<p>I am a junior at a Pennsylvania public high school and most likely a future engineering major. I really like chemistry, computer science, and math. I don't like biology as much. I have a 4.0 GPA (unweighted) and a 2080 SAT (730M, 680CR, 670W). I'm not sure if I should take the ACT, but I could. I am taking 2 math/science AP courses now and will take 2-3 next year. I plan to take SAT subject II tests in May or June (math and chemistry). I play hockey, and participate in other clubs at school. I have more than 100 hours of community service and am working on a drive to promote the community program I participate in right now. I don't have any leadership positions in my school and my school's NHS chapter rejected my application (plan to reapply though). I'm looking for a school with a good undergraduate engineering program. I can afford in-state tuition but not much else without a financial aid package. I definitely want to avoid/minimize my debt. My most obvious choice is Penn State, but I also really would like small classes, interaction with a professor (not as much with a TA), excellent facilities and resources. If I choose a smaller liberal arts college (lower tier with scholarship?), I would probably also plan to go to to graduate school. Can you suggest some schools? Here's my current list:</p>
<p>Penn State
University of Pittsburgh
Lehigh University
Virginia Tech
University of Maryland College Park</p>
<p>That’s a good list. Keep in mind, the out-of-state publics usually won’t offer as much financial aid to be as good or better value than your in-state publics. </p>
<p>Could also look into Rose Hulman in Indiana if you’re interested in a smaller, technical school.</p>
<p>Penn State in-state cost is about $29,000 (of which tuition is about $16,000), so would that be your price limit?</p>
<p>Two small engineering-focused schools with low out-of-state costs are South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.</p>
<p>There’s absolutely no reason for you not to also look at Case Western (do EA, nice to have that December acceptance/award), Ohio State, Rochester, and Alabama, most of which should offer you some sort of merit aid. And think about tossing an application at CMU.</p>
<p>Take the ACT, just to see if you do better - your score isn’t bad, but you never know. A little higher score could result in some pretty nice merit.</p>
<p>My kid had higher stats, leadership, etc. and for our family, PA schools were far from the best deal.</p>
<p>Agree with many of the suggestions.<br>
Drexel should be added to your list. They give good scholarships that often reduce the cost to below Penn State.</p>
<p>Bama, if the scholarships do not change, would give full tuition (and this increases when tuition increases) + $2,500 for Engineering a year. It is an easy application and they have rolling admissions. You could apply August prior to senior HS year. The ease and scholarships make it a great safety school.</p>
<p>The rate @ucbalumnus listed above is ONLY for freshmen year. Both Pitt and Penn State charge extra for Engineering majors in the later years – Penn State current fee for Engineering is $18,428 for Tuition ONLY. This is important to remember when estimating 4 years tuition. This does NOT include fees, housing, books, etc. The total COA for Penn State has been increasing by approx $1.5k/year.</p>
<p>Pitt is still giving some merit scholarships to in state kids, not much, but better than Penn State.</p>
<p>Before going the LAC route for Engineering, look at the lesser known universities for engineering. We were blown away by Bama’s facilities. DS dropped Lehigh and Union from the list because the facilities could not compare even before cost was factored in.</p>
<p>someone is likely going to suggest a 3:2 program which is 3 years at a LAC followed by a xfer (with some form of guarantee) to a 4-year college with an engineering dept. From what I’ve heard almost nobody actually completes the program. If you like the small classes, personal attention, and have made a good set of friends it can be tough to turn away from that for the new school when in just 1 more year you get a degree. </p>
<p>Given you want to minimize debt I would suggest looking at colleges with a strong coop program. Every college “has” one but some schools really focus on it; students are expected to spend a semester or more in industry, they help place you, etc. It takes longer to graduate but you earn good money during the time away, you become a wonderful new-hire because you have significant experience.</p>
<p>I would also suggest thinking about schools where you can take part in a 5-year BS/MS plan. Getting a MS is valuable whether you stay on the technical side or go into mgmt, and getting it done while you’re still in student-mode is a lot easier than working and then going back to school or doing it part-time at night for several years.</p>
<p>Thanks! I’ll look for schools that offer the 5-year BS/MS plan and/or strong coop programs. I’ll add Drexel, Carnegie Mellon, Rose Hulman, Case Western, Ohio State, Rochester, Alabama, South Dakota School of Mines, and New Mexico Institute to my list. I hesitate about CMU because I know it’s a reach and $$$, but it’s a great school. It’s disappointing that my in-state option, Penn State, is so expensive. I heard that Penn State is the second most expensive in-state school in the US. The 3:2 option, by the way, does sound risky.</p>
<p>Haverford has a 4+1 which is much better than a typical 3+2: you get a liberal arts degree in physics, computer science, or chemistry from Haverford, and a Master’s in Engineering in one year from UPenn. Haverford meets 100% need without loans.
Northeastern should be on your list, too - strong co-op program and decent financial aid (much better than Drexel’s).
Gettysburg, Bucknell, Lafayette, Union, are all smaller colleges with strong engineering programs (and you already have Lehigh).</p>
<p>What about the tech schools – WPI, RPI, RIT? They are not for everyone, but they have strong STEM academics and smallish classes. Not sure their FA is all that great, though, but they often have merit scholarships.</p>
<p>WPI is awesome in merit for females. OP, if male, may get enough from them to come out cheaper than Penn State. WPI is test optional, but they still like to keep the avg SAT/ACT of incoming who submit the scores in the higher range. OP is near the top middle range of WPI SAT (CR/M only)</p>
<p>I know a freshmen female who was able to work in the lab immediate upon arriving on campus. The faculty helped her get a summer internship by Nov. </p>
<p>Except for the cold weather, I think this is a great school that too often flies under the radar. So glad Daddio3 mentioned it!</p>
<p>Take a full-length, timed practice ACT and see if your scores come out any higher. You’ll have good options with your current scores, but when it comes to merit, every little bit can help. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! BTW I’m a 16 yo male. I’ll try taking a practice ACT. The smaller PA colleges are a possibility if I can get some aid. I’ve heard a lot about UAB, so I think I’ll visit that school this summer. I’m already planning to visit Georgia Tech. I never thought about Haverford and Northeastern, so I’ll check those out. Would any of these schools be reaches or high matches for me? I think I have a good chance at all the ones on my old list except maybe Lehigh. I think I have a good chance at Drexel, Case Western, Ohio State, and UAB, but I’m not sure/don’t know about the other suggestions. Except for Carnegie Mellon … that’s a reach.</p>
<p>Here was my old list:
Penn State
University of Pittsburgh
Lehigh University
Virginia Tech
University of Maryland College Park</p>
<p>Here’s the suggested list:
Drexel
Carnegie Mellon
Rose Hulman
Case Western
Ohio State
Rochester (Institute of Technology?)
Alabama (Birmingham?)
South Dakota School of Mines
New Mexico Institute of Technology
Haverford
Northeastern
Gettysburg
Bucknell
Lafayette
Union (Cooper Union, right?)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Rennselaer</p>
<p>There are multiple University of Alabama campuses – Tuscaloosa (flagship), Birmingham, and Huntsville. All thee offer some sort of automatic-for-stats merit scholarships, but the thresholds and amounts vary between the different campuses (they are all listed in the automatic full tuition and full ride scholarship thread in the financial aid and scholarships forum section).</p>
<p>Haverford does not have engineering, but one of its consortium partners Swarthmore does. Bucknell has a majority of students in fraternities and sororities, so you may want to consider whether such a social environment is to your liking. You can check the campus life tabs on the school’s entry at <a href=“http://www.collegedata.com”>http://www.collegedata.com</a> to find the fraternity/sorority percentage as well as the percentage of frosh living in the dorms; the latter can be a proxy for how residential (versus commuter) the school is.</p>
<p>I went to RIT for undergrad. Common misconception is that its a ‘tech school’ but its really just like any school. Business school is highly ranked and design sschool is globally ranked in addition to being well regarded within industry for its technical majors. Just about all tech majors have a ms/bs option and the co-op program is out of this world. All eng majors req 5 co-ops to graduate–which under the old quarter systems amounted to just over a year of work experience before you graduate.</p>