Eleventh Hour Applications and Rolling Admissions

You may have missed the November 30 deadline for California Public Universities (both UC and CSU), and the December deadlines for many colleges, but you have not yet run out of options.  Many colleges have deadlines in January or February, and some have rolling admissions, which means there is no set application deadline.  There may, however, be limited spots at these rolling admission schools, so it's better to get your application in sooner than later.

For a long (though not necessarily comprehensive) list of schools still accepting applications, visit the  College Simply website Application Deadlines page.  Be sure to check deadlines with individual colleges as well.

Niche.com has a list of schools with rolling admissions, which includes some excellent schools like Montana State University and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.  US News and World Report also has a list of 11 highly rated colleges that have rolling admissions deadlines.

Think you can't afford these out of state or private schools?  Be aware that many schools offer both need-based and merit-based financial aid, and private schools often have more aid available than public universities.  By law, each university is required to have a net price calculator on their website, which should provide an estimate of what it would actually cost YOU to go there. For low and middle income students, this is generally significantly less than the published cost of attendance.  Just search the website for "net price calculator".

Also be sure to take advantage of any regional tuition exchange programs, including the Western Undergraduate Exchange for Western States, the New England Regional Student Program, the Midwest Student Exchange Program, and the Southern States Academic Common Market.  Details vary between programs, but most offer students from qualifying states reduced tuition at participating institutions. Generally, instead of paying out of state tuition, the student pays 150% of the in-state tuition cost.  Depending on which state you are coming from and which state you are going to, this may actually be less than in-state tuition in your home state.

Remember, once you've submitted your application, watch your mail and email for notifications of follow-up instructions and take care of submitting any additional information needed in a timely manner.  Also be sure to complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible after January 1st, regardless of whether you have already completed your college applications or not!

Weighing your Options - Net Price and Financial Considerations

In California, where I live and work, there are 3 college systems: the California Community Colleges (with approximately 113 colleges), the California State University system with 23 campuses, and the 10-campus University of California system.  Tuition prices vary widely between these systems, with the community colleges providing a bargain at $1104 per year, the CSU system offering a moderate price of $7022, and the UC system topping out at approximately $13,896 per year in tuition and fees.  Conventional wisdom in California is that the UC system is much more expensive than CSU, and the numbers above would seem to support this idea.

However, the prices quoted above are just for tuition and fees.  Including estimates for room and board, books, travel, etc. the total cost of attendance for a student paying full price is as follows:

Community College                    $14,604
California State University          $23,478
University of California               $31,816

Once again, it would seem that UC is by far the most expensive, community colleges the least expensive, with the CSU system comfortably nestled in the middle.  A major caveat here is that the prices above are for a student paying the full price; that is, a student with no financial aid whatsoever.

However, most low and middle income students do not pay the full price of attendance.  Both the state of California and the federal government have grants available for low income students, and the state of California and the public universities offer grant assistance middle income students as well.  The net price is the amount the family will have to pay either from savings or student loans; this is the actual price paid after all grants and scholarships are applied towards the cost of attendance.  When you factor in grants and other forms of gift aid (financial aid that does not need to be paid back), the ranking of the systems by net price changes considerably.  Consider the following net costs for a student in a family of 3, only one student in college, for the following family income levels:

                                                  < $30,000             $50,000            $100,000

Community College                    $8,411                $11,524            $13,689
California State University        $10,620                $16,726            $23,478
University of California               $8,500                $11,130            $25,544

The above net cost values are for a California resident living on campus, dependent for financial aid purposes (under 24, not married or active duty military, student has no dependents).

Take a few minutes to carefully study the above table.  Does this surprise you?  When I calculated out the net cost, I was certainly surprised.  This turns conventional wisdom upside down.  For a student with a family income less than $30,000, the "expensive" UC system is within $100 of the cost of a community college.  And for a middle income student with a family income of $50,000, the net price for UC is actually less than for a community college!  I experimented with several types of family composition and income, and in every case, up to a family income of $90,000, the UC system came out with a lower net price than CSU.  This is presumably because the UC system has more grant aid available for students who qualify.

Of course, one benefit to attending the local community college is the ability to live at home, and this will certainly result in cost savings.  There are also other factors that are important in choosing a college; most community colleges and many of the CSU campuses are smaller and may feel more personal than a large UC school.  Certain schools may have a particular major or program of interest, such as the Oceanography program at Humboldt State, or the fantastic culinary arts program at American River College in Sacramento.  Admissions at UC campuses can also be fiercely competitive, and some students may not be able to go directly from high school into the UC system.  The point here is not that everyone should go into the University of California.  Many people, however, assume that the UC system is out of reach financially, and this is a huge misconception.  After all, it is the net price, not the sticker price, that matters in the end.

Net price calculators can be found on each school's website. This is true for both public and private colleges and universities.  Although I did not include the data above, my calculations for several out of state and private schools showed a net price in between the UC and CSU values.  Before ruling out schools based on how much you think they will cost, spend some time playing with the net price calculators - you may be surprised at how the different schools stack up financially.