<p>My son was admitted RD to study Mech. Engineering. RPI is his first choice, as he also wants to dual major in Aero. Engineering. He loved the campus at Accepted Students Weekend, but now we're trying to figure out how to afford it. He received a Rensselaer Leadership Award of $12,600 and a Rensselaer Grant of $18,600, plus federal loans totaling $8,500, leaving an unmet cost of $24,600 for year one. We've only managed to save $5K in his 529 plan, so if we use the whole amount now, we'll need to cover $20K in year one, plus the costs of years 2 through 4 (total student loans would exceed $100K). My son applied for the Buick Scholarship, which would provide $25K/year for all 4 years, but I imagine it is very difficult to win it.</p>
<p>My son was also accepted at our local state university and received a 4-year scholarship that would cover 95% of his tuition, but he would likely live at home and perhaps miss out on some of the traditional college experience, for what that's worth? They have a decent engineering school, but it doesn't have the name recognition that RPI has. He could attend there and incur little, if any, debt though.</p>
<p>He was also accepted at a NESCAC school (Colby) that has granted him $43K of the $61K that it costs to attend there for year one. They don't have engineering, but he could study Physics there and pursue the joint degree program with Dartmouth, and in 5 years come out with a B.A. in Physics from Colby and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Dartmouth. I've estimated that he would incur about $60K in student loan debt over this 5-year program, as compared to $110K or so in 4 years at RPI.</p>
<p>What do you all think? Any other suggestions to minimize the debt load at RPI? Would the RPI engineering degree be worth the extra cost, as compared to his other degree options?</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts.
- If your son graduates in four years with an ME degree from RPI, he will command $65-70k/year salary.
- RPI Tuition rates will increase 4% per year.
- If you son wants to be an engineer, go to an engineering school. A physics degree or combo degree will leave him less knowledgeable of engineering practice, less employable, and less connected to potential employers. This I opine based on personal experience.</p>
<p>I would be deciding between your local state univ and RPI. Do you mind if i ask which state univ he is considering?</p>
<p>No problem. The state school is the University of Maine.</p>
<p>Ultimately the relative value of an RPI vs Univ of Maine engineering degree will come down to your son’s gpa at graduation. If he comes to RPI and does very well, there will be significantly more professional opportunity for him than if he goes to Maine. If he performs at average or below, then the value is less and he may be better off at Maine. The best RPI grads in the ME/AE program get great jobs or go to the best grad schools. I’d consider your son’s motivation, independence, and maturity. If he’s super motivated, let him take the loans out and go for RPI. If he is apprehensive, Maine is a good option.</p>
<p>I should also mention that he was accepted EA at WPI too, but they only offered $14,800 in grant money. Wentworth offered him $17,000, so I was surprised at how little WPI offered.</p>
<p>Very tough decision. My son really wanted to go to Johns Hopkins, but the loan amount would have been 80K or more. I told him I would not let him take that much in loans. He is at RPI now, and doing well. So I really like RPI, and it’s been a great fit for my son, but I don’t know if it’s worth that much in loans. Good luck with the decision.</p>
<p>RPI offered some increased grant aid today, after my son requested some additional help. Every little bit helps. He’ll probably decide over the next few days where he wants to go.</p>
<p>Congrats on your son’s success! I have the same financial problem, would you mind telling how your son did that? thanks.</p>
<p>He contacted the financial aid office through their website response form and asked for more help with the cost. He mentioned the higher aid amount offered by another school and indicated that RPI would be his first choice if money were no object. RPI will still cost us a lot, but they at least offered a little more to help ease the burden. He received his response in four days, so I’m very pleased with how quickly they addressed his concerns.</p>
<p>Hi ATrain121- thank you for your response, very useful information.</p>
<p>Interesting twist this week. UMaine has offered another $2,000 in aid, for a total of $10,000/year. Total in-state tuition and fees total $10,604 + books + travel costs from home, since my son would live at home and commute if he chose to attend UMaine. So he could easily graduate from UMaine with a BS in Mechanical Engineering with no debt after 4 years. He did not receive the Buick scholarship, so it is likely that he would have $90 - $110K in debt by attending RPI, perhaps much more if we don’t pay interest payments on private loans we would need to take out to afford it. I’m wondering if he can save money by moving off campus as a sophomore, since RPI’s on-campus costs seem quite high?</p>
<p>UMaine’s Engineering brochure suggests that its Mechanical Engineering grads average $60,000/year starting salary. I checked with my own company, which typically can hire M.E. grads from UMaine at $48,000/year, so I question the accuracy of the UMaine information? I’ve seen private studies indicating that RPI M.E.'s can earn between $60 - $70K to start, but I haven’t seen any information published on UMaine M.E.'s average starting salaries, other than their own literature?</p>
<p>Just checking to see if you have made a decision.</p>
<p>Yes, he decided to attend RPI!</p>
<p>Great! Welcome.
You may want to make reservations at a nearby hotel NOW for orientation and move in days. I also suggest he consider doing one of the pre-orientation trips. Sign up right away when you get the information, because the most desirable ones go quickly.</p>
<p>May I ask how you are going to pay? I am in a very similar situation with 21k</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice 121mom. My in laws live in Western Mass., so we may stay with them for a few days. Thelianking, we’re having my son apply for every scholarship we see as available. We’ll have to borrow the rest. Hopefully he does well and gets a good-paying job where he can help pay it back!</p>