Based on your stats, and what I know of these schools’ pricings, many of these universities NOT in NJ (or at least some) could well be within budget for you…
Best academics for the cost (pick 10-12)
Carroll MT
dePauw
Gonzaga WA
Guilford NC
Hiram OH
John Carroll OH
Juniata PA
Kettering MI
Knox IL
Lawrence WI
Longwood VA
Loyola New Orleans
Luther IA
New College FL
Ogglethorpe GA
Ohio Wesleyan OH
Randolph VA
St Louis U MO
St Bonaventure
St Mary’s Maryland
Truman State
UAlberta
UDayton
UMissouri
U Toledo
Valparaiso
Better chances at FA (pick 3-5)
Augustana SD
Barry FL
Bradley IL
Capital OH
East Strousdburg PA
Elmhurst IL
Gannon PA
Keystone PA
LaSalle PA
Lesley MA
Linfield OR
Lycoming PA
Marietta OH
Maryville TN
Millersville PA
Niagara NY
SIU Edwardsville
SUNY Fredonia
Stetson FL
UNorthern Iowa
Tompkins Cortland (TC3 <- residential CC with good transfer agreements with many schools)
(? not sure budget-wise) (pick 3-5, I starred my favorites for you if finances work out)
DePaul IL *
Farmingdale State NY
Ferris State MI
Framingham State MA
Frostburg State
Marshall WV
Michigan Tech *
RIT *
Rollins *
Southern Oregon U
USC Aiken *
U Southern Maine
Western Kentucky U *
Most are quite easy to do and don’t tell us you’re overwhelmed with homework right now.
It’s win-win:
Between CommonApp and no-essay/no-rec apps, you should end up with quite a few acceptances, and hopefully some will be good for you. If you have several, you can try to negotiate.
Good list to check, but I am not sure St. Mary’s of Maryland would be within his price range. It is a state university, OOS cost is around $40K with limited OOS scholarships.
Yes, I’m a bit uncertain about St Mary’s, but it’s a high quality school so I wanted to keep it on the list. I should have put it in the 3rd tier (uncertain FA) but it escaped my notice when I made the tiers and it’s now too late to correct. :s
That was the only one that jumped out at me… 
But I don’t know too much about a lot of those schools. I think the OP’s best plan at this stage is still in-state options.
Highly recommend Stetson or UNorthern Iowa if they end up being affordable through scholarships or aid. Great schools and I have friends there who are happy and successful.
I don’t know if the OP is still checking this? I get your desire to figure out how to go to Penn State! I wish money were not an issue.
While investigating other cheaper college options, I really want you to go meet with the Navy, Army & Air Force ROTC Units at Penn State ASAP. Make an appointment with an officer at each unit. Or, at a minimum, have a long telephone conversation with each. Go online & read about these ROTC scholarship options before calling, so you are ready with lots of questions. See if you could join one if their freshman ROTC summer orientations (it might be in August? Be prepared for lots off exercise & probably some early mornings & yelling.). Ask is you could become a “college program” student & ask if they would help you get started on applying for a 2017 scholarship which could possibly go into effect next semester or next fall. It is time NOW to be getting started on the next round of ROTC scholarships. You could ask abfrom Penn State for a year & attend a local college until you get a scholarship.
Almost all of my family members and I did Navy ROTC in college. Full tuition, books & some spending money at top private & one OOS public colleges. Some of us stayed for full 30-year careers & others stopped after the minimum requirement. But, we all agree that it was an amazing way to pay for college & then get great job experience as officers, which helped all of us get into top grad schools & good jobs later. It can be such a tremendous opportunity. I have a son/recent ROTC graduate on a ship in Hawaii now who is actually practicing the engineering he learned in college, managing 30 people & the ship’s electrical & gas systems. And making a surprisingly good salary in paradise.
Don’t give up on Penn State yet, but do research all options so that you won’t go into too much debt. The smallish ROTC units can also be a source of good friends in university.
I wish I could go with you to Penn State! I love the ROTC program & have visited many units for myself & more recently with my boys. ROTC offere a fabulous way to give service to our wonderful nation while helping ourselves gain educations & job experience.
Sorry about the errors above. Tried to make lots of corrections but they didn’t take. Embarrassing.
You should look into the Navy NUPOC (Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate) Program. They will pay you a salary of between $4-5k per month to complete your degree along with a $15k bonus for getting accepted. The earliest you can apply in your Sophomore year because they need to see grades and you must complete two semesters of calculus and two semesters of physics. After you graduate you would go to Officer Candidate School and become either a Submarine Officer, Surface Warfare Officer, Engineer or Instructor.
Be aware there is a 5-year contract associated with this, though. They pay quite well while in school and by the end of your contract you’ll be making 100k+ with a lot of options available to you.
Did the OP of this thread ever tell us what path he/she chose?
@Portercat the OP hasn’t been active on this site since May 2016.
Maybe he did not like what we had to say.
I thought it was helpful. Obviously he had some flawed logic, but he also brought to light some of the hype over PSU and difficulty in finding good, affordable options in PA.