<p>Here's where son #2 is so far. He likes RPI and Worcester Polytech. He seems to be gravitating towards very techie schools. BUT these are very expensive schools, and we do not anticipate qualifying for financial aid. (Although we do hold out hope for merit aid.)</p>
<p>So, I'm looking for suggestions of schools that might be similar to these, only public. Out of state tuition will be doable. He is not Cal Tech material, but is a strong student and has excellent SATs.</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon and Rose Hulman both have similar problems to RPI, WPI. I think his stats are probably good enough to get in to these schools, but not "top" enough for good money.</p>
<p>Georgia Tech was on his radar until all the complaining this year about housing... VA Tech might be too big? And I'll look into Illinois - I don't know anything about that school.</p>
<p>I suppose it is hard to find small classes (one of the things he really liked about RPI and WPI) in public schools. What do you think?</p>
<p>Weenie, I think SUNY-Bingo and SUNY-Buffalo should be serious considerations as financial safeties. Also take a peek at RIT, Drexel and Clarkson. Your son should be a strong candidate at these colleges and have a decent shot at merit aid. Drexel/RIT have a good co-op programs too.</p>
<p>There was a thread a few days ago about the fact that Purdue ranked remarkably high in U.S. News's engineering rankings. Its SAT scores are not particularly high; I would think that a student who's seriously considering RPI would be able to get in even from out of state. However, it is a very large university.</p>
<p>Weenie, I won't say my favorite small school, since I've gone on and on about it before! </p>
<p>My S with similar stats (I think) found that Illinois Institute of Technology was very generous with merit aid. If he's on the list have him fill out the no-fee, no essay app that comes through e-mail. My S found that by doing that they were a little more generous with merit aid. He also applied to New Mexico Tech, they are VERY generous with aid, he qualified for in state tuition, it was only going to be $8000 a year, that included tuition and room and board. We did not visit, he did not want to go to the desert, so I don't have first hand experience. He also applied to Colorado School of Mines, but did not receive any merit aid, maybe your son would do better. I have heard only great things about Mines, and Golden is a beautiful place. I think that Golden is close enough to Denver that it is easy to fly in and out of. </p>
<p>I would also look at University of Cincinnati. On paper it looks like a big school but the campus is very compact and the engineering department is very friendly. We were impressed and it remained a possibility right to the end. He would likely receive $5000 merit scholarship as an OOS student. My S also received a department scholarship. Cincinnati front ends its scholarships, only offering them to Freshman, they feel that after Freshman year, they will be co-oping and will be earning money to help them pay tuition.</p>
<p>I also thought about Clarkson, it's right in your neighborhood. We looked for similar schools at your S, he also gravitated towards the small techie schools. I agree, it's kind of a niche market and hard to find.</p>
<p>Although my S did not choose Purdue when he had to transfer from Tulane, he did apply. I had several excellent PMs from a Purdue alum about how it acts like a small school, although it is large. We actually had that experience just during the application process. Worth a look.</p>
<p>I also think that the Engineering schools/departments at many places create a "smaller school" environment for those kids.</p>
<p>My only ideas are non-tech schools, if he will even consider these:
McGill (good price without merit $$), Santa Clara U and St. Louis U (merit $$ possible).</p>
<p>Don't let the housing situation this year at Georgia Tech (many freshmen forced to triple in rooms built for doubles) totally turn you away from the school. Any school could find themselves in the exact same situation next year - its just a matter of being a popular choice and having a higher than expected number of students accept admission.</p>
<p>My son is a GT freshman and totally loves it. Granted, he was lucky enough to end up with only one roommate, but he has found his classes fun and easy (so far) and the social life lively. In fact, he already has a girlfriend! Most science and engineering majors take virtually the same schedule of classes the first year, so not being certain of a major going in is no problem.</p>
<p>Has your son taken a look at the F.W. Olin College of Engineering? It's a unique school in Massachusetts in which students who are accepted do not pay any tuition for the four years, only room and board. They graduated their first class this past year. The entire campus is brand new and beautiful. Some of the best in the nation teach there on fellowships or adjunct positions. It's a very unique techie school (well above RPI) but they do have a pretty good disbursement of students and it might be worth a look.</p>
<p>^I would just like to point out that Olin is very competitive and difficult to get into. The average SAT was 1510 according to Princeton Review!!</p>
<p>Union College has a nice engineering program - it's actually off my son's list because they highly encourage studying overseas - something my son would hate.</p>
<p>NC State is a good engineering school offering any kind of engineering you could think of. They also offer co-op programs if that is an interest. </p>
<p>Also in South Carolina, Clemson University is great for engineering. It has less than 20,000 students, tons of school spirit and a very attractive campus. With a certain gpa and SAT score oos tution is waived.</p>
<p>How's the engineering program in the top public in your state? The top publics in many states have well-regarded engineering programs and there's really not a need to be in the "top 25" schools in the nation.</p>
<p>Case Western Reserve University might be an option. </p>
<p>Fairly high ranking in USNews for National Universities (38), Engineering (39), Biomedical (7), EE (23). </p>
<p>Small school (3500) students, high acceptance rate, slightly less expensive to begin with (~$3K less than comparable schools), and it sounds like they pass out merit money pretty freely.</p>
<p>Anybody know anything else about them?</p>
<p>Oh, yes. According to material S received, students get "free admission to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" in Cleveland.</p>