Colleges and Universities in NEPA (Pittsburgh, Scranton: to buy, high school, salary)

[sheena12]

Donna, Penn State Worthington Scranton in Dunmore has graphic design.
The web site is Penn State Worthington Scranton Home Page
By not for profit I mean, it is a private school but not a proprietary school. A school or college that earns a profit.
I would personally avoid those because they are profit oriented and sometimes they can be shady. Some are unaccredited as well which would mean that when your daughter attempts to transfer she may have problems getting into a four year school.
Keystone College ranked by Peterson's guide to Higher Education as a "competitive" school which means that everyone who applies does not get in. The levels are non-competitive (everyone gets in)
less competitive (most people get in) competitive - (they are somewhat selective about who the let in but this is a very broad and varying category) Very competitive, Highly Competitive, and Most Competitive.
Keystone also offers a degree in graphic design, with a somewhat higher price tag.
I always tell people to just apply and see what type of a financial aid package they put together,
Sometimes a school can be well endowed or have a very generous financial aid program - or just really want your student and they will bend over backwards to make the school affordable.
I hope that this helps!
Let me know if you have more questions! :-)

[sheena12]

forgot to ask - Keystone College is Keystone College
I would check out both of them.

[The Commish]

Originally Posted by donnahonesdale

Even with $15K worth of scholarships, we would still need to come up with close to $8K EVERY year---that is so out of our price range. We are VERY committed to avoiding school loan debts at just about any cost and so most private school in which you room are either out of our price range or the atmosphere is less than desirable.

I'm assuming $8,000 is your EFC. The $32,000-40,000 in college loans she'll have to pay off is *not* a lot of money. I have 4-5 times that much debt after college and law school. My parents just bought a new BMW and my brother is selling his BMW, but I don't expect either of them to help me out. Why would I? It's my education. And repayment on educational loans is the most flexible of any loans. There are so many deferment/forbearance/repayment options that your daughter can easily work around not having a job or having a lower-paying job upon graduation. It's really worth it to invest in her education; it's a cliche but it will pay dividends (provided she doesn't major in the humanities...).

Originally Posted by donnahonesdale

She is looking to major in graphic deisgn with an emphasis on lay out and desgin in the fashion industry.

I would suggest Keystone.

My brother is a pretty successful graduate of the two-year arts program (he transferred elsewhere). It's high quality and a bargain for the cost. Whatever she does, get an actual degree; not a "certificate" in graphic design like they offer at LCCCCCCCCCCCC.

C.

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C....

[donnahonesdale]

Originally Posted by sheena12

Keystone is a fully accredited 2 and 4 year degree granting institution. it is private and not-for -profit.
Students there seem to get quite a bit of personal attention. Grades need not be stellar to gain admission.
I believe there are a few residence hallls.

I would personally avoid those because they are profit oriented and sometimes they can be shady.


Penn State Worthington Scranton in Dunmore has graphic design.

THANKS so much for all this info. I am so out of the loop with this college stuff :0). My daughter had different plans a year ago and was going to be putting of college for a few years. Now I feel like we are so far behind! Oh well, it will help me with the 3 boys years from now!

A few questions:
Sheena12 i was just a little confused about what you said re Keystone. First it appeared to be a poor choice and then it appeared you reccomeded it? Or were your comments re Penn State?

Also, I searched ALL over the Penn State Worthington site and could NOT find a graphic Design major??? I did see a summary of what one could *do* with a GD degree, but not as a major or minor???

TheCommish---THANK you for your input. Even though we do believe that investing in a higher education is very key to anyones success, we are not going to encourage that level of debt---especially for the field she is looking into. It was a HUGE burden to my husband and I to have to pay back that $$. No one knows what the future hold and for me, it ended up being LOTS of children within a short period of time, so my "investment" in my education became a burden to us. Of course, we don't *think* she will get married and have children anytime "soon", but ya neva know. We just want all our children to incur the least amount of debt rather than automatically assume loans MUST be taken. Even if that means going to a less expensive school and even taking a year off to work!

Honestly, even acquiring an A.A. and finding work with a company that reimburses for continuing education is a good option. LOTS of choices here.

I am VERY interested in Keystone. Just called and they do have her major, just not listed?? Wierd. Thanks again!

[marianne milks]

Hi. I just happen to know quite a bit about Keystone, and from different sources. Maybe this will help.
I have been, as an adult, taking art courses at Keystone for a number of years now. I was too snooty at first to think much of a small, out of th4e way college. I started because we had befriended one of the professors there. It was one of the best things I have done! The art program is not only very good: it keeps growing and improving every year. More over: graduates get good jobs and/or are accepted at the best grad programs (Alfred U, RIZD and such) in the country. I have also seen some of the graphic design work. Excellent.
I love the variety. The atmosphere is good and the school is small enough to not get lost in the crowd. Over the past 2 years my husband and I have built up an entirely new circle of friends in that area, almost all teachers there and through them artists of the area, which has given us the opportunity to 'look behind the scenes'. They are immensely dedicated to their students and program. Parents I have spoken to cannot say anything but the best. Another local parent told me recently (not an art/design major) that his daughter received an immense amount of support there from all segments of the college. So good to hear. Distance: Over the back roads it takes just 40 min to get there from Honesdale. BTW: Northhampton has a Honesdale campus, but I don't think that's what you are looking for. MWD has a great and growing art dept as well, but much more costly. (I take classes there as well..also excellent) LCCC, great$ deal, has almost nothing to offer in the arts and is very far. Most schools will really try to help out financially. Good luck! Marianne

[donnahonesdale]

Thanks Marianne!

[ARSENAL670]

Originally Posted by donnahonesdale

Thanks. I forgot about keystone---anyone know much about it??? Good area? Good education??

I graduated from there in 2004. Excellent school...miss it very much. From the time i started to the time I graduated, i had nothing but good experiences...the people and professors were awesome...lots of good memories....and the school has grown tremendously....and continues to grow...

...wish i could go back...

[marianne milks]

You're welcome. Hope she ends up in a good place!

[Georgia to Northeast PA]

donnahonesdale, I know I am a little late in reading this post but I have to say although I do admire your willingness to help your daughter and I am sure she will be grateful for your help, I have to say that it has been my experience that students who pay for at least some of their college themselves through working and or college loans tend to do much better in college then those that get a great deal of help from their parents. I would say there are a lot of things to consider when choosing a college and degree program but helping your daughter to be independent while helping her may really be key to her success. Lots of times I see well meaning parents, not that you are one of these, I don’t know you, help too much and end up handicapping their kids and the kids never get a sense that they can succeed using their abilities and not their parents. Thus we have a ton of our youth in school that lack motivation because parents have always done for them. It is very, very sad to see and even more difficult to teach internal motivation which is what it takes to succeed not only in college but life.

[ScranBarre]

I'll echo Georgia's statement above mine. I worked full-time through college to help finance as much of my education on my own back as possible, and I still graduated *** laude from a difficult program at King's College (and plan to go to graduate school next year). I don't like taking hand outs from others. I'm a STRICT financial conservative (which is a surprise to some as I know my socially liberal rants tick off quite a few). As The Commish said it's our education. We're the ones who will benefit in the future by, on average, far outearning our counterparts who chose not to attend college, so in order to reap that benefit someday we should hold ourselves accountable financially for ensuring that it comes to fruition. If nothing else I'm eventually going to tear out of this over-priced rat race they call Northern Virginia and move to Pittsburgh, where my high salary coupled with the low cost-of-living will permit me to bank a plethora of money, some of which I'll use to give my parents a nice retirement "boost" and some of which I'll use to send former professors of mine on cruises with their spouses to help thank them for making me who I am today.

Why on Earth should someone our age expect everything to be handed to them? Naturally I felt depressed that I couldn't run cross country in high school because I worked full-time to buy my own Ford while my affluent friends had brand new cars handed to them, but such is life. I regretted never getting to enjoy being involved in any sort of true "campus life" due to my hectic job at Lowe's, but that's the path I chose for myself. I feel as if I now know the value of a dollar better and make much more conservative financial decisions than the Starbuck's fiends I've befriended down here who whip out the plastic without a care in the world.

I'd make sure your daughter knew the value of a hard-earned dollar before trying to give her the world. I'm 22 and living on my own earning a $42,000 salary now. I repeatedly turn down offers for financial assistance from my parents. What's the benefit of having your hand sticking out all the time?