<p>We're still looking for my daughter's reach schools. We've scratched Georgetown & UPenn because they don't typically offer academic merit money (and I think most of us on this forum agree it is nonsensical to pay $50+ a year for undergrad).</p>
<p>I want her to have a true college experience. She has been very attracted to research universities because of the unique opportunities they offer - but that isn't a must. </p>
<p>Public universities may be willing to waive OOS - which could make it an attractive option (that's what we're planning on spending - in-state tuition plus room & board). U of MN indicated they would offer to waive oos - are there others you've heard about? </p>
<p>Please help us!!! We're struggling to find a couple options to visit and consider. I truly believe in doing this... My son was dead set on where he was going to attend college - and at the very last minute, after deposits were lost, he decided to go to a school we'd never heard of. It was truly a Godsend and I'm thankful every day that he kept his mind open until he found that special place.... I just know there are schools we're not thinking of..... Thank you for any thoughts you throw out there for us!</p>
<p>I think public universities largely admit out of state students to raise their tuition revenue; it’s less common for them to subsidize out-of-state students. A number of private colleges, however, will often give merit aid to ‘equalize’ their tuition with whatever your in-state tuition would be (to highly qualified students). Of course, the stronger her background the more likely this is.</p>
<p>Hi
well, that’s a tough question.
You want an academic reach
with an affordable/ in-state-like price tag.
That pretty much rule out some/or many OOS public univ.</p>
<p>Try Seattle Univ ( private ).
Someone told me they offer merit / or fin. aid. I heard that they have a good grad. nursing program but I don’t now much about their undergrad. nursing program.</p>
<p>What about Villanova ? Boston College ? ( private) </p>
<p>Thank you! I’ll check into those FlowerMom!</p>
<p>And zzz - I know how crazy it sounds to think OOS schools would equalize. We live in Texas - a state so ridiculously competitive that many out of state schools actually recruit our top 25% students because most cannot get into our two flagship schools (University of Texas - Austin and Texas A&M). The state has a Top 10% Rule that forces all state funded college or universities to admit any student who graduates in the top 10% of their class (they do not have admit to their major of choice - but they must admit you if you are a Texas resident). Because of this, UT-Austin now takes 85% of their freshman this way - not by choice - and they have been able to lower the forced admission to only taking the top7%. We see a few here and there be admitted to UT outside the top 7% - but not many. I think A&M is up to 75% auto-admit. There are plenty of other state schools to chose from - but UT & AM are the coveted homes. They are both excellent schools and everyone who goes knows how incredibly fortunate they are to be there… At the same time - brilliant, hard-working students who fall outside the top 7% & 10% leave the state to schools that want them and recruit them. We have SO many go to LSU, OSU, OU, Alabama, Mississippi… - many of them at in-state rates if they are in the top 15-25%. The economy has scaled that back some - but solid students have money available. None of these schools appeal to my daughter because they don’t have strong nursing schools (in her opinion).</p>
<p>She has excellent stats (top 1% of class of 638 and solid ACT/SAT with numerous EC’s). UT-Austin just went to direct entry for nursing and they are a highly ranked nursing school (this fall will be their first direct entry class and as word of direct entry leaks out - my guess is the applicants will go from 900 this year for 100 slots to 1500/2000 for those same 100 slots. We think she’ll be ok for Fall 2015, but no guarantees…). </p>
<p>Which is why we’re looking for some reach schools that actually make sense (not a clue whether she’d ever get into Georgetown or UPenn - but we’re not willing to pay for the privilege if she does…). So we’re trying to research and begging everyone for thoughts…</p>
<p>My D2 will be attending Univ. of Virginia, direct entry.
It will be OOS tuition for you & I don’t know how much fin. aid they give out. I know they don’t offer much merit aid. Incoming class 1st year: aprx 74 students. Is Virginia too far out for you? Want to look into that? </p>
<p>So you want to narrow down your search to universities that offer good merit aid? That is fine - aim towards the second tier of private universities. The first tier don’t give out much (if any) merit aid.</p>
<p>For instance, I’ve read on this site that Case Western Reserve in Cleveland has a great nursing program and offers substantial merit aid.</p>
<p>Villanova does not offer very good aid, and their sticker price for tuition is in the mid40s U. of Va. is an excellent place, but they don’t offer merit aid, and their OOS sticker price is $41 to $44K a year for tuition.</p>
<p>If you want a large public university, U. of Pittsburgh has an excellent nursing program and gives out merit aid to top students. Pittsburgh is actually a really great town for college students and is full of hospitals. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is now the largest employer in Pennsylvania. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about the midwest public universities. I am told there are many public universities that offer great merit aid for top students. Check out the financial aid part of this website for the lists of universities with great merit aid. Some merit aid programs are automatic with the minimum stats posted on their website, which makes it easy to consider. (Most public universities offer very little need based aid for out of state students, which unfortunately surprises too many applicants). </p>
<p>The OOS tuition prices vary greatly. I don’t believe most public universities are worth the OOS prices. You can get a much more personalized education with smaller classes at a second-tier private university (there are plenty of great ones). When I say “second tier” I mean a university that is selective in admissions but not extremely selective. They are often well respected in their region, but not well known nationally.</p>
<p>In California, UCIrvine and UCLA are both public schools that have direct entry nursing programs. I don’t know about them waiving out of state tuitions though. </p>
<p>Hi, your D class rank is #10 out of 638 as of Junior year.
Do you know if UT nursing has a different set of admission criteria that is not based on the " 10% rule"? Do they use a holistic approach ?
Do you think that her class rank would pretty much get her admit to UT based on their 10% rule ? I know you are worry that she won’t get in but her grades are very strong & she sounds like a very competitive applicant.</p>
<p>Emory University ( private, in Atlanta, Georgia ) ranks #20 in grad. nursing program. They are <strong>not a direct entry</strong>* & their website stated pre-nursing students w/ a 3.5 college GPA get admitted to their nursing school. They are just as costly as Georgetown & UPenn but if you have time, you can run their NPC & see if they offer any fin aid/ merit aid to your family. Emory University has its own hospital & is well known for its medical school.</p>
<p>I know suggesting a non-direct entry private school is a crazy idea
but they have such a strong nursing program ( both undergrad & grad) it doesn’t hurt to read about them. I have looked at their grad. program for my older D but we wont apply due to other reasons.
Good Luck !</p>
<p>If you consider a non-direct entry program, check to find out how difficult it is to be accepted. It is possible that Emory might not be that bad because there might not be many Emory undergrads who want to study nursing. At a large state university, there may be thousands of applicants for those seats. Most colleges in the southeast US are not direct entry, while most colleges in NE are direct entry.</p>
<p>Not “reaches” per se, but I believe Samford University in Birmingham, AL and Mississippi College both have well-regarded nursing programs. Both are private Christian universities, and I believe Samford is direct entry. If she is interested in a smaller private university, you might check them out. Mississippi College costs about $24K per year total, and offers $10K/year Presidential Scholarship for entering freshmen with a 29 or higher ACT, plus the opportunity to interview for another $3K/year (Presidential with Distinction Scholarship), plus Val/Sal scholarships and others. My son will be attending Mississippi College this fall, majoring in Biology/Medical Sciences.</p>
<p>Here’s some info on public universities that offer in-state tuition to top students. You may find more info on this subject at the Financial Aid and Scholarships section of this website.</p>
<p>You cannot judge U Penn on Academic Merit Scholarhips. Penn is Need Blind. They will meet 100% of demonstrated Need. This could be significantly more helpful than academic merit money. For example, Villanova may cost you $58K, though you receive an $18K scholarship. You’re paying $40K for 'Nova. But Penn may state that you’re only required to pay $22K of their $60K. Penn has just given you a $38K Need-based scholarship. Your Financial Aide statement would be issued with your acceptance. Run the Net Price Calculator to get EFC. </p>
<p>OTOH, University of Pittsburgh offers generrous OOS academic merit money. A couple of years ago, they were offering Full Tuition scholarship to some OOS applicants.</p>
<p>While Penn officially does not give merit aid when my daughter attended they had several “loan forgiveness” programs that worked like scholarships with an obligation to work in a certain place for 2 years after graduation - one was in New York city and the other in Princeton NJ. I think the NYC one (Hillman Scholars) has changed since then and is a PhD focused program, but it’s worth checking out. </p>
<p>Usually those types of scholarships at other colleges are tied to working in Newark or the South Bronx. Penn gives scholarships if you agree to work in the 'hood in Princeton??? I guess they have many injuries from people falling off of their polo ponies.</p>
<p>My daughter is now entering her senior year in the nursing program at UPenn. They are very generous with “Financial Aid”. My daughter was lucky enough to be admitted to many school so we got to see a full range of what schools offer. Other schools that were need blind such as BC and UMich offered no aid but both UPEnn and Georgetown offered significant aid. Villanova was not generous at all with merit or financial aid. The aid we got did not make it as cheap as her in state choices but did make it doable. This year she has a younger sister going off of to college and they significantly increased the aid. Clearly they didn’t have to as we were going to leave senior year. Now wish they were in school together for a few years! I will concur that Case Western has a great nursing program and was the most generous with aid. UPitt was also very generous.</p>
<p>Yes, U. Penn is one of the few colleges that often offers aid without requiring loans for lower and middle income families (and some upper middle income families).</p>
<p>Two other reach schools with BSN programs that are generous with need-based aid for out of state students are UNC-Chapel Hill and UVa. However, UVa does use $4k of work study and $7K a year of federal loans to meet need in many cases. UVa does have a loan cap, after which you can be eligible for extra aid in your fourth year. If you have a good summer job, you may be able to reduce or avoid the work study. Both are extremely competitive out of state for admissions.</p>
<p>Particularly once clinicals start, it is a good idea to avoid having to work during the school year in a work study or other part time job. </p>
<p>Last I checked, UNC was not direct entry. </p>
<p>UVa is direct entry. They also have a great new nursing building, right next to a very large modern hospital complex and the older nursing building.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that many universities (including UVa and Penn State) increase tuition and fees for nursing students in the last couple years. That cost may not be readily apparent. </p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that tuition at most schools increases by a $1,000 or more each year. If a college promises to meet 100% of need, then need based aid will typically increase with tuition increases. However, most merit aid offers are flat amounts, and do not increase with inflation. </p>
<p>I really appreciate the thoughts and suggestions. To date, she has applied to UT-Austin, Texas A&M (but for Petroleum Engineering - not nursing. A&M’s nursing program is very new and will be incredible in a few years - but not in her timeline) and UMN-Twin Cities. She will be applying to UPenn as well. </p>
<p>We won’t receive any need-based aid. I have two in college right now and haven’t received any - and when she goes in Fall 2015, I will have two in (she’ll replace the one who graduates). Which is why we’ve been focusing on merit. I understand need-based aid - but it frustrates me that the price tag can be so different for everyone. </p>