University of North Alabama might come in at that price. It looks like their freshman scholarships start at 3.0 and 20 ACT or 1030 SAT. The scholarship is only $1,000 at that point but if I am reading things correctly it sounds like they would get in-state tuition if they receive an institutional scholarship of at least $250…
https://una.edu/financial-aid/scholarships-excellence.html
There are other scholarships that are possibilities, the $1,000 is just the amount automatic for that GPA/score combo.
My son’s direct billed costs for fall semester was under $9,000 and included tuition, fees, housing, and meal plan. If you get books as cheap as possible and limit personal expenses it should be doable.
No need based aid at all?
I know several schools in the midwest that got net price down in that range for similar stats but with a combo of need and merit.
Capital U in Columbus OH
Wooster in Wooster OH
Adrian in Adrian MI
Depauw in Greencastle, IN
Wittenberg in Springfield OH
University of Jamestown in North Dakota should work for a student with those stats who needs that price range. A high school classmate of mine went there (20+ years ago) and was very happy and supported.
These schools in Utah can be pretty cheap with high [acceptance rates]. Here’s what I calculated for just room, board, tuition, and fees (personal expenses, transportation, insurance, books, etc. are not included):
Dixie State 100% $12,619
Southern Utah 76% $15,749
Utah State 89% $17,389
Weber State 100% $17,728
We visited the last 2, but could not convince D to apply to any of them!
You are very right!! OOS students pay instate rates if they receive a merit scholarship from UNA for at least $250.
And here’s the link for their merit
https://una.edu/financial-aid/scholarships-excellence.html
UNA is a long-standing very good school…almost 200 years old. I know many students, including military, that take advantage of their VERY LOW cost 100% online MBA program where the entire program costs less than $20k…which works very well for those who get tuition reimbursement from employers.
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I know that @ucbalumnus likes to frequently say the above, but I don’t think parents are “pretending” anything<<<<
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Right? It sounds like something a child would say. In reality having them live at home practically costs me nothing of significance. Paying room and board for 3 in college at once could cover costs of buying an apartment in the area 2/3 live in LOL. I don’t pay $10 a head for ANY family meal I cook at home. I could prep filet mignon and still come out ahead.
In our state (PA) that budget would work for instate students at a PSU or Pitt branch campus (in commutable distance or with scholarship and/or financial aid).
Tuition, fees are about $15,000 there and housing $10,000.
PASSHE schools’ tuition, fees room and board run about $25,000 as well.
Nebraska state colleges (not the universities). South Dakota publics.
In our state, directional universities have tuition & fees in that range. For those who need to commute to attend a university, there are a couple state schools that are a bit less expensive & have a cost of living in the area that lends itself to low housing costs. “Brand name recognition” is not necessary (and heck, you can get a UMich degree in Dearborn or Flint for quite a bit less than you’d pay if you went to Ann Arbor).
What do you mean by “not the universities”? Are you talking about community college ?
Is this for instate only?
The schools in the University of Wisconsin system (except Madison) would fall into this category for Wisconsin residents. MSEP students can come very close to this criteria. For what its worth, Whitewater brags about being the best buy for Wisconsin publics.
@mom2collegekids Nebraska seems to have a two tier system somewhat like PA. The universities are more expensive than the four year Colleges. Chadron State for example comes out to ~$7500/semester living on campus.
https://www.csc.edu/businessoffice/attendanceCost.csc
Truman State – In-State COA is $17K, OOS is $24K, Midwest exchange will bring it down to $21K for OOS. Merit Aid starts at 3.0 GPA and ACT = 23 (from $3.5K to $8K for OOS)
Monmouth College in IL – COA is $47K (books, fees included), friend’s child got $27K in automatic merit aid with ACT = 20 & 3.05 GPA
SEMO – COA for OOS is $21K and with ACT of 21 (they superscore) COA is $15K
I don’t remember if Bemidji State was already mentioned. $9.25K/semester
https://www.bemidjistate.edu/admissions/undergraduate/tuition-aid/
Not community college. Compare more to California’s system. There’s the university system (UNL, UNO, UNK), like a UC, and a college system (Wayne State College, Chadron State college, etc), like a CSU.
@momtocollegekids: Yes, in state only. I was just using UM as a “for instance.”
I know some states have really high tuition even for in state, but I suspect that there may be some affordable university options. It will take some looking, but there should be good options. If all else fails, a CC with automatic articulation agreement with a university is not a bad way to go.
Fresno State is under $20k if you’re instate. But a 3.0 and 1000 only gives you an EI of 3400. This really limits the majors you can get into:
http://fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/are/futurestudent/freshmen/freshmen-selection.html
I don’t understand the 4 year school or bust mentality.
This seems like any 4 year will do as long as it comes into the income range. there is nothing about fit, major, 4-year graduation rate, etc.
There is nothing wrong with playing the hand that you are dealt and looking at the long range options from getting from point A to point B.
What are the in-state option?
It is not a fate worse than death to start out at CC (some have really excellent programs).
Student may be better served in the long range going to CC, with an articulation agreement to the flagship/university.
For some students, getting into a 4 year university is the best chance for getting enough merit or financial aid to go away for college. Transfer students are at a disadvantage many times in getting aid.
One cousin in our family found himself in the position of not being any more able to afford a 4 year college for the final two years than he did for the first two, given the raw numbers. But he had been a strong enough student in highschool with good enough test scores that he just might have gotten some better options coming right out of college. He never tried, as community college was very affordable to him. But there isn’t any 4 year school within commuting distance and nothing was affordable. He ended up , as many low income students do, spending the next 10-15 years, taking a course here and there. Fortunately, his state and schools did not have rules that put time limits on accepting credits for courses taken in earlier years, and he finally graduated a couple of years ago. He was sleeping in his car that last year to get that degree. He very likely could have gotten merit money to have shortened his college years had he known how and where to pursue merit options. High test scores, good grades in high school. He also would have had to have opened his mind to some more far away and unknown schools to have gotten a free ride. That was likely the impediment.
But he was lucky in that he had the brain power and impetus to continue in his quest. He is finally gainfully employed—yes, that degree made a huge difference in his prospects and SES. He also was lucky in that he did not have a terribly adverse home and community environment. Those factors can wreck college progress.
I would love to get a young relative out of a harmful home and neighborhood environment. I do believe the chances of getting a college degree and raising his standard of living would be greatly enhanced by going away to school. It’s going to take enormous discipline to resist the way things are fine in his immediate family. He’s already increasingly falling into the same social and life style pit holes that his siblings and parents, neighbors and schoolmates have. That he got into a far away charter school has mitigated a lot of that—long day, transportation provided, kept very busy, programs to keep kids on college track. Community college is around the corner of his home, and I can already see what the likely next steps will be in his life. It’s difficult to resist. A whole new life at a residential college can make a huge difference.
In his case, again, test scores and grades are such that it’s possible to be able to go away to school. But his parents, divorced, don’t meet financial need standards to get any package that will make it affordable. Yet they are unable/unwilling to pay to make it happen. This young man will take maximum Direct loan debt just to commute to college for two years, and then have to get his Bachelors degree part time as he works full time, is what I see. Hopefully, he’s tenacious enough to do this. If he stays where he is, his closest family and friends are high school dropouts and do not have living wage jobs. That is what he needs to avoid. The lure of immediate rewards of that lifestyle is sadly tempting