<p>Live in So. Cal. So far DS (2014 grad) is interested in the following for Engineering or possibly accounting. He is pretty sure he wants to stay in CA but is hesitantly open to suggestions. </p>
<p>4.6 GPA, 30 ACT and 1260 SAT. He will be giving each test one last shot this Fall.
We have some savings tucked aside, however we are pretty certain he will need some sort of financial student aid especially if living on campus. Of course in the form of scholarship money would be the most beneficial. </p>
<p>Is there any merit based scholarships to be had from any of the above mentioned schools? Or neighboring states? Despite devoting many hours to researching colleges with campus visits to the above schools, the whole college search and amount of information has been overwhelming. I feel as though we have just scratched the surface despite the ticking clock. </p>
<p>If he were to go to CSUF, Cal Poly Pomona or UCI, we are close enough he could commute. Not sure about Cal Poly Pomona though as we are outside their 'boundary' allowed for commuting. We have heard the benefits for on campus living for freshman. We would love for him to be able to have that experience, however is it worth taking loans just to do so? </p>
<p>I know this probably sounds pretty generalized and I apologize for that. If anyone has any advice for a good school that would fit our situation, please let me know. </p>
<p>California public universities offer very little in the way of merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Have you calculated your FAFSA EFC? That’s a good place to start to get a handle on your chances for need-based financial aid. Also see if you’re eligible for a Cal Grant based on the criteria published here: [California</a> Financial Aid, College Grant, Financial Aid Grants for College: Calgrants.org](<a href=“http://www.calgrants.org/]California”>http://www.calgrants.org/)</p>
<p>Your son can save a great deal of money if he commutes, as you’ve already discovered. In addition, he can save a few thousand per year simply by living off campus in years 2-4 as dorm and food plan prices tend to be quite high relative to apartments.</p>
<p>It’s possible for your son to make a significant amount of money as a summer intern if he goes the engineering route and does well. It’s not uncommon for interns to make $25-30/hour, or $10-$12,000 per summer. Some internships include free housing and transportation, depending on the company. He’ll need to keep up his grades to have a shot at the best internships.</p>
<p>You live in So Cal, want a top engineering school, and have a kid with great grades and decent scores. You haven’t listed the best school, renowned for engineering but rated #1 overall (not just for engineering) in the WORLD by some rankings, amazing research opportunities, and near the area you say is a possible commute?</p>
<p>So which ones have both engineering and accounting? I think a majority of students who enter in engineering don’t end up there. So having accounting available may be an important consideration, more important than which has the best engineering program. </p>
<p>With his grades and 30 ACT, he might get some good aid/scholarship, etc., at Santa Clara, which has both excellent engineering and accounting.</p>
<p>Each college has a net price calculator on its web site (CSUs have a centralized one for all here: [CSUMentor</a> - Financial Aid - PAIS](<a href=“http://www.csumentor.edu/finaid/pais/]CSUMentor”>Cal State Apply | CSU) ). Go to each one to get a financial aid estimate rather than guessing blindly at the financial aid and scholarship possibilities.</p>
<p>Retention in engineering has a lot to do with student academic characteristics. More selective schools tend to have higher retention in engineering.</p>
<p>So? It is still true that a majority don’t end up there. (It’s like medicine - where two-thirds of entering “pre-meds” don’t end up even applying to med school, let alone getting in.)</p>
<p>Santa Clara is not a state university . . . and would likely be significantly more costly than any of the options proposed by the OP, at least for an California resident.</p>
<p>Look at UCSD for merit aid. They can be very generous with high stat’s applicants . . . but your son would probably need to get his test scores up. Did you perhaps mean 2260 for the SAT instead of 1260? (The UC’s count all three scores - not just math & reading.)</p>
<p>peachblossom is probably talking about UCLA. I’m guessing it’s not on the list for the same reason UCB isn’t there. The OP’s son’s GPA is stellar but the test scores need to be stratospheric as well to get into those two top state schools.</p>
<p>SAT score is probably just math/reading, which are all that are required for CPSLO and CPP.</p>
<p>I think peachblossom is talking about Caltech. It’s of course an exceptional choice for engineering, but not for a student who is also considering accounting.</p>
<p>OP, what’s your budget per year? Have you run the estimators to see how much you’d be paying at either a UC or a Cal State? </p>
<p>Commuting + an engineering major can be quite difficult. Though you may save money by having him living at home, it may be a false economy if it keeps him from being able to stay in the major.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd gives very little merit aid (best case is around $10K/year) and has a COA over $60K. Santa Clara gives more merit, possibly enough to bring the cost down to that of a California public, but not likely to be less than that.</p>
<p>The bargains in the original list are the CSUs, specifically Cal Poly SLO and Cal Poly Pomona which are both outstanding engineering schools.</p>
<p>I agree with you vballmom. I think Cal poly and CP Pomona are the best options for price and quality of education. My daughter goes to Cal Poly and loves it there, so much in fact she has been lollygagging and will still graduate early. They have great job recruitment and from what I have heard a 97% job placement into your field of study in six months. I have also spoken with someone in Orange county, where I live, that only recruits from CPP and we are very close to UCI.</p>
<p>I was referring to Caltech - really unsurpassed academically, but a student needs to know that STEM is what they want. They have phenomenal research opportunities for undergrads, small classes, and university housing for all four years is guaranteed. They will meet full financial need, and there is no concern over getting into the classes that are needed. Harvey Mudd and Cal Poly are also excellent options!</p>
<p>@Brown Parent-
My apologies, I was giving his reading and math score only. He has taken the SAT twice. Highest total score was 1940. He has since had some SAT/ACT tutoring so hopefully when taken for the last time this fall they will increase. </p>
<p>For colleges that super score, he would have a 1970. </p>
<p>I believe ACT would still stay at 30 with a super score average of 30.25. </p>
<p>@vballmom (I am checking the box to quote to no avail…)</p>
<p>I am going to attempt to tackle the FAFSA tomorrow. From what I can figure out so far, because we own our home, FAFSA might not help much. Best case scenario for our family would be our contribution plus merit aid with very little to no loan debt to deal with at the end. </p>
<p>He absolutely is interested in an internship. We were told recently by an Engineering professor at CSULB that their program has good internship contacts. </p>
<p>DS really likes it there and my husband is really pushing for him to live on campus his first year. I just don’t know how we can financially swing both tuition and living expenses. CSULB would be a lengthy commute.</p>