We’re in the thick of touring colleges with our HS junior, and he is leaning strongly toward the fields of software engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering and computer science. Other things on his wish list include a pretty, walkable campus, an enjoyable college town (not a big city or a rural area with nothing nearby) and a decent sports scene. He would also like to stay in the Southeast.
At this point, he’s most interested in Auburn, which he has toured and liked a lot; VA Tech; UVA; and UNC Chapel Hill, none of which he has visited yet. UNC doesn’t make as much sense to me as I haven’t ever really thought of it as an engineering school, but there is no harm in checking it out.
Schools he has eliminated: GA Tech (too urban); Alabama (did not like Tuscaloosa and feels Auburn is a better fit in-state); Vanderbilt (campus left him cold); UGA (limited engineering compared to others); and MS State (husband went to Ole Miss and son has been raised with an aversion to Starkville and cowbells. ).
Cost is definitely a consideration. His stats (4.0 unweighted GPA, 35 ACT) make him eligible for significant merit aid at Auburn as well as admission to the Honors College, which very much interested him when we met with them during our campus visit. I assume he would get little to no merit aid at the other schools, and we aren’t eligible for need-based aid. We could manage the OOS or private tuition but it would be a real stretch.
With that all said, are we overthinking it by continuing to look beyond Auburn? Or do you feel it’s worth continuing to explore options? TIA!
What is his definition of “a reasonably diverse student body”?
College Navigator - Auburn University indicates that Auburn has only 11% of undergraduates on Pell grants (approximately the lower half of parent income range) and only 18% indicating a race/ethnicity other than White.
That’s a good question and I should have clarified. He doesn’t want a campus where the student body feels too homogenous - i.e. mostly from very similar backgrounds.
Arizona - for a big school. Big merit. Nice campus. Good programs. More diversity although Auburn has far less than say Bama . Geographically alone….
Are you just looking at big schools ? If costs matter forget UNC , etc or Va Tech unless you want to spend $50k
Arizona. Mizzou. WVU. FSU. Even Florida or Purdue… Nebraska is another as are Oklahoma and Arkansas. U of SC too. And UTK which is in city. But these are all large and other than Arizona on the homogenous side.
UAH is your smaller choice. Not really a college area around. Col School of Mines but not cheap. Denver (mid 40s) with merit might be other choices.
Size is not as strong a consideration as some other factors, but he’d prefer a midsize to large campus. Minimum student population would probably be 5k to 6k. UAH isn’t of interest to him either, for the reason you mention (no college town vibe and a large percentage of commuters).
I hadn’t thought about Arizona et al but will suggest he look into those as well, even outside the SE. Essentially - I think it comes down to whether any of the other schools offer a lot of programs/opportunities he wouldn’t get at Auburn and would be worth the price tag.
I actually thought Auburn was more diverse than it really is - the numbers surprised me a bit when I looked at them just now. I don’t know if that would be a deal breaker or not, he’ll have to weigh in.
You may want to check out the University of Maryland, College Park. Seems to check off pretty much all your wish list items. It has very strong CS and engineering programs (brand new facilities too) and a highly rated Honors college.
For Auburn (and all other schools) make sure your son understands the whole flow to getting his degree.
At some schools (and I think Auburn may be one of them) all engineering frosh start as pre-engineers and apply to their chosen major after a year of courses. For all such schools he needs to know if everyone completing the requirements can pick any major or if they rank and only admit from the top until all spaces are filled. Other schools may admit frosh directly to a major.
He also should consider how difficult it is to change majors within Engineering. Again, this differs by college. At some it is a minor formality, at others (like the UCs) they allow only a very limited number.
I think Auburn is a great choice. I would eliminate UVA from consideration as studying engineering there is over $82,000 a year and will only go up. Also it’s not ranked much higher than Auburn. Although Chapel Hill is less expensive, I am with you and would not choose Chapel Hill for engineering over Auburn, and Auburn is ranked higher than UNC for engineering.
Has he visited Georgia Tech? Although it is in the middle of in town Atlanta it absolutely doesn’t give off vibes of being an urban school. May not make much of a difference if he wants to stay in the southeast but if he has visions of going to the northeast or out west the job placement at Georgia Tech is unparalleled. It would be a high reach (Out of state admit rate will likely be around 10% or less this year), but I would consider touring it before elimination.
My senior is in Auburn for engineering and UGA Honors. If he gets in Georgia Tech he will go, as we live in Georgia. He actually just paid housing deposits at both Auburn and UGA today as those are likely second choices. He had originally ruled Georgia Tech out as well because he wanted to be in a college town, but Georgia Tech grew on him. He also has Purdue, Illinois, Florida and Virginia Tech to hear from but don’t think those will change his mind.
UNC does not have engineering except a dual major in Biomedical with NCSU.
What is your budget?
He could look at schools like Tulane and Northeastern if he wants a more diverse atmosphere. But those are not going to be cheap options depending on your family’s AGI.
He knows Tech pretty well (I grew up in Atlanta and we are there a lot). He’s never taken an official tour but has seen the campus enough to have a good read on it. Here’s hoping your son gets in!
If he’s a 4.0, Arizona is $32K off of $41K tuition - and it has an Honors dorm that is unbelievable with a dining hall on the bottom - with a gym and mental health center adjacent.
I’m not sure any other large public can deliver anything that Auburn can’t - at the Auburn price.
Worth / value - is in the eye of the beholder - but if you want to match the Auburn price, there’s a select few that will get you there - hence those I mentioned.
As for Auburn diversity, you have some Alabamans, a lot of Atlantans…and well…that’s it. Tuscaloosa draws 58% from OOS (because they pay), has a large Jewish population and has strong scholarships for URMs - but their geographic diversity is off the charges for a public. Auburn is certainly a…hmmmmm…a nicer city…smaller but very nice vs. Tuscaloosa which has some rough edges.
Here’s a fun one - she chose Auburn over some little pedigree school…known as …I think they call it …Yale
Edit - back to your title - is Auburn the obvious choice for an Alabama resident? No - but if UAB, UAH, and Alabama are eliminated - then - yes - if you want a large public at a cheap price, it’s the obvious choice!!
It really depends on where he wants to end up job wise. If he wants FAANG, unlikely to get there from Auburn. Lots of GT kids get those internships. Same with consulting jobs - my GT civil engineer is headed to NYC this summer to work for a consulting firm. Had multiple offers in multiple states. Not uncommon for GT CS kids to end up in NYC as sophomores. GT is a top 5 engineering school, top 10 for CS and it carries a ton of weight. My GT kid had people leaving their booths to talk to him at the job fair because they overheard his experience. It is honestly unbelievable. If goal is Atlanta/Nashville/Birmingham, Auburn has a great program. Your kid has the stats to take a run at the top tier so that would be a consideration for me. He may be totally uninterested but a consideration.
I don’t think he cares about FAANG, at least not at this point. He’s never expressed any desire to live on the West Coast. Atlanta, Nashville, Bham, Raleigh, etc. would be much more likely.
Not really, engineering is a major that as long as it’s a flagship university (and Auburn is), it doesn’t matter much which one you attend (I’ll except MIT and Cal tech, and a few other top private universities) from that statement. If he is happy with Auburn then I think your good.
I guess you aren’t counting the New England residents I know who are attending Auburn…for engineering. And I’m sure the folks I know aren’t the only OOS students (not from GA) who attend.
To the OP, if you really like Auburn, then go for it. We all have our preferences. It sounds like Auburn is affordable for your family, and you like it. Sure, you can consider other options…but you don’t have to.
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