OT: College Search: UCONN vs. Out of State

[J187Money]

My son was always going to go to UCONN, then he got into running late in high school after dropping football and wanted to run in college. Got recruited by some D3 schools and got a lot of academic scholarship money offered as part of packages.

He goes to a private school near Boston now, but I'm basically paying the same as I would for UCONN after the academic scholarship he got. And while UCONN is a better school, the smaller atmosphere I think is better for him anyway and we are really happy.

Bottom line, you will know what feels right when you see it. And you will be surprised by the packages you will get.

 

[Marbles90]

Do not rule out any school. The financial aid package offered by each school is a big factor for most. A lot of private schools offer more but tuition is usually more. Decisions to be made.

100% true. Both my kids ended up at good out of state private schools that offered packages that made them LESS than UConn which is in-state for us.

Undergraduate education is a commodity, with very few exceptions. From an educational standpoint, none of the schools on her list fall into those exceptions. Find the cheapest place where she feels comfortable, and go there.

150% true. I tell people the same thing but i see kids fall in love with "X" school and they take on huge debt and/or they and their parents shell out tons of $$$$ for basically the same education they could get at "Y" school for 1/2 the price. Unless you are going to an elite top 50 school, your mid level schools from 51-500 are basically the same education.

**One note about having kids at out of state schools. I have 2 right now out of state - both are not in driving distance. You need to make sure you take into account the cost to get them back and forth. I have to pay for flights to get them out in the Fall, back and forth for Fall break, Thanksgiving, Xmas break, Spring break, Easter break and then to get them home for the summer. Plus flights for us to go out to visit each of them at least once each semester. Believe me it adds up very fast!!

 

[outsidethebox]

Just now finishing putting 3 through college. Trying to keep costs reasonable I had them apply to only state universities and to stay away from boston area(price). Oldest went to WVU with a scholarship that made it cheaper than uconn. She absolutely loved the place and got her masters there too. The academics get a bad rap here because they let state residents go tuition free with a b avg in high school. Hospital right on campus. She got a job right away.
My son went to tOSU. They matched Uconn with scholarship. He got masters from uconn and got a job right away.
My youngest is a senior nursing student at Keene State. Hers was more than Uconn but she wanted small school atmosphere and has excelled.
All 3 were accepted to Uconn. They have all told me they were thankful for their college experiences and have so little debt.

 

[TRest]

I have twins graduating high school this year, even though my wife and I are both UConn grads the kids aren't that interested (neither is STEM). One has already obtained a much nicer financial package from a small private, and the other may not want to take on the debt 4 years on campus would mean. UConn isn't throwing aground much money at the in-state kids.
.
On the other hand, I have a niece that spent easily twice as much for an education degree at Quinnipiac than what UConn would have cost her, it makes no sense to me for that field.

 

[AreBee1969]

Just now finishing putting 3 through college. Trying to keep costs reasonable I had them apply to only state universities and to stay away from boston area(price). Oldest went to WVU with a scholarship that made it cheaper than uconn. She absolutely loved the place and got her masters there too. The academics get a bad rap here because they let state residents go tuition free with a b avg in high school. Hospital right on campus. She got a job right away.

True! WVU was not as bass-ackwards as everyone thinks. My wife chose WVU for her PharmD over Kentucky, St. Johns and UNC. The main reason she picked WVU was the hospital. Because West Virginia is largely rural, Morgantown is the hospital that sees everything. All the interesting and complex cases come there. The University also gets a ton of money, so it was a very cutting edge hospital. Another reason she chose WVU was it's non-traditional PharmD program which was more experience based. It's a model that many other Universities have since adopted. We lived there for two years and really enjoyed everything about it. Economically, not the best place in the world, but if you're a nurse...

WVU has given my daughter the best merit-based aid package of any school so far, enough where it brings it very close to UCONN cost. She was also accepted into the honors college which has some benefits. We're visiting in April along with Pitt which is only about an hour away. She may go there and hate it, we'll have to see.

 

[Exit 4]

I would choose the instate savings benefits of UConn for undergrad, particularly for something like nursing. At least start at UConn and see how it goes. Let grad school, if that ever becomes part of her future, be the school choice that is national.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Go wherever is cheapest as long as its a reputable school. Nursing may be an exception, but undergrad is really just a terminal to grad school nowadays for a lot of fields. I went to UConn for undergrad and graduated in '16 and its gotten me everywhere I've wanted to go without the hefty price tag that other schools would have come with

 

[Stinger92860]

Her major will be nursing, so honestly, it really doesn't matter where she gets the degree. UCONN's nursing program is great, and the cost is far more affordable for us. I would love to see her on FB Saturdays and know that she's less than an hour away at any time.

I have 2 nurses both went to UConn, but only only one was in the nursing program as an undergrad. School does matter. UConn did a great job preparing her and helping her to compete with students from UNC, PSU, Georgetown, etc. She lives out of state but in NY area, has a great job and is well paid.

 

[UConnRock]

Going through the college search process now with my son. We live in the south and have relatively crappy in-state schools so we do not plan on relying on the financial cushion of in-state tuition. He has grades to get into quality privates such as Emory, Northwestern, Georgetown ect, but we are not sure it is worth the expense. However, in terms of out-of-state options the price difference is not that great. UNC, UVA, and William & Mary are the "high end" publics he has looked at and they are $50K+. Unlike many kids in his school he does not give a damn about SEC football and is not limiting his college search to large state schools.

We are obviously looking for merit scholarships and it may come down to which school offers him the best deal in balancing academic desires vs. quality of the school. He didn't really have a favorite that lead him toward early decision which is good from parent's view as we scope out aid packages. It will come down to a somewhat arbitrary "value determination" when looking at schools, costs, location, majors ect....He is the classic smart kid that is not sure what he wants to do, so that makes a college decision more challenging. All we know is that he does not want to go to a small school and would prefer a city environment.

Folks that still live in CT should really value the quality programs that UConn offers. If my kid wanted to go into nursing I would dangle the in-state financial savings in front of him as huge incentive. I would rather give my kid a financial "bonus" (for savings or a house downpayment) from the tuition savings when they graduate from a school that provided a quality degree at in-state prices than fork over tons of cash to out-of-state publics or pricey privates.

When I met my wife she was $60K in debt from law school and was afraid to tell me as she thought I would run. Heavy school debt was a burden on us for years, and I wouldn't wish that upon anybody. Especially undergrad debt that doesn't provide career specialization ($50K in debt with a BA in sociology is not a pretty place to be). Sometimes these long-term discussions about debt and value are difficult for 17-18 year old kids to grasp because they don't think it is cool to stay at the State school. As parents we don't want to feel as if we are forcing the kid into a less desired school, but the ones writing the checks have to be part of the decision.

 

[Guapo]

Going through the college search process now with my son. We live in the south and have relatively crappy in-state schools so we do not plan on relying on the financial cushion of in-state tuition. He has grades to get into quality privates such as Emory, Northwestern, Georgetown ect, but we are not sure it is worth the expense. However, in terms of out-of-state options the price difference is not that great. UNC, UVA, and William & Mary are the "high end" publics he has looked at and they are $50K+. Unlike many kids in his school he does not give a damn about SEC football and is not limiting his college search to large state schools.

We are obviously looking for merit scholarships and it may come down to which school offers him the best deal in balancing academic desires vs. quality of the school. He didn't really have a favorite that lead him toward early decision which is good from parent's view as we scope out aid packages. It will come down to a somewhat arbitrary "value determination" when looking at schools, costs, location, majors ect....He is the classic smart kid that is not sure what he wants to do, so that makes a college decision more challenging. All we know is that he does not want to go to a small school and would prefer a city environment.

Folks that still live in CT should really value the quality programs that UConn offers. If my kid wanted to go into nursing I would dangle the in-state financial savings in front of him as huge incentive. I would rather give my kid a financial "bonus" (for savings or a house downpayment) from the tuition savings when they graduate from a school that provided a quality degree at in-state prices than fork over tons of cash to out-of-state publics or pricey privates.

When I met my wife she was $60K in debt from law school and was afraid to tell me as she thought I would run. Heavy school debt was a burden on us for years, and I wouldn't wish that upon anybody. Especially undergrad debt that doesn't provide career specialization ($50K in debt with a BA in sociology degree is not a pretty place to be). Sometimes these long-term discussions about debt and value are difficult for 17-18 year old kids to grasp because they don't think it is cool to stay at the State school. As parents we don't want to feel as if we are forcing the kid into a less desired school, but the ones writing the checks have to be part of the decision.

Yes to all of this.

If your son is not interested in UConn, and if he wants to stay in the South (even if he doesn't care about the SEC), my wife's alma mater, UGA, is a great school at a great price.

Athens is an amazing college town, and a perfect sized little city.

 

[AreBee1969]

Sometimes these long-term discussions about debt and value are difficult for 17-18 year old kids to grasp because they don't think it is cool to stay at the State school. As parents we don't want to feel as if we are forcing the kid into a less desired school, but the ones writing the checks have to be part of the decision.

I am thankful my daughter is sensitive to cost, and you're exactly right, we don't want to make her decision for her, because she may hate it just for that reason. We've basically have told her, "We have saved X for you, and we can afford to pay X additional. Everything over that is on you." Although Michigan sounds great, and Villanova and Northeastern are her #1 and #2 choices so far, when you apply this formula, we don't see her at any of those schools.

We have tempered our expectations on merit-aid after seeing the first two packages trickle in. Kind of disappointing as she is a member of NHS, National Math Honor Society, National French Honor Society. She has a 96 average with a handful of AP courses, and a 1350 SAT. We weren't expecting her to get a free ride, but the numbers were surprising.

 

[UConnRock]

I am thankful my daughter is sensitive to cost, and you're exactly right, we don't want to make her decision for her, because she may hate it just for that reason. We've basically have told her, "We have saved X for you, and we can afford to pay X additional. Everything over that is on you." Although Michigan sounds great, and Villanova and Northeastern are her #1 and #2 choices so far, when you apply this formula, we don't see her at any of those schools.

We have tempered our expectations on merit-aid after seeing the first two packages trickle in. Kind of disappointing as she is a member of NHS, National Math Honor Society, National French Honor Society. She has a 96 average with a handful of AP courses, and a 1350 SAT. We weren't expecting her to get a free ride, but the numbers were surprising.

Bummer on the aid packages. We were told that aid ramps up with 1400 and above on SATs (equivalent to 32 and above on ACTs). It is tough that so much rides on the standardized tests, but there is so much grade inflation that some schools just throw up their hands and rely on the standard test scores.

Personal interviews and discussions of costs with aid personnel still can have an impact, especially late in the decision making process. Don't assume that you can't squeeze a bit more out of her top schools. Decisions made by other students may have a tremendous influence on the flow of merit money. You never know when some money may become available if others decide to go elsewhere. This may seem cold, but set a $$ on each school and let the school know what would take get you child to enroll. The decision will then be on the shoulders of the school. Colleges want kids that love their school and if you sell that there is still a chance for more $$. At a minimum, this will show your child that you are doing everything to get her where she wants to go. This is the best way to influence her decision without feeling like you are forcing her is any way. Best of luck

 

[Redding Husky]

Back in the 1980's, I couldn't wait to get out of state. I wanted to go to the University of Colorado, but my parents said I couldn't go west of the Mississippi River. I ended up at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. It was a typical Midwestern college of 6,000 students with a great Greek system. I joined a fraternity and was happy. But I became homesick. I transferred to UConn for my junior & senior years and never regretted that decision. Later on, I moved to Dallas and completed a master's at SMU.

My advice would be to let her go where she wants to (as long as it's comfortable financially). That way there are no thoughts of "what if?" years later. If it doesn't work out, she can always transfer. But transferring is not the ideal situation; it can be difficult socially. Making friends freshman year is a lot easier than when transferring in as a junior. I know this from experience.

Whatever you do, good luck to you and your daughter!

 

[JMick]

Her major will be nursing, so honestly, it really doesn't matter where she gets the degree. UCONN's nursing program is great, and the cost is far more affordable for us. I would love to see her on FB Saturdays and know that she's less than an hour away at any time.

I have 2 nurses both went to UConn, but only only one was in the nursing program as an undergrad. School does matter. UConn did a great job preparing her and helping her to compete with students from UNC, PSU, Georgetown, etc. She lives out of state but in NY area, has a great job and is well paid.

I will echo your sentiments on UConns nursing program. I know about 20 people who were in the nursing program. All of them liked it and found employment within a few months of graduation, if not sooner.

 

[Excalibur]

Going through the college search process now with my son. We live in the south and have relatively crappy in-state schools so we do not plan on relying on the financial cushion of in-state tuition. He has grades to get into quality privates such as Emory, Northwestern, Georgetown ect, but we are not sure it is worth the expense. However, in terms of out-of-state options the price difference is not that great. UNC, UVA, and William & Mary are the "high end" publics he has looked at and they are $50K+. Unlike many kids in his school he does not give a damn about SEC football and is not limiting his college search to large state schools.

We are obviously looking for merit scholarships and it may come down to which school offers him the best deal in balancing academic desires vs. quality of the school. He didn't really have a favorite that lead him toward early decision which is good from parent's view as we scope out aid packages. It will come down to a somewhat arbitrary "value determination" when looking at schools, costs, location, majors ect....He is the classic smart kid that is not sure what he wants to do, so that makes a college decision more challenging. All we know is that he does not want to go to a small school and would prefer a city environment.

Folks that still live in CT should really value the quality programs that UConn offers. If my kid wanted to go into nursing I would dangle the in-state financial savings in front of him as huge incentive. I would rather give my kid a financial "bonus" (for savings or a house downpayment) from the tuition savings when they graduate from a school that provided a quality degree at in-state prices than fork over tons of cash to out-of-state publics or pricey privates.

When I met my wife she was $60K in debt from law school and was afraid to tell me as she thought I would run. Heavy school debt was a burden on us for years, and I wouldn't wish that upon anybody. Especially undergrad debt that doesn't provide career specialization ($50K in debt with a BA in sociology is not a pretty place to be). Sometimes these long-term discussions about debt and value are difficult for 17-18 year old kids to grasp because they don't think it is cool to stay at the State school. As parents we don't want to feel as if we are forcing the kid into a less desired school, but the ones writing the checks have to be part of the decision.

Just curious, with all that you say after the first paragraph, why the animus towards the main in-state university in whatever state you live? If you start with the premise that you're (he's) buying a commodity, it doesn't seem to make much sense.

 

[Redding Husky]

Going through the college search process now with my son. We live in the south and have relatively crappy in-state schools so we do not plan on relying on the financial cushion of in-state tuition. He has grades to get into quality privates such as Emory, Northwestern, Georgetown ect, but we are not sure it is worth the expense. However, in terms of out-of-state options the price difference is not that great. UNC, UVA, and William & Mary are the "high end" publics he has looked at and they are $50K+. Unlike many kids in his school he does not give a damn about SEC football and is not limiting his college search to large state schools.

We are obviously looking for merit scholarships and it may come down to which school offers him the best deal in balancing academic desires vs. quality of the school. He didn't really have a favorite that lead him toward early decision which is good from parent's view as we scope out aid packages. It will come down to a somewhat arbitrary "value determination" when looking at schools, costs, location, majors ect....He is the classic smart kid that is not sure what he wants to do, so that makes a college decision more challenging. All we know is that he does not want to go to a small school and would prefer a city environment.

Folks that still live in CT should really value the quality programs that UConn offers. If my kid wanted to go into nursing I would dangle the in-state financial savings in front of him as huge incentive. I would rather give my kid a financial "bonus" (for savings or a house downpayment) from the tuition savings when they graduate from a school that provided a quality degree at in-state prices than fork over tons of cash to out-of-state publics or pricey privates.

When I met my wife she was $60K in debt from law school and was afraid to tell me as she thought I would run. Heavy school debt was a burden on us for years, and I wouldn't wish that upon anybody. Especially undergrad debt that doesn't provide career specialization ($50K in debt with a BA in sociology is not a pretty place to be). Sometimes these long-term discussions about debt and value are difficult for 17-18 year old kids to grasp because they don't think it is cool to stay at the State school. As parents we don't want to feel as if we are forcing the kid into a less desired school, but the ones writing the checks have to be part of the decision.

That's a tough situation. But I can't think of a state in the South that doesn't have a decent public school. In Texas, we have Texas and Texas A&M. Some people would add Texas Tech to that list.

Many students from Dallas go to the University of Oklahoma or the University of Arkansas and they seem happy. They go for about $35K per year before scholarships, etc.

 

[UConnRock]

Just curious, with all that you say after the first paragraph, why the animus towards the main in-state university in whatever state you live? If you start with the premise that you're (he's) buying a commodity, it doesn't seem to make much sense.

I can understand that perception and my wife and I have asked that same question to ourselves. Maybe it is partly a northeast bias or maybe it is that fact that I look at lots of resumes and, wrongly or rightly, there is certainly a relevancy to where a candidate gets the undergrad degree. I live in Tennessee. UT-Knoxville just doesn't have the out-of-state perception from employers as a top 20 public school like UConn or even other public schools in the south. Much of the thread's discussion revolves around a UConn nursing degree vs. other schools. Not every profession is like nursing where there is a dire need for talented person's throughout the country.

My son does not know what he wants to do for a career and I do not want to limit those options based on saving tuition money on the front end. New college grads are competing for quality jobs and some colleges certainly give their grads a leg up in that competition. When you look at the US News "best value" schools, it is primarily the same schools as the top academic school ratings. That is because their graduates get the better paying jobs and over time the salaries and career advancement offset the tuition money spent. The approach I am taking with my son is the best "bang for the buck" where we balance out all the factors and provide him with the best springboard into a successful career. A major factor is cost and potential debt, but there is a lengthy list of other factors.

Obviously one of the primary factors is his satisfaction with the final decision on which school to attend. Admittedly, there is a part of the decision that takes on a "commodity" vibe. However, there is also the understanding that the college years are some of the best years in a person's life. Those years start during the selection process where a student hopefully falls in love with a school that: 1) they can get into, and 2) that they can afford.

 

[CL82]

as a recent (2015) graduate of UConn, I know a TON of UConn nursing grads. About 10 to be exact.

So I hope they are all guys, otherwise they really enjoyed the dairy bar.

 

[Excalibur]

I can understand that perception and my wife and I have asked that same question to ourselves. Maybe it is partly a northeast bias or maybe it is that fact that I look at lots of resumes and, wrongly or rightly, there is certainly a relevancy to where a candidate gets the undergrad degree. I live in Tennessee. UT-Knoxville just doesn't have the out-of-state perception from employers as a top 20 public school like UConn or even other public schools in the south. Much of the thread's discussion revolves around a UConn nursing degree vs. other schools.

That's interesting. It's been my experience that, except for very specific fields like CSE, the name of the University on the degree has almost no bearing on the employer's decision unless that name is one of maybe two dozen schools (ivies, Hopkins, Duke, etc.), and it becomes less important as you get further away from the graduation date. Thus my comment that undergraduate education is a commodity.

 

[Guapo]

I can understand that perception and my wife and I have asked that same question to ourselves. Maybe it is partly a northeast bias or maybe it is that fact that I look at lots of resumes and, wrongly or rightly, there is certainly a relevancy to where a candidate gets the undergrad degree. I live in Tennessee. UT-Knoxville just doesn't have the out-of-state perception from employers as a top 20 public school like UConn or even other public schools in the south. Much of the thread's discussion revolves around a UConn nursing degree vs. other schools. Not every profession is like nursing where there is a dire need for talented person's throughout the country.

My son does not know what he wants to do for a career and I do not want to limit those options based on saving tuition money on the front end. New college grads are competing for quality jobs and some colleges certainly give their grads a leg up in that competition. When you look at the US News "best value" schools, it is primarily the same schools as the top academic school ratings. That is because their graduates get the better paying jobs and over time the salaries and career advancement offset the tuition money spent. The approach I am taking with my son is the best "bang for the buck" where we balance out all the factors and provide him with the best springboard into a successful career. A major factor is cost and potential debt, but there is a lengthy list of other factors.

Obviously one of the primary factors is his satisfaction with the final decision on which school to attend. Admittedly, there is a part of the decision that takes on a "commodity" vibe. However, there is also the understanding that the college years are some of the best years in a person's life. Those years start during the selection process where a student hopefully falls in love with a school that: 1) they can get into, and 2) that they can afford.

Not that it means much but I drive through Knoxville for the first time on my way to Georgia for thanksgiving and was less than impressed.

That is an ugly campus.

 

[UConnRock]

That's interesting. It's been my experience that, except for very specific fields like CSE, the name of the University on the degree has almost no bearing on the employer's decision unless that name is one of maybe two dozen schools (ivies, Hopkins, Duke, etc.), and it becomes less important as you get further away from the graduation date. Thus my comment that undergraduate education is a commodity.

I agree that job experience quickly diminishes the importance of the undergrad degree. However, getting that 1st job in the career of choice at the location or company of choice goes a long way to defining a career path. Again, with my son's lack of defined major/career choice, the thought of him trying to get jobs in Atlanta, DC, Chicago, NYC or any decent size job market with a UT-Knoxville degree is disheartening. Regardless of how hard he works or his grades in school the degree has potential limitations. I will pay extra to avoid those limitations. How much extra depends on all the other factors. One thing I should make clear is that he has no desire to attend UT-Knoxville because of the city and campus. So it is not like I am slamming the door on his dream school. Just saying that parents who live in states with high quality public institutions should be very pleased to have that option for their kids.

 

[Guapo]

I agree that job experience quickly diminishes the importance of the undergrad degree. However, getting that 1st job in the career of choice at the location or company of choice goes a long way to defining a career path. Again, with my son's lack of defined major/career choice, the thought of him trying to get jobs in Atlanta, DC, Chicago, NYC or any decent size job market with a UT-Knoxville degree is disheartening. Regardless of how hard he works or his grades in school the degree has potential limitations. I will pay extra to avoid those limitations. How much extra depends on all the other factors. One thing I should make clear is that he has no desire to attend UT-Knoxville because of the city and campus. So it is not like I am slamming the door on his dream school. Just saying that parents who live in states with high quality public institutions should be very pleased to have that option for their kids.

He'd be just fine in Atlanta or even here in DC.

Tons of UT alum here.

(But he should go to UConn or, if not there, UGA )

 

[Redding Husky]

That's interesting. It's been my experience that, except for very specific fields like CSE, the name of the University on the degree has almost no bearing on the employer's decision unless that name is one of maybe two dozen schools (ivies, Hopkins, Duke, etc.), and it becomes less important as you get further away from the graduation date. Thus my comment that undergraduate education is a commodity.

 

[Drew]

Not that it means much but I drive through Knoxville for the first time on my way to Georgia for thanksgiving and was less than impressed.

That is an ugly campus.

Tennessee's campus is the worst campus of any major university I've ever seen.

Now UGA on the other hand... (we've had this convo before)

 

[J187Money]

That's interesting. It's been my experience that, except for very specific fields like CSE, the name of the University on the degree has almost no bearing on the employer's decision unless that name is one of maybe two dozen schools (ivies, Hopkins, Duke, etc.), and it becomes less important as you get further away from the graduation date. Thus my comment that undergraduate education is a commodity.

Right. For example, if you want to work at Goldman and get one of the Sales and Trading Analyst positions coming out of undergrad, you better go to one of the 20 or 25 schools they recruit at, and do very well. If you don't, you just won't get interviewed. They don't need to expand their search scope to get what they need. If you want to attend Yale Law School, you need to go to one of X number of feeder schools that Yale respects.

Absent those types of specific circumstances, I agree completely with Excalibur.