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<p>Actually, with EFC = $0, you are going to get the maximum need-based financial aid that any school will give.</p>
<p>The problem is that most schools do not come close to meeting need using need-based financial aid alone. With very few exceptions, out-of-state public schools (e.g. Purdue, UIUC, Michigan) do not come anywhere close to meeting need for out-of-state students (and some, like UIUC and Penn State, are notoriously bad for in-state students). Among private schools, it is mainly the most difficult to get into schools (e.g. Stanford, MIT, etc.) that give good need-based financial aid – as you found out, CWRU and RPI do not.</p>
<p>Fortunately for you, the University of California campuses do give in-state students enough need-based financial aid grants to give a net price of EFC + ESC, where ESC (expected student contribution = student loan + student work) may be up to about $8,500 (it appears that UCSD is offering you a lower ESC than that). Since your EFC = $0, your net price is just your ESC.</p>
<p>In retrospect, your application list should have been different. Appropriate candidates for your application list would have been:</p>
<ul>
<li>UCs that have electrical engineering.</li>
<li>CSUs that have electrical engineering (although it seems that Cal Poly SLO is right on the edge with a net price of $9,568</li>
<li>University of Virginia (one of two public schools that meet need for out-of-state)</li>
<li>Private schools whose net price calculators indicate that they would meet your need.</li>
<li>Schools (public or private) with big merit scholarships (you would need close to full ride).</li>
</ul>
<p>However, that is water under the bridge. You have a great, affordable choice.</p>
<p>Go to UCSD.</p>
<p>(The CC option may not be that great if your target school is Berkeley, UCLA, or UCSD for electrical engineering, due to numerous lower division EE and CS courses that are not available at CCs, according to <a href=“http://www.assist.org%5B/url%5D”>http://www.assist.org</a> .)</p>