Doesn’t Iowa State U have some merit money? Or is that just for in state students? They are reasonably football-mad, and the engineering programs are very strong.
UVa’s engineering is very well established. It is ranked #32 by US News for undergraduate engineering. It is a much smaller program than Virginia Tech’s (ranked #16) though. So, no need to remove UVa necessarily, but it is a very difficult admission, particularly OOS.
Re: 19
Since UVA does have Engineering (and appears to have offered it for a long time… my mistake); and since the school does a decent job with need-based FA for a public school; and given the big-time sports scene, it could be a candidate for your son. Run the NPC for some idea if you could swing it.
Regarding Iowa State, they’ve been pretty decent in basketball for much of the past 15 years too. They were in the Final Four back around 2000 and have had tourney success since then.
I don’t think admission to UVA, Notre Dame, Mich, Vanderbilt, Duke, or USC would be viable. The southern publics would hinge on NM full rides(or close) but by the time he would be notified of finalist status it would almost be too late to seriously look at those schools.
I have a college freshman and sophomore right now so I am no stranger to this process, but after ruling out top schools because of stats and LACs because of engineering I am pretty much starting my research from scratch.
+1 for Duke. Great athletics. Great engineering. Excellent financial aid.
Texas A&M - excellent engineering & big time athletics except men’s soccer, many traditions - apply very early to get a spot and FA - not many OOS students, very conservative
Michigan would be a super long shot. What about Rutgers now that they are trying to build a Big 10 worthy program?
I would begin with a few questions.
- What are his current interests in Engineering? Mech E, Chem E, EE, CS or other? Does he have an initial idea?
- If he decides that he does not like engineering, what might he consider? Does he care if the U has a business school?
- How important is the ability to choose his major in engineering? At many schools you have to apply to specific engineering majors after freshman year, and may not be accepted into your top choice. Would that be a significant issue?
- At many schools he will have to apply if you want to change majors even within engineering, and may not be accepted. Would that be a big issue?
Two excellent schools that are flexible with choosing a major and changing your major in engineering are Lehigh and Case Western. I think he would probably get into either, but neither would be a 100% lock. Lehigh has Division I sports, but Case Western IS Division III.
Big schools in the South and Great Plains often have lower sticker prices, plus good merit for a kid with a 33. In addition to Alabama, think Kansas, Mississippi State, Oklahoma.
University of South Carolina, University of Pittsburgh, University of Vermont all give merit to OOS students that they want to attract. All have rolling admission - so he could apply and get in somewhere early - taking some of the pressure off.
NC State and Florida State cost might be comparable to NY state schools even at OOS prices. (lots of northerners at Florida State according to the bright alum who works for me). I think UNC, Duke and UVA are long shots. Ohio State and WVU are also big schools that are worth a look.
@Much2learn Those are great questions that don’t really have answers.
Engineering has evolved as a probable major because Math is his favorite subject and because he is in his 3rd year of Project Lead the Way, a 4 year hs engineering curriculum affiliated with RIT. https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-engineering-curriculum. He also seems to have a natural mechanical aptitude and is enjoying AP CS this year. He is currently in AP Physics I. He took Chemistry last year and wasn’t overly enthusiastic. No interest in Bio. He has never done anything beyond his coursework related to engineering and has no engineering ECs (because opportunities don’t exist here). He doesn’t really have any other academic interests, however he did have strong English scores on the PSAT and ACT so he has even aptitudes. He has never expressed an interest in business.
Those are HUGE issues for me. I would not support a school choice under those conditions. It seems like there is a lot of research that I need to do.
My understanding is that grades matter for finalist only if the overall GPA is a C or if there are Ds or Fs. I don’t think one 79 would impact that. A relative got merit money at Pitt with similar stats, although his grades put him in the top 10% of his class. I would definitely urge you to cast a wide net, as you never know. Certainly a better chance of merit money at Pitt than some of the higher ranked OOS. It is also a little less expensive than some OOS publics so worth a look and maybe an application, if he likes city life.
Ohio state may also be a good choice. A friend’s kid got money there and while a good student, don’t think he had straight As.
His grades seem really good with a couple of minimal blips. Freshman grades figure into the GPA, but often are less “counted” than sophomore and junior year grades.
I would cast a really wide net once you run the NPC and maybe even apply to a couple of the ones that he really likes that meet full need, if he gets all As this year.
UofSC most likely to get at least in state tuition so it depends on how much aid needed
My daughter picked a smaller engineering school. She hadn’t really decided on engineering but knew that if she didn’t major in engineering, the major would be something related like chemistry or math. Students can easily switch from one engineering specialty to another.
I think the super tool is shut down…while they redo it!
Your title seems to check off all the boxes at the University of Alabama:
- Presidential Scholarship (full tuition) for out-of-state students:
ACT: 32-36
GPA: minimum 3.5
http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
- National Merit Finalists:
10 semesters free tuition which can be used for both undergrad, grad, and professional (law) degrees
1 year on-campus housing
$3,500 National Merit stipend/year
$2,000 towards summer research or study abroad
$1,000 technology fee
http://scholarships.ua.edu/nationalscholars/
- The UA Engineering scholarship: ACT: 30-36, min. 3.5 GPA, additional $2,500 per year
http://eng.ua.edu/admissions/scholarships/
The beauty of these awards are that they are automatic merit awards. No essays, no interviews, and ECs (or lack thereof) do not matter. And all awards are stackable. The UA Engineering scholarship, which will stack with the presidential or national merit, can be used to help with housing. A specific engineering major must be declared to receive the scholarship. Application deadline: Dec. 15. A 3.0 GPA is needed to maintain scholarships.
- Honors College admission: 28 ACT, 3.5 GPA. Honors College provides access to honors housing and priority registration (after graduating seniors).
- Big Sports Scene? How about 16 National Championships!
- Engineering majors do not require evaluation after 2 years in order to be admitted to the declared engineering major.
- Changing engineering majors within the college is not difficult.
- Fifty-five percent out-of-state student body in 2016.
- Very active UA parents' support page
My out-of-state high-stats son earned a BS Mech Eng’g degree and is now in a doctoral program. His opportunities at UA were tremendous (research and internships), and he (and we) finished with minimal financial commitment and no debt. It is up to your student to take advantage of everything UA has to offer.
@mom2and –
The OPS stats are:
Average public school w/ a 2 year unweighted gpa of 91. His grades are on the rise so he might squeak into the top 10%?? Even relative ranking is undisclosed until senior year.
1st time ACT 33
These stats will not get much merit at Pitt unfortunately. A 33 is the minimal requirement and there seem to be lots of 35-36 ACT applicants who also possess the “top 5%” criteria they say they are seeking on the website.
OOS tuition alone for an engineering student at Pitt is close to $31,000.
The MOST merit reported so far this year at Pitt for an ACT 33 is $10,000 per year which leaves tuition alone at around $20,000/year.
I’m not saying it could’t happen. I’m saying based on this year and last years stats it doesn’t seem likely.
If it were my kid I’d push U Alabama hard. It has as the previous poster said everything he wants and has much more of a national reputation than many of the other automatic full scholarship schools. Never mind a rabid alumni base which given the new heavy OOS population will only make his degree more valuable.
Carrachel: I had heard that Pitt wanted top 5%, but as far as I know, the kid that got the merit money at Pitt (college class of 2019) was not in the top 5% but perhaps his school didn’t report rank. I know he did not have an unweighted A average, but did with weighting. The amount he received was substantial. The 91% should go up if OP’s son is getting all As now. I also think the ACT of 33 may go up on re-take. But of course one anecdotal data point based on limited information is not that helpful.
However, it is also not clear if OP is talking about merit money or need-based aid. As someone noted in another thread, if the amount the family can afford is less than the NPC, getting merit money will not really help if it is exchanged for need-based aid.
@sophocles Thanks for the great info.
Alabama is ranked pretty low for engineering. I am not hung up on rankings but I took a look for perspective. I was considering SUNY Buffalo a no name safety and I see they are ranked 50 vs Alabama at 103? I know I am not comparing apples to apples however Alabama seems to be dipping pretty low to hang onto football and school spirit, but I may be completely wrong?
@carachel2 I am brutally realistic. I agree with you and I did say earlier I didn’t think the cost of Pitt would be viable.