<p>Hello! I have a bit of a dilemma... my list of colleges to apply to is much too long and it kills me to take anything off the list either because "what if this school were to give me a better aid package than the others?" or "what if THAT is the one ivy I would get into out of all of them."</p>
<p>A tiny bit about me: I'm from southern NH, I'm white, middle class. 2220 SATs, 3.95 weighted GPA (top 5%), I play two instruments, I own my own web design business, good ECs, volunteer work, blah blah blah. I don't want to get too much into this stuff because this isn't really a chances thread. I'm hoping to major in computer engineering. Finances are a concern for me, cost of attending will play a big role in where I enroll.</p>
<p>Before I begin here, I'll preface by saying I'm not overly picky about campus feel and location and whatnot. I'm more of a city person and I'd prefer something closer to home, but what is most important is getting a good education.</p>
<p>MIT is my dream school. I love everything about it. This one's easy.</p>
<p>Now for the ivies: I'm under the impression that Cornell, Columbia, and Princeton have great engineering programs. Brown, Harvard, Penn, Yale, Dartmouth: not so much? But even so, they are ivies and according to U.S. News they outrank a lot of schools that specialize in engineering like WPI. I know ivies give great aid and I like the idea of being with a group of top-of-the-line bright and motivated students.</p>
<p>Another reach: Carnegie Mellon. Great comp sci/engineering department, but I'm not sure how much financial aid they give.</p>
<p>Matches (I think):
RPI - Probably better aid than WPI?
WPI - Closer to home than RPI
Northeastern - Paid COOP could help cover cost
RIT - less expensive tuition
Tufts - I heard they are good with aid, but I'm not sure about the engineering part
I think I can get into these schools and would be really happy to attend any of them, but they are less affordable than ivies or state schools.</p>
<p>Safeties:
UMass - inexpensive and has a solid engineering dept.
UNH - cheapest (absolute last resort)</p>
<p>Also, I have an application fee waiver for U Rochester because I won their book award at the end of last year. Should I apply just for the heck of it?</p>
<p>I'd like to narrow my list down to 10 or less. Which ones should I go for?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>