Oh I can be so helpful here for a number of reasons:
1)I am a chem e.
2)I go to Univ Alabama, out of state, full tuition scholarship.
Now I’ll talk about number 2 first. I am from VA, was only considering instate schools, then by some miracle I heard about Alabama scholarships http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html and they are all automatic as long as you have the GPA and either the SAT or ACT score. I reccommend your son take the ACT as well as some people do better on one than the other and since he wants to be a chem e, he will have the science brain which will mean he could do better on the ACT. Also with that, there’s also an automatic engineering scholarship awarded (2500 per year) for books/housing/fees/etc. The meal plan(required for freshman) is kind of pricey, but if you’re on a budget, you can negotiate with the university(I know a few kids have had to do that) and you have to live on campus first semester if you’re not commuting, but the dorms are all different rates(however honors dorms are the nicest ones where you dont find vomit in the elevator or beer spilled everywhere because for some reason college kids like to party. I can assure you that the honors dorms are alot more mellow, as I am living in one right now.) Sophmore year, your son could find roomates and live offcampus (he might need a car if there’s no bus to campus from wherever he’ll stay or he can’t carpool, but I would totally be willing to help out if he needs to get somewhere. You can message me on here for details if you’re seriously considering Alabama). The meal plan is not required sophomore year either. Apartments with four people go for about 400 per person per month. (I found a nice one bedroom for 770 because I’m horrible at living with roommates.) There are more forums under Alabama explaining which apartments are good and which ones aren’t. Travel expenses, aren’t too bad coupled with the scholarships. Round trip flights for me go for under 400 if I book a couple months in advance. And he can keep his stuff in storage over the summer for a relatively low rate, though yall might want to have him stay there over the summer bc the leases on all the apartments around here go for 12 months at a time and you would still be paying even if he wasn’t there. He could get a job down there or an internship or something. coops are offered pretty much anyone at anytime and they pay well. Books are pretty pricey at the store which is where you have to get them if you use the engr scholarship there. I almost paid upwards of 1000 last semester and even this semester I paid about 800 bc some of the books/online hw codes, are sold exclusively at the bookstore. Amazon is a good friend, and used books are great too, but even with that its pricey.
Dorm rates: http://housing.ua.edu/pdfs/2014-2015%20Residence%20Hall%20Rates_Approved.pdf
(ridgecrest is the honors dorm. have to be in honors college, but all the engineers I know are in honors college and it’s not capped)
Meal plans: http://fawp.ua.edu/bamadining/first-year-exp/
(the forums under bama can explain dining dollars further)
Auburn also offers automatic scholarships(but I think you should go Bama): http://auburn.edu/scholarship/undergraduate/freshman.html
For number 1:
I love chem e. It fits what I love best and what I want to do with my life. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, you have to go through ochem. Yes, there will be crying and whining and complaining and stress and hardwork, but it will all be worth it. I have already had 5 mental breakdowns and it is only my freshman year. I have thought about switching but I haven’t, because I know I will soon reap the rewards.
Why did I choose Alabama? The scholarship partially, but also because my top choice schools, VT and UVA told me they had no room for me in their engineering college. And I am actually happy here. I realize that this was a blessing, me being rejected by my top choices, because I can do things at Bama I couldn’t have dont at any other school. I am in an undergraduate chemistry lab as a freshman and I am probably gonna be co lead on a paper in a few years. I have leadership oppurtunities from the organizations I am in practically thrown at me. Game days are amazing and exciting. The new Science and Engineering Buildings have up to date equipment. Free t-shirts are tossed out during the first few weeks of school. I have no problem getting into any of the classes I need to. Faculty are always open for questions and can be emailed whenever and respond back within timely manner. I can change my major if I please with ease. I can double or triple major. I can minor in whatever I want. I can be in this super cool program called STEM path to the MBA, where I take extra 1.5 cred hr of business class each semester then go on to get my MBA after I graduate. The library resources are extensive and boundless. There are many tutoring sessions available in something called the Engenuity lab, for engineers only(and not only for engineering classes). There are also other tutoring options for private tutors via the school. It should be impossible to fail a course here with all the extra help there is.
I urge you to have your son apply to both Alabama and Auburn (of course after his SAT score goes up bc neither superscores or averages, but takes the most recent) when their applications open in August. Admission is rolling, scholarships are automatic. I believe he has til May or April to accept the scholarship/admission. (You have to do both separately somehow. There’s more on it in the Bama forums). If he is anything like me, he’ll consider it at first, then as each day goes by, he’ll think how wonderful it is. Or he could go another path. I just hope ya’ll will consider out of state.
Hope this helped! Message me if you wanna talk about anything more.