UCSC In state or PSU University Park Out of State

College Search & Selection
1

So I was accepted into UCSC for computer engineering and I have been accepted into PSU Main Campus for mechanical engineering. I am unsure which campus to choose from.
(Figures after 4yrs and I live off campus the last two years)
UCSC - $96,000
PSU UP - $126,000
I am considering Penn state because of its reputable mechanical engineering program and its engineering department in general. Plus it has a huge number of clubs and organizations. UCSC, on the other hand, has a small robotics program that is fairly new and it has almost no engineering organizations.
I am not a big fan of UCSC’s campus but University Park looks amazing from what I have seen online.
There are a lot more events, seminars, and clubs in Penn state, however…
I want to know, is Penn state worth the extra $30k or is it better for me to stick to computer engineering at UCSC and maybe grad in Mech E.
Both costs will be helped out by my parents a bit.

Any insight would be helpful.
Thank You

2

How is PSU only $125k, even if you move off campus for 2 years???



........................on campus..off campus..at home
Tuition and fees    $31,346 $31,346 $31,346
Room and board          $10,920 $10,548 $1,800
Books and supplies  $1,760  $1,760  $1,760
personal expenses   $3,222  $3,222  $1,854
Transportation expenses $1,566  $1,566  $2,250
Estimated Total        $48,814   $48,422  $39,010

How much have your parents SAID that they will pay EACH year?

3

Helped by you parents “a bit”?

What is your home state, or are you an international? What are your stats?

4

So those costs are after what each school would give me with through my FAFSA. Also, the costs are just Meal Plan, housing, and tuition. My parents said they would pay for books/travel/personal expenses. The rest would most likely be on my shoulders.

5

I am a US citizen whose home state is California, the reason why UCSC is cheaper.

6

Looks like you have high income parents who will not pay, making both schools unaffordable.

If you have high GPA and test scores, you may get a full ride at some place like Louisiana Tech, Tuskegee, Florida A&M, Prairie View A&M, Howard.

7

You can only borrow the federal student loan (~$5500/year) on your own. And if your parents are low income, you may qualify for up to $5k/year in Pell grant money. If your parents can’t/won’t pay, then your best option is to look for merit aid.

8

Big merit scholarship list: http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

9

???
Can you copy/paste the NPC results from Penn State?

When you talk about amounts after Federal aid, that aid ALREADY includes max loans that YOU can take.

<<<
Also, the costs are just Meal Plan, housing, and tuition. My parents said they would pay for books/travel/personal expenses. The rest would most likely be on my shoulders.


[QUOTE=""]

[/QUOTE]

YOu have no way to cover the “rest” that would be on your “shoulders”. You’d already be at MAX loans thru your FAFSA app.

Curious…how much did you estimate for living off campus for the last two years???

If you don’t want to go to UCSC, then use your stats to find large merit ELSEWHERE.

What are your stats???

10

HS Total GPA: 3.74 W 3.36 NW
ACT: 31
SAT 1650
Rank: 53/400

And I should have been more up front, but, my ‘parents’ actually means my mother since my dad is out of the picture. However, she makes decent money and would co-sign for private loans. She said she would cover travel/books/personal expenses and also any interest payments while i’m in college to keep the interest from becoming my principal balance. She is just unsure of how much she would be able to help pay the principal balance itself.
I understand that a lot of other schools would give me much better aid and I am fully considering those options. However, I wanted some insight what as to what would be a decent option in this case.
Thanks for all the replies!

11

<<<
would co-sign for private loans.
<<<

Totally silly to take out private loans for an eng’g degree. No benefit for that. Companies will not pay you more for having a PSU degree…not at all. Not to mention, your mom could have some issue, job loss, or illness, and not be able to cosign large loans at some point. Too dangerous to rely on that.

Apply to some schools that will give you large merit for your stats. Your ACT is MUCH better than your SAT.

The deadlines are approaching for LARGE merit, so apply now.

Alabama would give you free tuition plus 2500 per year for an engineering major. There are over 1000 students from Calif at Alabama. The Eng’g facilities are first class and new.

But…you need to apply NOW…deadline is soon…app is easy. No essays, no LORs. The app takes like 15 minutes. Get your app in.

12

I believe the consensus has been “Neither, because they will both give you a crushing amount of debt.”

13

You don’t need the “crushing debt” option when you can get what you need without that.

14

How were you accepted already when the UC app deadline just closed yesterday and UCSC says decisions won’t be out until March 15, 2016?

15

Alabama would be a net price of about $13,000 after the scholarship; you can probably piece together a Pell grant, federal direct loan, and some work earnings to cover that.

Tuskegee would be a full ride, assuming that they consider weighted GPA (reported by another poster; check with the school), leaving only travel and miscellaneous costs to cover. Florida A&M and Prairie View A&M also have full rides for your stats if they use weighted GPA (minimum 3.5), but it is not clear whether they do (ask the schools).

16

I doubt this student qualifies for a Pell Grant.


[QUOTE=""]
e. However, she makes decent money and would co-sign for private loans. She said she would cover travel/books/personal expenses and also any interest payments while i'm in college to keep the interest from becoming my principal balance.

[/QUOTE]

so, it looks like mom will cover about $5k-7k of expenses. Choosing the cheaper option of a school like Bama, would mean that she wouldn’t have to make ANY interest payments on co-signed loans, so that is additional money that she could put towards REAL costs.

Between what mom would pay, a small student loan, and maybe some summer earnings, Bama wold be affordable.

17

One more point on the ACT (i.e. 32) would get a full ride at Louisiana Tech (needs a 3.0 GPA).

18

Thanks for all the replies. After getting more information from my parents, they said that they would pay $70k. I have a preference for Penn state because it has a highly reputable engineering department and has a huge emphasis on clubs and organizations. However, I have applied for the big merit colleges as well.

19

Per year or total? Per year that’ll be fine basically anywhere. Total, it’d be gone in less than two years.

20

Oh, and again, my parents will be paying $70k plus books, travel, etc. If my figures on both colleges seem low, it is due to scholarships I recieved