My bad 
I didn’t realize they were different campuses. I see like 10 colleges (exaggerated lol) with “Purdue” in their name and have given up to assuming they’re all a part of the same branch of school. I think it was the most recent incident that made me a bit skeptical on the school which was right around the time I was researching the school. Probably poor timing. I’ll take a look IUPUI 
. Thank you @tsbna44 and @momofboiler1 for explaining that to me haha!
Thank you for your response! I am a first generation American student so I’m not really sure about the financial aspect of going to college, so THANK YOU for the valuable information 
. I also forgot to include that 40K is what my parents are willing to pay out of pocket annually. I have some extra money of my own that should even out to an extra 20K each year. So a 60K budget-ish in total I guess.
On the note of automotive, I want to work in Formula sports, which are centred in the UK. I am not so worried about Co-Ops and mainly want to focus on Formula SAE at schools since I am aiming to do my Masters in the UK which comes with a placement year with an F1 team. But, thank you for your information on the automotive industry here in America. It’s good to keep in mind in case my plans end up changing (a lot can happen in four-years!)
Thanks again for the reply 
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Race cars may be exciting, but most automotive engineering jobs involve designing things like unibodies, door handles, suspension parts, taillights, etc. on street cars.
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Thanks for replying 
I haven’t really looked into the specifics of CSUs if I’m being honest. My friends and I sat down one day and decided to fill out the application since it’s literally a ten minute app. I won’t be heartbroken if I don’t get into those schools lol. As for Long Beach, only applying there because several of my friends are and I’ve visited the school and it’s somewhere I might be able to see myself in the future. Not totally attached.
As for the Columbia program, I don’t think it’s great either. There’s just too much of a grey area with it that I don’t think it’s really safe to apply and hope I get into the Columbia program. Columbia is not really a cost issue since my parents would honestly pay anything for an Ivy League haha!
Thank you for your response!
Formula careers integrate a lot of that. In fact, a lot of the innovations in Formula sports are implemented in street-cars in the future. As you mentioned, the active suspension system used widely in today’s cars was invented by the Williams Formula 1 team a couple decades back! I know it doesn’t necessarily seem that a career in motorsport engineering is flexible, but it’s quite the contrary!
However, how difficult is it to get a job in race cars versus vehicles in general?
Not very surprisingly. The most important thing in the field is connections, which I have already started to develop, and with the guaranteed placement with UK Masters programs, most students get hired right out of the placement by the same team they were interning for. Even if the motorsport thing doesn’t end up working out, I still have my Mech Eng degree which is valuable on its own.
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Where you say I’ll probably take out loans. Why - when you don’t need to. First off, YOU can only borrow $5500 the first year and $27k total. Your parents would have to borrow the rest. They’ve stopped you at $40k so likely a hard no.
And you can get the degree at $40k per. And if it’s your connections that will get you to England, then where you go won’t matter.
You likely won’t get into UM and if you did you can’t afford it unless you have $100k + saved up to spend on top of your parents money. You want Michigan State, not UM.
Also, a lot of people here are giving you great advice about budget and debt. There’s a reason. Learn from experience. Don’t discard the advice.
You are seeking a narrow future and are already planning your grad degree. Where you go won’t impact that.
Having money saved will be nice to have for when you can’t afford rent, eating out, or taking a trip. Spending it now when you don’t need to is foolish. In fact you might ask your parents about giving you any of the $40k you don’t spend to help your future.
Take your parents money today and find one of the many schools that will fit their budget.
As you said up front in your original message - $40k is the max. Then you listed mainly schools that can’t get you close. And when you get told that, instead of saying I didn’t realize, you doubled down.
You can read many a story about people that overspent. And they don’t end well !!
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I’m glad Cal Poly SLO is on your list. Among their many ME clubs, their Cal Poly Racing team is the largest Society of Automotive Engineers International chapter in California, and they apparently have both electric and ICE Formula teams.
Why not apply to a bachelor’s at one of these institutions?
UNC Charlotte is the UNC school with the motorsports engineering program. https://motorsports.charlotte.edu
I don’t know how competitive it is to be admitted specifically to mechanical engineering at UNC Charlotte, but in general, this school is not as competitive for admission as UNC Chapel Hill (a different campus).
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I want to! My parents just don’t want me leaving as far as the UK yet. I’ve met with some of the admissions officers at those schools and they basically left me on a note that I am perfectly qualified to get in with substantial scholarship. Considering that and the fact that the UK has very, very low tuition, it’s a great choice, but something that I think my parents don’t fully support yet. I want to respect their opinion and do see where they are coming from since I am their only-child.
Dang! All these schools with similar names are just getting to me 
Thank you for the clarification lol! I’ll put UNC CHARLOTTE on my list :)))
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Well… you don’t have to make a decision until spring, and your parents may feel differently by then (especially if you get a nice scholarship). It wouldn’t hurt to put in a UCAS application to give yourself more options.
I am sincerely taking your advice to heart with American/Columbia and Case Western, but running NPCs on Cooper and talking to a current student who doesn’t receive aid, it is about $4,000 over my parent’s 40K yearly budget considering no aid, generous personal expenses, and living on an off campus dorm. If I am to stay in the USA for my undergrad Cooper is where I want to be and it does fit within my budget. I’ve been saving for college for a while and if I take my parent’s money to pay for undergrad that leaves me with a nice $70K of personal money. If my grad school goes as planned the 70K is more than enough to pay for my college in the UK (tuition averages around 10K USD per year and a Masters in the UK is only a year) and have a little more for after I graduate for a downpayment for a flat, car, etc… Not to mention that the placement year is paid with a minimum salary of 30K pounds per year.
I am not arguing your case on American and Case Western since I know realize they are more expensive than I initially thought them to be, and I will keep that in mind.
I am not ‘doubling down’ on Cooper. It is realistic choice for me after doing research and putting a lot of time into seeing whether the pieces fit financially, time wise, and educationally.
I suppose so. UCAS is rather simple with just the personal statement. I think I have more time to decide on that given that UCAS apps for several schools aren’t due for a while. Maybe after I get my decision back from Cooper. Thank you for the suggestion though, maybe I will give it a shot 
For the major you want and your career interests, there is nothing at an Ivy League school that should put your parents into debt if it can be avoided. Look for other opportunities where they will show you a lot of love and money.
Run the net price calculators with your parents and have honest conversations about funding and debt. You will not have time for a job beyond a few hours with the engineering course load. The college classes you have taken will have limited overlap with requirements for engineering. Find a college program that allows you to not have to work.
It sounds like you have some great options instate that can be explored more.
Also, look at RIT, WPI, and RPI. All will be impressed with your accomplishments and will get you close to or below $40,000, but travel costs will add up. WPI has study abroad built into their plans which is not common for engineering - that could be an interesting time to go to Europe to explore your career interests more.
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That’s fair - but know that Cooper Union is showing $47.2K on campus and $44.9K off.
You should check to see if they guarantee it - meaning where you enter tuition wise is what you’ll pay all four years. Otherwise, you’re not accounting for inflation.
They don’t guarantee housing. NYC has very expensive housing - They are estimating $16,000 for room and board. So this is at an apartment. Where? Is it 8 kids in two bedrooms? I’d ask for examples. It doesn’t seem realistic. I’m seeing you can rent a room in a strangers house for $1500 or a room with kitchen access in Brooklyn for $2200. Is this what you want - and it still won’t make their figures. So ask for examples…because I don’t think this is realistc.
They also say $1040 for transportation - that’s maybe three RTs…maybe. And $1576 for personal - and I promise you, even if you are ‘thrifty’ you will spend well over.
Good luck to you. I hope you find your right place - Cooper Union (if you get in) or otherwise…and I hope that you don’t spend any of your saved up money!!! I really do.
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Yep! After COVID I just wanted to be able to explore mental health more as a way to help myself as well as the people around me, and the interest has simply resulted in qualification for an Associates. I don’t expect that to really help me qualify out of many classes, but rather show that I don’t limit myself to one specific interest and try new things.
I personally do not want to go to an Ivy League. I’ve talked to my parents about UPenn and I’ve accepted to apply simply because I like the essay topics they have presented this year lol. Hearing from everyone else in this forum, I don’t think I will apply to American/Columbia thing anymore as well.
Thanks for your feedback! It’s appreciated
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I understand - sometimes you just need to go along with it. You can assure your parents they will have plenty of bragging rights with your bright future.
Your interests in mental health will serve you well in many things, too.
My D21 is in engineering. Her decision came down to the program and the opportunities. She turned down an Ivy and other top ranked schools for the right place for her. You have got this.
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