Excellent
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Should I ask all the schools I plan on applying to for fee waivers or was it just my instate schools that would make an exception?
Many schools have fee waivers if you qualify. There should be instructions on the application for each college, including the ones on the Common App. Follow the instructions.
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You should also see if you qualify for waivers for submitting the Profile. That can add up too
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CSS Profile waivers are limited to families making less than $100K, or those who qualified for SAT waiversā¦did you qualify for am SAT waiver OP?
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I donāt qualify for it.
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UMD is holistic. I donāt see merit for the OP happening, bc UMD has plenty of MD STEM and community superstars from which to choose.
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Yes, but they have no state mandate beside the usual (public university serving the whole state), unlike VA or NC, and they do want to attract some OOS applicants. Same thing for UMass. Not a sure thing by far but worth trying - though other colleges already mentioned (ASU Barrett etc) will ofc be cheaper since merit is either guaranteed for OPs stats or nearly automatic.
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Therefore you have to email and ask whether thereās a competition or a process for you to get one. Emails they send you may also give instructions.
Instate universities may grant a waiver if you visit.
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Possible but not to an impactful level. They are talking Banneker Key. Your odds far less than 1%. Most likely you get 0 to $5k but if you chase merit you can take your shots with the 20 common app spots. If you have a budget, stick to it. You will find schools that could make cost but donāt. Thatās ok. Thatās part of chasing merit. You hope but know itās not likely. Thatās why you have the three assured.
Penn State donāt waste your time. Zero chance. Pitt a better but very very tiny chance. OSU youāll get aid but since we donāt know the budget (clearly you have one) itās doubtful. If itās $25-30k, unlikely.
It sounds like your parents said get in where you can and weāll look then.
In that case lose the publics outside the assured and maybe UMD which isnāt gonna happen.
Apply to privates that meet need but if your income is over $100k youāre going to be disappointed with need offers.
Btw it doesnāt just cost to apply but also the css has cost as well. Everyone has their hand in the cookie jar.
Some schools will waive app fees if you sign up for their email list. Or take a tour. Pitt have one at the online info session two years ago.
WUSTL sent one - they just wanted more apps. My kid didnāt show interest.
Others are free to begin with - like Dayton - where youād get aid. Not saying add to list. Just giving you an example. You can google no application fee + niche to get a list.
It seems to me and you said forget about money but it seems you do have a budget. If thatās the case, you need to apply to schools that have a scintilla of a chance to get you there. Thatās UMD. Thatās not Penn State or Va Tech, for example so apply wide but apply right. Others mentioned Bing and Buffalo. Let those who have done this exact thing (work with a budget) help youā¦.assuming this is the case. Purdue best case is mid $30s as they tack on a few thousand for the engineering fee. Can your family handle ? If not no reason to apply.
If you apply to schools like Penn State and you canāt afford full or close to full pay, you literally threw your time and money down the drain because you had no chance to get close to your $$.
Not to mention they are arguably a sub for your in state three - no better, no worse.
Have you been to the Alabama big three ? In person Iām saying. Thereās not an OOS kid that Iāve read and I could be wrong - that visits Bama and doesnāt sign up on the spot. Happened to @Gatormama recently. My son pivoted from Purdue day of the visit. Gorgeous campus. The Honors dorm is unreal - you get your own room. Itās that nice. Also, the engineering quad is as nice as any. My point - go visit all three - they are different. Experience b4 you dismiss.
I say that for ANY school. Not just the three.
All these schools are ABET. For the most part, they all lead to a similar place career wise.
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These are all great schools but not in the same tier for CS. UMD should be grouped with Purdue and UIUC, not Penn State and OSU.
Itās possible (you may get up to $12k/year), but not easy to get. They also offer some full rides, but those are extremely competitive.
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Iām thinking OP could qualify for 10k or so. It may or may not be worth it for CS specifically - His parents will have to decide whether thatās worth it financially to them.
(Right now we have contradictory information wrt financials and the parents have squared it away with OP so I think weāve covered all bases on that account).
I agree that neither Penn State nor Ohio State are in the same tier as UMD for CS specifically. Penn State CS+Schreyer would be more prestigious and stronger than Ohio State honors but still not the same level as UMD CS. Penn state Engineering is IMHO stronger than Maryland Engineering but Penn State has no merit scholarships, except Schreyer which is only 5k and random ones that are totally unpredictable. I donāt thin PSU is a good university for OP to apply to.
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Im planning on doing engineering now.
Just a parent of three Terps, imo,
Bc MD has plenty of local public school educated South Asians in MD, & plenty more globally as well are admitted. OP is in very crowded lane as ** a male seeking merit scholarship $$** STEM South Asian applicant to UMD, imo.
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Here the key is that heās from Alabama. Heās not competing with the kids from MD or VA (I agree that pool is very deep and thatās why he has no shot at Banneker Key), but heās in the SouthEast pool - heās competing with kids from GA, AL, MS, SC, FL and TN. Alabama is under represented.
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Please do investigate seriously the differences between CS, CSE, EE, and MechE. Perhaps reach out to professors in these fields as well as engineers working in nearby companies whose email address is publicly available. What kind of work do they do? What qualities are helpful? What courses are the most important? Does their company allow HS students to shadow s.o for a few hours so they can figure out whether thatās a job theyād like to do?
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And rememberā¦.you actually might change your mind about your major while IN college. Many do.
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Many kids change their minds about focus. Both my kids have engineering degrees but didnāt research much if anything in high school and did more than fine. There is plenty of time to figure things out and the OP does not seem to have a clear picture already of what they really want to do.
Enjoy high school, donāt apply to too many schools since you may not be eligible for waivers, pay attention to cost and the impact on you, your parents, and siblings , and minimize any debt burden.
The most costly, āprestigiousā, school is not necessarily the best choice. Engineering and CS grads do well from many, many schools. Again, good luck.
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For most engineering jobs is four years of college good enough? I have been doing research but canāt find a definite answer.
Alabama responded to me and said that they canāt give me a fee waiver but there is a free application week sometime in October. Should I wait until then since it is rolling admission? Also Auburn gave me a fee wavier.
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