Michigan Tech and New Mexico Tech are two smaller programs that you may want to consider that have lots of outdoors opportunities. New Mexico Tech also has a mining engineering degree with a focus in explosives. Michigan Tech offers majors in geological engineering, geospatial engineering, mining engineering…all potential areas of interest if asteroid mining is more than a passing fancy.
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Thanks… we’ll check those out as well!
At the moment asteroid mining is just something he found out was an option as an undergrad this week and thought it sounded awesome. For engineering, he has 3 main interests, building rovers for space exploration and sample collection (he also loves the idea of building something to explore the bottom of the ocean), prosthetics and other methods to assist in human mobility for people with issues, and recently making medical devices like artificial organs, or tools to aid with diagnostics.
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I did not mention CMU because it is expensive, they don’t give merit awards and they are stingy with need based aid.
chmcnm is right that CMU is very different from Pitt. CMU is private, far more selective, much more highly ranked and about a third the size. CMU is to Pittsburgh what Northwestern is to Chicago.
My son did not apply to MI Tech because it is very isolated in the UP, around an eight hour drive from our house in SE MI (for reference, our son is 3.5 hours away in Cleveland). Unless you want to go into mining, and to a lessor degree CivE, MI Tech is not a good option. MSU is more highly ranked and near civilization. Based on conversations with alumni, the only things to do in Houghton, MI are study, hunt, fish, cross country ski, and drink. Oh, and watch or play hockey.
My son’s boss is a widely respected authority in the niche area that they practice. He came out of retirement in his 40s to take this job because he found the technology very interesting. He has an EE degree from Michigan Tech.
I’m not saying that it is a great school, or that it should even be on the list. I am saying that a curious, driven student can ultimately be successful no matter where they go.
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Handshake was started by Mich Tech students.
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No doubt. My point was that the school is very isolated in the UP and there are better schools - even other public universities in MI - closer to civilization. Now, if the OP is into hockey and ice fishing, Houghton, MI might be his huckleberry.
I think “better” is a matter of perspective. Michigan Tech has smaller classes and really emphasizes applied learning. It reminds me of Oregon Tech. It’s also in the middle of nowhere, a place I could never see myself. Yet, it has the highest ROI of all Oregon publics, and engineering grads seem to have enjoyed their experience. I wouldn’t go to either, on location alone. Ditto Terre Haute. For those that are ok with those locations, the engineering experience is solid and the schools are affordable.
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eye, Are you referring to Rose-Hulman in your reference to Terre Haute? I did not recommend it to the OP because it was so much smaller than the schools he had on his list. We would have been happy if our son went there, but he could not get over its location outside of Terre Haute.
However, College of William and Mary does not offer any engineering majors.
If bioengineering / biomedical engineering is the main interest in engineering, GMU, VCU, and UVA have ABET-accredited programs in that major.
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OP said biology might be on the table so W&M would be viable.
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Yea, that’s my take too, great school…in Terre Haute. 
My son did decide to try to apply to William and Mary b/c it is a very good school and he has friends that go there.
Now he needs to get to writing essays… 
He wants to take the SAT again and study for it this time, so he signed up for the free test at his school on the 12th. But I’m not seeing a lot of evidence of extra studying.
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Rose Hulman came to his school for an info session but for whatever reason it didn’t grab his attention and wasn’t interested in applying.
If he has any desire to be an engineer, he shouldn’t apply anywhere that doesn’t have it, and he should start in engineering. It’s easier to switch out than it is to switch in.
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… if the student decides not to do any kind of engineering before choosing a college to matriculate to.
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My daughter is a freshman at VT. She applied and was accepted EA. If I remember correctly she when applied she was only able to select 1 major to apply to. They did not give the option to be selected for an alternate. She absolutely loves the school and Blacksburg - great town and campus vibe!
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That’s awesome! He’s going to apply and we’ll just have to see… almost every student I’ve talked to loved going to VT, so fingers crossed! But we have some great backups just in case.
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Our son was none too excited about taking practice tests on Saturdays, but we insisted and it paid off. At least we did not go full-bore Tiger parents and make him do the six week SAT course like some other parents at his HS.
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U of Louisville has excellent auto-merit aid, including awards for students in geographic areas that might surprise you. These include states bordering Kentucky, and “California, DC Metro, Metro NY/NJ/PA and Southern New England”. You get a big discount no matter your stats, and can get in-state tuition or MORE if your stats are high enough.
And like you say, the mandatory co-op will really help with expenses.
For example, my son is applying to UofL and will get in-state tuition, plus an additional $4K automatically. That puts tuition at something like $8K and their room and board is on the cheap side (~$10K). At $18K COA minus at least $10K for co-op wages, that is SO cheap at about $8K to cover per year. The application is super easy and I’ve heard good things about their honors college. He had a great impression after visiting there and would be thrilled to attend there.
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