<p>i guess i will chime in as a pennsylvania resident from a fairly ‘depressed’ community. as some have already said, dont let sticker prices fool you. </p>
<p>one of my best friends just graduated from juniata (with a degree in accounting, no less!) and spent significantly less to go there than he would have to attend penn state. his parents are in a better financial situation than you are.</p>
<p>i have another friend at syracuse who upon getting his financial aid package from penn state was unsure he was going to be able to attend college at all. he got the same loans from both schools, but syracuse is costing him half as much of pocket because of need-based grants. his family is probably in a similar financial situation as yours.</p>
<p>and neither were from families as large as yours. large families are often at an advantage in calculating financial aid awards.</p>
<p>i really do want to throw juniata out there as a school to consider because it is an absolute hidden gem. another great school, since you mentioned your son is religiously active, is grove city. i dont know much about the school, but washington and jefferson might be a good fit, as well.</p>
<p>another great option for your son would be to perhaps commute to the local penn state branch campus (beaver, new kensington, mckeesport, there are others) for his first two years and finish his studies at university park. the advantage over the community college route is that all credits here automatically transfer and getting into university park is virtually assured. he could earn a highly respected degree, run his first two years of college, save money by commuting for two years, and get two years to experience more independance without being too far away. i must admit cant imagine commuting while doing a varsity sport, though.</p>
<p>the university of pittsburgh has a similar program with campuses in greensburg, johnstown and titusville.</p>
<p>but again, i cant say enough how important it is to not automatically discount the private school route. my family is upper-middle class and even i attended a private school (bucknell) at a cost similar to that of penn state. in fact, i went to school for several thousand dollars less than my brother when i was a freshman there and he was a senior at penn state. given the number of years youre going to spend with two kids in college at the same time, the private school route becomes even more attractive simply because public school financial aid funds are extremely limited.</p>