<p>As often written here at CC, engineering is pretty much the same no matter where you study.</p>
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<p>That statement makes me sad. I disagree. I went to an engineering school but did not study engineering. However, I took more engineering classes than some schools require their engineers to take. If you are going to design something I am going to use, I want you to be very well-schooled in design principles. Maybe I am old-fashioned, because my original background is automotive manufacturing. I just canāt imagine dealing with an engineer who doesnāt have a really strong understanding of how things really work. That requires more than just a bare minimum of engineering classes.</p>
<p>Sorry - this is off topic, but I had to insert my two cents. I havenāt been on a soapbox lately & guess I feel the need. :)</p>
<p>I feel as if itās applicable to this thread. My family also does not qualify for need-based financial aid and on all my applications I put that I am not applying for financial aid but applying for merit-based aid. Does this mean I should still apply for FAFSA? I know that sometimes there are scholarships that require FAFSA for merit-based scholarships, but I havenāt received any notification from the schools to do so.</p>
<p>countysheriff, it would have been better for you to have started your own thread rather than hijack this one. But a quick response to your question, schools probably wonāt notify you of requirements, you need to look at their websites and follow the instructions and deadlines for each one.</p>
<p>If you really want to help your parents out, go to a college that has mandatory co-op education for its engineering degree. You will spend 5 years getting a degree, but much of that time will be spent doing real work (alternating work and school sessions). You will earn some money, and come out with valuable real-world experience.</p>
<p>@mommusic yeah Georgia tech which is my top school (i also just got accepted today) and around 90% of the people that go there co-op or intern, and its pretty easy to do so. SoIm most likely going to do that.</p>
<p>Congratulations! Also, congratulations for not wanting your parents to become impoverished due to the incredibly high (and seemingly arbitrary) tuition costs of some schools. </p>
<p>My S would love to go to Tech, but like you, heās uncertain about getting merit aid. He may go to Auburn instead, where he can probably get a full ride. Auburn has graduated quite a few astronauts, and has a better engineering program than Alabama though harder to get a free ride. My S would also love Rice, I think, but even with a 529 plan, over half of our take-home pay would go to a tuition check. Is that really a good investment compared to a free ride at a good state school? Could grad school make up for the lack of panache of a STEM school in undergrad?</p>
<p>Agreed on the co-op and internship opportunities. Atlanta is a big city with tons of opportunities. Co-oping and internships offer a view of actual work as opposed to just hitting the books. Atlanta also has a low cost of living compared to where you are. </p>
<p>I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but you seem to have a nonissue here. You say you have a sibling already in college. What college did your sibling choose? Was there any financial restrictions placed on the choice? Are you aware of a serious financial strain since your sibling started? Since your parents have already been down this road they obviously know what they will have to pay for your education. That being said they placed no restrictions on your applications, and have not been concerned enough to sit down with you to give you any financial guidelines thus apparently can afford to send you anywhere you choose. If you want to be fiscally responsible I applaud you, but it doesnāt sound like there really is an issue hereā¦</p>
<p>Congrats on becoming a Ramblinā Wreck! A number of my friends from HS went to GT and did the coop thing. Itās great experience and it enabled folks to make pretty decent $$. When I was in college, one had to get through the first four quarters successfully before starting to co-op.</p>
<p>From our prospective,we live in Alabama and our D is a freshman at Duke. We made the decision to see her thru there even though our gross income is around $100k and with FA we still have to come up with $37k about 37% of our gross each year (even a larger% of actual income after taxes. If your folks make $250 k and have to pay the entire 62k that is about 25% of their
gross.</p>
<p>Socoengineer, you got into Tech today? Wow! Congratulationsā¦seriouslyā¦you will LOVE atlantaā¦the campus is ideally situatedā¦terrific racial diversity & world diversityā¦along with AT&T technology square (a mini silicon valley) right next to the campusā¦Make this work for you!</p>
<p>OPā¦on one hand you want to save money for your parentās, but on the other hand you donāt (GM is to close to homeā¦sis attends ODU). Both of those schools would really save your parents a lot of money.</p>
<p>Congrats on GATech. Great school. Glad your parents can pay the price.</p>
<p>@planner03 the problem is I want to attend an OOS school. My sister attends an in-state school and one that is not very expensive. She also did not have many options as she had low test scores and grades.</p>
<p>Soco. If your parents are able AND willing to pay for your desire to attend an OOS school, then go for it. But do remember that doing so is a CHOICE. You have plenty of instate options from which to choose that are NOT ODU (where you probably would garner merit aid in addition to the instate status you have)ā¦and GM (where you could commute from home thus saving a LOT of money, and would just be paying instate tuition).</p>
<p>You seem to want to āsave moneyā but ONLY if you can attend the more costly OOS options on your list. </p>
<p>Just wanted to add something to the OT thing about engineering. If you wish to major in engineering, go,to,a school with ABET accreditation. Your course of study will be very close at any school with ABET accreditation. This is very different than just ātaking a fewā engineering courses.</p>
<p>Congratulations OP on your admission offers. That is great. And, as others have posted, it is admirable that you are thinking through all of this financial stuff even if your parents have plenty of money to pay your out-of-state tuition. I can tell that you understand what a blessing that college money will be, and I am sure you will make every dollar count no matter where you attend.</p>
<p>Admittedly, I keep thinking about the what ifs of having the cash on hand to pay $30K or $40K a year for each of my kids to attend college. I understand the allure, and value, of many of those prestigious schools, but I am inclined to think I would probably offer to give my kids the cash if they chose to go to an inexpensive, well-respected in-state school, or if they attended an out-of-state (like Alabama, for example) on full tuition scholarships. At the end of four years, at graduation, I would hand them over a check for the $120K or more I would have given to that Ivy League, and my kids would start off at 22-23 years old with a debt-free diploma and six figures in savings in the bank.</p>
<p>I took the tour of Stanford as a high school senior, and even worked there a while several years later, and, yes, it is a great university, but is it so great that I would write Stanford checks for undergraduate degrees rather than give that money to my kids? For me, not even Stanford is compelling enough to part with that cash.</p>
<p>Of course, nothing I need to worry about There is no $120K bank account with my oldest sonās name on it, so heās going to college on merit aid (and thank goodness for that) with a net COA that we can cash flow without going into debt.</p>
<p>To Lavenderjade2, I admire your willingness to take on that Duke tuition bill - wow is all I can say.</p>
I disagree. I went to an engineering school but did not study engineering. However, I took more engineering classes than some schools require their engineers to take. If you are going to design something I am going to use, I want you to be very well-schooled in design principles. Maybe I am old-fashioned, because my original background is automotive manufacturing. I just canāt imagine dealing with an engineer who doesnāt have a really strong understanding of how things really work. That requires more than just a bare minimum of engineering classes.</p>
There is no $120K bank account with my oldest sonās name on it, so heās going to college on merit aid (and thank goodness for that) with a net COA that we can cash flow without going into debt.</p>