Cost of Attendance.

LucieTheLakie
Mon, 10 Nov 2014 13:56:10 +0000

I’m not sure why my motives are being raked through the coals here, but if posting the university’s OWN numbers and recommending OOS students run the net price calculators BEFORE they apply makes me some kind of evil party pooper, so be it.

And not that it’s particularly relevant to this discussion, but since @pilot2012 thinks he caught me in some intentional deception, let me just make it clear that Penn State and my son’s final choice were both his safeties, in that we knew he could apply early, be accepted, and we could afford them (even if it hurt a lot!) before he started focusing on more selective, Common Application schools, where we’d have to sweat whether he’d be admitted and whether we’d get enough aid to be able to afford them. When he started the process, we were hoping to find schools in the $25,000 a year range without loans. When it was all said and done, we had choices ranging from $15,000 to $46,000 per year, including Penn State at $34,000 a year–our upper limit once we factored in our son taking the full Stafford loan offered each year. We went to visit the three schools that were viable, including Penn State, which was very impressive and the most expensive of the three. In the end, he chose another school because it had more of what he wanted academically, he just plain liked it better, and, yes, it was half the price. Price was a factor, but not the only or even the most important one. For us. But for those in lower income brackets (e.g., someone with an EFC of 0 like the OP), cost may HAVE to be the most important factor.

In the end, you can hope the net price calculators at all these schools are being overly conservative, that their estimates are high, and that after you pay your deposit and enroll some unexpected scholarship money will show up in your bill. For some, this strategy might work, but it is a dangerous one for someone who needs significant financial aid or who is considering a major that won’t lead directly to a lucrative job. And $50 or $60 is a lot of money to someone whose parents can’t afford to contribute anything towards their education.

If somebody has some hard numbers that are more reliable than Penn State’s, for estimating purposes, please share. Tell us if you’re in state, out of state, whether or not you’re talking about a Schreyer student (who gets an extra $5,000 a year), etc. And be sure to include whether or not you’re financing it with loans–because you have to factor in interest charges in that case.

And if anyone has any specific questions about our experience, feel free to PM me.