Picking, researching, narrowing, choosing, applying, waiting. This is a crucial year for most seniors, because they have to decide if they are going to stay in Rhode Island for college, or go to an out-of-state school.

Senior Jackie Tantimanaco is one of those seniors, who applied to both schools in Rhode Island, such as URI, and outside of RI. She ultimately chose to go to an out-of-state school.

“I chose to go out of State because even though I love Rhode Island, I wanted to experience new things,” said Tantimanaco, who hopes to major in communications and believes will have more job opportunities outside of RI.

In the United States, the education system is controlled by the individual states instead of the federal government, so each state has a public institution funded by that state. Those who live and pay taxes can attend their state school at a cheaper rate because of these funds.

In Rhode Island, the public institution is the University of Rhode Island, located in Kingston. The cost to attend URI at an in-state rate for the 2014-15 school year was $12,506, whereas attending URI coming from another state and paying out of state tuition was $28,072.

“I want to go to college in Rhode Island because I want as little student debt as possible,” said Junior Alicia Southland. “I also want to stay in Rhode Island because my family lives here and I’m familiar with the state and love the ocean.”

Many NK seniors will also be attending private colleges and universities, which differ from public ones because they do not receive funding from their state. Private colleges are generally more expensive than public universities, but usually have better financial aid benefits and opportunities.

In order to receive financial aid, students must complete a free application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

An alternative way to save money is to do the first two years at a community or in-state-college, such as CCRI, and then transfer to a private or larger public university.

“CCRI is a good option for the first two years for some students who aren’t sure what they want to major in, or if finances are a concern (such as other siblings in college)”, said Ms. Serena Mason, social studies teacher.