<p>Hello peoples! It's almost time to apply to colleges, and although I have a list, it's rather... lopsided. So, if anyone knows of some good suggestions to add, they would be very appreciated.</p>
<p>Anywho, my current list~</p>
<p>MIT
Cornell
Carnegie Mellon
UChicago(maybe, not sure)
Pitt</p>
<p>The thing that worries me most is the fact that if I don't get into the first 4, I'm left with just Pitt (not that it's a bad school, I just want a few more probable choices). So, I'm looking for a few in-between suggestions. </p>
<p>I'm looking for schools mainly in the northeast, with good math and engineering(hence my uncertainty for Chicago) programs. Also, I'm interested in spanish and music, though I doubt either will amount to a major or even a minor. </p>
<p>Selectivity wise, I'm hoping for something between Carnegie and Pitt. Also, either good merit aid, or good need based aid would be helpful. My academic stats in the ballpark for MIT and such, so should (hopefully) qualify for some.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for reading this post, and thanks for any answers.</p>
<p>What are your scores/grades/EC’s? Also, is there a certain size school you’d prefer?</p>
<p>My grades, unweighted, are probably about 99% (school doesn’t do 4 pt scale), and my SAT’s are 800M 750CR 690W. I play sports (though I’m not that good), do stagecrew for the school play, play piano, and some Student Gov’t.</p>
<p>School size doesn’t matter too much to me. I’m not too picky.</p>
<p>What about U of Rochester or Swarthmore? U of R has good sciences as well as music. Also Boston College, Bowdoin, or Tufts?</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll look into them. You don’t happen to know about aid/scholarships at any of those schools?</p>
<p>I know U of R does because I’m applying there 
If you go to their website, they have a list 5 pages long of merit scholarships. I can’t comment on the others though. I took Tufts off my list because it was too expensive, but they may offer decent need-based aid if you qualify.</p>
<p>I’ll second U of R. They have both merit aid and very good need based aid as well as what you are looking for in academics. They ended up slightly less expensive for us than Pitt though that’s not why my guy chose them. He chose them because he prefers it over his other options and it’s affordable.</p>
<p>Pitt has gotten much more competitive for merit aid but with a 1550 CR+M you should have a good shot. Are you sure you’ll qualify for need based aid? How much can your family actually afford? What is your home state? Some state flagship Us are nearly as good as the schools you’ve listed.</p>
<p>Look at Columbia’s School of Engineering: [The</a> Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science - Columbia University](<a href=“http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/]The”>http://www.engineering.columbia.edu/) UMD has outstanding engineering if you’d consider a big state U. Access to DC, which is a fun city, is also good and the weather is decent except for Jan and Feb.</p>
<p>@Erin’s Dad
My parents can’t really afford to pay much at all (partly because I have an older brother in college), but, from what I’ve found online, most of my cost should be covered by aid at MIT and Cornell (I haven’t looked deeply enough into the others to make such a judgement for them). My home state’s PA, but I’m not so sure about applying to Penn State due to all the fines/lawsuits/leadership changes (Are my fears valid?)</p>
<p>Not sure about Penn State. What’s going on won’t affect the general education but football games certainly won’t be the same if that’s your cup of tea. If Cornell and MIT would cover what your family can’t pay that’s to the good. For a safety you can consider Alabama (which WILL have a good football team). Momof2collegekids swears by it (son premed I think). Good engineering and full scholarship.</p>
<p>University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa will have full out of state tuition + $2,500 per year for you, with remaining cost of attendance about $12,500 per year.</p>
<p>University of Alabama - Huntsville will have a near-full ride for you. So will Louisiana Tech, Prairie View A&M, and Howard.</p>
<p>Minnesota, NCSU, Virginia Tech, Cal Poly SLO, Stony Brook, Iowa State, SD Mines, and NM Mines are relatively low cost schools, though whether they will actually be affordable depends on what your actual cost limit is.</p>
<p>Do you have National Merit Finalist status? If so, Texas A&M will have a scholarship that reduces cost of attendance to about $12,500 per year if you list it as your first choice.</p>