<p>I live in Ohio and i know it would be cheaper to go to osu but by how much? how are the scholarships and financial aid for both schools? past that, which one is better and why?</p>
<p>OSU is a top-notch state university as is UIUC. UIUC gets high ranking for engineering and business, but OSU’s programs for those are fine. Scholarships/merit aid are not things to hope for at either unversity; its possible but when there is one you get, it usually is not for much money (e.g., $1,000 to $4,000 a year at UIUC). As for need based financial aid, neither guarantees to meet, and neither will meet, 100% of need as shown by FAFSA (majority are disappointed with aid given). I am fairly certain that no matter what happens in the scholarship area, you will find as an Ohio resident that OSU will be significantly less expensive (at least $12,000 a year less in total cost) than UIUC.</p>
<p>OSU would be better on money but UIUC has a better undergraduate psych program. So Im stuck</p>
<p>I am biased toward UIUC and would thus likely agree with any statements about it being better, but don’t get hung up on concepts of one or the other being “better” in any A&S area like psych. You are not going to be taught different things at the two and graduate school or employment prospects from either in psych are not much different. Ohio State is a top-notch university and I would highly recommend it for any Ohio resident.</p>
<p>Perform the following exercise to at least start to quantify the cost difference:</p>
<p>Project a 10k, 15k, 20k and 25k difference in cost. Multiply that by 4. Estimate any debt you will have after graduation.<br>
From an economic standpoint, do you expect better opportunities graduating from UIUC? enough to overcome that debt?</p>
<p>Of course, money isn’t everything, but I believe most students today aren’t giving it enough importance. Both are big schools, and are bound to offer plenty of opportunity for extra-curricular involvement.</p>
<p>The OOS surcharge that U of I charges is very hard to overlook. I haven’t looked at the Ohio St costs, but if I would assume U of I will cost you about $25K per year in additional tuition. </p>
<p>If costs weren’t a factor, you should realize that the campus’ are very different OSU is contained within Columbus, which is around the 15th largest city in the country. U of I is very rural with a large campus. I’m also biased toward the U of I.</p>
<p>OSU is also larger in terms of undergrads - that may or may not matter. I assume that both will offer a very large variety of programs and activities for nearly any interest.</p>