This may sound harsh but it is important for you to hear this. A 710 is not a high SAT Math score for students who do well in Engineering at places like Pitt and PSU. For the 2021 freshmen class, the 75th percentile Math SAT of all freshmen at Pitt was a 740. You can bet most engineering majors were at that 740 or above. More people transfer out of Engineering than any other major and it is because they struggle with the math. If your son has taken the SAT 3 times, has had tutors and a 710 is his best math score, I would give some thought to guiding him to a major outside of engineering.
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Well, My younger son had a 710 math score, with really no prep. He did fine in engineering, graduated Magna Cum Laude (and was Summa until he slacked off his senior year). Older son had much higher math scores (780, 800) and graduated with distinction in engineering but younger son actually surpassed his brother grade wise! I would not write off a 710 as being unprepared for engineering if that is where the interest lies. If a student starts off in engineering,but doesnât do that well, that will be sorted out , probably in the first year.
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Of course the SAT doesnât include calculus. If you take BC by 12th grade and get an A- or above (a 4 or 5 if you think your school grading is not rigorous), math shouldnât be a concern for you in engg. A 5 in AB may also be a good indicatorâ not sure.
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Cincy is a fine choice but know you can Co Op at pretty much any school. My sonâs school is always offering them as are the schools where his friends go. NEU and Drexel always get the grade as the co-op schools but in engineering they are all over. Last summer, my sons internship class included a one year co op student from Ole Miss. My former bossâs son did one from U Kentucky.
I think you should find the right school. Then I think youâll find that you student can do a co op. You can certainly check with the career center at schools that interest you or simply the school, college of engineering and co-op. In other words, I would not eliminate a school up from based on desire to co-op.
Almost all schools with SAT median over 1400 superscore. I was bored and checked all of them, (~100) about a year ago and I think three did not superscore. And one was an old Michigan policy which has now changed.
This was for SAT - there are a small number that superscore the SAT but not the ACT (for some odd reason) but Iâm only aware of a few of those.
(And as someone who started in ChemE and dated a Chem major starting the third day of a freshman year, they were certainly very different, at least back in the Paleolithic days)
I think Purdue is the longest of longshots as an OOSâer, unless the test scores come way up.
I would suggest Iowa State.
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@57special I agree. I am beginning to see it as a wasted application. Plus it is in the middle of no where. He would hate that.
Iowa State is similar to Purdue, though Des Moines isnât far away. He would have a better chance to get into ISU, and it is a good school, but be forewarned.
I would suggest U of MN, as it is an urban school with plenty to do, and GREAT access to public transit(LRT runs right through the middle of campus), but the ChemE there is a top 10 program, and would also be a reach.
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@57special be forewarned about what? He just took the SAT again today. Poor kid. He still has never finished a reading section. Usually he does not even get to the last section so the last 10 questions he has to guess. This time he he got to the last section but had to guess at the last 4-so some improvement. He said he gets anxious during the test and gets flustered. Itâs not a matter of exposure to the stimulus.
Iowa State is in Ames.
I didnât take it that way at all, but rather that some top engineering schools, or at least schools that are giving out merit for top scores, would have applicants with higher scores. In-state at PSU or Pitt, it might be enough. OOS at Purdue or Georgia Tech, it may not be. If he wants to go to school in Maryland, more likely to get into UMBC than UM-CP, but would be prepared to go to either schools. He also could get more money from UMBC
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My daughter had a math score of 680 (AP Calc AB - 4, and A in class) and is finishing up her junior year in engineering at VT. Top third of her class with a 3.5 GPA.
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The poster implied that a 710 was difficult for engineering, let alone a 680, as @LeastComplicated 's daughter had (and is doing very well). That you might want to consider guiding them to another major if they had a 710 on the SAT. Just not true across the board. And sometimes we sell our kids short in terms of what they might have the ability to accomplish.
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Another smaller engineering school that overlaps with RHIT in terms of the students who like it is Milwaukee School of Engineering, which also has the more urban environment youâre hoping for. Sticker price is over 60K so youâd need significant merit. The full-tuition award requires a 3.8+ UW HS GPA; Iâm not sure whether there are half-tuition awards that your son would qualify for (which would bring it into range), but it could be worth a look. They have Biomolecular Engineering rather than ChemE, but thereâs a decent amount of overlap - this page gives a brief explanation of the differences, which could be helpful in deciding whether to consider other biomolecular programs as well. https://www.msoe.edu/academics/undergraduate-degrees/engineering/biomolecular-engineering/ Farther from home than you want, but there are direct flights.
Another thatâs maybe worth having on radar is SUNY Buffalo. Urban, strong in engineering, and the sticker price is less than 10K above your range so getting enough merit to attend seems possible. The department of Chemical & Biological Engineering offers a ChemE BS, with a co-op option. The distance from Philly isnât too daunting, with direct flights as an alternative to the 6 hr drive.
Still, if he applies early to Pitt and gets in there for engineering, that sets the bar pretty high in terms of affordable urban public Uâs with strong engineering. (He should consider the Materials Science major, which shares a department with MechE, as well as the ChemE major.)
I donât think his stats should be so much of a red flag against engineering per se, as a red flag against engineering programs where he wouldnât be in the upper half of the engineering cohort, preparation-wise, and where thereâs significant attrition from engineering. Look for programs with good retention and stats that place him at least at median, not just for the school overall, but for engineering specifically.
Oh, another possibility would be Dalhousie in Nova Scotia. The sticker price is in range, and Halifax is a cool city. The Process Engineering department offers an undergrad ChemE program. (5 years with co-op or 4 years without co-op) Especially worth considering if thereâs been an upward trend in his GPA, as the Canadian schools donât consider freshman grades.
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I would not define Purdue as a wasted application.
First off, you canât get in if you donât apply.
You are chasing a figure $ wise. Even if you get in, unless with merit, it will be slightly over.
That said, abs especially when chasing a target price, you need more apps. And unless your heart is set on a school, then more apps are better. And many apps require extra work.
Iowa State is a fine backup - but itâs not close reputation wise to Purdue. Great school to attend. UAH is a safety, like Iowa State, up and coming suburban.
But Purdue is not rural. Itâs suburban. Sure itâs 60 miles north of Indy but thereâs nothing rural. Pitt in state is a wonderful option. Apply early. Cincy, Kentucky, UNM, Utah are affordable too. Look at U of South Florida in Tampa too.
Iâm not saying youâll get into Purdue. But so what ? I wanted my kids to get turned down somewhere. Make sure they applied high enough.
You seek a price point. Unless you fall in love with a safety, apply wide and only to schools that can get close to your budget, including a reach or two or 5.
Good luck.
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You may want have someone analyze his reading test. We were stumped by our sonâs score on a practice PSAT (reading 70th percentile). We had a reading specialist look at his answers; she figured out that he was not paying attention to the charts. They told him to take his time and read them. He had no further prep, and ended up as a Commended Student after taking the real PSAT and with a 1560 SAT/35 ACT.
It may be worth looking at Bucknell ( offers merit aid), Case Western (offers early action and lots of aid) and Lehigh.
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@tsbna44 I am not caught up in reputation as much as value for the buck. Purdue has a great price for the education so it drew me. My main focus is the right fit for success.
Being able to snowboard is a plus too lol. Priorities people!
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@Suzie1145 my other child currently a junior got into Case with better stats with major merit and it still does not bring that school within range. Lehigh is not going to be in range either for us. Same with Bucknell. Those schools are more than twice our budget and they are not generous with merit for non needy students.
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@sevmom Iâm pretty sure my son has testing anxiety or something along those lines. When he reviews his test he knows the material and he has made a careless mistake. He is also a slower reader. He has Aâs in AP chem and Pre AP Calc BC. He has glowing recs from both of those teachers. Good GPA. Plus he has the interest.
I could âbuyâ him the score by paying for the psych eval and getting the extra time that he probably needs. Then he could finish the reading section and eliminate those careless math section mistakes, huh? 
Donât worry , Iâm joking. That was for Truman. You would be surprised at how many PHDâs kids have extra time. Amazing.
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My son just finished freshman year at Purdue. We are OOS from Mich. Heâs very happy there.
However - thinking of other great engineering schools - maybe look at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. The base tuition breaks the budgetâŠbut they indicated that 99% of students receive aid. SoâŠ
Ok, I can tell youâre not entirely serious here. But where would your son go snowboarding if he was at Purdue?
Now, if he is interested in snowboarding, then you may want to investigate these options:
U. of New Hampshire: about 11k students; suburban
U. of New Haven (CT): not as close to skiing as some of the others, but closer than Purdue, and itâs easy to do weekend trips to numerous major metropolitan areas; about 5k students; suburban
West Virginia: about 21k students; suburban
Western Michigan: about 14k students; urban with some of Michiganâs best skiing about 30 minutes away
U. of Massachusetts - Lowell: about 12k students; about 35m from Boston so itâs easy access to a big metropolitan city; urban
Although Pennsylvaniaâs in-state schools are not as inexpensive for PA residents as most in-state schools are for their residents, it really does have some amazing options. It will be very hard to beat your in-state public options unless your son is looking for a smaller, more intimate environment.
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