Behnam91

Would it be wise to attend a university, such as Ohio State University, if it was a perfect match, but you're not an Ohio resident? It would be very expensive the first couple years, but would go back to roughly 15K (with room and board).

Erin's Dad

It's not the wisest thing to do unless you really love it and you can pay the cost. I don't know why you think the cost will go down for you. Read the many threads about being considered in state. You can't get credit for that while going to school.

gbesq

It depends upon your circumstances. If your in-state public flagship university does not offer the program or area of study that interests you, that may be a good reason for you to consider OSU. But you should also consider whether you can afford OOS tuition and what the net cost to you will be after financial aid has been applied. My daughter attends an OOS public university, but she received a terrific merit scholarship from the university that actually made her net cost of attendance less than it would have been for her to attend our in-state public university. That scholarship, in combination was a great program in her area of interest, made the choice easy for her.

Bigredmed

Definitely look in to their scholarship offerings first. There are a number of flagship state publics that have great merit aid for OOS students in an attempt to lure them to campus. I personally received a scholarship that covered the difference between in-state and OOS tuition to my school. Also look for the various "student exchange programs" that a number of regions have set up. It may not take care of all the cost, but if you live in the right states, it could be a significant savings.

Chedva

No, it won't, not if you're assuming that in subsequent years you will be considered an Ohio resident.

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/ento...cy%20Guide.pdf

The same is true in most state systems.

If you want to go to an out-of-state public school, assume that you will pay out-of-state tuition for the full period of attendance.

K9Leader

It really depends on your specific situation. What are your in-state options? What are your private college options? What about Ohio State is attractive to you? Is it specific to Ohio State (the particular area you want to study is particularly strong there) or is it something other schools could give you (such as "it's far enough away from home that I will feel more independent from mom and dad" or "Go Buckeyes! Woo-hoo!")? What are the financial considerations? Is the OOS tuition for all four years a financial hardship for you and/or your family? Is this an OOS public that gives merit aid to OOS students because it is trying to attract them or is it one that gives nothing to OOS students because it gets more OOS applications than it can accept?

These are the sort of questions you need to be asking yourself. My son just finished sophomore year at an OOS public (William & Mary) and it is more than twice as expensive as our in-state option (University of Delaware). However, W&M is a better fit in size, culture, focus, academic intensity for my son. UD is a very good school (and actually has specifically what my son wanted - journalism - whearas W&M only has English), but for my son, it is too big and too close (we only live 10 minutes from campus) and it is where half his high school would be going. W&M is one of those OOS publics that gives nothing to OOS state students because it is in such high demand that it doesn't have to (and with its state support being cut every year and its endowment not so great, it couldn't afford to anyway). It also helped ease the sting of the cost differential that W&M is where my wife and I went for undergrad (and met there) and my sister and brother-in-law (also W&M grads) live in Williamsburg. It was the better choice for him (although UD wouldn't have been a bad choice, either, although it was his 3rd choice/safety) -- he fits in better, has become very involved with the student newspaper, and is getting better grades there than either his mother and father did (and I think his aunt and uncle as well).

My D is a HS junior, and UD is more of an option for her. Although the distance and half her high shool will go there issues are present for her as well, she would fit in better in the UD environment than would have my son (she is much more extroverted) and UD doesn't just have a program she wants it has one of the best. But, right now, she has an OOS public and an OOS private at the top of her list with UD on the list solely as the academic and financial safety. All that may change between now and acceptance time - my son wanted nothing to do with W&M at this same point but it evolved over that year as his top choice.

Anyway, an OOS public may very well be a good option financially if you are comparing it with privates and academically and for personal fit versus your in-state public options. But maybe not. You and your parents have to decide.

Good Luck!

kenf1234

Like noted above, it depends on your other options. It is sometimes the case that OOS tuition is almost as expensive as a private school, especially since some private schools are more generous with financial aid.

world changer

Just keep in mind that publics usually won't give good aid to out-of-state students (unless you're like...astronomically above their average, and even then, they still might not).

9854

I don't understand one thing. Even an OOS public will usually cost less than a good private. So what is the problem? Just because it has larger classes and less individual attention?

world changer

It depends on the school in question. Most out-of-state publics ARE just as expensive as privates. Some are cheaper (Tennessee comes to mind).

Then it's well-known that privates often give better aid. (State schools are funded by state tax payer money - the residents would get mad if scholarships and aid went to OOS students.)

Muffy333

In the Northeast, if you aren't getting need based aid (or if your aid package will be entirely loans and work study), just about every single out of state public school is less than a competitive private school. And even if it's $5,000-10,000 a year cheaper, that's a lot over four years!

crs1909

The two publics that I can think of off the top of my head that give really good aid to OOS students are UNC and UVA. Catch is, both schools are really hard to get into from OOS, and if you have the stats to get in as OOS student, than you'd probably be competitive for some really good privates (Emory, Rice, Vandy) that give out good aid packages.

K9Leader

Hmm, what is this based on? What's your source? Something solid to back it up or is it just anecdotal? I'm skeptical because UVa and UNC (Chapel Hill) have pretty strict state-imposed restrictions on their OOS populations so getting in from OOS is quite difficult. They don't really need to give much merit aid to attract high-end out-of-state applicants. They may target the top 1 or 2% who they are trying to win away from the Ivies and the other top-tier privates. Other than those few, I doubt many out-of-staters get much if any merit aid from UVa or UNC.

Globalist

K9Leader,

UVA gives great financial aid - especially for low-income students. It's called Access UVA. Even if you're out of state, a low-income student would basically attend UVA for free. If you're a middle-class student, your total loans for all 4 years is capped at the cost of attending UVA in-state for 1 year, which is equivalent to $16,000. Any amount of need above that is covered in grants. That goes for out-of-state students as well.

This year, UVA's Financial Aid office won a National Franklin Award for its excellent financial aid programs.

sevmom

Yes, Globalist, "especially for low-income students" the aid is great.UVa 's financial aid is for the most part need based. My son will come out of UVa next year with about 15,000 in loans , not grants,because he had the misfortune of having parents with an income above the current limit. Places like Harvard are responding more recently to folks like us who have a decent income but need help in paying full freight.