<p>I'm a prospective student for Fall 2013 applying as an Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering major. Lately, I've been coming to terms with the practicality of my financial situation. Between my parents, I think I'll be getting around 18k/yr from them, and I'm greatful for every penny. This being said, I'm not so sure I want to attend a public in-state university. The ones that are strongest in engineering didn't really seem to grab my attention, but I applied anyway given my situation. On to the point:</p>
<p>Things I'm looking for in a University:
-Strong Engineering program (Preferrebly Aerospace)
-Large city campus
-VERY generous merit aid
-Wide variety of clubs (Into StarCraft, Anime, Longboarding, Formula SAE)
-Not terribly far from home (6 hours from Long Island, NY?)</p>
<p>Places I've considered applying given the relative lateness of my application:
-University of Pittsburgh
-Northeastern University
-NYU Poly (Polytechnic Institute of NYU)</p>
<p>Stats:
-92 Cumulative GPA (before senior year, est. 94 with)
-7 APs, 8 Honors
-640 CR 680 M 680 W (2000 Total)
-Numerous ECs (5 Leadership Positions, 4 Years Varsity Sports, Founded Rocketry Club, 4 Honor Societies, Part-time Job during school etc.)</p>
<p>My Question:
-If I applied, could I expect much merit aid from the aforementioned schools?
-Are there any other schools I should look into?</p>
<p>I've already applied to a bunch of places and have a safety under my belt but these are just some last minute thoughts, thanks for the help!</p>
<p>You’re kind of late asking for this info since many schools had Dec 1 deadlines for merit consideration.</p>
<p>Also, at “strong” engineering schools, usually a 1320 M+CR is not high enough for much/any merit. </p>
<p>I doubt that you’d get any merit at those schools. Look at the middle quartile test scores for those schools. To get merit, you’d need to be well within the top quartile. for UPitt, you’d need at least a 1400 to be in the upper 25% for the school. </p>
<p>Even at my kids’ undergrad (alabama) you would need at least a 1330 M+CR for good merit awards. </p>
<p>Miss State might give you decent merit, but it’s far away. Can’t think of any in the NE area that would give you large merit for engineering without higher stats.</p>
<p>Thank you for the speedy reply, I know I’m late in asking this but I’ve already applied to the schools I primarily want to attend (Accepted at University of Michigan, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota) but out of these, the only one within reason is UMN with its seriously cheap OOS tuition. UMN has a very strong engineering program for its price (ranked 23rd undergrad) while those I’ve listed in the post aren’t even in the top 50 for undergraduate engineering. Both UMich and GT have outstanding reputations for engineering but as you said, I doubt I’ll be getting any merit aid at schools of that caliber.</p>
<p>while those I’ve listed in the post aren’t even in the top 50 for undergraduate engineering.</p>
<p>Just because an eng’g program isn’t in the top 50 doesn’t mean that you’re more likely to get merit. Those schools have too many students with higher stats than yours. that’s what determines merit. </p>
<p>BTW…The top 50 eng’g programs can’t produce enough engineers for the country’s needs. The state of Calif alone has about 25 universities with good eng’g programs. Other states generally will have a few univs with good eng’g programs. That all adds up to a lot of good eng’g programs.</p>
<p>Did you consider RPI or WPI? Since WPI is test optional perhaps your GPA would earn some merit award? Do you have a strong class rank? Even so, it probably would not be as much as you are seeking…
You need pretty high stats to get a lot of merit aid and it does help if you are a girl applying to a school with a gender imbalance ;-)</p>
<p>I don’t know how it works at those schools, but usually “test optional” schools still require test scores for merit consideration. That’s usually because they have too many kids with high GPAs, so the test scores “separate the men from the boys” and the test scores help them with their rankings.</p>
<p>If this student needs merit, then he needs to apply out of the NE region. I can’t think of any schools in the NE with engineering that would give him enough merit to get costs down to what his family can pay. </p>
<p>A school like Miss State would probably charge him instate rates…that would bring costs down to what his parents will pay. and it has good engineering. </p>
<p>UAB might also give him enough merit. They are still awarding OOS merit even tho it’s past the deadline.</p>
<p>WPI has “Flex Path” submission for students not supplying test scores. So, these supplementary materials are used in place of test scores for admissions and merit scholarships.
[Undergraduate</a> Admissions: WPI Merit Scholarship Overview - WPI](<a href=“http://www.wpi.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/merits.html]Undergraduate”>http://www.wpi.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/merits.html)
I think it is the only test-optional engineering school.
That being said - I think the OP’s situation is not great for him getting all he wants for a college and a large amount of merit aid.</p>
<p>I think that you should add Case Western (it’s about 7.5 hours from NYC). They are very generous and have a Jan 15th deadline and no extra essay. They lure many students with money. It’s a very high quality engineering school and you’ll get a lot more personal attention there than at UMN. </p>
<p>Have you applied for need-based financial aid? It sounds like you need it.</p>
<p>If the OP’s family has already stated they can afford $18K/year there is a good chance they would not be eligible for FA except at the best funded schools (HYPS). However, it’s certainly worth a run through some Net Price Calculators to see what the schools say.</p>
<p>I’ve applied for regular decision at Case Western a few months ago, hopefully they’ll be generous with aid. I’ve been working part time throughout this school year to try and make up some of the difference and as of now I’ve earned around 5k I can put towards college. Depending on the outcome of things it may not be unlikely that I get a part time job during college. What are your opinions in balancing an engineering major and a part time job while also keeping up with student organizations, sleep and social life?</p>
<p>Can you manage e’school and a pt job? Probably, if you are very diligent about managing your time very well and not putting off assignments when you’re tired, letting things pile up. Can you have an active social life, get plenty of sleep, and be very active in student organizations as well? Probably not all at the same time. If you need to work during school (and a lot of kids do) start with that and your academics as your priorities. Once you get your feet on the ground with a successful semester behind you you’ll have a much better idea of what else you can add. I’m sure it sounds like I’m being extreme, however e’school is demanding and if working pt is a necessity, not just a matter of pizza money, you have to start there first.</p>
<p>I’ve earned around 5k I can put towards college</p>
<p>If you have that money in savings in YOUR name, it will bump up your EFC. Instead, give the money to your parents to pay for your expenses. If the money is in their name, it won’t hurt your EFC very much at all.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip collegemom, definitely some useful info, does it still apply if i am being paid off the books? In regards to having a pt job it comes down to my scholarship money as well, im hoping for a maroon national scholarship fron umn which would make loans much more manageable.</p>
<p>maroon national scholarship fron umn which would make loans much more manageable.</p>
<p>How much is that for? That is for UMinn OOS students? What stats are needed for that?</p>
<p>What about for your other schools?</p>
<p>I don’t think applying to those other 3 schools will work out for you. Your M+CR arent’ high enough for merit. If you want to apply to other schools that give decent merit, then apply to ones where your stats would be high for the school.</p>
<p>Buffalo would be your best bet - it’s tough to beat instate tuition.</p>
<p>A lot of Southern universities would be possibilities for merit aid or at least OOS tuition waiver, but they are further than 6 hours from Long Island. (Of course, so are Georgia Tech, Michigan, and Minnesota.)</p>
<p>The maroon national scholarship covers 50% of the difference between in state and out of state tuition, the requirements are that the student is not a resident of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Wisconsin and that the student is in the top 10% of their graduating class. They’re given out upon a wholistic review(includes ECs, GPA, SAT, etc.) of the student’s profile and is a university wide scholarship. Myself, being in the college of science and engineering, have higher stats when compared to the university as a whole. My high school does not rank but hopefully they don’t penalize me for that since if I’m not there, I’m surely close to that percentage</p>
<p>Additionally, I’ve decided not to apply to others schools considering I already have some solid financial options in state. Currently my top in state is Buffalo for its engineering program but I’m not sure if Binghamton or Stony Brook would be better. I also applied to the CUNY honors program (Macaulay) which provides free tuition, a $7500 stipend, and a MacBook Pro if your accepted.</p>
You may want to consider Cooper Union. It’s in NYC and meets most of your criteria. The deadline is February 1, and it provides a full tuition scholarship to all admitted students. The only downside is that it’s extremely selective (<10% admitted).</p>