College List

[Anonymous]

I have a 10th grader. I know that it's early to consider but we'd like to start making mini-visits while we can to schools and I realize that I may be selling the kid short by insisting on only state schools. I'd previously thought that only UVA, VT, W&M, JMU, VCU, etc. would be viable in state options given rising costs. DD does well in school (4.0 at present, orchestra awards, etc.) but it's early to say what GPA/stats will actually be. We are not shooting for ivies or other "elite" schools but would like an idea of what to explore OOS. We visited Pitt recently and DD was pleasantly surprised by campus and environment. She really liked it, which got me wondering why I had cut off the OOS option.

Any thoughts on good OOS which could warrant a weekend visit in the coming year to get a feel for options? Sorry if this has been asked a million times. I've gone through the search function and find it conflicting. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Besides Pitt I’d look at PSU and UDEL.

But you aren’t going to do better financial your state schools

[Anonymous]

The reason for state schools is the quality for the price. No need to backtrack on that if you have set that parameter already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Besides Pitt I’d look at PSU and UDEL.

But you aren’t going to do better financial your state schools

Agreed. State schools make the most financial sense. But we do save and kids are in public now. I was wondering if I was being unnecessarily restrictive. Would Pitt, eg., be better than JMU? If so, I may be willing to pay the difference. Just trying to see what options were out there.
Will look at PSU and Del. TY!

[Anonymous]

Not really worth the out of state cost if going to a state school, though UDel is very similar to Pitt. Might like Case Western, Syracuse, or Northeastern

[Anonymous]

What about Bucknell? They give good finaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Bucknell? They give good finaid.

Have never been there or heard much about it but will add!

[Anonymous]

Smart private colleges will structure grant awards to bring the COA down to about the cost of average in-state tuition.

You can maximize this by encouraging your student to apply to schools that are slightly lower in their selectivity, vis-a-vis your child's competitiveness. For example, if your child has the stats to get into Swat or Williams, have them also apply to Skidmore or Conn. Basically, you're going to get more from your safety schools than your reaches.

[Anonymous]

Minnesota

[Anonymous]

OP if you're looking at Pitt for merit $$ they have dropped from offering $20K to OOS applicants and frequently only offer lower more nominal sums now that their profile & popularity has risen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader. I know that it's early to consider but we'd like to start making mini-visits while we can to schools and I realize that I may be selling the kid short by insisting on only state schools. I'd previously thought that only UVA, VT, W&M, JMU, VCU, etc. would be viable in state options given rising costs. DD does well in school (4.0 at present, orchestra awards, etc.) but it's early to say what GPA/stats will actually be. We are not shooting for ivies or other "elite" schools but would like an idea of what to explore OOS. We visited Pitt recently and DD was pleasantly surprised by campus and environment. She really liked it, which got me wondering why I had cut off the OOS option.

Any thoughts on good OOS which could warrant a weekend visit in the coming year to get a feel for options? Sorry if this has been asked a million times. I've gone through the search function and find it conflicting. TIA!

Academic interests? it's early, but potential major and annual budget?

[Anonymous]

University of Florida OOS is quite affordable.

Maybe Vermont

Not easy weekend trips but worth thinking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader. I know that it's early to consider but we'd like to start making mini-visits while we can to schools and I realize that I may be selling the kid short by insisting on only state schools. I'd previously thought that only UVA, VT, W&M, JMU, VCU, etc. would be viable in state options given rising costs. DD does well in school (4.0 at present, orchestra awards, etc.) but it's early to say what GPA/stats will actually be. We are not shooting for ivies or other "elite" schools but would like an idea of what to explore OOS. We visited Pitt recently and DD was pleasantly surprised by campus and environment. She really liked it, which got me wondering why I had cut off the OOS option.

Any thoughts on good OOS which could warrant a weekend visit in the coming year to get a feel for options? Sorry if this has been asked a million times. I've gone through the search function and find it conflicting. TIA!

Academic interests? it's early, but potential major and annual budget?

Academics help narrow down colleges sharply!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 10th grader. I know that it's early to consider but we'd like to start making mini-visits while we can to schools and I realize that I may be selling the kid short by insisting on only state schools. I'd previously thought that only UVA, VT, W&M, JMU, VCU, etc. would be viable in state options given rising costs. DD does well in school (4.0 at present, orchestra awards, etc.) but it's early to say what GPA/stats will actually be. We are not shooting for ivies or other "elite" schools but would like an idea of what to explore OOS. We visited Pitt recently and DD was pleasantly surprised by campus and environment. She really liked it, which got me wondering why I had cut off the OOS option.

Any thoughts on good OOS which could warrant a weekend visit in the coming year to get a feel for options? Sorry if this has been asked a million times. I've gone through the search function and find it conflicting. TIA!

Academic interests? it's early, but potential major and annual budget?

I am not sure what potential major would be but her interests are math and science. Much to my dismay, she is not interested in English or liberal arts. Law is out (I'm an atty), and she seems to have latched on to the idea that she will be a radiologist. Not sure who gave her that but all her uncles as physicians (on both sides) so I think it was one of them.

I had planned on an in-state budget ($40K per year) but could likely cash flow the difference for a reasonable OOS up to $60K. The 90K+ options are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

OP, Pitt is $55K this year, and you should expect it to go up 4% each year. That makes her senior year of college well over your $60K budget.

Importantly, medical school is a financial beast. Please don’t stretch for undergrad - you may want to help her with medical school tuition.