<p>Washington and Texas are both relatively urban. So is Minnesota.</p>
<p>Here are a few to check out:</p>
<p>Iowa State
Texas A&M
SUNY Buffalo
Cornell is the antithesis of “urban” but it does not offer merit aid.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That is precisely why I recommended them. They are on the same tier for civil engineering however they are private schools. It is very unlikely to get merit scholarships from match public schools and typically private schools give more aid in the form of grants/scholarship on a need based basis and the final cost may be lower. The OP’s list is completely devoid of private schools so she should at least add two as reaches. </p>
<p>p.s. Cornell is considered rural, CMU is closer to suburban than urban.</p>
<p>UMass-Lowell is definitely in an urban setting, while UMass-Amherst is big, but not in an urban setting (you said she doesn’t want an urban campus). I know UML is within commuting distance, but I think your selling UMass-- Amherst short. Engineers at UMass-Amherst function in a small bubble in the Northeast corner of the campus.</p>
<p>Northeastern is indeed in the middle of Boston. It sounds like it is not right for the OP’s D. But others should know that for a city school it does have a surprisingly “campus-y” feel at its core. (In other words, it is quite different from BU down the street).</p>
<p>I would also suggest taking the SAT (or take the ACT) again and if the scores are a bit higher (2050 +) apply to Cornell. I would also add Syracuse to the list as it has a good Civil Engineering Program and offers some merit aid.</p>
<p>Texas A&M is good for almost EVERY branch of engineering-not just some…Chemical, mechanical, petroleum, nuclear, aerospace and agricultural are all very highly ranked and regarded. OP will have a great chance at merit aid from the school and department</p>
<p>Sent from my Desire HD using CC</p>
<p>And for the record, while the OP’s stats are very good, U Texas is a reach. The top 10% rule, leaves precious few spots for international, out of state, and non top 10% students in Texas. Liberal arts/Natural sciences MAY be a match, but engineering is definitely a reach</p>
<p>lixuelai “It is very unlikely to get merit scholarships from match public schools and typically private schools give more aid in the form of grants/scholarship on a need based basis and the final cost may be lower.”</p>
<p>Got it. I shouldn’t have assumed that OP wouldn’t qualify for need-based aid.</p>
<p>I like Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>So we had more dinner time discussions about “the List” because of your great suggestions. Love all the suggestions - getting ideas for schools we might have missed.</p>
<p>So Clemson, UMD, CMU (maybe) are under consideration. Texas A&M is an interesting suggestion. </p>
<p>Regarding costs, we’re trying to identify that sweet spot where the school is affordable to us without loans, offers the program she wants, the atmosphere she wants and is highly regarded in her chosen field. That’s our definition of value. Merit aid would be great if it could help bring down the cost of a desirable school. </p>
<p>“IMO your list is way too conservative. Should apply to at least 2 reaches. None of the ones you listed are really reaches, maybe high matches. I would apply to Cornell and CMU at the very least, maybe Stanford as well. If she can raise her SAT her chances are pretty good. You will also likely get more aid.” </p>
<p>Thank you for saying that but Stanford is just not realistic. I’m not holding her back - just want to be realistic. While she is at the top range of her class, its a fairly small class (5/225) from an average high school. Only 1 or 2 kids a year go Ivy (Cornell, Brown or Dartmouth). No one has gotten in Duke, Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, MIT, UVA, Michigan or Berkeley in the past 6 years. Cornell is a possibility for acceptance but there is no chance of merit.</p>
<p>Anybody have any thoughts on Lehigh? Would merit aid be a possibility?</p>
<p>What is the breakdown of her SATs? Some schools only look at M + CR, so that could make a difference in suggestions…</p>
<p>Also, has she taken any APs? SATIIs?</p>
<p>“Urban” means different things in differing locations. Yes, the U of Washington-Seattle is situated in a major metropolis, but the University District is quite residential (single family homes are the main). You won’t find an oversupply of apartment towers or condos there like in Columbia’s home neighborhood of Morningside Heights. Apples and Oranges.</p>
<p>I would like to know her Math score on the SAT and also did she take any subject tests like the Math II? My son is an aerospace engineering major, now entering his senior year, and engineering departments really look mostly at your math scores on the SAT or ACT and also the subject tests. Is her math score fairly high?</p>
<p>By the way, one of the schools on your list, UW Madison, my other son attends. He just finished his freshman year there and we are out of state also. I cannot speak to the engineering school there because that is not his major, but if you have any questions about that school, do not hesitate to ask.</p>
<p>Something your daughter should take into consideration when evaluating schools is the percentage of women in engineering and the type of support programs for women. I don’t know the exact/correct national average percent - I’ve heard somewhere between 17-18% depending on the source.</p>
<p>Maryland has excellent programs for women in engineering/support and they have a very good retention rate in engineering, which is also something you need to take note of among the schools you are considering. If you look at this study [url=<a href=“Page not found”>Page not found]Retention</a> Project: American Society for Engineering Education<a href=“download%20and%20open%20the%20pdf%20file”>/url</a> and go to page 22 for info on Maryland. On page 23, you’ll find a very strong endorsement: “The authors wholeheartedly believe in this approach and believe the program should serve as a national model for increasing engineering retention and
graduation rates.”</p>
<p>SATs M650, CR620, W680</p>
<p>SATII taken but no results yet.</p>
<p>So the best strategy for getting merit aid is to be at the top end or better of the middle 50% of SAT scores. Bear in mind that engineering acceptances/stats are higher/more competitive than the typical university acceptances/stats.</p>
<p>While I never looked into Clemson personally due to the distance, it might be worth investigation. I know your daughter likes VTech, and here is a discussion I saw comparing the two - interesting assessment of different learning environments… <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/clemson-university/1309479-clemson-virginia-tech-engineering.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/clemson-university/1309479-clemson-virginia-tech-engineering.html</a></p>
<p>thanks for the info maryversity - you make a good point about women in engineering. Unfortunately we weren’t able to open the link that you posted. One reason DD1 loves VT is their Hypatia program for freshmen women engineer majors. They live together, are offered block scheduling, are assigned upperclass mentors, academic advisor, leadership classes, resume classes, information sessions with corporate recruiters and other support. All of this support has lead her to great friendships, good grades, and her fab internship. VT Hypatia is very proactive - they reach out to accepted students and start providing support immediately with weekend invitations, a personal invitiation to call/facebook with questions. No other “women in engineering” was as pro-active in reaching out to DD1 as an accepted student. She had to reach out to them with very mixed results - mostly poor.</p>
<p>We’re keeping UMD in mind and will likely schedule a visit this summer.</p>
<p>Its been nearly a year since I first posted and thought I would follow up and again thank all who provided their very helpful suggestions. DD2 applied to 8 schools and was accepted at all 8. While she hasn’t made a final decision yet, she has narrowed the choice down to 3.</p>
<p>UT -Austin - accepted and is strongly considering. Despite its “urban” campus, we loved it. The campus was beautiful, the profs that we met were so helpful and the students seemed very engaged and happy.</p>
<p>VT - accepted and is strongly considering. She was offered a 5K scholarship.</p>
<p>OSU - accepted and still considering but we visit next week, so a dark horse at this point in time. Awarded $14K scholarship and accepted into Scholars program.</p>
<p>No longer considering:</p>
<p>UWisc - Lacked a distinct campus, too blended into the city, especially the dorm for the Women in Engineering group. She just didn’t like the campus vibe.</p>
<p>UConn - never a strong contender</p>
<p>UMass Amherst - despite previously saying she prefered UMass Lowell, she applied to UMass Amherst. Never a strong contender.</p>
<p>UWashington - offered a 7k scholarship and direct admission into engineering. We never visited so we never really gave the school a chance. </p>
<p>Penn State - a real possibility until UTA accepted her.</p>
<p>Didn’t apply but visited:</p>
<p>UMaryland
Dartmouth
Brown
Northeastern
BU
Columbia</p>
<p>Thanks again to all that helped develop the list. </p>