"You’d be a match for many of them – a reach for the tippy top ones.
But for reference, Purdue’s COE – certainly a top-ten COE, has a freshman avg ACT of 28. If you were to apply there, they might wave merit money at you."
Purdue has two levels of merit scholarships, the Trustees which is maxed out at $16k per year, they award around a hundred of those each year, and the Presidential which is maxed out at $10k per year, they award several hundred of those per year. Purdue accepts around 26000 students per year and around 7200 matriculate. I guess it depends on what your definition of having money waved at you is? They will not be offering a full ride merit scholarship if that is what you need. It has been my experience that Purdue offers the best financial aid to those students that it offers scholarships to.
It is an excellent school, especially for engineering. If you are interested in Purdue and especially if you are interested in Scholarships it is imperative that you have your application (including all required documentation) turned in by November 1. If you are interested in their engineering department the earlier you get your application in the better. There have been many an engineering student with high stats that applied in February or March only to be denyed or waitlisted because Purdue felt they had filled their engineering class. You certainly have the stats to be accepted to Purdue. I would caution others that while a 28 ACT is the Purdue average it will likely be higher for engineering majors and OOS students.