My son is planning on majoring in engineering, though he is not sure which discipline yet- mechanical, electrical, computer- something along those lines.
SAT was high- 1530 on his first test.
Grades are lower- somewhere in the 3.2-3.5 range unweighted. He goes to a challenging Jesuit Prep school.
He takes 7 full subjects a year, the usual five plus religion, plus he doubles up on science. He will have 7 science classes at graduation (3 APs)
Mostly A’s in math and sciences, B/B+ in others, C’s in Foreign Language.
Will take AP calc next year.
He’s very bright, loves to learn, but not great about putting in hours in subjects he isn’t that interested in.
He was on crew team for 2 years, but dropped this year due to intensity.
Will be Eagle Scout by fall. Smattering of other ECs.
So I’m looking for school ideas.
We are in NY but are willing to consider most places east of the Mississippi.
He doesn’t want rural, unless the school is a town unto itself.
Probably not a city school without green space either.
Tuition will be a factor, though I’d like to hear about schools that would be a good fit, even if they are expensive, just for comparisons sake.
I’m not sure what is considered a target school and a reach school for him since there is a disparity between Scores and GPA.
Thanks for ideas. Just trying to get outside the local bubble.
What is the class rank? If he is in top 25% of his class, Ohio State can be an option. Has good merit aid for high stat out-of-state kids also.
You can consider University of Delaware also.
There is a thread for students with high test scores and GPAs like your son’s. Worth searching for (I think it was on the parents forum but am not positive).
Clarkson immediately came to mind as a low match/safety with lots of merit but Potsdam doesn’t have much of a college town. RPI, RIT, UR in NY could be options although I’m not sure how they would look at the GPA. Engineering has gotten to be a very tough admit. Hopefully you can find that thread and others will chime in.
Local bubbles are good because your State U will usually be a less expensive choice…SUNYs especially.
School does not rank. I’m not sure if there is some sort of ranking system that is reported to colleges.
It is a selective high school though accepting fewer than 25% of applicants. Not sure if that matters.
University at Buffalo is actually in a suburb. Have you ever been? It might have enough green space for him. It is big enough to have a large number of engineering options. It might work as a more likely for admission, affordable school.
Binghamton might be a tougher admit, but probably has more green space. They don’t have as many engineering majors available as UB but do have the ones you mentioned.
Clarkson University is well regarded for engineers and outdoorsy people.
Binghamton has a whole Nature preserve right on campus
those stats get an automatic full tuition scholarship at Ole Miss
https://finaid.olemiss.edu/scholarships/#8
if he could get accepted to the Center for Manufacturing Excellence, that could make Ole Miss an interesting option
http://www.cme.ms/
looks like it locks in $20K per year at Mississippi State, leaving a cost of about $12K per year
https://www.admissions.msstate.edu/freshmen/money-matters/scholarships/academic-scholarships/
he could also shoot for additional scholarships at either place that might bring cost down even further
if his weighted GPA is at least 3.5 he would get a full-tuition scholarship at Alabama-Huntsville
https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships
Alabama would offer $25K per year if he could raise GPA to 3.5. you might want to clarify if they accept unweighted only, or weighted. i think they kick in extra for engineering students
https://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
those are the schools east of the Mississippi I am aware of, that would offer big scholarships for his stats.
SUNY-Buffalo might be a good instate option
you could look into
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Auburn
NC State
Ohio State
Michigan State
West Virginia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Thank you @Wien2NC
Interesting ideas.
I appreciate the help with broadening our search. I am hoping this year’s grades bring up the GPA.
If he is undecided what kind of engineering, pay attention to how difficult it may be to change to a different engineering major at each school.
The problem you will run into is that merit aid is awarded essentially to buy improvements in the rankings. His SAT is good, but his GPA will hurt him in that regard. It is also typically the most heavily weighted factor in admissions algorithms. Good fits, like say WPI, Clarkson and Case Western, where he’d probably get in, would likely be full price. The very best options for price are your state schools.
University of Alabama used weighted gpa so his SAT score and a weighted GPA of at least 3.5 would give him $25000 plus another 2,500 for engineering. That is right at full tuition (although doesn’t include increases in later years). It would fit the bill for a big school in a town that is essentially the college itself. Great campus and known to give a lot of credit for AP or IB scores.