<p>I’m starting my senior year of high school, trying to compile a list of schools to apply to within the next few weeks. I want to go out of state for college, but I don’t want to end up in a ton of debt, and I couldn’t possibly rationalize it if the school isn’t at least comparable academically to the University of Nebraska Lincoln. I don’t want to go to school without any peers. Are there any colleges which don’t have ACT and SAT scores much lower than UNL’s, and either cost less than $30,000 or have large scholarships I could receive? Also, I’d prefer it if the school had a paleontology graduate program I could get involved in; here’s a list of schools that do: <a href=“http://vertpaleo.org/Education---Resources/Careers---Funding/Graduate-Programs-in-Vertebrate-Paleontology.aspx”>http://vertpaleo.org/Education---Resources/Careers---Funding/Graduate-Programs-in-Vertebrate-Paleontology.aspx</a></p>
<p>ACT: 31
SAT: Don’t remember, comparable to my ACT.
GPA: 3.0
I’ll probably pass the National Merit PSAT cutoff, don’t know yet.</p>
<p>Please don’t tell me to just go to UNL. I’m considering it. That’s not the purpose of this thread.</p>
<p>The main deal is that OOS colleges charge a premium tuition for non-taxpayer families. Not too many colleges are going turn around and hand oos students a merit scholarship to erase that. Also your gpa isn’t as attractive for merit as it could be.What’s up with that? Check U of Kansas, and Montana for price they all have good/great paleo programs. Then Univ of Utah. LSU is on that automatic merit list.</p>
<p>There may be some Canadian Universities that will work costwise.</p>
<p>KU may be just over your price point, don’t know if they will give you anything. Are you going to study geology? You might get a job of summer job to help pay. Here is an interesting blurb from KU</p>
<p>Undergraduate students often find employment in the Department of Geology, the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology of KU’s Natural History Museum, and the Paleontological Institute. Students interested in such employment should consult with the paleontologist in the Department of Geology who is serving as their academic advisor.
<a href=“http://www.paleo.ku.edu/geo/undergrad.html”>http://www.paleo.ku.edu/geo/undergrad.html</a></p>
<p>Check out the U of Minnesota. Very, very reasonable OOS tuition. Great ACT, I’m just worried about your GPA.</p>
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<p>^^yes I was going to mention that one as I know a paleontologist who got his start there and they do give merit, but if you would actually get any may be doubtful.</p>
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<p>We went through this 2 years ago with our son…similar ACT score but higher gpa. He was also interested in archaeology/paleontology at the time. Insisted he wanted to go OOS. Budget was $30,000 or less. We looked at…</p>
<p>the south for guaranteed merit money…Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas…although your GPA may prevent you from qualifying unless they use a weighted gpa. We visited and all of the southern schools came off the list.</p>
<p>U MN…will be right around $30,000 but you might not get in with your gpa. App is easy so is worth a try. Not on your paleontology grad school list. Visited and liked it.</p>
<p>Arizona State U…really good archaeology program but not on your paleontology grad school list. Not sure if you would get ant merit with your gpa because cost will be greater than $30,000 without merit. They might give an automatic NMF award though.</p>
<p>Your best bet might be Montana State University. Cost is about $29,000 for tuition/fees/room/board and you would get substantial merit with your score. We visited and it was OK. If you are not interested in skiing and the skiing ‘party culture’, then it will probably not be a good fit. </p>
<p>Our son ultimately stayed instate. He ended up liking it the best of any school we visited and the price couldn’t be beat.</p>
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<p>First, there’s no need to concentrate on graduate school yet. Get your undergraduate career going first. Secondly, what’s wrong with UNL? I’ve met a few UNL alumni over the years and they were uniformly well-educated and sharp people, including one whom was a writer for a major daily newspaper in the Northeast.</p>
<p>If you’re hell-bent on leaving Nebraska, then addition to the schools already recommended to you, think about South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Also, SUNY Plattsburgh has a Archaeology minor. Your GPA is a bit low for a big financial aid award from SUNY, but a grant of $5000 significantly reduces the COA at SUNY for out-of-state residents. Plattsburgh is a nice little town near the border with Canada.</p>
<p>If you are in the Top 40% of your class, Ohio State would be within your budget, as you’d be eligible for the National Buckeye Scholarship that would take tuition and housing down to about $26K per year. More money is available with your ACT score, but you need at least a Top 20% class rank.</p>
<p>BYU is cheap for everyone, but it does have that Mormon thing going on that may not be for everyone.</p>
<p>Many of the Western states have particularly affordable OOS tuition. Wyoming is notoriously cheap for OOS. Also take a look at New Mexico State, Utah, Oklahoma State, South Dakota M&T, and any of the others on your list. I’d also base your decision on how the individual programs in this specialized area are ranked - not the more general whole school rankings. This area is so specialized there may be some hidden gems in schools otherwise not highly regarded, especially those with easy access to field sites.</p>
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<p>What do you mean by “your peers”? If you put your stats in the mid 50% range of schools, you’ll have quite a few schools that will have a lot of students who were your peers at least in terms of application stats. It’s not as though UNL is way up there in stats, so that’s not going to limit you.</p>
<p>The money is a whole other story. You’ll have a tough time beating UNL COA as an OOS kid. It can be done, but I can tell you that most of my kids options cost more than their state school choices. Throw in even a small merit award, and the cost was right down there.</p>
<p>You want the merit money that schools typically give to their top 5% or fewer when you aren’t up there. Be aware that if you are, then the school is not necessarily one that is peer level. Make sure you don’t make your restrictions such so that they leave you with nothing. Like Groucho Marx said, "I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER’’/</p>
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<p>^ One of my favorite quotes.</p>
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<p>For a combination of strong undergraduate paleontology opportunities and low OOS cost, consider the University of Wyoming, Montana State University, and the University of Utah. IMO the geology departments at those schools are considerably stronger than most of the other programs at the listed universities. Keep in mind that if you do switch majors, as many students do, those universities may not be nearly as rigorous as UNL. </p>
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<p>There are private UGs that are known for great Merit awards for top caliber students. But I am not sure about 31/3.0 and PSAT may not be as important. However, there are privates that would give close to full tuition for 33 / 4.0uw. The same goes for some publics that consider offerring in-state tuition instead of OOS for top students. Check qualifications at Case Western and Mich. State.</p>
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<p>Truman State doesn’t have the Graduate Program OP is interested in.</p>
<p>That’s true. For others who are interested in an affordable out-of-state public institution, Truman State is a good choice. It is generally considered a good public LAC with Business and Health programs.</p>
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<p>Truman State also lacks a geology program.</p>
<p>Oklahoma State and Texas Tech are on the OP’s list of schools with graduate paleontology programs. Both have OOS costs below $30K/year, according the Kiplinger’s site. </p>
<p><a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>http://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-public-colleges/index.php</a></p>
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<p>I think his title is misleading to the body of the post, hence suggestions like Truman State. I also had hard time with trying to answer the title question and the body question. I do think he can take suggestions and do his own cross referencing. Sure he has his own state school, but no reason not to look around.</p>
<p>And paleontology isn’t an undergraduate major, hence I understand his desire for a college with a grad program in it to ensure there are numerous activities and research to get involved with as well as perhaps grad classes to take when permitted. Not that some undergraduate geology depts don’t get involved esp if they have easy access to sites. </p>
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<p>You could look at schools near, say, Dinosaur National Monument, and then plan your weekends around expeditions. Colorado is full of digs, and schools like UNC, Western Colorado State Uni, and CSU might approach your budget. Such schools might not have grad paleo but they will have their share of paleontologists, amateur and professional alike. I second the suggestions about schools in wyoming, utah, and montana as well.</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t worry about having a grad program since it is recommended that students do not go to the same grad school as undergrad. you need to have different profs.</p>
<p>Why is your GPA only a 3.0? That will prevent many merit awards…and may also prevent admission. Is that your weighted GPA? If not, what is that?</p>
<p>Unless you really bloom in college, that GPA doesn’t bode well for you in terms of a future in grad school. Grad school admissions are highly competitive…and high GPA’s are often needed. </p>
