Hi, Searching for D class of 2021. We just got back her PSAT scores-1350, SI 207, so no NM here, but hoping to find schools in warm weather climate that would at least have OOS tuition waiver and maybe a little merit.
STATS-
4.0
Pre-ACT- sophomore year 32
8 AP classes by end of junior year-AP Calc AB and BC, AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Physics C, AP Seminar, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology
Sophomore practice ACT 32
NHS
Cross country-2 years
orchestra (in school) 2 years-conflicted with AP class times this year
Science Bowl 3 years, Math League-1st year for club this year, FTC (Robotics)-does not like so this year only, PT job on weekends, some volunteering-performs violin solos and with choir about once a season.
Although she does not run cross country anymore, she is an avid runner and won her age division in 10K this fall. We are from a cold weather state and she wants to go somewhere warm!!
She is interested in Math/Science/Engineering and has considered Psychology/Psychiatry as well. She scored in the 99 percentile for reading/writing and 93 percentile in math.
I like UT-Dallas and would like to visit if it seems possible/likely to receive AES. DO @3scoutsmom or others have opinions on whether her stats would make it possible? If so, we would probably spend spring break visiting. Is there someone to contact at the school to discuss this?
U of Alabama Huntsville is on radar as well.
We think that she would prefer a medium-size school but willing to look at others as well. I don’t think she has a big preference to urban/suburban/rural but currently lives in suburban setting and is most familiar with it. We visited local schools over the summer with differnt sizes/settings. All in our cold state or reciprocity state.
We would like to take a spring break trip somewhere with her to visit a warm weather school that she might qualify for merit or at least OOS tuition waiver.
Currently sending son to college for under $25,000/year COA and hoping to do the same for her only in a warm climate…any ideas?
Arizona, Arizona State, New Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi (Ole Miss), Mississippi State, West Virginia University (not as warm) are possibilities. Some are obviously larger than medium size.
There are many variations on “warm weather.” Would she actually want to be someplace where it’s miserably hot and/or humid/swampy outside for a good portion of the year? Or is she looking for a temperate climate with the maximum number of comfortable outdoor-running days?
I agree that U of Arizona could be a good target - the runners I know in Tucson seek cooler temperatures in the surrounding mountains when it gets hot. Same goes for UNM and Albuquerque. Huntsville has the cooler mountain climate thing going on as well.
Salt Lake City wouldn’t make a list of “warm” climates per se, but the highs average around 40F even in the coldest months, so not a “cold” climate either except at altitude in the mountains. Terrific place for outdoor recreation, and UofU has good merit opportunities as well as the option to gain in-state residency after a year. Great STEM, honors college, etc.
Reciprocity-wise, are you eligible for WUE, or MSEP, or…?
It will affect your list a lot, whether keeping the engineering option open is a must, or whether strong non-engineering science options will suffice.
@aquapt…Thank you. I am not familiar with the terms WUE or MSEP. We are in MN with a few surrounding cold weather states having reciprocity. I think optimal outdoor running weather is ideally what she would like, but I think she would be ok with some humidity…it’s hard to say when she has always been in cold climate. On hot days here in MN she runs early am on those muggy days.
Are you familiar with U of U as a quality education? It has been on her radar and I don’t know much about it. Do you know if they have OOS tuition waiver for certain stats or only the in state rates after first year. I will also look at the website to research it a bit. Highs of 40 would be minor compared to what we endure here.
Depending on her junior year ACT score it might be a reach but you could look at Rice in Houston. They have a great financial aid program called the Rice Investment that might provide a lot of help depending on your family income/assets.
Really take care not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, having UMinn and reciprocity in UW Madison is IMO not worth swapping for merit at lesser schools. Outdoor running in the humid hot states is no fun, summer in the southern states can be protracted, and while lots of outdoor exercisers acclimate, just as many will pick their treadmills for summer months. Walking away from CSE at Uminn for Alabama et all is nuts to me. Rice is Ivy type admit stats. Not sure why that would get into this thread really. Utah has hot HOT (but sure, nice and dry) weather and problem air quality, both real issues for outdoor exercisers, poor AQI in winter AND summer and U of U would not be on par for eng at CSE U minn.
@mom2collegekids-thank you for your input. I see your comments on CC and have learned much from your post. It is probably one of the reasons I have U of Alabama Huntsville on the radar as warm weather and mid-size. What do you have to say about Alabama weather? I’ve only ever lived in cold weather states. I am planning to sign her up for ACT or SAT sometime this winter…probably ACT since it is at her school and SAT is at unfamiliar schools. She will take it through school in April as well, but we would really like to have a couple scores–and when signing up for ACT in February, it is a gamble if weather will cooperate. She mentioned that she felt like she was behind in taking the ACT/SAT as she hears others talking about it.
Thank you @ErinsDad and @Sybylla definitely things to consider. My h is U of MN grad…started engineering but back in the day found it a weed out major–and he was NMS! He ended up finding his fit in actuarial science.
There’s a lot of places you can go in Missouri for well under $25K, even out of state. Missouri State and SEMO would be toward the southern end and therefore warmer. I think even some privates would be under that cost with automatic merit. Arkansas too.
When we were hunting merit, I would pick a state and go to the Wikipedia page for “Colleges in (state)”. From their lists I would go to each college’s website and check out the COA and auto merit charts.
While UNM will weed out because of the entry to major set up, the eng drop and weed outs will do it anyway, wherever they are, at less rigorous schools that just means later rather than sooner. Uminn used ot have a 3.2 for entry to say chen, but at U of U one would lose the scholarship (assuming you get a good one) if your GPA is less than 3.6.
@1Lotus
Consider University of New Mexico for your D.
UNM offers
–an ABET accredited engineering program
–close proximity to 2 National Laboratories, the Air Force Research Lab and the White Sands Test Range for internship opportunities
–much better air quality than Utah. (My D who recently moved to SLC just asked for an air purifier for Christmas!)
–cooler summer temperatures than Phoenix or Tuscon
–a dry, low humidity climate
– mild temperatures year round w/ 278 sunny days/year for a long running/training season
–altitude (ABQ is at the same altitude as Denver.)
– a very competitive cross country team
ABQ has a ton of international runners living here to take advantage of the long training season, altitude and abundant running trails.
I was just about to recommend U New Mexico, but WayOutWestMom gave you a much more thorough run down that I could have.
The other school I would suggest that you explore is Arizona State U, in conjunction with their Barrett Honors College. The school has invest much into their STEM science programs and they currently have some very impressive programs with research components.
The Barrett Honors College (which requires a supplemental application for admission) presents a ‘school within a school’ with tremendous perks, including small, discussion-based GE classes, early registration, robust advising for both Honors and within the major, as well as the option to live in the Honors complex.
