We loved Olin. It is very selective but affordability has always been a priority: Afford | Olin College of Engineering
Olin is very well-respected, often considered on a par with MIT for quality, project-based, small.
UMass Amherst, Lowell, Boston and Dartmouth especially the first two. We looked at both Amherst and Lowell and were impressed. But yes, very selective.
Northeastern’s Coop program (not sure about cost)
Maybe check out Colleges that Change Lives website for ideas on merit aid colleges. We loved Clark and they have a 3-2 engineering program with Columbia 3-2 Engineering | Clark University Clark has merit aid for community service I believe.
Test optional schools will still look at scores if submitted. Include the AP’s.
If a school accepts them, make sure your kid submits a music supplement with recording/video, music resume and one or two music letters of recommendation. Even if she has no intention to major in it or do music EC’s. Music at a high level shows work ethic, discipline, commitment, ability to work with others. The supplement can really help.
If she is willing to go as far as UIUC, I would add Wisconsin. Just as good or better in ChemE. The location is way better than UIUC. The biggest knock against Wisconsin is that they have secondary admissions requirements. Your statement about being a “smart slacker” is a little concerning for schools with secondary requirements. Freshman year can be a wake-up call for students that have been able to succeed in HS with little effort.
Wow, thanks for all the great suggestions! All good points. Totally understand about the privates and $. If one of those is her final choice, she will have to figure out a way to deal with the extra $20+k/year and make us sign off on it. Its not impossible, especially if co-ops are an option.
Ha! Umass Dartmouth is a sore point with us - it is almost close enough to be commutable distance, and my daughter’s response has been so far - heck no!
UUIC and Purdue are on the list because we have close family in Chicago - we figure if the world ends or the next Covid hits (knock knock!), she should have some place to shelter in! That is partly why we did not look further afield… but I really like the OH/MN suggestions.
Not sure why we did not think of Wisconsin - will definitely look into that! Will she become a Packers fan? Aaah!
Maybe the slacker term was a wrong (I read it in quora about kids with high SAT scores and low GPA)- she is a good student and studies hard, she just piles too many things on and then has a harder time juggling commitments. The result is she might get a B+ on a A paper that she handed in a couple of days late.
Anyway, thank you again for all your suggestions - we will read carefully through them!
If your daughter is not dead-set on a super big school, Illinois Tech in Chicago would be another possibility, and close to family while in a bit metro.
A 3.8UW is not a low GPA at all; I am confident your daughter has everything it rakes to do well at any college in the U.S.
And I looked more into SUNY Buffalo and it is arguably one of the top public engineering programs in New York, including over Binghamton.
So this comment is tangential to your main point, but the “high SAT / less high GPA = slacker thing” does exist- but when the ‘less-high GPA’ is due to “a B+ on an A paper that was handed in a couple of days late” that’s an organizational element that we are very familiar with in our house. Whether it’s due to “executive function issues” or “ADD” or “immaturity” or “poor organizational skills” (we heard all of these & more) or just over-loading on commitments doesn’t really matter.
What matters is that she gets a clear, strong message that college classes might or might not be “harder” for her- but they will definitely be faster than she is used to, and that falling behind even a little- especially in engineering courses- snowballs out of control really fast. From Day 1 she should 1) find the math support system (there will be one); 2) go to every optional TA section and 3) consciously, seriously strive to be ahead in her work all the time- if you aim to deliver work on time you almost inevitably end up getting behind.
Bona fides: I have taught in engineering schools, and one of the gradschoolkids currently TAs in one of the engineering schools on your list, as does her betrothed.
Nothing about this kid reads slacker to me! I cannot imagine the culture of her HS if she feels like a slacker with her track record.
I think she needs to talk to her guidance counselor and get a bead on U Mass Amherst- if nobody with her stats has been rejected in the last several years, and it’s affordable, you’ve solved a huge problem. Other than Pitt and Rochester (which I think could stay on your list if the numbers line up) I don’t see much advantage to many of your other safety/targets vs. U Mass. I think the cost and hassle of getting to UIUC for example… folks underestimate that. If you look at the Logan/O’Hare flights and think “hey, this isn’t so bad” think again!
Cannot imagine Tufts being affordable.
And you guys need a reality check on the finances. If you want to pay 50-55K per year all in- that’s your number. The notion that your D can come up with 20K a year by co-oping- that’s a big “maybe”. If a recession is coming- watch those Co-op opportunities dry up quickly. If inflation accelerates, watch your carefully budgeted “Personal expense” line creep up. I think 20K per year (for four years!) for a kid to finance is asking for trouble- either working 20+ hours a week during semesters (not optimal for an engineering major…) or selling plasma, becoming a paid egg donor, etc. Not sure this is how you see her spending her college years. Better to put the effort in upfront to find a list of affordable options.
She doesn’t need to apply to 15 colleges even if that’s become the norm at your HS!!!
I would caution you about including out of budget schools. If you eliminate schools up front, it will make your life easier later.
Putting debt on a kid, especially in engineering, is unnecessary. You have a limit and you should stick to it.
Better to throw out easy apps - UNH, Maine wherever - and get more offers. Maybe one just wows you merit wise (Huntsville which is guaranteed, Ohio State which is not far off your 8 hrs) than chasing a Tufts or Cornell that offers no merit and is a lot of work to apply. And just puts you in a really tough situation if she gets into one of those. At least BU has merit. Unlikely but they have it.
You can see the schools strong in Chem e…various lists out there…but the Delaware, MN, Wis, etc.
We chased merit. We only applied to schools that could get to cost. Not all did but all could have. We did 21 - daughters choice many don’t have extra work and get on info lists…we had 6 schools send free app codes (Pitt…attend a virtual info session. If they don’t offer one, ask). In other words don’t choose UNH or U Maine. They’re gonna be easy…do both. One (Maine) may wow use merit wise and Thule is in URI…another great merit school.
Why we removed Cornell?. Had we applied and gotten in, well it would have made for a lifetime of regret when I said no so I would personally end that now even thinking it’s a possibility. Fortunately I didn’t have to deal with telling her no to Cornell but I did 5 or 6 but she knew the max up front so it was easy when they didn’t hit the target (was possible they could but they didn’t). . I’m good with lots of apps tho - especially if easy if you’re over the mindset that $30k is better than $55k. The $20-40k is out there but you’d have to be a bit more flexible geographically.
Not sure for ChemE that where is hugely important as long as is ABET approved.
8 hr drive.5 hrs flying in theory shouldn’t matter. Personal preference of course.
But I’d eliminate now those that don’t meet your parameter.
I think $10k total debt is manageable but nothing more.
I also wondered about the organizational skills. I hesitate to mention ADHD with so little info. It may be way out in left field to bring that up. But if she has a habit of handing things in late, I would look at that before she gets to college. Hypothetically- without referencing your daughter- those with ADHD or executive functioning or certain other issues may qualify for accommodations that include extensions!
I second this. S23 is my third. The first thing I did in approving his list was run the NPC for each school. Any school that did not come in under budget was struck off. There’s one school, in the Boston area, that I think would be great for him, but the NPC keeps coming back at $75K/year, so it remains off the list.
BTW, I have a young relative who is entering their sophomore year at UNH who loves it there and is doing extremely well. They are OOS as well. UNH was their top choice. I believe OOS full pay is around $40K.
If schools like Purdue are on the table did anyone mention Rose Hulman? Smaller, very well regarded engineering school. Smaller classes with actual professors. Probably would be up for some merit scholarships.
Wonderful school but small (for other interests) and no access to city…it’s in Terre Haute but not really :). We looked. If you are thinking mid size or bigger or even in the town (it barely is)…it likely doesn’t work. Great school though. Colorado School of Mines (a flight to Denver) is a bit bigger and access to city and could hit price.
I’d agree with UMass Amherst. Though she should know the female ratio is about 20% and the presenter head of EE gave off weird vibes via questions about female representation at accepted students day. Ok, let me be direct. The guy was a total turnoff for female students ( being nice, a dinosaur) . IF she gets into the honors program it’s a great bang for the buck. Lots of smart kids there.
I’d add Purdue and look at Olin and Rose Hulman as well.
Her demographic is tough. Lots of kids with higher GPA and super high SAT’s going into engineering. I think Tufts (on your list) is also a good choice.
I understand that the cost-to-value proposition is different for each family based on their own situation and preferences. But personally, I wouldn’t pay $84,600 (current annual price tag) to Tufts for an engineering degree when there are much cheaper options available at far better known engineering schools.
@Htas UMass Amherst is instate and probably a good value. Most engineering departments are still more male than female. Might be worth the OP’s daughter checking with other female engineering students there , through their college chapter, about their experiences. And you haven’t said the specifics of what this guy you encountered said. And even with that, he’s just one guy in a large engineering department!
Perhaps University of Dayton (which isn’t a big city but isn’t isolated either, and a solid engineering program) and Minnesota, which I think someone mentioned, although it’s a bit far for you. Both will come in well under budget for you.