I believe it’s IL
What I meant by “comfortably get into UT” was that with my 33 ACT and 3.9 weighted, as far as I understand their OOS stats, I have enough of a chance at being admitted to be thinking about this now. I do understand, however, that it is really hard to get in, but my question applies to other higher-level schools that I’m seriously considering as well, like Tulane and Michigan. Maybe “comfortably” wasn’t the best choice of words lol.
My family will pay and insists that they can and will pay for either school which is what makes this such a difficult decision for me- they won’t tell me what they would prefer! While both would work, I do not want to make things more expensive than they need to be for my parents if it won’t pay off in the future, so I’m just trying to figure out if it’s worth it. Thank you for all the replies and feedback, it’s helped a lot!
And for those who have seen earlier posts: I had a knockout second semester this year, so my stats took a major turn for the better. This changed my position in terms of admissions and scholarships a little. Thanks!
You could also take a look at other schools that will offer you even better money than Mizzou (check out the stickied post in Financial Aid & Scholarships regarding automatic scholarships) to give you financial safety options. Mizzou is a safety as far as admissions goes, but it looks like it’s not necessarily a financial safety (and UT, Tulane, and UM aren’t either).
Also true. But with Mizzou probably totaling at $25000 a year I haven’t come across many schools that will be cheaper. Any ideas?
Take a look at [this thread](Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums) and see if you’d qualify for any of them; they’re all automatic full tuition or full ride scholarships.
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with my 33 ACT and 3.9 weighted
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There are schools that will give you totally free tuition …so those would be much lower than $25k for Mizzou
Mizzou is $25.5K for a resident, $40K for OOS. http://financialaid.missouri.edu/cost-of-attendance/undergraduate.php I believe that’s more expensive than all the SUNYs.
Why is the OP considering OOS publics when there is one of the best public universities, U Illinois, in state??? If you are going to go to a public university, there is no point going to an out-of-state if (1) you are fortunate to be in a state with a truly excellent flagship, (2) and it is likely to be cheaper.
^ Perhaps because IL has among the highest priced Us for instate students - $30-35K/year at UIUC.
Paying $5K a year more to go to 40 ranked UIUC than Mizzou (at 189 ?) is well, a no brainer. and still cheaper than UT.
Law school may or may not be your future and a good education is always valuable. You can do well at UIUC … or many other schools, you have good high school stats … any AP classes /
UIUC tuition is $15K a year in state, which is not exorbitant. Top notch flagships, like a top 40, are not typically bargain basement purchases.
Obviously scholarship money can help all these options.
Build up a real list. If you don’t like Mizzou and you find cheaper alternatives, dump it. If you family is comfortable with a choice of schools in 30-40K range, maybe also dump Mizzou. If you can find a better match in the free tuition list, or any list of good merit schools … go for it.
There are both private and public options in the 30-40K range, and if you like smaller schools or specific majors they are available too.
The OP did mention that his parents can afford either (without debt, I’m assuming) and in that case, I say go with the school you love! As long as you do not expect any debt, what’s stopping you? If your family can, and is willing to pay, by all means go for it!
All valid points. I’ll look into schools that will offer me higher scholarships. Thanks for all the input!
Oh, and as far as UIUC goes, I spent a few weeks there for an academic camp program a year ago and truly hated the campus and surrounding area- I tend to prefer schools with a good mix of academics, sports, and artsy culture so it just didn’t really work for me. I am looking to be an English major with a business minor as well and UIUC doesn’t really offer anything spectacular in either department. Not to mention Mizzou totals out to be cheaper for me as an OOS student than UIUC will as an instate student.
I find it incredibly hard to believe that UIUC doesn’t offer “anything spectacular” in English or business.
Tuition/fees at UIUC for English majors is $15,000 per year. Room and board $12,000 per year. Add on some misc. costs, and total tuition/fees/room/board/extras is no more than $30,000 per year total. You claim Mizzou is $25,000 with scholarships… are these external scholarships? Would they apply to UIUC?
If Mizzou is comparable in price to UIUC and you prefer Mizzou, certainly go for it. But you should also apply to UIUC.
Apply to UIUC, Illinois Wesleyan, and a few other schools.
That you didn’t like the campus and the surrounding area is one thing; that you can say things like “doesn’t offer anything spectacular” when, as a high school student, you literally have zero idea what a “spectacular” English department is or offers, is, well, funny or clueless, your pick. In addition, “spectacular” can mean “excellent teaching” (which is what you need) or “many publications” (and, due to the type of highly theoretical articles that are published for English, NOT what you need as an undergrad.) Check out these two links:
- http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/undergraduate-teaching
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http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/undergraduate-teaching
For English, smaller schools tend to be better (smaller classes, more personal attention, more discussion classes, more feedback on papers); the gold standards would be Kenyon and Hamilton.
Look into UNC Asheville, Eckerd, and Hendrix, too.
OP, have you looked into Eastern Illinois? Western IL? SIU-Edwardsville? Those are all cheaper than UIUC. You may even be eligible for merit scholarships at these.
Don’t know how “artsy” or cultural those places would be, but they’re very affordable, and smaller.
Fwiw, my D also did not like UIUC campus at all, but she liked IL State’s. She gave similar reasons to yours, as well as didn’t like UIUC had many more students. Anyway, she really liked IL State’s campus and Normal IL - it’s not much cheaper than UIUC though.
Have you looked at Augustana College in Rock Island? Small private LAC (liberal arts college) and your stats fit their profile, and I hear they give nice scholarships for B students. Your high ACT score will only help. Price could end up being the same or a only a little more expensive than UIUC. Augustana is known for their high graduation rate and getting their students into law school and medical school.
Other LACs in IL that may give you a nice merit pkg would be: Monmouth College, Illinois College, maybe even Knox.
Small private colleges OOS to look at: Wittenberg in Ohio, University of Evansville in IN; Coe College in Iowa. just a few… There are tons of small colleges all over the midwest, and many offer scholarships for your grades and test scores.
Look at schools where you would be in the top 25% or more of incoming freshmen class, in seeking merit aid.
You also seem to want a good college town, it seems. IU in Bloomington IN or U of Iowa in Iowa City come to mind, but both of those are pretty expensive for OOS and give minimal merit aid unless your grades are excellent.
University of Northern Iowa is in Cedar Falls Iowa, which is supposed to be a cool little town.
What about Ohio University in Athens Ohio? Bowling Green State in Bowling Green Ohio (northern end of state).
Ball State in Muncie IN? (Muncie is not Bloomington, but I have a friend who went there and loved it.)