of these students bring in. My s could graduate in 3 years but doesn't want to -and we're not forcing the issue since he's instate and has generous scholarships. Some of his friends are starting masters degrees in their fourth year.
So a public school CAN be a good deal...it just depends on the state...and the student. For PSU, apps are up this year - and I believe it will become more selective...especially for certain schools like Eng and Business.</p>
<p>Adding to what DougBetsy said about the MD state universities - The Baltimore Sun published an article last week saying that the 3 main campuses; CP, Towson, Salisbury will not be admitting students that last year or the year before would have been admitted. Applications are up, and they cannot increase the size of the freshman class.</p>