<p>Going into junior year, and my parents are bugging me to look at colleges. I'm planning on going somewhere in the Midwest... Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois. Somewhere around there. The results that turn up as 100% from the search are U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ohio State University Main Campus, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and University of Michigan Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>I'm not entirely sure what I want to do yet, but I think I want to study some sort of engineering program - I've always been good at science and math, and engineering just seems like the sort of job I'd actually enjoy doing.</p>
<p>Any colleges I listed (or others) that would be worth visiting? I don't really want to be out in the middle of nowhere, and I don't want to go to a really small school, so those are the only two requirements really. I got a 4.0 my sophomore year, and have been taking some harder classes... Honors Geometry my freshman year, AP Chemistry this year, perhaps AP Physics next year, so I think academics wise I wouldn't have too much trouble getting in.</p>
<p>Bring money. There is very little financial aid for out-of-state students at state flagships. At UIUC, for example, the cost of attendance for an OOS student in engineering is $47K/year.</p>
<p>Did Carleton add an engineering program? Yes they have a 3-2 program but few students follow through on it and it requires an additional year for your degree.</p>
<p>Yeah, money is the big one But I don’t really want to stay in Washington… As long as I try to get as much scholarship money as I can, my parents have agreed that I can go out of state.</p>
<p>Just kind of tossing around ideas, really. Probably going to go visit a few this year. Did another search, it also suggested Northwestern and University of Chicago… Any comments on either of those?</p>
<p>IU does not offer engineering, but the other Indiana flagship, Purdue does. Merit aid is not great for most people. Rose Hulman offers merit aid, but it can be very hit or miss. Check out Kettering for engineering. While initial merit aid doesn’t seem like much there, the engineering students tend to bring in the higher dollars from the job co-op.</p>
<p>Illinois, Michigan and Purdue are the engineering powerhouses in the Midwest, all ranked in the top 10 nationally in engineering. Wisconsin and Northwestern are not too far behind. Wisconsin’s a bit cheaper for OOS students than the top 3, but don’t expect any FA. Northwestern gives good need-based FA, but not merit aid. Give serious consideration to Minnesota which is a top-25 engineering school but costs only $4K more for OOS students than for in-state; and for California residents, for example, that makes total COA at Minnesota less than the cost of attending a UC as an in-state student.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago is a great school but it doesn’t offer engineering.</p>
<p>Once you’re outside of the top 5 (maybe even 3), it doesn’t matter. The curriculum and grading standards in schools 5-50 are largely the same, as evidenced by roughly same pass rates on the EIT exam. </p>
<p>In the top 5, you’re competing with smart kids who have known they want to be engineers since 15 and have experience to prove it. They likely view school as a stepping stone towards a predetermined career, not as a way to discover themselves. </p>
<p>Focus on getting into best university you can afford. Then focus on high GPA and and experience. Where you go to school isn’t that important in engineering.</p>
<p>National Buckeye Scholarship for non-Ohio residents </p>
<pre><code>Award amount
$8,700 ($34,800 fouryear value)
Criteria
Ohio State is committed to enrolling a diverse and talented student population. The National Buckeye Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis to non-Ohio students required to pay the out-of-state surcharge who are admitted to the Columbus campus for autumn semester. Those considered rank in the top 40 percent of their graduating classes and have ACT composite scores of 28 or higher or combined SAT Critical Reading and Math scores of 1260 or higher.
Notes:
* Except where noted, the National Buckeye Scholarship can be combined with any other merit scholarships, as long as the combined total does not exceed the total cost of an Ohio State education.
* This award is renewable for a maximum of eight semesters (or the equivalent) of full-time undergraduate enrollment, provided the recipient maintains a 2.5 or higher GPA (earned by no later than the end of the first year), and nonresident classification remains unchanged.
<p>TO$U is extremely generous in giving scholarship to OOS students compared to all the other ‘Top-20 Public.’ The COA would be $34,974 for OOS, but with the scholarship, it would only be $26,274 a year, roughly 6k more than the IS students, a steal if you ask me!!! ;)</p>
<p>^^Really? I am not updated on this…(can you show me the link?) But, I will take your words for now. So that would be $42,713-$8700 = $34,013. Still a lot better than a handful of over 50k COA Top-20 Publics imho…</p>
But I don’t really want to stay in Washington… As long as I try to get as much scholarship money as I can, my parents have agreed that I can go out of state.</p>