So here’s the position I’m in. I live in Ohio. I really want to go to Indiana for Business but they didn’t give me enough money, since it’s OOS. I got into University of Cincinnati’s Circle of Excellence program, which is their lowest tier business honors program. My parents already called IU for more money but they couldn’t give me more. I’m going to write a letter to the Financial Aid Ofiice. I was wondering, in the letter, should I say anything about how I’m considering another school because of how cheap they are? Or should I only talk about IU? The problem is that I can definitely afford IU, I’m just trying to get the best ROI after college. Does anyone know if where you go really makes a difference for jobs after college? UC’s honors program is known for almost a guaranteed job after college, so I’m highly considering it but I fell in love with IU when I visited it. Thank you
“My parents already called IU for more money but they couldn’t give me more. I’m going to write a letter to the Financial Aid Ofiice.”
Why do you think a letter will change that? The school already made their decision, and declined your appeal.
An in-state school being cheaper is not relevant to an out-of-state school. Of course your in-state, state univerisities will be cheaper. That’s their purpose 
"The problem is that I can definitely afford IU, I’m just trying to get the best ROI after college. "
And there’s the main reason IU won’t give you more. Financial aid is 1) very limited and 2) to help people who CAN’T afford to go. Not to maximize your return…
You are an OOS student for Indiana. Presumably when you applied, you knew the costs would,be WAYYYY more than instate Ohio schools. You asked IU for more money…and they said NO already. I’m not sure a second request will matter to them…at all.
The instate COA for Cincinnati is just over $28,000 a year this year.
The OOS COA of attendance for Indiana is over $45,000.
Were you a direct admit to Kelley at IU? Are your parents willing to pay the extra cost for you to attend there…for all four years?
LOL. It might work. There was an old movie, called Blazing Saddles, where the sheriff puts a gun to his own head and threatens to shoot if everybody didn’t drop their weapons. Someone in the crowd yelled - I think he’s crazy enough to do it. The crowd drops their guns.
Seriously though, why would they give you more money? You don’t even need more money, you just want more money. Financial Aid is based on need. Many students pay the OOS tuition to attend Kelly. What makes you so special that they would lower the price just for you. There is a waiting list of students who can afford to pay but didn’t get in.
I don’t think you have a strong negotiating position, but since it worked in the movie, I don’t see what you have to lose. You can try to threaten not to attend. Perhaps mention your intention to donate $40 million dollars on your 30th birthday to the school that gave you the education that started you on your way to being a bazillionare.
Yes, I’m direct admit to Kelley and they agreed to pay for most of it. However, attending IU would definitely hurt our financial situation. I should restate what I said in my original post. Attending IU would definitely make a dent in the money my parents have. I wouldn’t be asking for more money if we could 100% afford it. Sorry I sounded greedy in my original post.
I’m just wondering if going to IU will be a better investment in the long run.
@dantheman772 Why are you settling on the University of Cincinnati when you have better ranked in-state undergraduate programs at the Ohio State’s Fisher College of business and Miami of Ohio’s Farmer business school? Did you apply to those? Those two schools would offer you a much better middle ground choice. It seems like you are looking at two extremes now. Kelley is an easy decision when compared to Cincinnati but a more difficult choice when compared to Fisher and Farmer.
It CAN be. It has exceptional national recruiting. However, whether it WILL be a better investment is more a function of how well you do and how aggressively you take advantage of the opportunities that differentiate Kelly from Cincinnati.
If you just want “a job”, take the cheaper option.
Except the OP has the cost differential now to deal to deal with well.
Kelley is great. Do the parents need to borrow that extra money to send you there? Or can they pay it out of savings and current earnings? This would,factor into my decision. As a parent…we did not cosign or take out loans for our kids to attend college. That was our family decision.
The OP needs to know whether she will be on the hook for $100,000 in loans if she attends Kelley. (Cosigned by parents)
@trackmbe3 I got waitlisted at OSU even though I definitely should’ve gotten in with my stats. We are really mad at them. As for Miami, I feel like Miami is turning into a party school and losing its reputation as a good business school. I also feel like UC’s honors program is better than Miami’s base level program.
@ClassicRockerDad I think I will definitely try a lot harder at IU than any other college because of the cost and I love the school so much more than others I applied to. I’m not looking for just a job out of college as that is pretty easy to find for a finance degree. It’s the amount that I’ll make that matters. Do you think going to Kelley would get me a significantly higher paying job than going through UC’s honors program, assuming I do well in college? I’m in the top 20% of my class in a private high school right now with some dual-enrollment accounting credits already out of the way, so i don’t think I will have a problem with excelling in college.
Another thing about UC that I’m worried about is that they only offer a BBA, not actual differentiated business degrees. At IU, I’m planning on double majoring in Finance and Management. Would having just a BBA hurt my job offers?
Your first question needs to be how you will resolve the $20,000 r more cost differential per year for these schools. Will your parents pay that cost difference? If yes…then weigh the pros and cons of the schools. If no, then you don’t really have one of them as an option.
@thumper1 Yes, they can pay it. They just want to see if IU will be a better investment for a job after college. If I was my parents, I’d send my child to IU, but they don’t see it that way. My mom looks at the upfront costs, so she thinks that UC would be a better decision. My dad got his MBA from IU, so he knows how good they are and my salary potential would be higher right out of college. This is a hard question to answer cause I don’t really know how good the UC honors program actually is. UC advertises an almost 100% chance of getting a job after college. But just like someone else said, it doesn’t say how much they’re making. I’ll try to find someone that graduated from CoE and see if they’re doing well.
Did you even apply to Miami? Farmer is an amazing school and it is doing great in the rankings. The honors program at MIami is outstanding. My dd really struggled with walking away from Miami for another offer and only did so because of the geographic location. You are comparing one school’s honors program to Miami’s base level program; this doesn’t make sense. Were you not accepted? If UC has such a superior program, why are you now worried about the BBA instead of the full business degree?
There is a lot missing in your posts. You are mad at OSU? Do you have superior stats or not? I am not sure if this is a joke or not. You don’t need the money to attend, it would just be easier. Do you think all of the other admits are joyfully excited about full pay? Your parents have asked. The school said no. Of course you can ask again, but be prepared for them to say no again. This is a business. If you don’t want what they are selling at the price they have offered to you, you can walk away. There are so many kids that don’t have the money to go where they have been accepted and it is not a matter of costing more than they wanted, they simply can’t go without more aid. Most of these kids are also turned down. There are also plenty of families making IU work by spending savings, borrowing, going without, and paying the cost that they were required. Everyone wishes they could pay less. This is just not a business model that is sustainable.
Is IU worth it? Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends. What other options do you have? How are you financing the costs? Do you have what it takes to be the best at school and differentiate yourself enough to land those lucrative offers? Amazing students go to all ranges of schools and graduate with promising futures.
@bamamom2021 Yes, I applied at Miami but like I said before, I feel like they are turning into a party school. Every party person in my high school is going there and I see myself better at IU. I don’t think I got into the honors program though, I’ll have to recheck. OSU honestly screwed me because they read my application late even though I applied earlier than everyone else. My stats are better than many of my friends that got in, but since they read my application a little later than them, they won’t let me in and there’s nothing they will do about it. I feel it is fair to compare UC’s honors to Miami’s base level because that is where I stand at each school. I agree with you about asking IU for more money, it’s my parents that want that cause they don’t see it as an investment, compared to UC or Miami.
Your father got his MBA at IU. Where did he get his bachelors?