<p>Thanks for all the suggestions. S is quite attracted to Olin but their residual COA after their half-tuition scholarship is still over 40K! Their room and board is $14.5K. I don’t think we’d qualify for need-based aid on top of that (our FAFSA EFC is close to 40K). I’m praying that they’ll somehow manage to go back to full-tuition scholarships by 2014, but I know that’s a long shot. </p>
<p>Cornell does not give merit aid but they do give very generous need-based aid even for middle-class families with scary FAFSA EFCs – our family contribution for our older son there is considerably less than our FAFSA EFC.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, UVM has a beautiful campus and would definitely be acceptable under the “suburban school with a nice campus” criterion. There are other reasons why he doesn’t want to go there, and as I said, it’s not as cheap as one would hope for in-state, but it’s certainly a possibility. But no, we don’t consider Burlington to be rural I may be mis-remembering, but I thought RPI’s campus had much more of a “city campus” feel to it. RIT felt more open and green.</p>
<p>One thing these replies are raising for us is the issue of school size. I guess I’ve sort of assumed that bigger is better for engineering because you’re likely to have better facilities, and classes like calculus and mechanics can be taught perfectly well in a huge lecture hall. (Whereas a class like philosophy would benefit more from a more intimate group discussion.) This is probably my own warped perspective from having studied at a large school. </p>
<p>We know on paper what the trade-offs are, but what do people specifically think about the pros and cons of smaller schools for engineering in particular.</p>
<p>Also, it seems to me that a liberal arts college, even one that offers accredited engineering programs, is an odd choice for someone not planning on studying the liberal arts. For a kid who is not particularly interested in getting a “well-rounded” education (he’d be thrilled if there were no distribution requirements at all, and he could take math, science and engineering courses exclusively), I’m thinking a school with “tech” somewhere in the name is more likely to be a good fit. Thoughts?</p>
<p>What about UConn? I don’t know much about their aid but it is very rural. It is a beautiful campus with rolling hills and great ice cream at the Dairy Bar (made from the on campus cows.) My son attended a 5 day “Explore Engineering” program there at the end of June for high school students. It is now his top choice. We have also looked at UMass Amherst and Lowell, WPI, UNH, Roger Williams, RIT (His Dad’s and my 1st choice due to the co-op program) and Clarkson.</p>
<p>Here’s how the list is shaping up right now. (You’ll notice that there are some Urban schools on the list still. But S wanted some more rural/suburban schools to check out, and now he has some.) The list is way too long, but we have time They’re listed more or less from more to less “reachy” (guesstimated) though I’m not really sure where the Canadian schools fit. I think most of the schools on the list are at least potentially affordable (that is, they offer either very good need-based aid – MIT/Cornell/Princeton, or they offer very good merit aid, though in some cases getting the top merit needed to make it affordable would also be a big reach). He’s a joint US/Canadian citizen which makes the Canadian schools affordable.</p>
<p>So… not so much a list of rural northeastern engineering schools as much as a list of potentially-affordable engineering schools in the northeast, with a leaning toward less urban options…</p>
<p>MIT (yeah, it’s the opposite of rural, but it’s MIT…)
Olin (probably getting axed for cost reasons)
Cornell
Princeton
UMD College Park (only affordable with full banneker/key)
RPI (iffy on affordability)
U of Waterloo
U of Toronto (will probably be removed based on big-city location)
McGill (likewise, likely to be removed based on big-city location)
Queens
Lehigh University (getting the big merit needed will be a stretch)
Rutgers
Umass Amherst
Northeastern (only affordable if NMF)
Bucknell (may be cut due to non-affordability)
Drexel (may be cut due to location)
WPI (iffy on affordability)
University of Pittsburgh (probably will be axed based on location)
Boston University (will probably be removed based on big-city location)
RIT
University at Buffalo (SUNY)
SUNY Stony Brook
U of Rochester
Polytechnic Institute of NY (may be axed based on location)
Clarkson
University of Connecticutt (Storrs)
University of Rhode Island
UVM</p>
<p>U Western Ontario is in London, but my understanding is that the campus has a lot of green space. Western is supposed to be a fun school, and I believe the engineering program is solid.</p>
<p>You might want to check out U Delaware as well; I’m not sure about the costs there but I’m sure you can find out.</p>
<p>Western does have a nice campus, though I don’t think of it as an engineering school – more strength in the sciences perhaps? Or am I wrong about that? I lived in Ontario for a chunk of my life, but it was a while back.</p>
<p>Doesn’t FLMathMom have a son at Olin? The admission procedure is very rigorous. I believe that after the initial application, a selected number are invited to the campus for a formal weekend interview, where they can watch the students interact on projects. </p>
<p>My D looked at Union. She visited about 3 or 4 times, and it was on the top of her list for a while. Things she loved about it: the campus, the students, Nott Hall, distance from home, and study abroad.
She didn’t like that it only has 3 engineering majors, and the rest of the majors are liberal arts. The mechanical engineering graduating class has less than 50 kids.</p>
<p>Yes, I think FLMathMom and colorado_mom both have sons at Olin. The admission process is definitely very rigorous, and because it involves the candidates weekend, seems particularly “engaging” making it hard to remain dispassionate both about rejection or (perhaps worse?) acceptance with an unaffordable package…</p>
<p>Since you are looking a bit farther afield, how about Virginia Tech? I think you could drive there in one day from VT. If you are removing BU because it is too urban, you should remove Northeastern on the same grounds.</p>
<p>People seem to think that the engineering programs at U Maine Orono are their strongest feature…and I believe there is some sort of regional reciprocity, at least if your state U doesn’t have precisely the desired major.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone answered your question about Princeton’s campus. It is definitely self-contained suburban. You also might want to consider Dartmouth. It has the Tuck School of Engineering, where I <em>think</em> undergrads can take courses, the FA is excellent, and the campus and environs meet your specifications perfectly.</p>
<p>It’s true, Northeastern is obviously just as urban as BU. If he looks likely for NMF, it will probably stay on the list, because for NMF, Northeastern, Drexel (also urban) and UMass Amherst represent his best bets for big guaranteed merit. </p>
<p>UMaine looks financially viable, we’ll check it out. (UVM offers enough majors that he’d have to pick something pretty esoteric to benefit from the regional reciprocity program.)</p>
<p>Dartmouth has an unusual arrangement for their Engineering programs. Although I like that they don’t specialize too early on, it looks like completing the ABET-accredited BE degree generally requires 4.5 - 5.5 years – and I doubt their financial aid is <em>that</em> good ;-)</p>
<p>^^ I was interpreting 3 extra terms of school as 1.5 years, but it’s a quarter-system school, so that’s actually only 1 extra year – so the BE usually takes 5 years. It can be done in 4 if you come in with a lot of AP credit.</p>
I liked U Maine a lot when I looked at it, but with no reciprocity from my state it was not affordable. It’s certainly worth a look.
My feeling was similar, and I knew I wanted a more traditional engineering program. That said, a few classmates of mine ended up at Dartmouth for engineering and by all accounts they are doing well.</p>
<p>McGill is a VERY urban set-up … there is a campus but laid out with city streets running through the campus … and in a very dense urban part of Montreal.</p>
<p>Although McGill is urban, it has a very nice campus. And what a location! I love Montreal. Few urban campuses appeal to me, McGill is one of them.</p>
<p>On another thread here, it says that students at McGill can only live on campus for freshman year. That would be a significant downside for this particular kid.</p>
I may be mis-remembering, but I thought RPI’s campus had much more of a “city campus” feel to it. RIT felt more open and green.</p>