<p>What about for an engineering undergrad? If I was to major in chemical engineering would the college make a big difference for future job prospects? I think Clemson is the best for engineering in SC.</p>
<p>If I went into engineering and didn’t go to grad school maybe a renowned undergrad college would be better.</p>
<p>To put a slightly different spin on this, I think having an opportunity to attend school more than a couple of hours from home, whether in or out of state, forces the student (in a good way) to become independent and deal with things like a minor health issue, etc., without Mom/Dad on the scene. It also prevents frequent trips home. I’ve seen students who went to a residential college an hour or two from home but came home every weekend with laundry and to hang out with their HS friends. One might as well commute to a local college. </p>
<p>I’m a fan of the 4-year residential experience, but that’s getting ever more difficult to afford.</p>
<p>A somewhat distant college choice may not always be more expensive than one close to home. In-state tuition, merit aid, school policies, etc., can produce some surprising results.</p>
<p>As others have commented, $250K is a lot to pay unless the family’s resources are substantial enough to spend it without impairing the ability to pay for siblings, grad/professional school, etc.</p>
<p>It’s quite true that if one’s aim is med school, a brand-name undergrad degree is less important than sterling stats and recommendations. However, 70% of students change majors in undergrad school, so choosing an institution that has other desirable options is important. It’s possible the undergrad degree could be the terminal degree, so brand, alumni network, etc. aren’t entirely irrelevant.</p>
<p>@whoami47
Interesting fact: The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is cheaper than UIUC for Illinois residents and Penn State for Pennsylvania residents.</p>
<p>@Vlklngboy11
You must be from a really expensive prep school or from an extremely rich family. Even VERY rich families would still balk at paying a quarter million dollars for college.</p>
<p>@brm114341
Not all colleges are created equal - that’s true. However, consider that some honors or scholarship programs attract HYPSM caliber students, eg. UT Plan II/Business Honors, UT Dallas McDermott Scholars program, Georgia Tech’s Presidential Scholars program, Cal’s Regents’ and Chancellor’s scholarship, and so on.</p>
<p>@whoami47 @Fredjan
Of course I’m not saying all “top” private schools are better than all public schools and you can’t have a good experience there. Generalizations like that are never true and in a lot of situations a program at one’s state school can be more enriching than a brand name program elsewhere. I’m just reacting to people like the OP’s tendency to treat choosing a college like buying a car in terms of price and “how fast can it get me there” without looking at other features that could transform the trip into something memorable and personally valuable. I wasn’t listing the reasons to choose a “top school” over a public, but listing the reasons why one might look up from the 2D graph of price vs. career potential when choosing a college.</p>
<p>I like the car analogy 
To add to it: Will a drive in a Ferrari be more memorable and personally valuable than driving in a Honda?</p>
<p>I guess you are right in some aspects as the Ferarri drive would be luxurious and very memorable. In the end though both cars get you to the same destination. The drive in the Honda could be just as memorable.</p>
<p>Prestige isn’t the only thing that sets top schools apart, even if it’s the thing that sets a Ferrari apart from a Honda. There’s something special about being in an environment full of ambitious young people who care about what they’re learning and making an impact on the world, and the schools that attract minds like these are the schools with resources and accomplished, inspiring professors. </p>
<p>Brand is just another axis to add to the uninspiring and impersonal graph some use to attempt to weigh one option against the other. Off-road tires, seven comfortable seats to fit friends, the style of an old-fashioned model… All things to take into account (along with a grain of salt since my metaphor definitely has its limits)…</p>
<p>@Fredjan:</p>
<p>For now. I believe UM-TC is considering raising their OOS tuition to the Big10 average.</p>
<p>My daughter is going to an OOS school. The tuition is more than our state flagship(s) would be, but that is moot as I’m not sure she would have gotten into UF and FSU was only a maybe. She could have gone to a number of the smaller state schools and they would have been fine, but the OOS school offered a little merit, another grant and it brought the price down to affordable.</p>
<p>Instate tuition isn’t always cheapest. It is less expensive for a Colorado resident to go to almost any Western Exchange school than pay tuition at Boulder, and the schools may actually be closer to home (Utah closer to the western slope, Ariz closer to the SW portion)…</p>
<p>I never thought my kids would go OOS, but that’s what worked for us.</p>
<p>Honestly, the only “good” reason to go to any school, in state or out, is because it suits the needs of the student and his/her family. Whether someone else thinks it’s a “good” reason is immaterial. </p>
<p>If we are talking about med schools, look up their rankings, look up their graduation rates, look how many graduates they put into residency programs. Look at the campus.</p>
<p>Unless there is a seriously different level of the schools, I would say go to the cheaper one as long as the campus and support system is okay. </p>
<p>“There are a lot of “it depends” in the answer. For example, PA residents tend to find their state(-related) schools to be expensive with poor in-state financial aid, so they are more likely to find other options attractive in comparison. In contrast, CA residents tend to have much better state school options from a cost and financial aid point of view.”</p>
<p>Ironically, my California daughter is headed to a PA state school (Temple) which will run about half of what a UC would cost due to the scholarship received. A UC would have been barely affordable for us.</p>
<p>I was researching off other sites about dental school tuition and paying for it as well. I looked through a post where the OP was debating if he should go to the only dental school that accepted him, which was an OOS, or wait another year and retake the DAT. He went on about his average grades and how he had already taken the DAT two times and so the next time would be the last (Can only try three times)… So in such an instance, it really depends on whether or not you’re willing to shell out another year and hope you get accepted to an in-state professional school, or shell out more money at an OOS that accepted you. It’s no Russian Roulette, but it’s something some people may have to go through due to their inadequate or border-line academic grades, plus what they scored on whichever standardized test they have to take.</p>
<p>Of course, this is just one example, but it is one thing to think about pertaining to professional schools at least. It depends on who accepts you or not, or if your state even has the type of school you want to get into (I know Arkansas doesn’t have any dental schools at all).</p>
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<p>I’ve seen lots of news articles about how, on average, Californians going to Ivy League schools pay less than they would if they went to a UC. That’s because they get lots of aid from the Ivy schools, but the UCs are broke and don’t have much to offer in the way of aid.</p>
<p>@simba9
That’s interesting. Do the UCs not offer merit aid? If not, yikes. The sticker price for those schools is rather high for publics.</p>
<p>The UCs give almost no merit aid although they award great financial aid (for a state school). As a result of this prioritizing need based aid over merit based assistance, Californians graduate with some of the lowest average debt in the nation. </p>
<p>I’m from South Carolina and I go to USC. USC has something like 30-50% out of state students depending on the year. For a lot of my friends, going to USC as an out of state student was cheaper than going to their in-state school. For some people, it’s also very difficult to get into their good state school and there aren’t any other good options. At least in SC we have several really good state schools, but some states only have one and the rest aren’t much better than a community college.</p>
<p>There’s 50 different states and 50 different systems and numerous different reasons why people make the decisions that they make.</p>
<p>OP, there are many reasons for someone to go out of state, but that’s an individual decision. As mentioned, it depends on the particular state, the costs, and the family’s finances. Other people’s reasons might not apply to you.</p>
<p>In your situation, if you are not going to be eligible for financial aid, you need to look at what your options are. Other colleges might award you some merit aid, but unless they are better schools than your in state options, or have a particular program you are looking for, there may be no need for you to go out of state. </p>
<p>In your state, SC, you have some excellent options that you mentioned- U South Carolina and Clemson. Both have nice honors colleges. For the cost, they are also good values for in state students. Yes, you will be challenged and enriched at these schools, and you have valid reasons for choosing one of them. </p>
<p>People make all kinds of choices of what to do with their money. I’ve known of people choosing to pay the full cost of a prestigious college over a state school, and the other way around- turning down an Ivy to attend an in state school. Each has their own reasons. The important thing is for you to decide your reasons and act according to what they are. </p>
<p>From a cost point of view I would never tell a student not to apply somewhere because it is too expensive. There are other factors to consider for merit aid, for examples females applying to engineering schools tend to get good aid. My D ended up going to the most expensive school on her list - it ended up being the cheapest. Even though the cost is double the cost of our state school we pay considerably less than state school. Some schools have private scholarship offers too. Good school, much cheaper… good enough reason for our family to send her out of state.</p>
<p>Why go OOS? to parrrrrtaaaay cause no parental supervision nearby, yay</p>
<p>Just kidding.
Previous posters have mentioned pretty much every good reason.</p>
<p>@Midhelper which schools give merit aid for gender? I don’t know of any. The majority of highly selective schools are pretty much need based aid only.</p>