We’ve visited a bunch of colleges and DD decided she loved Hood College in MD. It is a quaint campus in a nice town that is walkable and has the small class sizes she is looking for. She qualified for the Hoonors program and the top merit scholarship but that still leaves us paying around $30,000 out of pocket. With a younger daughter who will be going to college in two years, we were hoping for something lower. FAFSA confirmed that we are a donut hole family - they think we can pay a lot, but paying that much for college for 2 kids means taking out loans (probably both student and parent) and we really don’t want to do that. DD applied Early Action to a bunch of schools and got their top merit offers (not counting the full ride scholarships). She is currently interested in studying either Public Health or Criminology (she really isn’t sure but she thinks both of those sound interesting. But, she is hoping to secure a job after 4 years and not do a Masters, at least not right away). She applied to and has been accepted at the following and with the merit they are all around the same price at this point (have not gotten full financial aid packages yet as we just did the Fafsa at the beginning of December.)
Hood College
Wilkes University - liked the campus and the professors we spoke to but did not like the surrounding town
McDaniel College
Randolph Macon College - has not visited yet
Susquehanna University
Arcadia University - has not visited and I’m concerned about the financial viability
Muhlenberg - just applied - have not heard back yet
Dickinson - liked the campus bit does not have one of the majors she is interested in so she didn’t apply
Messiah - didn’t like/didn’t apply
Others she may consider are Scranton University, Ursinus, and Allegheny. Any others that may be worth looking at that might get us closer to the $20,000 per year range?
I can’t really comment without knowing your finances and your child’s stats but also consider Elizabethtown. Great college, friendly students, lots of merit.
You have a good list so far for this geography. If you were to extend it to Ohio or upstate NY, you might find a few more. Not necessarily better, but more.
Have you run the net price calculator on each of them?
$30K is a pretty good deal for a private college. It’s equivalent to what my GS is paying instate for state college. How does it compare with the instate cost where you live?
Depending on the school, the in-state’s are a bit cheaper. But, I feel like the value of the PA state schools is not what it was when I went to school (I went to a private school but many of my friends did state school). Since then prices have gone up and consolidating several of the schools and cutting staff and programs has me concerned. Most of the PASHE schools are not doing well financially so more cuts may be on the horizon.
She did consider E-town and Gettysburg, but those are a bit too close to home. She ideally would like something about 2 hours away. Close enough to come home if needed, but not a temptation to come home if she is bored at school or struggling to adapt. Places like Lehigh, Lafayette, and Bucknell would probably all be reaches and while she is a strong student, she also tends to stress herself out if she gets overwhelmed, so I’m OK with her choosing a more middle of the road school rather than a highly competitive one as long as it is in good financial condition and she gets a solid education.
I agree which is why the private college at the same price as state college - or probably less than PA in state - seems like a good deal. People are paying more than $30K at a lot of private high schools.
How on earth is anyone affording college these days then, especially for more than 1 kid??? She is applying for scholarships and saving money from her part-time job, but will still need a large chunk of loans to cover $30,000 per year. We do have some savings in a college fund for her, and I thought we were doing well to save in advance, but clearly not enough. My husband flipped when he checked what current loan rates are. My freshman year of college was only $12,000 a year including room and board at a private school, those were the good old days!
Your D can take out a max of $27K total in undergrad loans (the federal direct student loans), $5.5K in the first year. Loans beyond that are on the parents, either directly or as co-signers. Here’s info on the federal direct student loans: Federal Student Aid
Will she qualify for any need based aid at all? What is her unweighted GPA, class rank, and test score?
With a desired budget of $20K, you are seeking nearly a full tuition award in one of the more expensive geographies. Room and board alone ranges from $10K-$15K, the national average is around $13K per year. To reduce costs she could consider attending community college the first two years, or commute to a four year college if one is close enough to do that.
You might have to expand the geography (south or fly over states…for example, U South Dakota, Truman State, U North Alabama could get to $20K depending on her stats), or other criteria. Other potential options near/in mid-atlantic include U Toledo, Lycoming, a Pitt branch campus, or Goucher.
Not eligible for Pell Grants. Not sure how private colleges will look at her Fafsa info but our SAI was pretty high. Haven’t done the PHEA forms yet, so not sure how that may impact applying to PA schools. SATs 1230, unweighted GPA around 3.9, weighted 4.0. She has all mostly honors and a few AP courses, she is ranked 28th out of 250 some students. She has considered starting at HACC (community college), as she has friends planning on taking that route. She also considered doing a branch Penn State campus the first two years, but that also is at the same cost as the privates. As a parent, I really want her to have that 4 yr. college experience away from home, I feel like the experience and adulting skills had a big impact on both my husband and I. But, I also don’t want to saddle her or ourselves with more debt. Will look into Goucher. She is not interested in Lycoming as we drive through that area frequently to visit family.
It might be worth researching the kinds of jobs that grads with a BA in criminology end up with before she locks herself in to a particular school because they offer that degree specifically.
In my area- that major is for police officers, probation officers, other front line staff in the prison system. All worthy careers. But if she’s interested in other roles she’s going to need a Master’s degree.
It sounds like Allegheny could be a great fit. Ditto McDaniel. Both are on your list. I would look at some of the other CTCL schools, even if you need to go a little further away. Many offer merit for someone with your D’s stats and will be very supportive.
Scranton came in over $35,000 for my higher stats daughter, privates in the northeast at that level came in close to the same. My kids must’ve applied to 30+ different schools, we have 5, donut hole, no FA. The absolute cheapest was Saint joes in Philly for one of them (3.95 uw, 33 act, 10th in class), almost down to $20,000 all in per year. None of my kids had tuition/room/board under $30,000 except our commuter. Dorm and meal plan are about $15,000 here. They have loans, but also have majors with higher salary potential.
My daughter is a criminology major. Many criminal justice programs are definitely vocational - policing, corrections, etc. But her program at TCNJ is rooted more in the social
sciences.
The recent grads we met at an open house and accepted students day worked as analysts for state and federal agencies. They also send a good number of students to graduate and law school. My daughter is interested in forensic social work (for now ). I’m sure some grads follow the law enforcement path of being police officers.
Has she considered York College of Pennsylvania? Maybe too close to home, but with merit COA is likely to be less than $30,000.
How about West Chester? I know it’s probably larger than she’d like, but it appears to be one of the better and more stable of the PASSHE schools and COA should be less than $25,000.
I don’t know when you went to college, but in constant, inflation-adjusted dollars, $12k in 1990 is approximately $29k today, and the overall CPI has not risen as much as college costs.
Some other schools your family may want to consider include:
Moravian (PA ): About 1900 undergrads which also has cross-registration “with Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, and Muhlenberg College” source.
Baldwin Wallace (OH): About 2700 undergrads in northeastern OH
Gannon (PA ): About 3100 undergrads in Erie
Mercyhurst (PA ): About 2400 undergrads in Erie
Susquehanna (PA ): About 2200 undergrads
Ohio Northern: About 2600 undergrads, but getting further away
Roanoke (VA): About 1800 undergrads, but might be getting a bit far depending on your location in PA
St. Bonaventure (NY): About 1900 undergrads
U. of Maryland - Eastern Shore: HBCU of about 1900 undergrads
She’s already considering Ursinus & Allegheny, and I would second those for her.
Even though the PASSHE schools are not of greatest interest, if a 4-year residential experience is desired that’s going to hit closer to the $20k point, I would definitely at least apply to a couple. Possibilities include:
Slippery Rock: About 6800 undergrads with a sticker price of about $21k/year for tuition, room & board for PA residents
Indiana U. of PA: About 7k undergrads with a sticker price of about $25k/year for tuition, room & board for PA residents
). I’m sure some grads follow the law enforcement path of being police officers.