People think that public universities are funded by taxpayers in that state, but that’s becoming less and less true, due to the trend of spending less and less on infrastructure and education. For example, our large state university where I live gets only about 10% of its operating budget from the state. And we wonder why tuition rates are rising at such a rate.
<<you may="" choose="" an="" oos="" state="" school="" when="" your="" child="" is="" a="" top="" student="" but="" you="" don’t="" qualify="" for="" any="" need-based="" aid="" and="" can’t="" afford="" to="" spend="" upwards="" of="" $50,000="" per="" year="" elite="" private="" school.="" gets="" offered="" large="" merit="" ($15,000="" based="" on="" national="" buckeye="" plus="" additional="" smaller="" scholarship)="" attend="" highly="" ranked="" program="" (like="" the="" fisher="" college="" business)="" at="" flagship–like="" ohio="" university,="" which="" has="" much="" lower="" sticker-price="" tuition="" than="" schools="" more="" offer="" in-state="" (suny)="" options="">>
EXACTLY!!! Why does a top student qualify for merit money OOS, but not IS??? Still have not figured that out. In our case it was much cheaper to go to a school in Ohio that here in Colorado.
State systems also differ greatly in quality. I live in one with low quality and can understand why top students aren’t thrilled with the state’s offerings.
@digmedia << EXACTLY!!! Why does a top student qualify for merit money OOS, but not IS??? Still have not figured that out. In our case it was much cheaper to go to a school in Ohio that here in Colorado.<<<
Are you wondering why Colorado schools give less merit to instate than Ohio schools do to OOS?
I applied to UMN from out of state. I found that the tuition was significantly lower than the other private schools I applied to, yet their psychology program (what I applied for) is top-ranked. The school was ranked higher than all but two of the Ivy schools, yet had a much more laid-back feel and easier workload.
While this isn’t the case for many OOS schools, I know a lot of people go to Michigan and OSU for similar reasons. It’s usually for a cheaper but more prestigious education. It’s also better for socially-anxious people like me who actually prefer large lectures to small seminar-like classes haha 
@lostaccount, What’s so bad about the SUNY schools?
@mom2collegekids - that is what I meant. Would the reverse be true? Would CU give merit to an OOS kid with equal stats? btw the same merit my S got was also available to IS students at his school, although dollar wise he got more to cover OOS tuition. (Ohio University Honors Tutorial College)
It’s really all about that stubborn old law of supply and demand,@digmedia. CU has no lack of students (both IS and OOS) willing to attend full pay. Other states need incentives to lure top students.
As a PA resident, I empathize, truly, but from CU’s vantage point (and Penn State’s), it makes sense. Why discount when plenty of people are willing to pay retail?
CU IS and OOS merit aid is very easy to research:
http://www.colorado.edu/scholarships/auto-consider/freshmen
It looks like for the same stats, CU gives more aid to OOS students, but the OOS tuition is still more than twice the level of in-state tuition.
One of my daughters has applied to several OOS flagships, but not to our state’s flagship (Rutgers). Why? The programs she is exploring are (in her opinion) “better” at the other schools. She is also considering a couple of private universities.
Then there is the fact that Rutgers is 15 miles from our house and we have encouraged our children to consider all possibilities when considering college - even international. She would have had no problem attending Rutgers if we had required her to stay in state.
Several of the OOS schools have given her good merit money - enough to bring the costs to levels we were not expecting - and have become even more attractive financially than we anticipated. Candidly, we were not expecting merit from the OOS options.
Rutgers is an excellent school, as are most state flagship universities. Some kids want to explore a different part of the country, and college can be an excellent time to do this, if it is financially feasible. NJ is a small state. There are so many colleges within a 3 hour drive - the options are endless. My kids have lived in a town of 13,000 their whole life. Everybody knows everybody. They would prefer to spread their wings a little, if possible. I would have no problem if my kids never returned to NJ after graduation. NJ is a great place, but it is a pretty darn expensive place to live - especially when you are starting out.
Never mind the East Coast (DC to Boston Corridor) obsession with named schools/prestige.
oh here we go again. Admissions standards higher than both Rutgers campus, selectivity higher than both.
TCNj very well know by those that matter! top 75 most competitive schools in the entire country as per Barrons, #71 nationally out of 736 as per money magazine.TCNJ ranks #31 for in-state tuition, and tops the list of New Jersey public institutions included in this ranking: Rutgers University—New Brunswick #47, Ramapo College #91 as per Kiplingers top 100 public value schools.
top 63 business school as per Bloomberg (Rutgers ranked something like 124), top 20 accounting program in the entire country. #3 over all ranked regional (because its focused on undergraduate studies and that’s what matters to undergrads) and top #1 regional public as per USNWR. On presidents list of top 25 public universities(I think along with Rutgers) but is only one of two small colleges on that list the other is William and Mary! #6 nationally for students that graduate the soonest at public school, top % for freshman retention rate upwards of 94%. #2 nationally ranked for ED degree.
Plus many more accolades , all centered around high quality undergrade programs and success. Oh and the campus is ranked one of the nicest and greenest in the country.
“oh here we go again” Just what I was thinking. 
Was the “oh, here we go again.” comment directed toward my post?
@stones3 yawn. TCNJ = overrated.
Of course. That’s why it’s in quotes.
I am scratching my head wondering why a post about why kids might consider an OOS flagship (good program in desired major, good fit, financially viable, not in their back yard, etc) would warrant a post about a school that was not mentioned or disparaged in any way. And my question was directed to @stones3 - who appears to believe that a NJ student considering any OOS school is somehow slighting TCNJ.
@Themcios, Sorry, I thought your question was from @stones3 . I should have looked more closely. @stones3 brought this same issue about Rutgers vs. TCNJ up a couple of pages ago so it seems like de ja vu, hence " oh, here we go again. "
That makes sense - and is what I thought your post was referring to. No harm, no foul. Thanks for the response.
I still do not understand what brought on the other post, but I can assure you I won’t lose sleep over it.
the post was in response to Barrons’s post #151. And I totally agree, it’s getting old having to continually post all the
acclaim won by TCNJ , in otherwords providing facts to counter the inaccuratcy of other posters. But I will be diligent.
And barron’s post was in response to your post 143. Thanks for providing some info about TCNJ though. It sounds like a great school. There are lots of really good schools, both IS and OOS, that we don’t hear enough about.