<p>I'm a rising senior in high school now and I've been looking into some colleges. I've taken UMich, UIUC, CMU, and Cornell off my list because I'm not comfortable making my parents spend that kind of money (I'll get zip for fin aid) while still having to take student loans, especially since I'm planning on going to grad school. I'm looking for a school around the East coast (preferably north or mid-atlantic) whose total cost is around 40k or less as shown on its site. Considering my family income (and what my parents pay for my brother, who will be in his last year of college when I join), I believe that at this price I would be taking minimal loans. I prefer an OOS, medium-large population college. Also good research opportunities, of course. So far I've got:</p>
<p>umd at college park - I'm really liking this college, I'll be applying EA
gatech - although I would prefer a more well-rounded environment than just all tech majors, I'll be applying EA
UPenn - not for sure, and only if I can get some good aid
SUNY Stony Brook University - in-state, but it's more of a last resort safety. I don't want any CUNYs</p>
<p>Some things about me: Indian, US citizen, resident of NY, cumulative average of 93.42, 2230 SAT super score (700 R, 760 W, 770 M), 221 PSAT, 780 Math II SAT II, 730 Physics (retaking this), and plan on taking the ACT.
APs: I took world history (4) and bio (4) soph year; chemistry, computer science A, and us history this year; and will be taking US government, calc bc, and physics C next year.</p>
<p>So my question is, can anyone suggest any colleges that fit these criteria and my grades? Most importantly, I want them to be affordable. I'd like to have more reach and target colleges on my list. Thanks for any recommendations!</p>
<p>by the way I’m not sure about my weighted GPA - my school only provides me with an unweighted cumulative average. but if anyone can tell me how to find my weighted that’d be helpful too!
And also, that 40k is before any financial help of any kind</p>
<p>COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIPS 2014-2015
The following scholarships are in addition to the University-level scholarships offered.
Out-of-State:
Students who have a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive $2,500 per year for four years.</p>
<p>PLUS:
Students who have a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT (critical reading and mathematics scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive the value of tuition for four years.</p>
<p>So that means you would have free tuition, and and additional $2,500 per year.</p>
<p>RIT’s prices are, like Pitt’s, really good, and you’d get some aid. RPI, although I’m less familiar with their merit. and URochester, where merit might not bring it down enough but it’s worth checking. WVU would be a safety. Virginia Tech.</p>
<p>Stony Brook actually has a very good reputation for engineering, CS, math, and physics.</p>
<p>North Carolina State and Virginia Tech should be within your price range even at out-of-state list price. There may be merit scholarships available as well.</p>
<p>Weighted GPA is typically meaningless unless you calculate it with the specific weighting used by a college you are applying to, or by your high school for class rank, awards, or honors.</p>
<p>Merit scholarship opportunities and low cost schools would be more numerous if you relax the geographic limitation, since the northeast is not the best place to find such things.</p>
<p>The University of Buffalo should be considered. It’s a member of the AAU, one of the most prestigious associations of North American research universities in the US, and although it’s instate, it fits virtually all of your other desires. </p>
<p>Near the Northeast is the Ohio State University. Could be a possibility, especially if you want a stereotypical big DI sports school in a more urban environment. Far more well rounded than Georgia Tech although with much worse weather. </p>
<p>If you’re willing to go to Canada, you’d have a number of excellent possibilities ranging from the ultra urban McGill to UWaterloo to Queens University. </p>
<p>@jkeil911 thanks! I’ll look into Virginia. I’ve already been to RPI before and I don’t see myself there</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus I agree that stony is reputable, but I would like to have other options available. Right now i think umcp is my favorite And thanks for the links, they’re helpful. I’m willing to ease my geographic limitations significantly. I could look into Texas - how’s Texas A&M or UT Austin? But really other than Texas, within 1000 miles of NYC.</p>
<p>Also, UIUC tuition is a little over 30K and room&board is a little over 10K (and probably cheaper if you don’t live in a dorm as central IL isn’t exactly an expensive place), so I don’t understand why you’d cross them off the list (especially since AP credit would mean you wouldn’t have to spend tuition for as many classes).
BTW, GTech tuition is only a couple thousand less while I imagine that it would be more expensive to live in Atlanta.</p>
<p>Finally, UPenn doesn’t give merit aid, only fin aid.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan For his freshman year, my brother actually went to UIUC, and I regularly visited. I actually love it there. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to convince my dad that it was worth applying to. I’m going to try asking him again, but he’s pretty stubborn. And thanks for the info about GTech. I’m visiting next weekend so I’ll learn more about it. As for UPenn, I was told that they’re very generous with the aid, and when I received an estimate it was rather cheap. However, I think I would be better off at my other choices. If I go to UPenn, I fear that I would get far more opportunities in finance than in technical industries when I do internships. And I’m not lured in by the ivy prestige. And Case Western i will definitely look into. Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>@whenhen I considered UBuffalo but I actually visited during the winter and the cold was unbearable. I usually don’t take weather into account but it was unbearable there haha. </p>
<p>UT Austin is quite expensive for out-of-state students (about $52,000 per year list price), and has relatively few merit scholarships. Texas A&M is less expensive (about $40,000 per year list price for out-of-state students), and it has more numerous merit scholarships, many of which come with waivers of the out-of-state additional tuition (which is about $17,000 per year). If you make National Merit Finalist, Texas A&M has a good scholarship for that.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan I’m going into Electrical Engineering but that might change in college since I can’t tell for sure what I want to do yet.
And I’ll keep an open mind about upenn, it could serve as a good reach for me. I’m visiting next week.
As for UIUC, I’m really not sure. He seems to prefer GTech over it, since it’s higher in the US News rankings. I can’t convince him that the difference is insignificant, and I personally don’t like gtech as much because its so limited to tech. At UIUC i can find all kinds of people, and that would help me in college and maybe in the long run. At the very least, I don’t think there’s any harm in applying and seeing what kind of money we’d be paying, so I’ll try to convince him to let me at least apply. </p>
<p>by the way, if anyone has an idea, can you tell me if I have a shot at the honors program for maryland? If I got in, it would definitely be my top choice.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan haha yeah it’s wacky. And no he doesn’t. I think he bases it off of “have I heard that name before?” But it’s his money and he’s partly paying so if he says no then I guess I have to respect that. But I’ll try to apply. I would really like some more reach or higher target schools to apply to</p>
And thanks for the links, they’re helpful. I’m willing to ease my geographic limitations significantly. I could look into Texas - how’s Texas A&M or UT Austin? But really other than Texas, within 1000 miles of NYC.</p>