Decision Board
After each tour, open that school's guide and hit ⭐ My Take: a verdict (shortlist / undecided / pass), star ratings on the eight things that matter, and visit notes. It all lands here — ranked, so the shortlist writes itself. Stored only on this device.
Recommended matches
He keeps coming back to Penn State and Pitt — big, spirited public research universities with a direct-path business school and real value. So the five schools added to this list all share that DNA: large Big Ten / SEC flagships, strong undergraduate business programs, game-day spirit, and mostly likely-to-target admit odds. Ranked below by how closely they echo what he already loves, with a rough admit read for his profile.
❤️ His two anchors
Penn State (the giant Big Ten flagship + Smeal, White Out Saturdays) and Pitt (city campus, direct-admit business, cheapest sticker for a PA family) are the reference points. Everything below is chosen to feel like one of these two — same scale, same spirit, same business focus — while adding out-of-state options with generous merit.
🎯 How to read the ranking
Likely = his profile is comfortably above the school's middle-50%; Target = right in the mix, a solid shot. All five are public and FAFSA-only (one-parent income). The out-of-state ones compete on stat-based merit, so a strong transcript lowers the price directly. Tap any card for the full guide.
Admit reads are rough guides from each school's Scorecard acceptance rate and middle-50% SAT band vs. a strong applicant profile — not predictions. Rate each after you visit (⭐ My Take) and they'll re-sort on the Decision Board above. See the Aid Estimator for cost ranges by income.
What would each school actually cost?
Sticker prices are fiction — what matters is the net price after aid, and it depends on which household's income each school counts. Pick an income bracket to see rough planning ranges, cheapest first. These are estimates built from each school's published aid policies and federal data — the schools' own net price calculators (linked below) give the real answer.
Tip: for the nine public/state schools (Delaware, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana, South Carolina, UMass), "income" means only the parent the student lives with. For the four private (CSS Profile) schools (Fordham, Northeastern, BU, Tufts) it usually means both parents combined — if those are different numbers for your family, check both brackets.
Planning ranges per year including housing, before loans — modeled July 2026 from each school's aid policy (need-met pledges, merit programs), College Scorecard income-bracket data, and published grant averages. Actual offers move with assets, siblings in college, and annual changes. Every family should run the calculators: UD · Penn State · Pitt · Rutgers · Ohio State · Michigan State · Indiana · South Carolina · UMass · Fordham · Northeastern · BU · Tufts · MyinTuition (fast 3-minute estimates for several of these).
💔 Divorced parents: the rule that changes everything
Since the 2024 FAFSA overhaul, the FAFSA counts one parent: the one who provides the most financial support (usually the parent the student lives with). The other parent's income is invisible to it.
- FAFSA ONLY Delaware, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana, South Carolina & UMass (all nine publics) — aid is computed on the one FAFSA household. A moderate custodial income reads as high need here no matter what the other parent earns. The out-of-state publics lean on merit (stat-based, income-blind) rather than need, so a strong transcript matters as much as the income line.
- CSS + BOTH PARENTS Fordham, Northeastern, BU, Tufts — these use the CSS Profile with noncustodial-parent information. Both households' income and assets count toward institutional aid. If the other parent earns well, the generous "meets 100% of need" pledges shrink fast.
- Waivers exist but are strict: CSS noncustodial waivers are for no-contact/abandonment situations — not for "he won't pay." Divorce decrees saying who pays for college don't bind the aid formulas.
🐘 Pennsylvania money that travels (or doesn't)
- PA State Grant (PHEAA): income-based, up to ~$5,750/yr — works at the PA schools (Penn State, Pitt) and is portable to Delaware, Massachusetts, and Ohio (UD, UMass, Northeastern, BU, Tufts, and Ohio State) but NOT to New Jersey, Michigan, Indiana, South Carolina, or New York — so Rutgers, Michigan State, Indiana, South Carolina, and Fordham can't use it. A moderate-income household often qualifies for a partial grant.
- PA 529 plans spend anywhere, with a PA state-tax deduction on contributions.
- American Opportunity Tax Credit: up to $2,500/yr back at tax time for tuition payers under the income caps.
- Federal baseline everyone gets: $5,500 first-year federal loan (rising yearly), plus work-study eligibility where need exists.
🎯 The strategy in one paragraph
For a family where the FAFSA parent earns a moderate income: if the combined-parent picture is also moderate, the CSS need-met schools (BU, Northeastern, Tufts) can drop below the publics. If the noncustodial household earns a lot, those schools jump toward sticker and the winners become the FAFSA-only publics — with Pitt as the affordability anchor (~$38K in-state sticker, ~$23K net at moderate income, direct-admit business), Delaware/UMass adding automatic merit, and the out-of-state Big Ten/SEC publics competing on stat-based merit: Indiana (Kelley) and South Carolina (Darla Moore) are the most generous and can land in the mid-$40Ks; Ohio State adds real merit plus the portable PA grant; Rutgers is closest to home but stingiest on out-of-state aid. Penn State's own aid is famously thin — its sticker barely bends. Run the NPCs both ways before ranking anything.
🗓️ Aid deadlines to calendar
- Junior year (2026–27): run every NPC twice — once with custodial income only, once combined — before building the final list
- Oct 1, 2027: CSS Profile opens (needed for the four privates; ~$25/school, fee waivers exist)
- Fall 2027: FAFSA opens — file early; PA State Grant deadline typically May 1 for fall
- With each ED/EA deadline: aid forms are due at or near the application date — late forms mean late (worse) packages
- Spring 2028: compare official offers line-by-line; appeal with competing offers where reasonable
Pick a school
Each guide has the same sections — overview, admissions, costs & aid, the business program, hiring outcomes, student life & demographics, pros & cons, honest criticisms, visit logistics, nearby food & sights, and an application timeline — so schools are easy to compare apples-to-apples.
Compare the schools
Sticker costs are before aid — net cost after merit/need aid differs a lot by school (each guide's Costs section has the details). Scroll the table sideways on a phone.
Sources: each school's Common Data Set, admissions and financial-aid pages, U.S. News 2026, College Scorecard — compiled July 2026. Verify current figures with official sites.
How to use this app
📱 Install it
Add to your home screen (☰ menu → "Add to home screen") — it installs as an app, works offline once loaded, and each school guide has one-tap directions and admissions contacts for the visit day.
🔄 Keep it fresh
The ☰ menu's Update app button pulls the latest version instantly. The version stamp at the bottom of the menu tells you what you're running.
⚖️ Trust but verify
Every number is sourced (see each guide's Sources section) and Reddit quotes are real archived posts — but data changes annually and anecdotes are anecdotes. Confirm anything decision-critical with the school.