<p>I recently started my college search and soon realized that choosing colleges to apply to is a very difficult process, so I would love to hear some input. I'm going to be a senior this coming year at a smallish school in NH (700 students) and I hope to study engineering in college (although I don't know what type). I have tons of extracurriculars (Cross Country, Track, Math Team, Quiz Bowl, NHS, SHS, Student Government, etc.). My unweight high school gpa is 3.92. I have taken the SATs once so far and I got a 2120, 770-math, 690-reading, and 660-writing. I also took the SAT2s and got 700-physics, 790-math2. As for AP courses, I took the AP Physics test this May (I don't have my scores for that yet), and I will be taking the AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP SpanLang and AP EngLit next year.</p>
<p>My current college list is:
Cornell - stretch
Johns Hopkins - stretch
Dartmouth - stretch
Lehigh - middle
BU - middle
Northeastern - middle
UMass Amherst - safety</p>
<p>I would love to hear anyone's opinions on my chances at these schools and whether or not any schools should be added to or taken off this list. Thanks!</p>
<p>My parents will be paying however much UNH in-state tuition costs that year, so around $25,000. I will have to foot the rest of the bill. However, all the money I receive from either financial aid or scholarships helps to pay off my part.</p>
<p>You may want to see if Minnesota, NCSU, Virginia Tech, Stony Brook, and Cal Poly SLO may be within range of your parents’ contribution plus the subsidized Stafford loan limit ($23,000 for four years).</p>
<p>UMass does have a New England regional discount for NH residents if they choose a major not available at NH public schools. But without it, the cost of attendance may be too high for you to consider it a safety (about $36,000 per year, or $11,000 per year higher than your parents’ contribution).</p>
<p>Thanks for that information, I will definitely have to look into those scholarships. However, what do you think my chances are of being admitted into those schools regardless of the financial aspect? (although that will play a huge role when I decide where I want to go)</p>
<p>You’ll get into Cal Poly SLO with those stats no problem. I know plenty of instate kids that were accepted to their engineering program with much lower stats (and SLO only looks at stats). One not of caution, most of the Cal States are experiencing extreme budget cuts, so registering for classes may be difficult. Check the SLO forum to see if this is accurate or not.</p>
<p>If you’re willing to go to a rural area, also consider New Mexico Tech. It’s about $29,000 per year, which is slightly more than your parents are willing to spend, but you can easily get a summer job to pay off most of the additional cost</p>
<p>Hey you should definitely look at OOS schools that have good undergrad engineering programs. That way the cost won’t be as much as private schools, but still more than in state. University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign would be one and other good state flagships that have strong engineering programs.</p>
<p>I’d say no problem getting into UMass Amherst with those stats and you might even get some merit aid. UMass engineering is ranked higher than UNH, for what it’s worth, and from what I’ve seen (my son just finished his first year there), it’s a great program. The problem with the regional discount is if you change your mind on a major to something that is offered at UNH, you lose the discount. It kind of locks you in. </p>
<p>However, without some significant financial aid (merit and/or need-based depending on your parents’ income) I don’t see how the privates you have listed will be affordable for you. All of them are close to $60K per year and you can’t borrow enough on your own to make up the difference between the $25K your parents are willing to pay and the cost of attendance. You should run the net price calulator for each school to get an idea of what the real cost to you would be. In my opinion, it’s not worth going into big debt to finance an engineering degree from an expensive private when there are more affordable state and other (merit aid) alternatives.</p>
<p>Both my sisters were in the same situation I am right now and they received significant financial aid in the form of approximately $25,000 from most of the schools they applied to. However, I am very concerned about tuition, so come May there’s a good chance that the school I go to will be determined by how much debt I’ll have when i come out. Although I hope it doesn’t come to that.</p>
<p>Hey you should definitely look at OOS schools that have good undergrad engineering programs. That way the cost won’t be as much as private schools, but still more than in state. University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign would be one and other good state flagships that have strong engineering programs.</p>
<p>NCTran…he says that his parents will only pay $25k per year. The state flagships with engineering programs like UIUC (or UMich/Cal/etc) will NOT be affordable.</p>
<p>cloverman…with your stats, there are schools that will give you large scholarships for your stats. Use the link that Erin’s Dad gave you and also use this one:</p>
<p>Maybe you should pick tOSU as one of your safety schools (50% ACT 27-31) imho. You should definitely qualify for “National Buckeye Scholarship” for OOS students at tOSU. Ohio State is very diverse, and Columbus is the 15th largest city in the country. With $10,000 annual National Buckeye Scholarship, the COA for tOSU will be roughly $25k per year (roughly $35,000 for OOS - $10,000 scholarship = $25,000 total COA) which would then be affordable to you based on your parents’ support. :)</p>
<p>[Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Engineering
Aeronautical and Astronautical 19th
Bioengineering 28th
Chemical 17th
Civil 23rd
Electrical 19th
Materials 15th
Mechanical 15th
Industrial and Systems 4th</p>
<p>If you want a private with good financial aid look at Harvey Mudd! I’d also recommend Florida Institute of Technology, Colorado School of Mines, Rose-Hulman, and Cooper Union.</p>
<p>*Both my sisters were in the same situation I am right now and they received significant financial aid in the form of approximately $25,000 from most of the schools they applied to. *</p>
<p>What kind of aid did they get? Merit scholarships? need-based aid? Were they attending school at the same time? </p>
<p>Your situation is different. your family is smaller now (guessing that your sisters will be graduated by the time you attend). You won’t have siblings in undergrad while you’re going to school. That all means far less aid…maybe NO aid.</p>
<p>OP, You might want to apply for engineering to Texas A&M Univ, College Station. They give generous merit scholarships to applicants with high SAT scores. A lot of people do not know it, but A&M is one of the ten wealthiest colleges in America with one of the best engineering programs in the country. By the way, my son will be applying to BU and Northeastern for engineering too. Good luck.</p>
<p>Cloverman: As others have suggested you need to run your numbers through the school’s net price calculator. Also look at the common data set for each school to see admission numbers and financial aid and merit scholarships for each school. It is important before you apply to make sure the schools are financial fits for you. It is no use to apply to a school you can’t afford to attend at the end of the process. </p>
<p>A couple of things too-I just toured George Washington University. The are in the middle of building a very nice engineering school building. To attract students to it they offer $30K annually to in-coming freshman who are in the top 30% of their class. I also toured engineering at Clemson and they too offer some nice scholarships to students in engineering. Also Baylor is generous too. </p>
<p>I second Sparkeye’s suggestion of Ohio State. My DS is there and they gave him a full-ride. The school has received a lot of money for various programs too. </p>
<p>I would take Cal Poly Pomona or SLO off the list. Engineering is impacted so it is tough to get classes and they are not good on financial aid or merit money.</p>
<p>The Cal Polys are not that expensive at list price even for out of state, although out of state students should not expect much financial aid. However, the list price is still a bit over $30,000 per year, which is likely to stretch the limit of the parental contribution plus subsidized Stafford loans.</p>
<p>Cal Poly Pomona (the less selective one) does have a four year graduation pledge program which gives priority scheduling and advising if you agree to follow your major’s course plan and do not need remedial courses.</p>