Have you figured out what your actual budget will be, and if UCs and CSUs fit into that budget?
Others can help you better if you give an idea of what the target price is. The list of colleges that are financially realistic is different if you are willing to pay $10k per year versus if you are willing to pay $50k per year.
Each subject is one class per week. The rest is work-from-home. The flexibility is also in advancing in certain subjects, although the first few years the kid was initially placed in the wrong math path. Took time to resolve. Again, this is not a bad school by any means. But a G/T student without a G/T program and no high school STEM ECs is having a different experience than one would at Harvard/Westlake. Want to close the gap.
The kid has just been named a SET student, but not sure how that can help moving forward. This is new. So, test scores hopefully will be in line with scholarships as they are already strong. Of course, no merit scholarship is assured since they will be different from what they are now.
If the kid can earn a full-tuition scholarship - which is supremely difficult, just getting acceptances are hard enough - then room and board and travel can be paid for with a second job. Anything within driving distance/avoiding airfare for the family would also be a strong consideration. Canadian schools are, too, although @gwnorth does point out that engineering is a higher tuition price point.
The post @ucbalumnus gave re: current in-state costs helps to start formulating in-state options. Figuring out what are matches and likelies - even if that shifts - means we can start to help the kid go for some reaches, on her terms, with her interests.
After @roycroftmom posted about the cost of engineering at UBC I Iooked it up and she is correct. Cost in BC is about 1/2 of what it is in Ontario (Ontario has the highest tuition in Canada on average I think).
Cal Poly SLO has a $29,000 or so cost of attendance all included for 2020-2021. Can you afford that amount? How about that amount minus the $5500 Direct Loan your daughter can takeā¦so OOP $25000 or so?
The school is well regarded and has mechanical engineering.
Are you Calgrant eligible? Could you please answer that question?
Cal Poly SLO would be another amazing academic option (another poster on here had a son there with great results). Loans and a second job would definitely be needed.
Not familiar with Calgrant, need to research it.
This suggests a budget of $15-20k per year if you get the second job, based on room/board/travel costs for residential colleges. Are there UCs and CSUs in commuting range that are academically suitable (e.g. have the studentās possible majors)?
It also suggests that the budget is close to $0 if you do not get the second job, meaning that the student needs to find a full ride merit scholarship.
Looks like CAL Grant is not an option. School research is only starting due to the kidās age. Cooper Union and Olin are no longer tuition-free, but seem like great programs. Mudd is female/humanities-friendly - excellent environmental fit, poor financial fit. Cal Poly SLO seems strong. Donāt know which schools are best for MechEng. The Kid isnāt into CS.
So the reason why I and others are urging test prep is because full-tuition/full-ride scholarships for NMS (and probably for high enough test scores) are assured.
The list of schools may change/shrink but it seems highly likely that by the time she graduates, there will still be some schools (that offer MechE) who automatically offer full-tuition/full-ride scholarships for NMS and certain test score thresholds.
The non-automatic scholarships arenot_ assured.
Another option to consider are (near) tuition-free unis in Europe. Though the experience would be quite different (definitely not anything like an elite American college, though if you went to uni in Canada back in the day, you would have some idea of what it would be like, except assume much more curriculum rigidity) and she really should be fluent in the local language.
And yes, are any CA publics commutable?
Deleted since you said sheās not into CS.
Some CA publics are commutable - higher ranked ones are not; would have to be on campus. Europe would be an interesting option but the cost of travel would make a Canadian school more affordable. More interested in healthy facilities (ie. no mold in dorms) and Makerspaces; donāt even know what a luxury experience would even be, TBH.
Hmm, yes, Canadian unis may be in range depending on how weak the CAD is to USD (you may want to lock in the exchange rate).
āIf the kid can earn a full-tuition scholarship - which is supremely difficult, just getting acceptances are hard enough - then room and board and travel can be paid for with a second job. Anything within driving distance/avoiding airfare for the family would also be a strong consideration.ā
Itās not āsupremely difficultā for a kid with a 4.0 UW and a top 1% SAT/ACT score to get a full tuition or better scholarship, you just have to pick less selective schools. Some are automatic for NMF, others are based on test scores. For a family in CA, Utah, Arizona and ASU are all schools within driving distance that should be looked at for this sort of merit (although of course things might change in the next few years).
It sounds like you are in a pretty similar position to Kevin, and a similar outcome is perfectly plausible if you end up with similar grades and test scores.
@melvin123 @Boxcar101 The kid is currently not into programming, and since so many kids are passionate about it - thus would already excel at it - my strategy is to introduce the topic again a bit later. Kids change, and every student can benefit from some training. But your suggestions could be helpful at a future date.
Physics Olympiad would be more her jam, so thatās why, when @bopper asked about the two sciences, getting basic biology and chemistry out of the way was an option. The kid will not be taking AP Bio, but will take AP Chem & Physics. (Almost done with Honors Physics this year.) The challenge is how does a kid with no Olympiad teams on campus take part in the Physics Olympiad? Not sure about how that works.
In what way to lock in the rate how? Exchanging money and slipping it under a mattress for four years? (Said only half in jestā¦)
^ Currency futures. Specifically, the micro CAD/USD future: https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/fx/e-micros/e-micro-canadian-dollar-us-dollar.html
That explains it.
My homeschooled kid participated in the Physics and Math Olympiads. My kid is now out of college, so it has been a few years, but he didnāt need to be attending a school in order to compete. I am not sure what the rules are now, though, but it would be worth checking into.
Running reference: current budget not firmed up. At a minimum: second job net income during the kidās undergrad/masters that funds school expenses. Amount TBD. With the minimum student loan each year, should cover some of the CA public options. Seeking merit.
If National Merit or National Hispanic Recognition level is reached: could be helpful with Arizona, Utah schools. (More options here?)
Interesting schools, no real sense on the financials, possible merit to aim for: Olin, Carnegie Mellon, RPI, WPI, RIT, Stevens. (More options here?) Perhaps canāt beat in-state options.
Financially out of reach: Mudd, Stanford, MIT.
Where the kid may well end up for undergrad: Canada.
Stevens has some full-tuition scholarships. Obviously tough to get, but being female and Hispanic (and high-acheiving, obviously) may help.
Hereās a list of NMS schools that is outdated and not kept current: http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com
Some full-ride schools on there. UT-Dallas, for instance. Also, as of now, all of the FL publics offer full-rides to NMS. Not sure if the FL legislature will cut or limit the Benacquisto, but UCF and USF were offering full-rides to NMS before the Benacquisto so likely will do so in the future regardless.
I donāt think the AZ schools offer full-ride for NMS. I believe the NM schools do or close to it.