Does anyone have any insight into these two options, side by side? UofO offered my DS $9k; Temple offered $18k + $4k for a summer stipend. We live in California. He also got into Boston College (no money so far) and we are awaiting other decisions, but those will be months off. Any input on the two public honors programs would be appreciated.
Look at the net cost for each.
Temple is then about $22k a year or so with a bonus summer stipend.
How about UofO?
UofO Honors would be about $17k more than Temple, a significant amount.
But there is more involved than money (though that’s important) - I’m interested in knowing pros/cons of each program/school.
Can you list net price (ie., what direct costs* - scholarships/grant would be? Do not count loans in this).
Temple Honors is very good, as are the classes, housing, the peers there, etc. They’re using the program to attract students who are attracted to Philadelphia but otherwise wouldn’t come to Temple due its neighborhood - the Honors Program helps them overlook the neighborhood, especially since Honors students are the only ones guaranteed 4 years in Honors Housing if they wish. However, there’s no denying it’s a bad neighborhood: either stay on campus (which is safe), or go to University City or the historical centre/Riverfront.
Based on what you said so far, it sounds like UO is significantly more expensive: would you be able to pay for the costs out of pocket (from income/savings)? It is, however, “closer to home”.
Does your child have a preference?
- tuition, fees, room, board
The amounts listed above would be net for each school - $22k at Temple and $39k at UofO. These are both after factoring in the merit money he has been offered. We have heard about the bad neighborhood, but also know that Philadelphia has lots going for it in other ways. Travel-wise, I would guess it’s a wash, since UofO is a 2 hour drive from Portland (airport), getting to it is not simple. Flying to Philly would only be about 4 hours and likely not a huge cost difference for travel, either. No denying he could drive to Oregon if need be, but that would never happen with Philadelphia. We plant to attend an Experience Temple Day, so hopefully that will give us a better idea.
What is UofO??
Wait till Experience Temple Day 
but if, like most students, he likes it, then it’s a no brainer in my opinion. If he doesn’t, then… keep it on the backburner, to revisit this Spring.
Has he applied anywhere else?
UofO = University of Oregon (Clarks Honors College). He has applied to more - Boston College (accepted early); notified in March or so: Boston University; USC; 3 UC’s; and Stanford (his one reach school). We are waiting to hear about his Nat’l Merit standing as that could help money-wise, which would be great.
What is his major?
UO is not as strong in the hard sciences as it is in the liberal arts. I used to live in Oregon and I don’t think UO is worth the extra $17k /yr tuition. My parents are both OSU alum though 
I would go Temple over Oregon if the costs were similar, considering the difference in price Temple just adds to its benefits.what major are you?
Poly Sci major, interested in journalism (currently writes (mostly covering sports) for local town newspaper), politics, maybe pre-law, etc. Sports - teams to cheer for and write about - is an important factor for him.
UO has journalism-specific scholarships (renewable for additional years if he applies again) if he’s willing to sacrifice poly sci.
http://journalism.uoregon.edu/students/undergrad/scholarships/
Personally, I wouldn’t want my dc to go to a school in what is said to be an unsafe neighborhood. Is it really worth going cross country for Temple? Oregon will cost less in terms of travelling back and forth. For me, safety always has to come first.
My D goes to U of O. This school has an excellent journalism program - very competitive. She is not in the honors college, but has friends who are and they like it. The honors dorms are great - brand new and I have seen them. I hear it might be sinking though, so they may have to rebuild - not sure. The campus is gorgeous and fairly safe, but they definitely put out crime bulletins - I’d say once a month or so. Eugene itself is a weird city - seems like a mish-mash to me, but there is more to Eugene than just the University. Great school spirit - especially around the football team, so if your son likes to write about sports, then U of O is right up his alley. Nice atmosphere. It rains a lot, but the change of weather doesn’t seem to bother my D. Also - Eugene DOES have an airport, but it’s tiny - 6 gates and that’s it - so you have to book way ahead to get any sort of good price. Otherwise Portland to Eugene is a very easy and straight drive.
Anyone but me find it ironic (and I truly don’t mean this unkindly) that someone with a screen name of citymama is worried about Temple’s neighborhood? Any college student with a modicum of street smarts will quickly learn where and how to travel safely in North Philadelphia. Many urban campuses (including Penn and Drexel in Philadelphia) border not-so-great areas, so this is a non-issue if your S is interested in a city environment.
Please note, I have no link with Temple but am a lifelong resident of Philadelphia or its suburbs (except for living in Morningside Heights–hardly a safe haven–for two years for grad school in the 80’s) and will proudly attest to the truth of the former Chamber of Commerce slogan that “Philadelphia isn’t as bad as Philadelphians say it is.”
Aloha, @sscmom
It might be hard to find someone who has a lot of knowledge about both school’s honor programs. I have a D that got accepted to Temple’s honors programs and a thirteen-year-old son who is obsessed with the U of O (he actually took the college tour last year while visiting family in Oregon).
Oregon: Liberal but wonder bread white, no city vibe, lots of outdoor adventure opportunities, and I’m sure your S knows about the sports (ouch, triple overtime, what the heck??)
Temple: Diverse with a capital D, it sounds like if you have some spunk the city has a million and one things to offer, the sports program is on an upwards swing which should be a fun time to be involved. Per a poster above, the honors dorm (1300) is not the newest or the best like U of O, but it’s very nice and the last I read it does house the student athletes as well as honors.
I’m always searching for videos of the school’s D has applied to since we have yet to visit any. Here is a nice one from Temple Honors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nUEyxtBe4
Good luck! 
This will help - we got a lot out of D’s Experience Temple day. Attend the honors function, but make sure you visit the department-specific presentation too.
I grew up in Morningside Heights and I found the Temple area to be just fine. We walked around, shopped a little. Campus is super-safe lit up, camera-ed. My D spent a week there at a summer engineering program in high school, she was 15 and it was fine.