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Message
re: TOPS (or lack of it) and the effect on LSU
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:10 am to whodatdude
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:10 am to whodatdude
Ok that clarifies a lot for me. thanks.
1
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:17 am to BruceJender
quote:
BruceJender
quote:
fee bill was around 1,400
Yea, you're spot on with this one.
I hadn't looked at my fee bill in a few months and thought it was $500 as opposed to $1,500.
But still, that's not terrible for a college education.
This post was edited on 2/3/17 at 11:20 am
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:17 am to TigrrrDad
they have no idea. it will come down to the wire, with probably more cuts, as the elgislature will never raise more taxes. the program is unsustainable. at least i got 3.5 semesters of it for my kid.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:17 am to Haydo
My daughter started LSU in the fall. She had a 32 ACT and over a 4.0 gpa. She gets a small amount from LSU, a campus job(limited hours) and tops. With dorms meal plan, tuition, fees, and books it is still close to $1800 per month for this semester (5x 1800= 9000).
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:19 am to Tigerlaff
quote:
Glad I balled out hard on TOPS in 2000-2004.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:19 am to Lsupimp
Also look at American Opportunity Tax Credit. $2500/ yr tax rebate.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:20 am to tiger94gop
quote:
My daughter started LSU in the fall. She had a 32 ACT and over a 4.0 gpa. She gets a small amount from LSU, a campus job(limited hours) and tops. With dorms meal plan, tuition, fees, and books it is still close to $1800 per month for this semester (5x 1800= 9000).
She, well you, would have done much better sending her out of stat with those stats. If things are like this when my baby girl goes to college, she won't be going to LSU. (unless she just really wants to, but my bank account hopes not
)
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:20 am to TigrrrDad
quote:
With a 33 on the ACT, that's still over $15,000/yr. for LSU - and that score will get you a full ride at some good schools elsewhere.
You are absolutely right. LSU has their heads in the sand. Their scholarships for high scoring students are shite. Several other regional schools (SEC included) offer way better deals/scholarships. Bama offers way better deals to students with high ACT scores. You can't blame a kid and his parents for sending him there when LSU simply doesn't add up cost-wise.
I think the cut in tops will cause LSU enrollment to drop and possibly increase attendance to other local 4 year schools that are cheaper and closer to people's homes.
All those fancy apartment complexes are probably in trouble. Parents paid for them because they were getting a cut on tuition with TOPS.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:22 am to whodatdude
quote:
The 1750 was the Spring Semester payment after the state TOPS cuts and was only 41.8% of a normal award. Fully funded, TOPS would have been about $3700 per semester
Oh, believe me, I think TOPS fully funded is an amazing gift to La. residents. But I am basing everything off its level this semester and the prospect of this not changing due to the $300 million shortfall. My kid will qualify for Honors TOPS and at least $2K/yr. merit scholarship (even though he "forgot" to turn in his application for National Honor Society yesterday and missed the deadline
) and I'm sure I'd just dish out an extra $10-20K over 4 years before sending him out of state. It just sucks that they haven't straightened this out yet with a common sense approach.This post was edited on 2/3/17 at 11:25 am
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:30 am to logjamming
quote:
Before they tightened the belt, any swinging dick could get a good sum of money to go to LSU. In a lot of cases, marginal students would spend a few semesters at LSU, paying the bare minimum, and then leave or flunk out; making any tuition paid through tops essentially dead money.
This is flat out false. Most people assume this is a problem, but it really hasn't been. The last TOPS report I saw showed that less than 14% of all award winners failed out completely. That number has steadily trended down every year of the program's existence. The ones that made it only a few semesters are even fewer by percentage. The ones that did that at LSU are astronomically low. The program actually did a pretty good job of incentivizing students to keep up with their grades.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:36 am to LNCHBOX
Graduated as a National Merit commended, just missed finalist. She could have gotten a better ride at Tech and a full ride at other LA Schools. She is in ME and the honors college and really didn't want to look at other schools. Dorm and meal plan is the worst expense.
She had several friends mull over Bama offers and many went out of State on full rides with less scores. I was very disappointed in what LSU offers to good in-State students, but she is in the dorm with several out of state students (full rides) and they didn't have her scores. I was also very disappointed in her that she didn't apply to more places. She was always focused on LSU. Currently, I am really disappointed cutting the checks. Next semester she will move home, apartment, or win an RA position. I am okay with tuition, it is the bullshite that pisses me off.
She had several friends mull over Bama offers and many went out of State on full rides with less scores. I was very disappointed in what LSU offers to good in-State students, but she is in the dorm with several out of state students (full rides) and they didn't have her scores. I was also very disappointed in her that she didn't apply to more places. She was always focused on LSU. Currently, I am really disappointed cutting the checks. Next semester she will move home, apartment, or win an RA position. I am okay with tuition, it is the bullshite that pisses me off.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 11:43 am to TigrrrDad
Completely agree. It's frustrating that the program doesn't have stability right now, not just for parents but for institutions as well. The 300 million shortfall is only for mid-year.
Until the state fixes how they collect revenue (looking at you, Stelly tax), this will be an issue for years to come.
The only way I'd ever recommend a student go out of state is if they receive a scholarship large enough to cover the non-resident fees that are charged or if they utilize academic common market to waive the non-resident fees.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:03 pm to tiger94gop
quote:
My daughter started LSU in the fall. She had a 32 ACT and over a 4.0 gpa. She gets a small amount from LSU, a campus job(limited hours) and tops. With dorms meal plan, tuition, fees, and books it is still close to $1800 per month for this semester (5x 1800= 9000).
This is insane. LSU should fix this. A kid with these credentials should not be paying this much.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:06 pm to TigrrrDad
Tops sends kids to school who probably have no business even graduating high school
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:06 pm to tiger94gop
quote:
but she is in the dorm with several out of state students (full rides) and they didn't have her scores.
This is good info. I may have to use a Mississippi address when my daughter goes to college.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:11 pm to LSUcjb318
quote:
It's funny how conservatives hate socialist programs and free stuff for people that cant afford things until you take theirs awa
TOPS was supposed to be merit based with the intention of keeping the best and brightest in state. Not just a free handout. It became a huge waste of taxpayer money on kids that have no business going to college at all.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:21 pm to tiger94gop
Damn, y'all fricked up sending her to LSU.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:26 pm to whodatdude
Almost 11K per year just for tuition in state at LSU. That's outrageous.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:27 pm to LSUcjb318
quote:
It's funny how conservatives hate socialist programs and free stuff for people
It ain't free. Someones tax dollars are being spent on stupid stuff. Fix the roads, guard the borders don't redistribute money to other peoples.
Posted on 2/3/17 at 12:37 pm to logjamming
I know it's hard to imagine, but Louisiana has been babied in the aspect of higher ed for a long time now due to TOPs. Yes, I had TOPs, and I'm glad I came out with zero loans, but be realistic. We are the only state that basically blanket pays for qualified students tuition. We also have some of the lowest higher ed costs in the nation. Eventually both of those will change. We will increase tuition 10% a year up to the regional average, per law, and we will get rid of TOPs. Like another poster said, not everyones cut out for college, so dont give everyone money to go. Id rather see anyone be able to go to a tech school paid for by govt. Louisiana is already lacking in a skilled workforce, especially northern LA. Leave higher ed for those willing to pay for their education. It will make them work harder for it, and get some of the crap out of colleges.
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