OP I would closely evaluate your in-state options. Not sure why you are not interested in UA. There are some good universities with OOS scholarships (like UA) which could keep your COA low.
Good luck. Perhaps you are shooting for a ‘prestige’ school where you can receive a lot of merit/FA. The FA at high cost private schools is very iffy. You may have to do a lot of essays and applications and not get enough to attend.
I would recommend looking at the curriculum and honors programs at your in-state, and how you like the campus. Then look at the prospective financially feasible schools elsewhere.
UA does offer a summer engineering program for rising HS juniors and seniors (look on the UA web and search ‘SITE’). My DD went to this one week program and was able to evaluate which field of engineering she wanted. She loves it at UA. The STEM faculty and facilities has grown almost exponentially over the past 13 years. Honors programs are super (she is in a STEM MBA program, and there are other honors programs too). Honors gets you priority scheduling each semester.
A big misconception is that ED is always binding. It is not if someone cannot pay. If the applicant fills out the forms and works with the school they will know the package when they are accepted. If the aid is not sufficient they only need to say they cannot afford it. Period.
@dadstressed What is the benefit of him applying ED? He would no doubt get in EA. As another white male with normal good stats, no robotics, no NMF/NMSF he does not trigger large scholarships. Based on this years awards he should get about 15k. So he’s counting on large financial aid based on his dad’s 40k salary and whatever his mother earns.
I do understand that you can get out of the agreement but in general I thought the best advice was to only do ED if it is your top choice and you think you can afford it. Plenty of prospective students being gapped in the RPI and WPI forums. They aren’t known for fantastic aid.
However, a student looking at an ED offer cannot rely on comparing the financial aid offer to that of any other school. Of course, there may be exceptions like automatically awarded merit scholarships and the like, but not being able to make the comparison with pending need-based aid and competitive merit scholarships can make it harder for the student to decide whether to go to the ED school if it is only just barely affordable.
Be sure to check whether any of the schools want SAT subject tests. If needed, the most commonly asked for ones for engineering applicants are math (level 2 if you have completed precalculus) and a science (physics or chemistry), but check each school to be sure.
If needed, end of 11th grade is often the best time to take them (in subjects that you are just completing) so that you have them before application season in fall of 12th grade.
U of Rochester
Illinois Institute of Technology
U of Portland
Case Western Reserve U
U of South Carolina
Ohio University
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
Missouri Science & Technology University
Tufts - meets full need. Small undergrad/teaching focused program that recently started building out its Phd programs (but they are still very small by Cornell standards). Similar selectivity to Cornell, but not as well known in the south - so it could be easier to get in for someone from Florida. Known for interdisciplinary programs and tends to attract students looking for more rounded experience than traditional engineering schools. Great location for nightlife/culture/leading edge jobs and internships (2 miles to Harvard, 4 miles to MIT, 6 miles to Boston all via public transportation).
Olin College of Engineering - meets full need, some merit. Tiny, undergrad only program, has cross registration with Babson and Wellesley. Very innovative, interdiscilinary curriculum. Slightly less selective than Cornell (as measured by % admitted, but that is misleading because standard test scores are really high). Again, very few people in the south have heard of it, so it could be easier to get in from Florida. Beautiful location in wealthy suburb of Boston, not as much nightlife, but they run shuttle buses into the Tufts/Harvard/MIT corridor and Boston on weekends.
UMass Lowell - if you know you want nuclear engineering, then they are one of only a few schools with their own nuclear reactor. There are very few people (even in Massachusetts) who know they have one. Also one of the only plastics engineering programs in the country. Unlike many other states, historically Massachusetts tended to underfund the state uni’s, but has increased funds significantly in recent years. Rising reputation along with the state flagship (UMass Amherst). I have not been to Lowell in years, so I cannot comment on the location, other than it is in the outer portion of the High Tech Belt and is accessible to Boston. Selectivity is low, but I have heard of full tuition scholarships being awarded to strong out of state students.
UMass Amherst - has some strong programs, and a brand new honors college complex. Strong out-of-state students usually attend at in-state rates. Rural location among a cluster of liberal arts colleges. Great as a “college town” but not as good for high tech internships.
Two decent Southeastern engineering programs that would offer OOS merit/FA aid are Clemson and Auburn.
Clemson: Based on 2013 US news ranking of Undergraduate Engineering programs, Clemson is ranked 58, tied with Northeastern, Tufts, University of Iowa, UMass-Amherst and WPI.
Auburn is ranked 53, tied with Boston University, Colorado School of Mines, Drexel University and the University of Delaware.
Another school in the southeast that would offer a very nice aid package is Vanderbilt. It’s ranked 34th for engineering, and it’s aid package would not include any loans. Your scores would need to improve a bit to be competitive.
Of course, you have to compare all of these OOS state schools with your in-state option, UF. $6K a year in tuition + $3K a year in Bright Future scholarships (and last year UF met 99% need for students).
Thank you!!! And yeah Vanderbilt would be on my list if I got my SAT in the 2200 neighborhood and thank you for bringing to my attention the scholarships at Auburn and Clemson!