Since you are these boards asking for advice, here is the best solution. You should attend UNC Charlotte for the first two years and then try to transfer to UNC-CH or NCST…Both Penn State and Michigan State are great schools. But neither one is worth the extra $100K in debt.
Lots of kids including my kids fall in love with the idea of going OOS. I am actually not opposed to that idea. There are a lot of benefits to going OOS. But at what cost? Unless you have some meaningful scholarships where the premium is 20 to 30 percent more than your in-state option, then it is really not worth it. The only reason, I am saying that it might be worth a small premium is due to either getting admitted into a highly ranked program or a unique program not available at a more affordable school. Obviously, if money is never an issue, paying the extra money will never be an issue. Plenty of people with a lot of money do not even blink at the idea of spending $50K plus to send their kids to any school.
Did you get into Psu UP or PSU Altoona/Harrisburg/Erie?
Because the general achievement it takes to take into UNCC is more in line with Altoona than UP but depending on various criteria UP could indeed be better than UNCC… or way worse for you.
What major did you get into at both schools?
Did you get Honors college at either?
Are you waiting on answers from UNCW, ECU, App State…?
Technically, Penn State is a “state-affiliated” school, as opposed to a state school such as Indiana University of PA, or Shippensburg State, etc.
Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln University all fall into the “state-affiliated” school category.
Having said that, for all intents and purposes, PSU is a public university that relies on an ever decreasing funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
You can’t borrow $26k/year. The federal student loan limit is ~$5500/year for a total of ~$27k over 4 years. Taking $104k of loans (+ interest) to go OOS isn’t wise. UNCC is in your parents’ budget. Go there.
My daughter is in the same situation but her cheapest option is UConn in state which is about $31k/yr. May 1 is still a couple months away. I’d say list the pros and cons of each school you got into. Make sure you visit all the schools. Compare the major you are interested in…
A few months back my daughter was the type who’d agree to any OOS school just so she could get out of CT. Now that it’s getting closer to decision time and becoming more real and she sees how expensive the OOS schools are she’s leaning towards staying in state. She has 100% decided yet and we may need to visit again but you need to go where you’ll be happy. And lots of kids give it a shot OOS and then transfer back home either because of finances or just being too homesick. You just don’t want any regrets.
UNCC for CS is likely your best option then. UNCC has been trying to improve its CS departments.
Email your UNCC Admissions rep and ask about the honors college.
I don’t think you can offset the cost differential.