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My parents used to want me to be able to go to a prestigious school but now it seems financial issues are just too great to ignore.

I don't get much, if at all, financial aid because I'm an international

It doesn't matter if a college I choose is in-state or not, right?

Are regular tutuion fees much cheaper than private ones?

I have another thread asking for good safety schools but since we're on the topic, what are the top 5 state university engineering schools?

By Btbvector (Btbvector) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 05:09 pm: Edit

First - Out-of state is harder. For UCs, it is extremely harder.

Tuition - cheaper, but not that cheap. Check with individual schools. Financial aid would be "very" hard to get.

Top 5 state engineering schools?
UC Berkeley, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, and maybe Wisconsin.

By Hoo_29 (Hoo_29) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 06:15 pm: Edit

I love the way you are whining about "state" schools. Some of the best universities in the country are public, and they are not exactly cheap either. Most people complain about state schools because their parents want the state tuition(practically nothing), but there are lots of incredible public schools that people pay up to 30,000 dollars a year for. Places like UVA, UNC-chapel hill, michigan, UCB, and UCLA have people dying to go there and get rejected with great stats.

By Energy1 (Energy1) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 06:39 pm: Edit

I'm not whining. Nor am I degrading any college. I'm just trying to solve a real issue that needs a real solution.

Furthermore, I am not too familiar with the ways state universities work. How can I whine about them if I don't know much about them?

I would love to go to U Mich etc. but I have to know that the financial burden will be less.

By Paulhomework (Paulhomework) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 07:21 pm: Edit

Out of state public universities will be cheaper than private ones, but not by a lot.

For example, stanford costs around 42k overall, whereas berkely out of state is approximately 35k (in state is 20k).

By Pamvanw (Pamvanw) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 07:37 pm: Edit

Top 10 state schools for engineering are:
U. Cal Berkeley
U Illinois, Urbana
Georgia Tech
U. Michigan
Purdue
U. Texas, Austin
U. Wisconsin, Madison
Texas A&M
U. Minnisota
Virginia Tech
As for cost you can look that up on line. The only one I know for sure is that Virginia Tech is around $20,000/year for tuition, room & board for an out of stater. Rankings can be different for different majors within engineering.

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 09:06 pm: Edit

in-state is a totally different issue, but since you're not, there isn't going to be a huge difference between private/public school cost, for ex. unc-ch is about 25k total for out of state, instate, about 11k

By Oldman (Oldman) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 09:57 pm: Edit

Some state schools are cheaper...Michigan and Virginia are at the high end....about 25 and 22 grand....Texas is aroud 12-13...Georgia about 16.....Arizona ~13,etc