"Cheaper" out of state tuition in the western states

[Jess3863]

Hey guys! I'm looking into schools right now and I'm interested in moving out to the West Coast. What are some of the schools with "cheaper" out-of-state tuition out that way?

[nwslp]

I don't know about cheaper but the west coast has way fewer programs than the east coast so they tend to be a lot more competitive! Something to consider. For example, the state of Oregon has something like 3 total programs where back east you get 2 or 3 in one city alone :)

[Rezzy S.]

Probably the CSU’s in California would be a better bet tuition wise but they have like 8-15% acceptance rates. They also tend to admit more of their undergrads/post-baccs because they have that relationship already. Private schools have a 20-30% acceptance rate but are really expensive. Scholarships are also pretty rare out here :’( If you have 3.8+ CSD GPA and a pretty good overall GPA, you could try it, but have some backups elsewhere. 

Edited March 15, 2019 by Rezzy S.

[lasmith]

I know from experience that California schools like taking their kids first. On top of that they are more competitive because of the high amount of applicants. As said before there is less programs on the west coast than the east coast. It also can be very expensive to move to the west coast. I know Nevada just got two programs this year and in the past years has only been pushing out 25 more or less students a year. Also SDSU got 500 applicants this past application season. My best advice is if you have the ability to apply all of the country, do that. See where you get in and go from there. My friend did this and she's been very happy with the results. Also I don't want to discourage you from applying to west coast places, I just want you to be realistic. I got rejected from a CSU because I wasn't one of their undergraduates. I have seen people over qualified applicants get rejected there too. Just make educated decisions and do research for yourself.  

[Jess3863]

On 3/16/2019 at 10:27 AM, lasmith said:

I know from experience that California schools like taking their kids first. On top of that they are more competitive because of the high amount of applicants. As said before there is less programs on the west coast than the east coast. It also can be very expensive to move to the west coast. I know Nevada just got two programs this year and in the past years has only been pushing out 25 more or less students a year. Also SDSU got 500 applicants this past application season. My best advice is if you have the ability to apply all of the country, do that. See where you get in and go from there. My friend did this and she's been very happy with the results. Also I don't want to discourage you from applying to west coast places, I just want you to be realistic. I got rejected from a CSU because I wasn't one of their undergraduates. I have seen people over qualified applicants get rejected there too. Just make educated decisions and do research for yourself.  

I appreciate your response!! I'm honetly not deadset on moving out west but from what I have found so far I hadn't seen any viable options out there so I wondered if I was missing something. I'm from the Midwest and living in Japan currently. I want to weigh my options for my next home once I move back Thanks again for your advice!

[lasmith]

1 hour ago, Jess3863 said:

I appreciate your response!! I'm honetly not deadset on moving out west but from what I have found so far I hadn't seen any viable options out there so I wondered if I was missing something. I'm from the Midwest and living in Japan currently. I want to weigh my options for my next home once I move back Thanks again for your advice!

You're welcome. I know a lot of California people want to stay in California and it can be cheaper that way. I'm from Northern California, went to UNR because it was not impacted and wouldn't be paying out of state tuition due to the WUE. At this point in time, I probably won't be going to a California. I only applied to places on the west coast and can tell you, its been competitive and eye opening. There is great programs out here, you just have to look into it. I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors through grad school.

[Rezzy S.]

1 hour ago, Jess3863 said:

I'm from the Midwest and living in Japan currently. I want to weigh my options for my next home once I move back Thanks again for your advice!

Experience living abroad could help you stand out. Schools out here really value cultural immersion experiences as long as your GPA is high.

[swimbikespeech]

I think that the CSU schools are some of the most affordable in the country. I believe this is true for even out of state. It is true that they take a lot of their undergraduates, but it isn't by any means impossible if you're not; I think this whole "they only take their own" thing is really exaggerated. I go to SDSU and my cohort has 38 people, and exactly 50% of the cohort is from SDSU undergrad. So - only 19 of us got in from other schools, but if I can do it, you can! I also believe that my cohort had a particularly high percentage of SDSU undergrads. Don't be discouraged but do have other options.

[Rezzy S.]

30 minutes ago, swimbikespeech said:

I think that the CSU schools are some of the most affordable in the country. I believe this is true for even out of state. It is true that they take a lot of their undergraduates, but it isn't by any means impossible if you're not; I think this whole "they only take their own" thing is really exaggerated. I go to SDSU and my cohort has 38 people, and exactly 50% of the cohort is from SDSU undergrad. So - only 19 of us got in from other schools, but if I can do it, you can! I also believe that my cohort had a particularly high percentage of SDSU undergrads. Don't be discouraged but do have other options.

I would agree with the 50% number. I've heard that second-hand, but also from a professor on a CSU selection-committee who openly admitted that. From their perspective, I think there is always going to be less risk with people you really know, so I don't really blame them. 

[lasmith]

Just to clarify, I don't think that all CSU's only take their own students. I think that the admissions committees are smart and strategic with their decisions. I think that not just California schools are likely to take their kids first. I think any admissions committee with good rapport with a strong candidate is likely to get in. I think that is a huge reason why I got into my undergrad institution.

 

 (However, there is one CSU I would say otherwise and could pick a bone with. When I asked the director why I didn't get an interview, her response was very brief and inconsiderate. Although, I'll give her benefit of the doubt that she was probably  busy with everything else going on. But I saw several applicants with 4.0 and 160/155 gre averages getting rejected here after being interviewed and saying they thought that their interviews went well. And I saw people with much lower stats post about getting in. Seems fishy to me but these are all my own personal thoughts and opinions and I could be completely wrong.)

Edited March 19, 2019 by lasmith
I'm also not saying that this CSU doesn't have a good program. I think they have a great program and that's why they keep their kids because they admissions committees know they will succeed there.

[Jess3863]

On 3/19/2019 at 11:28 AM, Rezzy S. said:

Experience living abroad could help you stand out. Schools out here really value cultural immersion experiences as long as your GPA is high.

I really hope it helps! I had a fairly poor undergrad GPA for my first bachelors but I'm in USU's 2nd bachelors program for CSD and so far I have a 4.0 so yay! xD We'll see if I can keep it up!

[lasmith]

9 hours ago, Jess3863 said:

I really hope it helps! I had a fairly poor undergrad GPA for my first bachelors but I'm in USU's 2nd bachelors program for CSD and so far I have a 4.0 so yay! xD We'll see if I can keep it up!

Admissions committees generally look at your overall CSD GPA. Some also look at your last 60 unit/ 90 units depending if you are quarter or semester system. They don't just look at your overall GPA. They try to look at you as a whole.  I hope this helps. 

[Rezzy S.]

55 minutes ago, lasmith said:

Admissions committees generally look at your overall CSD GPA. Some also look at your last 60 unit/ 90 units depending if you are quarter or semester system. They don't just look at your overall GPA. They try to look at you as a whole.  I hope this helps. 

There are definitely some CA schools that do this but not all, so check their websites closely or call /email to find out. I’m pretty sure I didn’t get an interview to one CSU because my overall GPA was under 3.8, despite a 4.0 CSD.  

[topdog17]

I'm not sure about affordability, but as everyone has mentioned, the west coast states are INSANELY competitive.  I'm native to California and I have decent enough stats, but I haven't gotten into any schools in California, Oregon, or Washington.  Had I realized how unlikely it was to get in, I might have saved the money on application fees, LOL.  If you're looking into the western states in general, there are some outstanding programs in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and Wyoming!   My advice is not to give up on the west coast, but to spread out your applications to a wide array of schools!

[Southwestspeechie]

11 minutes ago, topdog17 said:

I'm not sure about affordability, but as everyone has mentioned, the west coast states are INSANELY competitive.  I'm native to California and I have decent enough stats, but I haven't gotten into any schools in California, Oregon, or Washington.  Had I realized how unlikely it was to get in, I might have saved the money on application fees, LOL.  If you're looking into the western states in general, there are some outstanding programs in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and Wyoming!   My advice is not to give up on the west coast, but to spread out your applications to a wide array of schools!

Completely agree. 

OP, why not look into University of Arizona or Arizona State? UofA's out of state tuition is 34k a year, but they say that everyone will get some sort of financial help before they graduate.  If you do apply to UofA, definitely talk about your experience in Japan ?