Match Me for my S24 interested in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering

Chance Me / Match Me!
91

So - research can be done anywhere. That’s a misnomer that it’s only at certain schools.

My son (at low ranked Bama) gets tons of opportunities (he declines) and is GF has done it all four years, including summer. All you need to do is read your email or ask to have a chance at research.

So with a budget at $40-50K, outside the CA schools and assuming no need - and if you don’t mind a little feedback, I think you need to revisit. You are making a common mistake - you have a budget and then are naming schools that for the most part can’t hit your budget. You may get lucky at some (have rare scholarships) - but it’s unlikely.

So - this is where an Arizona (strong in aero) or Arizona State can come in. You are anti Alabama but Alabama/UAH (strong in aero) - work. Other schools - a Kansas, Iowa State, Michigan State, Nebraska, etc. Wherever it is - you need a safety that will come under your $50K price and preferably less - because college costs more than you think - I promise you that!!! You also have access to WUE - maybe an Oregon State or Utah, etc.

As long as you have one definite - such as an Arizona, then it’s ok to take a shot at a Michigan or Wisconsin or Texas but know that if you do get in, there’s a 99% chance you’re not going to meet budget so you’re not going to consider it.

Here’s how I see your list - and if the budget is strict, then I would start eliminating many of these - because there’s no reason to apply to them - as you’ll see my notes below. What happens is one of two things:

  1. You get in and justify it, thus crimping yourself financially
  2. You get in, your kid can’t go, and he feels horrible and says he wasted time, etc.

Better to apply to schools that have a decent chance at $50K vs. virtually no chance.

ERAU - possible to $50K. My son got 50% off tuition. If you’re looking here at the Florida campus, you might consider Florida Tech as well.

CU (not UC) Boulder - yes to admit, most likely a no to $50K

CSM - - likely to admit, gonna be close at $50K - maybe next year not with inflation.

RPI - likely to admit - $50K possible but not probable

Purdue - possible admit and yes to $50K.

Michigan - almost no shot $50K - so unless you’re willing to go way higher, I’d remove.

Wisconsin - highly unlikely $50K

UIUC - highly unlikely $50K

Ga Tech - with inflation next year, highly unlikely under $50K but close

UT Austin - highly unlikely to hit $50K.

MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, and Princeton - no shot to get even close to $50K unless you have need and I"m guessing you don’t - but run the NPCs.

Good luck.

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92

hmmm - I don’t believe UCSC has mechanical or aero and only electrical (I believe) is ABET.

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I think of UCSC as the liberal arts college of the UC family. Great astronomy/astrophysics programs but no aerospace engineering nor mechanical engineering.

94

Have you run any Net Price Calculators (NPCs) yet? If not, run the NPC at schools like MIT and Stanford. They can be very generous in defining financial need, even for families earning up to about $200k/year. If their NPC indicates an Expected Family Contribution that is $50k or less, great! If not, you should remove those schools and any others that do not offer merit aid.

@Gumbymom or @ucbalumnus can probably speak more to this, but I think UCLA and UCB will be reaches, and some of the other California publics on your list may be as well. Most of the popular campuses are impacted in engineering, making admissions much more difficult to those majors.

If you’re considering Embry-Riddle’s Florida campus, then I agree with @tsbna44 about adding Florida Tech. Since your son seems to like big state schools, he may also want to consider U. of Florida and U. of Central Florida, though I would certainly educate myself about what is going on between the governor and the public universities there.

UT-Austin, for students who are not Texas residents in the top 6% of their class, is a reach. USC is also a reach, as is Georgia Tech and Michigan. Just because your son’s stats are above the 75th percentile does not mean that a school can’t be a reach. Look at its admit rate (and/or its admit rate rate for out-of-state students). If it’s less than 20%, I’d consider it a reach. Also, take a look at some of the results threads. Georgia Tech was really brutal this year. Your son has a lot going for him and would seem like a lock for a lot of these schools…until you start looking at the results threads. They are really a wake-up call. These schools are definitely not out of your son’s reach, but I wouldn’t say odds are anywhere close to 40/60-60/40, what I call the Toss-Up range.

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95

Additional school suggestions:
(Likelies IMO) Ohio State and Michigan State. Price might be slightly above your range but you could get merit $$.

Seconding @AustenNut’s Maryland suggestion. Getting the B/K full ride is low probability IMO for an unhooked OOS applicant but your son will likely get the presidential scholarship bringing the total cost within your budget.

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I think the easiest way to cull the list to is to cut the schools that are going to be above budget. Many of the most competitive schools only give need based awards so run the Net Price Calculator. If they aren’t affordable, don’t waste the application fee and the time.

If RPI is a serious contender, make sure that your son’s guidance counselor is aware. If he’s one of the top students at his HS, his counselor can nominate him for the RPI medal scholarship: The Rensselaer Medal | Admissions. That would bring tuition into your range and is guaranteed for 4 years.

Purdue’s tuition as is with no merit is also in your budget. Just be sure your son applies by the early action deadline so he can be eligible for honors college and merit awards, and priority for the his major. UMD is the same and there may be others, so make sure your son does his homework about deadlines.

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97

In case this helps, my son applied last year to AE at several schools on your list. He had 4.4 GPA, 1570 SAT and rather average extracurriculars in comparison.
UMich, Stanford, MIT, UCLA, UCB - rejected
Gatech waitlisted / rejected
UT Austin - admitted, but to liberal arts, so that was essentially a rejection
He was admitted to CU Boulder (no merit scholarship, no aid), UCSD (same), UCSB that gave him Regents scholarship, and a few safeties in home state of TX. He chose UCSD and loves it, but applying again to transfer to UT Austin to be in state. Fingers crossed!

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I actually like your story. Most kids I know might not get accepted where they expected but tend to love the schools they eventually land at. That alone tells us everything about the application process…