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Not applying to any in-state public universities?


Kassia
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Looks like dd may only be applying to small LACs and one OOS public university.  This makes me nervous because we'll be relying on merit aid for every school she applies to and won't have a financial safety.  None of the in-state public universities seem to be a good fit for her.  We're scheduled for a campus visit at a state school next week but I'm afraid it is a waste of time/money (we have to stay at a hotel overnight) if it's not a good fit for dd.  

 

Just wondering if others have not applied to any in-state public schools.  It was so much easier with my older kids because they were all interested in our state flagship university (and ended up attending that school).  They all received merit scholarships but we still could have afforded to pay full price if they didn't.  

 

 

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DS probably won’t because they don’t have his intended majors. And has been told not to by current profs. Who knows what will happen until then though.

 

Some local LACs take credits from the public state unis, in case that helps.

Edited by madteaparty
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Oldest is attending a private college, and even with his rather good scholarship, it is more than a state school.  

 

Middle is going to a state school next year (YAY!) and it will be about 1/3 the cost with his scholarship included in the calculation.  (his scholarship will cover 100% tuition, but not fees.)

 

 

Edited by DawnM
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State schools are my kid’s last choice. But unless you have a true financial and academic safety, you don’t really have a safety. What if none of your options come in as affordable? Will she take a gap year? Attend a CC? I’d talk to her about worst case scenario. Does the flagship have her major? Are there other state schools that could be options? Maybe she will rethink at least applying if you reframe it right. I think it’s good you are taking the time to visit.

Edited by FuzzyCatz
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Some local LACs take credits from the public state unis, in case that helps.

 

DD will have a lot of DE credits and she wants many of them to transfer.  I told her she can't be sure of that with private schools - especially OOS.  

 

 

Oldest is attending a private college, and even with his rather good scholarship, it is more than a state school.  

 

Middle is going to a state school next year (YAY!) and it will be about 1/3 the cost with his scholarship included in the calculation.

 

Yes, that's what we found with our older kids.  Usually the state school with smaller merit was still cheaper than the private schools offering a lot of merit. 

 

 

State schools are my kid’s last choice. But unless you have a true financial and academic safety, you don’t really have a safety. What if none of your options come in as affordable? Will she take a gap year? Attend a CC? I’d talk to her about worst case scenario. Does the flagship have her major? Are there other state schools that could be options? Maybe she will rethink at least applying if you reframe it right. I think it’s food you are taking the time to visit.

 

Thanks.  Attending CC won't do her much good at that point since she'll already have so many DE credits.  A gap year is an option but I don't know how she'd use it. 

 

 

I know she wants to avoid loans and not spend a lot.  I think she wants a small school that will have minimal costs, accept her DE credits, and have great professors, classes, and opportunities.  And it has to be near an aerial studio so she can continue training.  Not sure that school exists.  :p

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My D really wants a small LAC but I don't think it's going to happen. We are waiting for notification on one last full tuition scholarship for an LAC.

 

She already received full tuition plus at a very good state university. I think she'll end up there even if it mean comprising on her major. The LACs are more than two times the cost even with their top automatic scholarships and additional grants. We could do it with federal loans, but would it be worth it when the instate publics are much more highly regarded than the LACs anyway.

 

We played a merit scholarship game and it created a lot of stress to have to depend on competitive scholarships that hundreds of other kids were vying for. I wonder if it was worth it.

 

She has the stats for much more elite universities but did not apply to colleges with NPC results beyond our budget.

 

There are universities she could attend more cheaply than the LACs in her list but they are farther away. And none would be less expensive than our state college or offer more.

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DD didn't like any of our instate options. However we did make her apply to an OOS public uni that offered instate tuition with a certain GPA and test scores. It was her in case of emergency choice. She really wants a small LAC. Luckily she's got lots of options that, with merit, came in very close to the instate tuition at the uni. These are all her safety schools and have awarded her about half tuition. She is still waiting on merit/FA from her match and reach schools. We are hoping that they are as generous as the others!

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Can I tell you how it works out in a year and a half? Dd doesn't like the in state public flagship and another campus is too close to toxic grandma. She's adamant that she's not applyinganywhere in state. In her case, I won't make her.

 

She wants something smaller, but also needs the merit money and she doesn't have tippy top stats to be competitive (for top scholarships) for most of those places. So, we'll see!

Edited by RootAnn
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We played a merit scholarship game and it created a lot of stress to have to depend on competitive scholarships that hundreds of other kids were vying for. I wonder if it was worth it.

 

 

 

This is what I'm worried about.  Dd is an introvert with social anxiety and I know that interviews will be very stressful for her. Especially with so much money involved.   

 

 

 

DD didn't like any of our instate options. However we did make her apply to an OOS public uni that offered instate tuition with a certain GPA and test scores. It was her in case of emergency choice. She really wants a small LAC. Luckily she's got lots of options that, with merit, came in very close to the instate tuition at the uni. These are all her safety schools and have awarded her about half tuition. She is still waiting on merit/FA from her match and reach schools. We are hoping that they are as generous as the others!

 

I wonder if that's what we need to do - find OOS public schools that will offer in-state tuition.  Is there a list somewhere I can find that info?  

 

 

Can I tell you how it works out in a year and a half? Dd doesn't like the in state public flagship and another campus is too close to toxic grandma. She's adamant that she's not applyinganywhere in state. In her case, I won't make her.

 

She wants something smaller, but also needs the merit money and she doesn't have tippy top stats to be competitive (for top scholarships) for most of those places. So, we'll see!

 

Yes, I will be very interested to see how it all works out for your dd!   

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I didn't think my junior would apply to the flagship, but as time passes, we think she may come around - we need to visit.  For certain majors, it would be a good, even great, safety.  Like other schools, it's suddenly becoming a little more selective (grumble grumble).  I doubt any other publics will end up on the list; I think she'll attend a medium-sized private U.  On the other hand, life has a way of showing me how bad I am at such predictions.  Hanging on for the roller coaster ride that's about to begin...we have some visits next week.

 

Eta, if the budget were limited to the cost of the flagship, applying would be a no-brainer.  Even though it's probably not a great fit, she's adaptable enough; it would be fine.  Maybe not as awesome a fit as where we're going next week, but fine.

 

Kassia, I'm guessing you've already ruled out schools with automatic merit?  Keep looking for that financial safety - don't give up yet.

Edited by wapiti
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Can I tell you how it works out in a year and a half? Dd doesn't like the in state public flagship and another campus is too close to toxic grandma. She's adamant that she's not applyinganywhere in state. In her case, I won't make her.

 

She wants something smaller, but also needs the merit money and she doesn't have tippy top stats to be competitive (for top scholarships) for most of those places. So, we'll see!

Let me know too 😂
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My kids didn’t fancy any of the state universities and my husband is against them too after doing job interviews at many of the campuses for engineering positions. We are full pay anyway for UC and CSU. The only state university my husband is considering is CalPoly SLO for engineering but kids are meh about that campus too.

 

The tentative plan is to do as many DE as possible in high school so we end up paying three years at a private college as a transfer. SCU has transfer agreements with Foothill community college so younger boy who is more or less certain on engineering could go that path.

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If finances have potential issue for you, I would just require her to pick SOME sort of safety option.  Maybe give her a list of options.   I agree it doesn't have to be a state school.    

 

My kid's similar with the dual enrollment.  He will definitely need to move on after next year and has shown no interest in a gap year.  The small LAC's we've looked at are really mixed with what they will accept for credit so if she wants/needs all those credits to count you need to check in individually on that too.  One LAC from CTCL I really like will take up to 6 classes for credit and that's it.  It doesn't matter if they're AP or dual enroll.  

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This is what I'm worried about.  Dd is an introvert with social anxiety and I know that interviews will be very stressful for her. Especially with so much money involved.   

 

 

 

 

I wonder if that's what we need to do - find OOS public schools that will offer in-state tuition.  Is there a list somewhere I can find that info?  

 

 

 

Yes, I will be very interested to see how it all works out for your dd!   

 

I know UMaine has some offerings for out-of-state students:

https://go.umaine.edu/apply/scholarships/flagship-match/

 

 

My older ds really didn't want to go to the state flagship, but he applied anyway. They have rolling admissions, so he had a college acceptance in hand pretty early in the process, and while their financial aid was mostly loans, he at least had a viable option. Younger ds is currently a junior, but unless he gets in early somewhere, he'll apply to the state flagship too.

 

 

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I wonder if that's what we need to do - find OOS public schools that will offer in-state tuition.  Is there a list somewhere I can find that info?  

 

What are her other requirements for a college?  There is a list of auto merit - my understanding is this is the most up to date https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21089443/#Comment_21089443

 

There are also public schools out west that give substantial merit to OOS students with sufficient grades and scores - I'm thinking Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona.

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Kassia, I'm guessing you've already ruled out schools with automatic merit?  

 

 

That's next on my to-do list.  I'd just like options closer to home for her, but it might not be possible.

 

 

 

 

I know UMaine has some offerings for out-of-state students:

https://go.umaine.edu/apply/scholarships/flagship-match/

 

 

 

Thanks!  I'll look at it later! 

 

 

What are her other requirements for a college?  There is a list of auto merit - my understanding is this is the most up to date https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21089443/#Comment_21089443

 

There are also public schools out west that give substantial merit to OOS students with sufficient grades and scores - I'm thinking Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona.

 

 

Thank you!  This is just what I am looking for!  Will go through the list later.  Her main requirement is that the college is close to an aerial studio, which rules a lot of good fits out, unfortunately.  Other than that she prefers a smaller college that will accept DE credits either somewhere warm or closer to home.  

 

 

 

 

What state and what major?

 

Ohio.  Not sure on a major yet - she may double major.  She's interested in math, computer science, and linguistics or maybe one particular language.  

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The tentative plan is to do as many DE as possible in high school so we end up paying three years at a private college as a transfer. SCU has transfer agreements with Foothill community college so younger boy who is more or less certain on engineering could go that path.

Be very certain that the private college will accept the full year of Adecredit, including credit towards graduation requirements not just electives where appropriate. Especially if that fourth year of private school will be a financial stretch.

 

Many, many private colleges limit advanced standing credits for incoming freshmen.

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Ohio. Not sure on a major yet - she may double major. She's interested in math, computer science, and linguistics or maybe one particular language.

Those majors are surely available at public universities in Ohio. I'd make her do at least one in-state financial safety.

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Ohio. Not sure on a major yet - she may double major. She's interested in math, computer science, and linguistics or maybe one particular language.

My Dd didn't apply to any instate option that she planned on attending (though she did apply to our U in case her health had not improved enough for her to go away to school.) For her, there wasn't a single instate u that offered foreign language at an appropriate level bc she was at or had surpassed their graduation objectives.

 

Ohio definitely has good instate options for those majors. The HTC interested Dd at one pt. Have you considered SLIYS as a way to become familiar with OSU's program? https://linguistics.osu.edu/sliys

 

The advantage to an instate option is that it would make double majoring easier if she can guarantee that she could transfer in credits. If cost is an issue, then I would make sure to apply to financial safeties. That doesn't have to be an instate school, but I would make sure that automatic scholarships bring costs down to an affordable level.

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Am I remembering correctly that National Merit is a strong possibility for her? Perhaps she can identify one full ride school on that list to be her financial safety.

 

Otherwise, I agree with JanetC; I'd probably insist on an application to one in-state financial safety. In fact, I might insist on it anyway. There are lots of things that can happen during an application year that can make going far from home impractical or impossible. Good to have something closer in the back pocket.

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Ohio definitely has good instate options for those majors. The HTC interested Dd at one pt. Have you considered SLIYS as a way to become familiar with OSU's program? https://linguistics.osu.edu/sliys

 

The advantage to an instate option is that it would make double majoring easier if she can guarantee that she could transfer in credits. If cost is an issue, then I would make sure to apply to financial safeties. That doesn't have to be an instate school, but I would make sure that automatic scholarships bring costs down to an affordable level.

 

 

Dd definitely doesn't want to attend OSU.  Her brothers all graduated from there and she does not like it there at all.  I agree about the benefits of an in-state school for transferring credits and opening up her schedule.  I think we would all love the option if there were a good fit for dd.  

 

ETA:  SLIYS looks amazing!  Dd wouldn't want to do it for a number of reasons but I love it!  Thanks for sharing.

Edited by Kassia
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My ds didn't apply to a state school- but that was because he got enough money fro a small LAC that it was cheaper than living at a state school. The cheapest would be living at home and going to a state school, but we don't prefer that route for this child.

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Am I remembering correctly that National Merit is a strong possibility for her? Perhaps she can identify one full ride school on that list to be her financial safety.

 

Otherwise, I agree with JanetC; I'd probably insist on an application to one in-state financial safety. In fact, I might insist on it anyway. There are lots of things that can happen during an application year that can make going far from home impractical or impossible. Good to have something closer in the back pocket.

 

She wants National Merit.  She scored well on the SAT last year and plans on doing a lot of prep for the PSAT this fall.  

 

Good point about having an option closer to home just in case.  I hadn't thought of that.  

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Our flagship university is not a financial safety for us.  It is more expensive than two very expensive private schools, after you factor in scholarships.  And our state is so broke that there are almost no merit scholarships for undergrads.  It is cheaper for her to go to University of Minnesota (out of state tuition less the modest scholarship) than our state flagship.  The tuition for a state school she could commute to is very expensive.  With the commuting expense added in, a local LAC would be cheaper.    

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Be very certain that the private college will accept the full year of Adecredit, including credit towards graduation requirements not just electives where appropriate. Especially if that fourth year of private school will be a financial stretch. .

We’ll be okay with paying a fourth year, it’s a commuter college (ETA: 4 miles away). They have transfer guide laid out on their website though for the community college most convenient for us to go to. We might also do DE there under their summer program as my oldest is going to run out of math courses at community college.

 

https://www.scu.edu/media/offices/registrar/transfer-credit-/Foothill-College-New-ENGR-NEW-VERSION.pdf

 

ETA:

We are already prepared to pay more for younger because he doesn’t have it as easy as older with academics. Luckily he is aiming for one major and no minor.

Edited by Arcadia
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One thing that became very real in the application process for me, as a parent, was how much time everything took.  Just keeping up with deadlines, what different colleges need, who wants an interview, who doesn't care, who takes level of interest into account, etc.  It's not just the application, but also the interviews, supplemental information, and scholarship applications for some.  Some of our in-state options have some very nice scholarship options that require an entirely different application process, and some were reserved for students who applied early.  We didn't really look at those or spend as much time on them because those colleges weren't a top choice for my DS.  So, just saying, choose carefully and really do everything you can to get the best package at every place you apply.  I do think though, that it is best to keep as many doors open as you have feet to prop them.  And really, it requires feet like a millipede!!!

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Neither of my children applied to an in-state public school.  If for some reason they needed to fall back on the local public university, enrollment deadlines for that were after they would have found out about acceptance and financial aid at their top choices.  There wasn't really any need to spend the time and effort applying to it as a safety early on.

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It's not just the application, but also the interviews, supplemental information, and scholarship applications for some.

So, just saying, choose carefully and really do everything you can to get the best package at every place you apply.

 

This for sure. We ended up with five schools, two honors programs, one university scholarship program, spread across six separate application systems!

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Have you looked into Ohio's HTC? It has a neat premise and a lot of academic freedom.

 

Yes, I love it but there are no aerial studios in the area.  That is really limiting her college choices.  Thank you for all the suggestions!  I appreciate your help!  

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I would absolutely require a financial safety (and I did, for both of my kids).  Nothing is forcing you to attend just because you are admitted. 

 

Most of the competitive scholarships are very competitive. dd interviewed for a smaller one, $2,000 per year, and it required a resume, two letters of recommendation, and an in-person interview 2 1/2 hours away. Of the people who were there to interview, 1 out of 4 will get it. I have no idea what the odds are on the bigger she interviewed for (thankfully the next day), but we know it's a definite crapshoot. And this is not an elite school by any means, although it does certain things very well, it is a public directional, not even a flagship. Of course, their cost, while high-ish for their level, is much, much less than a private just with the guaranteed OOS merit aid. 

 

The interview weekends are generally scheduled for February and March. There's application fatigue, and then there's interview exhaustion! I can't imagine doing more than a couple of these. You have to travel, and it's a very high-pressure situation. dd had four people in her interview! She doesn't enjoy that kind of thing, but I imagine it would have to get tiring even for those who do. 

 

Definitely look at the list of guaranteed merit schools, there are some gems on there. Not all state schools are huge, there are many mid-sized, and then a good honors program can make it feel even smaller. 

 

In-state tuition if you score above a certain level is a common form of merit. I'm not sure if those are on the list of guaranteed merit or not? But it's quite common. 

 

She's not a junior yet, so you have plenty of time to hammer it into her head that she will find a safety, lol. An admissions and financial safety does not have to be in-state. 

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University of Kentucky has a full ride for National Merit. Looks like an aerial studio too though I don't know how good it is. I'm studying math and I have not-quite a double major in computer science. I love the math department; all my professors have been great. They also took every single dual enrollment course I had and almost every AP (it's really hard to get out of freshman comp; my AP English classes only counted for general English credits, which was useless).

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University of Kentucky has a full ride for National Merit. Looks like an aerial studio too though I don't know how good it is. I'm studying math and I have not-quite a double major in computer science. I love the math department; all my professors have been great. They also took every single dual enrollment course I had and almost every AP (it's really hard to get out of freshman comp; my AP English classes only counted for general English credits, which was useless).

 

Wow, this is so helpful!  I knew about the aerial studio there because we were looking at Transylvania University.  Thank you!  This is great information!  

 

ETA:  Are you from KY?  Just wondering about the dual enrollment courses if they transferred easier from in-state rather than out of state.

Edited by Kassia
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Wow, this is so helpful!  I knew about the aerial studio there because we were looking at Transylvania University.  Thank you!  This is great information!  

 

ETA:  Are you from KY?  Just wondering about the dual enrollment courses if they transferred easier from in-state rather than out of state.

 

I'm not from KY. :) I'd be happy to answer more specific questions via PM, if you'd like. 

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Ah, revising my statement, the National Merit scholarship is no longer full ride. It's full tuition + 10k housing stipend first two years. FWIW, housing is fairly cheap in Lexington and there's a lot within walking distance of campus. Here is the current list of scholarships.

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We're not to the college stage yet, but we don't have any in state schools to apply to, unless you count the "university" that's not even as good as the community colleges in neighboring states. So it's not even an option. You work with what you've got.

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Wow, this is so helpful! I knew about the aerial studio there because we were looking at Transylvania University. Thank you! This is great information!

 

ETA: Are you from KY? Just wondering about the dual enrollment courses if they transferred easier from in-state rather than out of state.

Kassia, most colleges have websites where you can check for already approved transfer courses. You can see if there are some already approved: https://www.uky.edu/registrar/transfer-equivalency If not, it doesn't mean other courses can't be transferred. It could simply mean no one has ever tried.

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If you have the money I don't see why it's a necessity. For us, I can't imagine having funds to guarantee a full-pay out of state for both kids. So I can see pushing an in-state safety as a "safe start".

 

Another safe start option, if your kid has not done DE, is community college, where they can go before re-applying to their dream school.

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