Cheapest Out-of-State Colleges in 34 States

Money sticking out of a pocket representing colleges with cheapest out-of-state colleges

pocket with money representing saving at cheapest out-of-state colleges(The Cheapest Out-of-State Colleges List has been updated for the latest data available in September of 2022.) Back when I was a freshman attending a rather large state university in Austin, Texas, I ran into quite a few students (relatively speaking) from the state of New York. They told me that they were attending college in Texas because our out-of-state tuition was cheaper than their in-state tuition. I only saw them that one year because the following year, the legislature raised out-of-state tuition and Texas was no longer as appealing to New Yorkers as it once was.

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How Far Away Should You Go To College?

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GPS representing college far from homeOver half of all college students attend schools less than 100 miles from home. Only 16% of students travel 500 or more miles from home. This pretty much matches the preferences expressed by far too many parents and students of wanting to be close enough for them to come home on the weekends if they want to or in case of emergencies. Yeah, I have a problem with that.

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It Takes More Than Rankings to Find Good Colleges

Person looking out of computer screen for good colleges

Face looking from laptop for a good collegeWhy? Because it all depends on how you define good colleges.

And that’s the problem. How do you know what makes a college “good?” Are good colleges the ones where the good students go? After all, the colleges that admit only a small percentage of students with high GPAs and college test scores are the ones that show up at the top of the college rankings. But does that mean the school is good because it admits good students or do good students go there because it is a good college?

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11 Ways to Expand Your College Education Through Off-Campus Study and Exchanges

college student waving goodbye representing Ways to Expand Your College Education Through Off-Campus Study and Exchanges

Student waving goodbye representing ways to expand your education with off campus studyMost college students know that they can study abroad but fewer realize that there are opportunities for off-campus study without ever leaving the country. Why would you want to do that? Because such exchange programs allow you to explore academic subjects not normally available on your campus or to immerse yourself in one area for a semester. Off-campus study programs can help you establish contacts in distant cities for internships or job opportunities. They can provide you the chance to try something different without having to commit to four years at one campus.

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How Come No One is Talking About Pathetic College Graduation Rates?

Collge graduates representing college graduation rates

College graduates representing college graduation ratesIf college graduation rates were high school graduation rates, every politician, pundit, and policy wonk would be in the mainstream media talking about the crisis of college dropouts and devising ways to tie faculty evaluation to student graduation. Not that such an approach is necessarily the answer. After all, given the situation with high school graduation rates, I’m not sure that we would actually come up with any solutions but, boy, we sure would be talking about it.

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What You Need to Know About College Confidential

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Woman on computer on college confidentialCollege Confidential seems to be a lot like the US News College Rankings. Either people use it blindly as the final word on college admissions or they see it as simply the manifestation of all that is wrong with the college admissions process. The reality is that College Confidential, like US News College Rankings, can be a useful tool in your college search toolbox if used properly.

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