Assuming I don’t get into Stanford, what would be your priority list?
Keep in mind, I have in state tuition at Minnesota so the total cost of attendance for one year is $25,000.
My main concern of college is strength of program with job placement. I feel Stanford would be no problem at all to find a job after schooling, but what other schools provide that the most on this list?
G-tech may be your strongest option in terms of your specific intended major. However, I’d recommend you choose based on more general factors among the excellent schools you have listed. (Though Harvard may be one your relatively weaker possibilities, and UC-Boulder would seem to be edged out by UM-TC).
First, I don’t see any reason to create a priority list. Just apply, see where you get in and what your financial aid packages look like, and make your choices in the spring. You may spend time agonizing over ordering only to realize it doesn’t matter in the future.
Otherwise, I agree with merc81 here. All of these universities are excellent, and all of them will provide you a great education in your chosen major. So I feel you should choose based on other factors - where would you actually like to go most? What elements of the experience do you want? Princeton is a small university and more undergraduate-focused than a place like Georgia Tech or Minnesota. UIUC is in a small college town; Minnesota, Georgia Tech, and Columbia are all located in major urban areas (and Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and CU are nearby some). Think about things like that.
Minnesota is likely to be a good value. The first four universities on your list meet full need; that could be great if you come from a low to middle-income family, but may make them not as good a value if your family makes a lot of money (more than $150-200K a year). CU-Boulder and Georgia Tech are unlikely to offer you a lot of financial aid.
Ok so I was a decent student in HS. Around a 3.23 GPA (out of 4.0) unweighted, but I had a higher SAT (2170). My list was about the same as yours, but Texas A&M is a really good school for engineering, especially Aerospace. It’s not an impacted major but at the same time, it receives a lot of funding and grants which gives undergrads a bunch of opportunities that even some grad students don’t have, such as working on a satellite. (AggieSAT). I’m attending there from Fall '17, but I’ve been to a summer program hosted by the Aerospace department, and it is really top tier.
OP, can you afford all those OOS public Us? I understand you have tuition reciprocity for UMN but all the others are expensive for OOS students. Do you have a safety (UMN is not it)?
Have you thought about the auto scholarships at University of Alabama? My DS had some of those same schools on the list you have but opted for a pretty much full ride (not only can you get auto scholarships, they let you stack departmental and outside scholarships to the point of the university owing YOU money). My DS is aerospace and has had so many opportunities at UA. Some top leaders in the field have graduated from UA and my DS has seen some of his friends go onto great things in the field. The research park in AL has grown exponentially and Huntsville is known as Rocket City for a reason.