@ChattaChia advise son to apply nonbinding EA to Case Western, Nov 1 deadline, and take the SAT subject exam 2 math 2 and physics or chemistry subject exams. Even though many schools on that list do not require SAT Subject exams good scores, say above 700-750 may help with merit based scholarships at RPI and CWRU and maybe the others on his list. RPI offers a binding program only so if he can decide on one college ED will make it easier to get into some of the schools on his list. The subject exams are easy to nail compared to the math SAT or math ACT. There are practice problems for subject exams so he can choose his strong subject between physics and chemistry by trying problems on line. Math scores matter more for RPI and any engineering college on his list, probably WPI.
@Coloradomama thanks, great advice. I didn’t know that about the subject exams, he is planning to take a math and science since one school requires them. The stinky thing is that his school doesn’t offer Physics, so he is having to take it dual enrollment in a 5 week summer term starting at the end of May. But at least he’ll have it on his records. That also limits how many visits we can make this summer. We will probably avoid binding programs, since attendance will greatly depend on merit aid. I don’t have high hopes for merit at a school that costs $60k+. Short of winning full tuition, it seems even with merit, the bill is $40k. Case seems to be one of the better merit options.
@chattaChia Case offers the Michelson Morley award and some others that require more essays. There are some scholarships at Georgia Tech, so OOS students can win in state tuition at Georgia Tech if they apply by October 15.
these are very competitive to win, but good to try for them.
Easier to win would be:
Boston University offers good merit, again apply early. Northeastern University in Boston has outstanding merit, about the same as CWRU and there are some reasonable engineering degrees at both Boston U and Northeastern. Northeastern has co op and does doe CWRU, which means students make very good salaries and can sometimes pay the senior year by themselves. U of Tulsa, a private college with very good engineering, offers top merit plans.
I think RPI offers more merit money to girls than boys, but boys can win some and they may negotiate if your child wins an award at CWRU. If your child wins the RPI Science medal as a high school junior there is a good scholarship. FIRST robotics participation can lead to some merit awards at some colleges.
Then there are public programs with meritscholarships (look at National Merit Scholarship list to find more)
U of Alabama Engineering offers really good scholarships as does UT Dallas and Arizona State. Some larger public programs want OOS engineering students and willing to give merit. U of Oklahoma in Norman may be less than your in state school and has reasonable engineering programs. Oregon State offers an IB scholarship for IB students and some merit for OOS. South Dakota School of Mines is a very good price.
If you are located in the west, look at WUE. It gives huge breaks on public school tuition at a number of schools that have trouble filling up including Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
If your child is a National Merit semifinalist there will be many merit awards , including New Jersey Institute of Technology and others, there is a list of 50 schools that offer partial or full rides.