Boston University is one such school that offers a scholarship for FIRST Robotics participants. It’s a 25k/yr tuition scholarship that also includes funding for research with CoE faculty.
Your boys have impressive accomplishments and will do well anywhere. Penn is certainly within reach if they can craft a narrative around their interests/passion in service to society with essays and LoRs to support it. Rutgers as your in-state choice is fantastic and allows your boys to reach a bit with their college lists.
Although co-ops can be had from any university, these universities really put a strong focus on it and make it easier in terms of dorm arrangements, etc. Co-ops in fields that focus on technology also tend to pay very well, so your boys might be able to bring in some significant money while earning relevant experience that will help them once they hit the job market.
U. of Central Florida
Florida Polytechnic - small public
U. of Florida
U. of South Florida
UT - Dallas
UT - Arlington
Texas Tech
At the schools above (with the possible except of U. of Florida), if you get even a small merit scholarship, then you qualify for in-state tuition as an out-of-state student. Their in-state costs are significantly lower than New Jersey’s, and at some, your sons might get very generous merit aid. At UT-Dallas, for instance, if your son becomes a National Merit Finalist, he would qualify for a full ride.
Iowa State
U. of Louisville
Ohio U.
UNC - Charlotte
North Carolina State
U. of Utah
U. of Wyoming
West Virginia U.
U. of Arizona
U. of Alabama
These schools have strong programs in your sons’ areas of interest. The two NC schools have competitive full rides available, with NC State’s even more competitive than UNC-Charlotte’s. Arizona and Alabama have merit charts for ease of aid. Utah is very easy to get in-state residency after the first year, which can lower the costs there. U. of Louisville has had good scholarships in the past for National Merit finalists and semi-finalists, and also has big scholarships for students from some eastern states (including New Jersey, I think).
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Don’t forget about this in-state option, which is another great option to have in your back pocket. I’d expect merit aid to come your sons’ way here, too.
Rerun the NPC with both parent incomes and assets for colleges that require both parent incomes and assets. NPC runs with just your finances will be inaccurate and overly optimistic for such colleges.
Rutgers is also very good for CS and math (and engineering, physics, …). I have worked with and/or studied with (in graduate school) multiple CS and math graduates from Rutgers and they have been quite strong.
To me the bad news is that finances is likely to be an issue. The good news is that it sounds like your sons are likely to do very well wherever they go to university, and you have very good in-state options.
I understand that your sons are both academically stronger than they might really need to be to attend Rutgers or another in-state public university. However, their excellent results from high school will prepare them very well to do well regardless of where they go for university.
I don’t really know my ex-husband income and assets, but he has a new family and two small kids. I have some idea about what his salary is, but don’t know exactly.
Also, if they move to California to be with their dad, it looks like they only have to be there for 366 days. But definitely call a couple of the UCs (not just UCLA) and ask about this.
Of course, not all these fees will apply. You can get a waiver on health insurance if your sons have good coverage through their parents (saves $2,800) and you don’t have to spend as much on housing, meals, transportation and even books as the above website budgets for.
The Cal States (CSUs) are less expensive for California residents and the CalPolys (polytechnic) are very good for technical education. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is the Cal State flagship and students and employers tend to love it. It is a great place for top students. Cal Poly | Learn by Doing
The other Cal Polys are Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly Humboldt (they just became a Polytechnic within the last couple of years. There are also a lot more cal states besides these three. Cal State Apply | CSU
Here is a list of estimated tuition and fees. Again, your sons may easily spend less than what is allocated for food or transportation. cost-of-attendance.pdf (calstate.edu)
If you are considering the California schools, as noted by a previous poster they may be eligible for conditional CA residency for tuition purposes.
Dependent of a California Resident Parent (Condit)
You may be eligible for a conditional resident classification if you:
Have not lived in California for at least 366 days since arriving in the state or since reaching 18
Are the dependent child (natural or adopted) of a parent who is considered a California resident for tuition purposes immediately prior to the residence determination date (the first day of instruction)
Maintain continuous attendance at an educational institution
If you are granted conditional residency, you must submit a new Statement of Legal Residence (SLR) for the semester in which you meet the minimum time necessary to become a resident.
This exemption expires after one full year. To maintain a residence classification once the exemption expires, you must have satisfied the “Physical Presence” and “Intent to Remain in California” requirements to establish your own residency during that year.
Depending upon income and cooperation with your ex husband, they may not eligible for much financial aid especially Cal Grants and the Middle Class scholarship which require they graduate from a CA HS.
You also need to consider that the Cal states and UC’s are test blind, so their very competitive SAT scores will not be considered for Admission purposes or scholarships.
With your twins stats, there are many OOS schools that will be come in under the UC and even Cal state price tags so make sure you run the NPC’s.
Best of luck and your son’s will have some great options.
@helpingthekid73, I know for sure that Rutgers is a very strong school with many high achieving kids. However, my kids feel that going to Rutgers would be like 13th grade, because majority of kids from their school go there. We will apply to Rutgers anyway.
In the Honors College they will be surrounded by plenty of highly accomplished, really smart kids. Their intellectual peers, if you will.
It’s not going to be 13th grade.
Your sons sound like wonderful young men, in and out of the classroom. And they are lucky to have an involved parent helping them with this research. Good job, Mom!
While others have provided excellent suggestions of affordable options (due to in-state status, auto-merit or expected merit), I am going to specifically mention schools with competitive merit opportunities. These schools would all be considered reaches as without winning the scholarship they would not be affordable. However, your sons’ accomplishments are impressive so it would be worth a shot if they are willing to write the extra essays, interview and meet the earlier deadlines often required for merit consideration. They should also discuss with their GC as some of these require a nomination by their school.
@VirginiaBelle beat me to mentioning GA Tech and the Stamps scholarship. I will add that the Stamps Foundation partners with multiple schools so your sons could look at this list to see if any others are of interest. If so, they need to research the Stamps Scholarship at each individual school because the benefits differ across institutions (full ride at some, partial at others) Stamps Scholars Partner Schools
But it’s pretty hard to spend that much. S just graduated from UCLA, his tuition and fees were $13500, room and board on campus about $15000. He was able to waive health insurance, and spent less than $500 on books in 4 years. Average all in costs weren’t much more than $30K per year, which is much the same as Rutgers.
@Gumbymom, thank you very much for your reply. You are right that both UC and Cal state schools are expensive. I was thinking though that only one of us has to file FAFSA. I don’t think UC or Cal State schools require CSS profile. I also know that multiple student discount will no longer exist in 2024. When I ran estimated FAFSA calculator, it showed $11K family contribution per child. I know this number will be different without multiple student discount. I also don’t know if they consider total cost of attendance or just tuition in FAFSA. But I hope to get some kind of need based help if only one of us have to file.
But be careful about the requirements for ongoing support from the CA resident parent. I’m not sure what the implications will be for who files the FAFSA.