Iyer

Vignesh Iyer
WRTG 2010
SEC 005
March 28th, 2016
Jessie Richards

Synthesis #2: Literature Review Draft

For collegiate students, specifically out of state, many factors influence choice selection
of schooling. Many authors of different pieces have posed a stance on which factors have an
effect on college students and why these effects matter when it comes to the decision making.
These effects in this literature review are represented as clusters. The clusters being analyzed are
price differences and financial support, educational value and quality, along with campus life and
worthiness.
The factors that influence students on whether or not an out of state school is worth it fall
under clusters. Within these clusters are formations of similarities called camps. These clusters
are price differences, educational value, and campus life. The camps that lie within each are
correlated to each of the clusters in the same order; financial support, quality, and worthiness.
Price differences and its correlation to financial support refers to the influence of financial
support a university is willing to give, and whether or not it is worth it. Educational value and its
correlation to quality refers to the influence on what a University has to offer in terms of teaching
style and quality. The campus life cluster is correlated to worthiness because an engaging campus
life will determine how worth a college campus can be and how much a student will gain out of

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the experience. These are major factors taken into account when applying for a school,
specifically out of state.
Price Differences and Financial Aid
The correlation between price differences and financial aid is an influence towards a
students college choice, specifically out of state. Not every student can afford to travel out of
state and study due to the difference in prices, but financial aid is a big draw in towards an
institution. Donald E. Hellers The Effects of Tuition and State Financial Aid on Public College
Enrollment from The Review of Higher Education describes price and financial aid analyzes
and interprets price and financial support from higher education institutions and how some
students may not want to partake in such Universities due to the costs. Heller also makes the
correlation that the amount of financial support given from the institutions will determine
whether or not a student will want to join the institution and pay the tuition. Although this isn't
directed towards only out of state schooling, one can make the generalization that this can greatly
effect a student when it comes to out of state schooling because the price gap is a big jump from
what an in state school might be. Mark Schneiders Where Does All That Tuition Go? is
unique because he instead of describing how much of a difference tuition is, he analyzes where
all of this money goes. This article can allow majority of student readers to think on whether or
not the price for out of state education is worth it and if it is, he/she can ask themselves, where
is all my money going?. Lisa Barrow narrows down all of these posed stances inDoes College
Still Pay? from The Economists. She analyzes whether or not the overall price of college is
worth it. Another article that was similarly intriguing is Where Does That Tuition Money Go?
It's Time for Colleges to Answer. by Ben Bransetter explains Barrows argument in depth by
saying that as American life and standards have increased, the price of higher education will

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increase. This is seen almost everyday as living standards are rising. Bransetter generalizes
where the money goes and how it will influence society and how they will decide their collegiate
futures. Price and its direct relationship to financial support is an important asset to a student
going out of state because it not only allows the student to narrow down what he/she can afford,
but also think about how much in financial support, I.e. Scholarships, is given to the student. On
a personal basis, this effected me applying for some of many universities because out of state
tuition is a big financial jump from in state tuition, and it can sometimes be more than double
than what in state tuition is, and seems to be an unfair system.
Educational Value and Quality
The correlation between education value and quality is a major factor towards higher
education selection. Many students that travel out of state and even to schools in state look for a
valuable education and the quality of material that is being taught. Patricia Gurin, Biren Nagda,
and Gretchen Lopez analyze this in The Benefits Of Diversity in Education for Democratic
Citizenship in the Journal of Social Issues. These authors discuss the educational value that is
provided by diversity. The term diversity in this case refers to students that are applying to an
institution which happens to be out of state. If a student from a different state enters a new state
in hopes for a good higher education, diversity will dictate the educational value and quality the
student is hoping for. Caroline M. Hoxbys How the Changing Market Structure of U.S. Higher
Education Explains College Tuition, from The National Bureau of Economic Research, analyzes
the market structure and how it affects college quality, alongside tuition. This is a very unique
take on college education because it analyzes the outside factors that affect quality of higher
education. This also correlates to educational value because in this logic, if the market structure
slightly changes, the quality of education changes which then directly effects the value of

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education. George D. Kuhs The Other Curriculum: Out-of-Class Experiences Associated with
Student Learning and Personal Development from The Journal of Higher Education, uses the
phrase out-of-class as a foundation to grant readers to connector this term to something bigger.
The term out-of-class in this context can be used to analyze and discuss what attributes to
student development, and differing outcomes amongst different institutions. At first, this may not
seem like a direct relation to educational value and quality, but when deeper understood,
educational value and its quality contribute to student development and in this context, it is
different amongst varying institutions. Although the prices for institutions like the University Of
Utah are high (specifically out of state), it both provides educational value and a good quality of
education reflected upon its courses and professors throughout the campus for the price.
Educational value and its quality is important towards a student and/or collegiate going into
higher education. This factor shapes a students choice for an out of state school versus an in
state school because a student will generally prefer higher educational value and quality of
education rather than staying where education value and quality lacks.
Campus Life and Worthiness
Campus life and worthiness is a major key role is a students selection towards higher
education, whether it's out of state or in state. A perfect example of campus life and worthiness
towards a student would be the example I provided under educational value and quality is
George D. Kuhs The Other Curriculum: Out-of-Class Experiences Associated with Student
Learning and Personal Development from The Journal of Higher Education. Kuh discusses
out-of-class as a way to describe student development. This can also be viewed as a way of
development through campus life and not just through educational development. The amount of
programs a campus has to offer can contribute towards a students success and also develop new

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lifestyles. Another example of an Out-of-class experience would be majority of the programs
offered in todays institutions. The University of Utah, for example, offers an Out-of-class
experience with various programs that arent just academic and that provide students with a
bright campus life. An institution, regardless of out of state is much more worth the time and cost
if there is a sufficient amount that the school has to offer.
Conclusion
Price differences and financial aid are important factors towards a student making a
choice for an out of state school. Out of state schooling is an expensive endeavor, especially
when out of state tuition is twice and even more than what an in state student would be paying.
There are alternatives, like financial aid that help students get through years of higher education,
but at the same time, a scholarship is very limited and that alone cant help a student pay off
college. Majority of students that go to out of state institutions end up taking loans, which grows
yearly depending on how many years the student is in school due to interest. An example of a
very high priced institution is the University of Utah. Not only does this school charge extremely
high prices for tuition, but especially for an out of state student having to travel back home on
breaks adds on to the costs yearly, along side with a residency, which is a hassle.
Educational value and quality is a key contributor towards decision making for an out of
state school. A student could easily look at in-state and out of state schools and compare different
sub factors like class size, professors, and overall ratings of the types of education each major
has to offer. For example, the University of Utah is astounding for its medical and engineering
route majors because of the educational value and the quality of education it has to offer.
Students taking major tests like the MCAT and LSAT need a high quality of education, and that's

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why it is essential to a student to go to an out of state school that offers high educational value
and quality.
Campus life and worthiness is generally also looked upon when applying and/or
attending higher education. Going out of state can be stressful for a student just because it's a
new environment and majority of the times, it can be overwhelming. When a student is offered
programs and activities on campus, this makes higher education lively for the student. Examples
of this are universal because almost every school has something other than academics to offer for
a student.

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Work Cited
Barrow, Lisa. Does College Still Pay? The Economists Voice 2.4 (200): 1-8. Print.
Heller, Donald E. "The Effects of Tuition and State Financial Aid on Public College Enrollment."
The Review of Higher Education 23.1 (1995): 65-89. Print
Schneider, Mark. "Where Does All That Tuition Go?" aei.org. N.p., Dec. 2009. Web. 28 Feb.
2015. <http://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/09-EduO-Dec-g.pdf>.
Branstetter, Ben. "Where Does That Tuition Money Go? It's Time for Colleges to Answer."
theweek.com. N.p., 24 May 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
Gurin, Patricia, Biren Nagda, and Gretchen Lopez. "The Benefits of Diversity in Education for
Democratic Citizenship." Journal of Social Issues 60.1 (2004): 17-34. Print.
Hoxby, Caroline M. How the Changing Market Structure of U.S. Higher Education Explains
College Tuition. National Bureau of Economic Research (1997): 1-77. Print.
Kuh, George D. "The Other Curriculum: Out-of-Class Experiences Associated with Student
Learning and Personal Development." The Journal of Higher Education 66.2 (1995): 123-55.
Print.