Hi! So far I have applied to Ohio State, Penn State, and University of Georgia. I have the grades and test scores to get in to all three but do not know where I want to go. The cost is a consideration but I am hoping to get some financial aid from each institution. I want a school that is big, has a wide variety of people, fun social atmosphere, a lot of school spirit, and most importantly I want somewhere that is beneficial to my intended major of political science. Does anyone have first hand advice to give me so pros and cons of each school and which is the best? Thanks!
If you need financial aid, you aren’t like to get any at an out of state public university. Advice is to look to your state university system first.
Penn State has very poor merit and need-based aid for both instate and out-of-state students. I think the University of Georgia reserves most of its aid for instate students. Ohio State has merit scholarships available for high-stats students. I agree with @dadof1. If you need financial aid to attend a state flagship, your own state’s flagship will probably be the most affordable. If you have high stats, also consider the University of Alabama. National Merit Scholars have a number of other possibilities for excellent merit aid. Do you know how much your family can pay each year? You can run the net price calculators on individual university websites to get an idea of what each school will expect you to pay. The NPCs are less accurate for divorced parents or parents who own businesses. I think most state flagships have good political science departments.
Are you instate for ANY of those schools? You’re not likely to get diddly from the OOS schools without extremely high stats. How much will your family pay?
I agree about looking at your instate flagship college.