Anyone regret sending their dc to an OOS college and paying $$$ prices for a state school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reputation of major is what matters.

I am paying for GW's Elliott School of International Affairs because it's ranked in the top 10 worldwide. Kid was accepted at UMD Honors (it was his safety), but there's just no comparison for that specific major.

Would you still be happy paying that if your kid decides to change their major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we'll regret paying for OOS. DC applied to business programs, was not admitted to UMCP. Their options are Towson or OOS public. Kid really doesn't want to attend Towson. The difference is like $25k vs $55k. Received a little merit both in-state and OOS.

Yeah the issue for MD residents is that IMO there's a steep drop-off after UMD, and UMD is selective now. Is Towson the 2nd best in-state school in MD? I'm not sure which other school it would be if not.. UMBC?

But I can definitely see it making sense to pay for Pitt, Ohio State, Penn State, U Kentucky, U Indiana, etc etc instead of going to Towson.

I would not for Kentucky.

Plus Towson simply is NOT the school for many MD kids, because they don't have the majors kids are interested in. If I'm CS/Engineering, my kid is not thinking about Towson at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We only have UMD, good school but not great so not much of a choice.

MD has many more than just UMD.

Yes, but it's not the same as VA. And if your kid wants engineering, MD really only has UMD and maybe UMBC, but it's not the same as a typical 4 year campus.

But if non-engineering, yes there are many choices

Don’t sleep on Towson. It’s becoming increasingly popular, especially with its strong internship opportunities. My brother graduated with a finance degree from Towson, landed a great internship at T. Rowe Price while still in school, and now he’s a one of the heads at a top investment management firm. My friend went there too—he’s currently the CTO of a publicly traded company. Of course, these are just personal examples, but I’ve seen a lot of Towson grads go on to do big things. It also has more of that typical college feel than UMBC, although UMBC is also a great choice.

Your brother graduated finance. If a kid wants Engineering, Towson is not a choice, it simply isn't. I think Towson is a great school, if it fits for what your kid wants. But for hard core STEM/Engineering, Towson is not the place

And yes, I know a Towson grad (business) who was a C level executive by age 32 and worth over $10M by age 40. It's about what you do with your life, not where you get the degree. This person would excel wherever they went

[Anonymous]

UCs are worth the extra out of state. Perhaps Berkeley.

[Anonymous]

^ are not worth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, I don't believe you aren't going to get many people who will actually admit they paid crazy amounts of money so their kids didn't have to go to their in-state school. People gotta justify the money spent and won't admit they made a mistake.

I don’t see how paying for OOS when you could have gone in-state for less is any different than paying for UVA when you could have gone to VCU for less. There’s always a cheaper school somewhere. In fact for high-stats kids, there’s almost always a full ride somewhere.

This, especially the bold.

+1. If your only concern is the cost, forget most in-states too. You are looking for full rides at lower ranked schools or community college and living at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UCs are worth the extra out of state. Perhaps Berkeley.

Only Cal is really worth it.

-former 40 year CA resident

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UCs are worth the extra out of state. Perhaps Berkeley.

Only Cal is really worth it.

-former 40 year CA resident

Why not UCLA?

[Anonymous]

Just like a Nissan Versa is the only car worth it to some, others it's a Honda Civic and others it's a BMW or a Lamborghini, it's subjective. Worth it to one person doesn't mean worth it to someone else.

We have one at an OOS flagship with merit who loves it there and another at a $$$ private where we are full play and they love it. For us, happy, kids who are learning inside the classroom and out, both are worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just like a Nissan Versa is the only car worth it to some, others it's a Honda Civic and others it's a BMW or a Lamborghini, it's subjective. Worth it to one person doesn't mean worth it to someone else.

We have one at an OOS flagship with merit who loves it there and another at a $$$ private where we are full play and they love it. For us, happy, kids who are learning inside the classroom and out, both are worth it.

Np. Do you think kids really know what will make them happy when they apply to schools? Seems like such a young age to have it all figured out. Many kids switch majors etc

[Anonymous]

DC was rejected from UMD instate and admitted to WM OOS. I’m not happy about the cost but I’m thrilled about the program. Maryland has nothing comparable to WM in terms of size, academics, community, history, outcomes, etc. Even though WM is a much better fit for DC than UMD, we would have happily chosen UMD for the money. But we weren’t willing to choose Towson or UMBC for the money. Neither could compete with W&M no matter the cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we'll regret paying for OOS. DC applied to business programs, was not admitted to UMCP. Their options are Towson or OOS public. Kid really doesn't want to attend Towson. The difference is like $25k vs $55k. Received a little merit both in-state and OOS.

Yeah the issue for MD residents is that IMO there's a steep drop-off after UMD, and UMD is selective now. Is Towson the 2nd best in-state school in MD? I'm not sure which other school it would be if not.. UMBC?

But I can definitely see it making sense to pay for Pitt, Ohio State, Penn State, U Kentucky, U Indiana, etc etc instead of going to Towson.

Why? I could see it if my kid got into a really marquee, stand out program (like the business school at Indiana U) but other than that I am curious what would those schools would offer for a business major that would not be available at Towson or UMBC?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reputation of major is what matters.

I am paying for GW's Elliott School of International Affairs because it's ranked in the top 10 worldwide. Kid was accepted at UMD Honors (it was his safety), but there's just no comparison for that specific major.

Why? What is available at GW that is not available at UMD?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if we'll regret paying for OOS. DC applied to business programs, was not admitted to UMCP. Their options are Towson or OOS public. Kid really doesn't want to attend Towson. The difference is like $25k vs $55k. Received a little merit both in-state and OOS.

Yeah the issue for MD residents is that IMO there's a steep drop-off after UMD, and UMD is selective now. Is Towson the 2nd best in-state school in MD? I'm not sure which other school it would be if not.. UMBC?

But I can definitely see it making sense to pay for Pitt, Ohio State, Penn State, U Kentucky, U Indiana, etc etc instead of going to Towson.

I would not for Kentucky.

Plus Towson simply is NOT the school for many MD kids, because they don't have the majors kids are interested in. If I'm CS/Engineering, my kid is not thinking about Towson at all.

True, but if the choice was between KY and Towson in state, from an ROI perspective, go with Towson.

https://www.towson.edu/news/2023/poets-quants.html

https://poetsandquants.com/2024/10/11/unlike-anything-anywhere-in-the-world-inside-towsons-open-to-all-startup-accelerator/

https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/school-profile/towson-university/

[Anonymous]

Work moved me out of the DMV to Arizona and I am astounded at the number of people paying OOS for ASU. The U of A may be a smidge better, I get it that if your kid would benefit from the SALT program it would be worth it. The business schools aren't too bad, but I don't understand paying OOS for a basic degree that you can get instate at much lower cost.