Do you live in one of these NY counties? If so, your costs at U of Louisville could get pretty low. And their room and board costs are on the low end.
- Bronx
- Kings
- Nassau
- New York
- Orange
- Putnam
- Queens
- Richmond
- Rockland
- Suffolk
- Westchester
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Not a city but Murray State is $15k plus living. So $30k-ish. Youâd get $5k off. So 25k ish.
Southern Miss in a bigger town would be mid 20s.
Not South but not NY - U Maine might have tuition advantages.
You might try a school like Ogelthorpe in Atlanta. If you get Flagship 50, tuition is $11k.
For a psych degree you do not want debt. Even if you start at a CC to save and prolong the 4 year dreamâŠ.
Good luck.
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Unfortunately, no. Iâm up in the Capital region.
I originally had north TX and Dallas on my list but then didnât apply because I didnât have a chance to go visit, but I will send out applications this weekend! Thank you!
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Okay, trying to think of some more options. I donât know if their scholarship deadlines have passed or not, but Iâd also look at:
- Texas Tech
- U. of Texas - El Paso
- U. of Texas - San Antonio
- Texas State
- Texas Womanâs (which is public and is about 88% women)
If youâre looking for a smaller school, then you might take a look at:
- Abilene Christian
- Austin College (@sbinazâs family has visited the school this year and the school is a top contender for her D)
- U. of Dallas
- St. Maryâs
Okay, moving out of Texas, thereâs Arkansas, and now Iâm feeling like a real dunce that I didnât think of this suggestion earlier: Hendrix! If accepted, you wouldnât pay more in tuition & fees than to New Yorkâs flagship (source). So youâd have about $10,400 in tuition (I picked Binghamton) plus about $14k for room & board, coming out at less than $25k/year for an excellent education. You can check out itâs Colleges That Change Lives profile, too: Hendrix College â Colleges That Change Lives.
Another small-college option that does the flagship match option is Oglethorpe in Atlanta. Itâs also part of a consortium whereby students can take classes at other area schools like Emory, Georgia Tech, Spelman, SCAD, etc. Agnes Scott is a womenâs college in that same consortium that you might want to look into.
Okay, going back to Arkansas, you would qualify for 80% off the out-of-state tuition fee at the U. of Arkansas, bringing your costs to about $27k for tuition, room & board here (source). Harding is another institution that you might want to consider: it would give you $8/year in merit aid, bringing costs to around $25k/year (source).
Moving south, Louisiana Tech would cost you about $18k/year, as youâd get $2500/year plus a waiver of out-of-state fees (source). U. of Louisiana - Monroe would offer you a $2k/year scholarship, $2500 housing scholarship, and an out-of-state fee waiver, bringing costs to about $14-15k. At UL-Lafayette, mentioned earlier, youâd get about $2600/year in merit aid and an out-of-state fee waiver, bringing costs to about $20k/year.
Moving east to Mississippi, Iâd look at Millsaps (another CTCL option Millsaps College â Colleges That Change Lives) and Mississippi College, if youâre looking for small colleges. Otherwise, take a look at U. of Southern Mississippi, U. of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and Mississippi State. At USM it looks like youâd get $3k/year bringing costs to about $20k/year (source). It doesnât look like OP would get merit $ from Ole Missâs chart. At Mississippi State OP would get about $14k/year, bringing costs to about $25k/year (source).
I wonât go through all the Alabama schools, but one you might want to pay particular attention to is U. of Montevallo, the stateâs public liberal arts school. You would receive $6k/year there plus an out-of-state waiver, bringing the costs to about $18k/year.
As @ColdWombat mentioned above, please be very mindful about how much debt you go into for your college degree. As you can by the options listed here, you donât have to take out huge sums of money to get your college degree.
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I understand the need to apply first and ask questions later because time is winding down for applying for scholarships, but if you let us know what youâre interested in having for your college experience (besides something thatâs not in New York), we can give more targeted suggestions so you donât wear yourself too thin. Also, application fees can add up, though I think some of the schools on here do have free applications.
Also, for any outside scholarships, just make sure theyâre fully funded and on the up-and-up. I was âawardedâ a $10k/year scholarship (it was 1 person from each state), and though they had good intentions for it, the funding fell through. Thankfully my family was able to cover the difference, but not all students were as fortunate.
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Thank you so much for this list!! I was just looking at the university of southern miss! It looks like it checks a lot of the boxes on my list and I cannot believe oos is only $1000 more each year than in state! Insane! My parents will pay room and board whenever I go, I gave the $15,000 number because thatâs the average but if itâs a couple thousand more they will pay it. So that puts USM at a real steal for me I think!
I was originally leaning towards Florida tech because of the ability to get done in 3 years thus saving an entire yearâs tuition. These other options youâve given me make things even more financially appealing!
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So for my college experience campus size really doesnât matter Iâve got large schools and small schools. I would like to be able to play on a club volleyball team, be either close to a beach or near a lake or river. Walking/hiking trails nearby. I donât mind a place that is rural/suburban but I donât want to be desolate with having to go 30 minutes to a store. Proximity to an airport is ideal since for many southern schools I would flyâŠSouth Carolina is about the limit for driving. On campus, different club optionsâŠIâm pretty open, I play acoustic guitar, play volleyball and softball, I definitely like being active and being outside. I donât particularly care if there is a football team, I mean I would probably go to games but donât need it. Iâm uninterested in sororities and donât care about Greek life, I also donât want to sound like a total nerd but Iâm way focused on academics and less on a big social party scene. My sister is a senior at coastal Carolina and that party scene just isnât for me.
I forgot to add, I want to be able to participate in research within my field and have internship opportunities.
Youâll be able to do research at just about any university if you ask around. Internships during the school year are harder, and if you want one, then youâre probably better off in a city.
Based on what youâve said, I would really take a good look at Hendrix, as I think it might be a really nice fit for you in terms of the feel/vibe of the student body. The Arkansas schools generally might also have a number of the things you want.
I donât think any of these applications are overly arduous, so Iâd browse their websites and look at the opportunities available to see where you think you can see yourself. But donât forget that going to a school that wonât require loans that will take many years to repay is a fabulous and wonderful advantage.
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Itâs quite a good school and would be within budget if you have a job and save everything you earn till August.
Hendrix is a great college, really solid academically (as good as, say, Furman which is among the most solid academically on your list, stronger by far than USM although thatâs an attractive location/campus), with innovative initiatives and support (especially for student research and internships), and like @AustenNut said you wouldnât pay more than for a SUNY flagship - hence solving the problem of not having to pay more than instate yet being in the South. You should really apply.
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Ogelthorpe is the other with a Flagship 50. Not as strong as Hendrix but great location in Atlanta with outside opprtunities, I work with grads and they are good - and an easier in than Hendrix.
Conway is ehhhhh. The only nice part of that state is NW Arkansas - where U of Arkansas is but doesnât appear affordable.
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Furman University is among your best options from an academic standpoint, but you cannot afford it.
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U of Louisiana Lafayette is an R1 research institution. All in cost for my son would have been under 10k a year with the merit he received (3.4 gpa 35 ACT).
Red brick campus in a nice area with great food and friendly people. D1 sports as well.
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It looks like all these schools are out of state. If the ultimate goal is to get a PhD, you really need to keep the debt low, because you have a lot more debt ahead of you for your masters and doctorate. Psychologists can make a good middle-class living, but theyâre not in the league of doctors or even lawyers. Have you considered in-state?
SUNY schools on average will cost just under $29,000, and I absolutely without a doubt do not want to stay anywhere in this state for a variety of reasons.
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Be careful with any plan which requires graduating early to be affordable.
You will be competing for grad school admissions with students who have had an extra academic year, an extra summer, and many more opportunities to work with faculty on cool and interesting research projects.
Grad school admissions are not ârack and stackâ, i.e. the highest GPA and test scores get the job done. Committees will want to see WHAT youâve done⊠which faculty wrote your recommendations, what youâve been exposed to, which work situations youâve been involved in. Donât shortchange your education by 25% if grad school is in the plan⊠thatâs giving you 25% fewer opportunities to prove your chops to an admissions committee.
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The most you can take out in federal student loans is $27,000. Which means either you or your parents are on the hook for the rest. Taking out $100,000 in co-signed student loans for a undergraduate degree is financial suicide. If you have to do that in order to afford it, you canât afford it. Thatâs just the reality of affording college.
I have a 17 year old daughter applying for college. If she gave me that school acceptance list, it would be a no for all of them. 
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Thank you all for your thoughts! I am going to send out a few more applications and see what happens. I do have about $20,000 in bonds that I can use as well that I forgot to mention. I know it isnât much but I could do $5000 a year from that.
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NY has the TAP program.
Yes, you donât want to be in NY - but life is long - and when you have debt, itâs not just long (meaning you can get south later) - but then it becomes difficult.
I know you want out - but you also have to realize the tradeoffs - and being strangled financially is never a good thing.
NY is a big state - Plattsburgh or Buffalo arenât Albany.
I get it - just saying, if you can stay patient - if you qualify for TAP - that might make your transition to the South - easier.
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