<p>You already are in at Michigan Tech, where tuition, fees, r&b run about $22K/year. Between federal loans and student employment, you probably can’t cover more than about half that cost (max). Can your family afford the rest (minus aid, if any)? If so, and you’d be happy to attend this school, then your safety already is assured. If not, then you may need to find a more affordable safety that is close enough to commute from home.</p>
<p>The University of Michigan is one of the few need-blind, full-need public universities. It has highly regarded engineering programs and is located in a nice college town. So if you’re a Michigan resident, that would make a good “target” school.</p>
<p>Rice, Harvey Mudd, JHU, Northwestern, and Cornell are all need-blind, full-need schools with good engineering programs. If your family makes ~$55K/year and has no unusual assets, then you have a good chance of getting generous need-based from these schools, or from other need-blind full-need schools (if admitted, that is). In your situation, these schools (plus Michigan, plus Michigan Tech or a local commuter school if necessary) may be among your best options.<br>
[Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Stanford is a real long shot. If you’re trying to keep the number of applications down, that might be one to drop (along with Caltech, because it’s such a long shot too, and because of the issues cited above.) I’d also avoid OOS public universities unless they have guaranteed large merit scholarships (full ride or at least full tuition) for your stats. Absent that, few if any with strong engineering programs will be cheaper than Michigan Tech at in-state rates.</p>
<p>Private schools with good engineering programs that are in your “match” zone include Case Western and Rose-Hulman. However, these are not full-need schools. So even if you get in, they may not be affordable.</p>