I grew up in the Northeast. My Asian American son just finished his first year at the University of Alabama. I’ve seen more open racism up north than anywhere in the south.
@MYOS1634 my parents have family in the south and they haven’t hear good things about it. tamu is a maybe because it is a well known and a good school. btw, we are asian
@NoVaDad99 but there is more violent racism down south
You stand a better chance of winning the lottery or hit by lightning than to have anything happen to you, especially on campus.
I really don’t think it should be a concern on most college campuses and colleges located in college towns. Avoid big cities if you must but consider college towns safe.
You should at least consider UAlabama Engineering, Tuscaloosa is safe as anywhere and they have excellent scholarships that would make it within budget without debt. Look for poster @Paul2752 who is Asian, whose own community didn’t especially like UAlabama, and who is there studying engineering right now.
@MYOS1634 what about ohio state, drexel, or ubuffalo? does he have a chance?
I grew up in Alabama (and graduated from Auburn) but now live in Ohio. I assure you that there is more racism in Ohio than in Alabama. The racist reputation of Alabama is based on the horrible resistance to Civil Rights back in the 1950s and 1960s. It deserved its reputation then, but that was 50 years ago. The South has come a long way since then. Not far enough, for sure, but it is still making progress and places like Ohio are making little to no progress on racial issues.
What’s his SAT score?
With a budget under 35K, OOS public universities will only be affordable if he gets big merit scholarships.
What’s your parents’ EFC- would you qualify for need-based aid beside the 5.5K federal loans?
I am also concerned that you said the budget is “likely” … “0-35k”. That runs the gamut (understatement)!!! Talk with your parents to figure out how much they can/are willing to spend on your brother’s education.
Look into Rowan and Rowan Honors. Take him to visit (book an appt with Honors and Engineering, if possible - even if Honors may seem redundant, it does provide perks that are useful to an engineering student).
@MYOS1634 1800-ish. it will go up though.
Don’t put pressure on him but know that Rowan engineering & honors, like Rutgers Engineering, would be difficult if he doesn’t improve his score.
There are however good schools he can get into with 3.6/1800s. There was an entire thread about this not long ago.
Georgia tech is not one of them though, but rather than pointing the finger, just underscore it would coat ,40k and no financial aid since its an OOS public.
What’s his math score? Is he interested in engineering or is that a family decision?
@MYOS1634 600. he is interested. he’s been “the engineering type” since he was little. loves legos and building stuff.
plus he loves working with his hands
I think I know what OP means about trying to keep his brother away from the south. It’s not that the racism is more “violent” per se but that the history of vitriolic racism combined with the tendency of people there to stare (especially if you’re the only minority in the room) can make a person feel really uncomfortable. The recent frat incident at OU put a lot of PoC on edge about possibly going to school in the South.
It’s clear the South still has a problem with racism-albeit it’s less overt. However, if you can, if encourage your brother to visit those schools in the Deep South to see if he likes them before you pass final judgement 
@solveforx
I am really sorry for your brother. My prayer goes to him.
And…as a current student of UA, I have to say it is racist AS ANYWHERE CAN BE.
Yes there are not many non white/black students. There are only 680 Asians out of 34,000 and no one called a Chink or Jap or whatever Asian slang I could think of. No one is staring at me either because I am an Asian. 9 out of 10 friends are white or black, and no one asks me stupid questions like " Are you a ninja?" or “Do you know Kung Fu?”
Heck, it happend in Oregon, which is supposed to be more liberal than Alabama.
Whether your brohter will have friends or not, it’s up to him. Whether your brother will succeed, it’s up to him. My parents used to be quite wary about southern racism, but now they are much less worried
UAlabama has great engineering programs, and being a large school, there are so many opportunities.
if you want to ask questions about UA, you can ask mom2collegekids. She is very knowledgeable about UA.
Alabama has lots of Korean car companies. I’m surprised that UofA A has less than 1000 Asians. My husband friend went to Auburn and he is Asian, graduated a while back now.
@paul2752 well actually we are indian asian. sorry for any misunderstandings. are there any indians there?
There are very few Indians in school. But…no one really cares
solveforx, my husband’s friend is Indian. I’m sure there are lots of Indians at either school. I mean there is one billion Indians in the world, so I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Same with Chinese.