hi everyone, i’m applying to college this fall and am interested in being a computer engineering major, maybe double majoring in stats. does anyone have any ideas for a few safeties for me? my gpa 4.5w/3.8uw with pretty good scores - 1530 on the sat and 35 on the act. a few solid extracurriculars that i have been devoted to.
My favorite safety is Iowa State University
Apply on a Friday and get accepted the following week. But not an easy program. One of the largest engineering fairs, lots of kids have Multiple job offers as a senior. . Great internships. Lots of scholarship money. Not bad OOS costs. Great fun spirited community. Football and basketball are big there.
This could be a safety to your safety but they have solid programs.
It would be better for you to list schools you are considering instead of getting suggestions from all-around the country … Ha…
What is your home state and their programs? Usually the most cost effective choices.
What can you afford to pay? Have your parents given you a budget yet?
Budget and state of residency?
Your State U.
Michigan Tech.
my budget is no more than 30k per year if its a safety. i’m from nj and the state university is rutgers which is great, but i would like a couple more options since their honors college is competitive! @ucbalumnus @happymomof1
If you are from NJ, then Rowan University. The engineering program there has been making big strides, and now attracts students with significantly higher stats than the university as a whole. The in-state cost for Rowan is low to begin with, and your stats would likely make you a strong candidate for merit awards.
TCNJ would be another option, but for engineering specifically Rowan is larger, and probably has better, more modern facilities. Rowan also tends to cost less than TCNJ, although both should come in comfortably below your $30k/year level.
Also TCNJ for engineering
And Rowan also has an Honors college which would give you priority registration for classes and housing. Housing is awesome there.
University of Pittsburgh. Merit is not guaranteed there but based on last year’s results you could get some solid merit $$ there. Apply early. Take some time with the essay prompts. They admit to firs time year engineering and then you get a whole year before you have to decide on your specific engineering major.
Clarkson. You should receive good merit but not sure it will bring you under your budget unless you also qualify for need based aid. U. of Akron would be another school to consider.
U of Maine at Orono has in-state tuition matching – and it’s ABET accredited
University of the Pacific – coop programs offset the costs and will probably bring it into your budget range.
Another vote for Rowan. The engineering facilities are beautiful. Classes are small. The campus is walkable.
I kept some notes on merit awards for the last admission cycle and kids with your stats got as much as $16,000. That would bring down your net direct cost to around $11,000. With the budget you gave, that would mean debt free!
Take the honor application seriously–admission is not automatic even for top applicants–to be able to be part of the honors college to take advantage of all the perks.
I would suggest visiting. With each visit we liked it more and more. All the honors kids we met have been so friendly and down-to-earth. The staff we’ve dealt with couldn’t be more helpful.
thank you everyone! i appreciate the suggestions. also, does anyone know about the stevens institute of technology? do you think I have a good shot? as in would it be a good safety for me?
I don’t know that Stevens could be a safety, but I do think you have a very good shot at getting in. Getting it under $30k might be tough. I only know 1kid who was recently admitted with similar stats and I think with merit he was at about $35k out of pocket.
Stevens’ net price calculator at https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/stevens does ask for your GPA and SAT score, and does estimate merit scholarships. For 3.80-3.89 GPA and 1530 SAT, it estimates $21,000 scholarship, but that still leaves a much higher net price than $30,000 if you do not get any other financial aid grants. So you should put it in the reach category in terms of trying for sufficient scholarship to bring its net price into your limit.
Check out schools that will guarantee merit pay based on your academic stats. A 35 on ACT and high GPA will get your tuition paid at a lot of schools, especially out of state.
This is actually true, but the catch is that such schools may be ones that you’ve never heard of in states that you’ve never been to. Many people, especially from the northeastern US, are not that adventurous when it comes to college selection.
https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships
Try Alabama, Baylor, and TCU. They offer great scholarships with your stats.