National Hispanic Scholar, Arizona State or University of Arizona?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Arizona State University
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Hi! My daughter just finished her Junior year, and she is a National Hispanic Scholar and is looking at both ASU and UofAz Engineering Schools. She is interested in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science. We are trying to compare things like merit aid, Honors College, Engineering schools, computer science programs, etc. Early admission applications open up as early as late July, and so we are trying to learn as much as we can.

As far as aid, we thought UofAz was better because she qualifies for $35K Arizona Distinction Award (4.0, 33 ACT) which covers OOS tuition, plus National Hispanic Scholar gives an additional $5K + one-time $1500 Study Abroad, and the Engineering College gives an extra $1K and you can also apply for $5K scholarship through Engineering school to replace the $1K. But in the fine print for UofAz Merit scholarships, it says merit $ can only be used for base tuition, so I’m wondering if she’d be capped at $35K. Their OOS tuition+fees is $36,400, so that’s an additional $1400 right there, not counting books, R&B, Honors college fees, etc. At ASU, it looks like the award for National Hispanic Scholars covers Tuition + Fees? I hear there might also be additional scholarship money available through Barrett Honors for National Hispanic Scholars, maybe some of the fees, study abroad money, etc? Are any of you National Hispanic Scholars that have been offered additional scholarship money, through Honors, or Engineering, or anything else? Any chance of getting some of Room & Board covered?

We also like that Computer Science is in the Engineering College at ASU, whereas it is not at UofAz. Any opinions on which college has a better Engineering school? Right now she wants to major in Biomedical Engineering and minor in Computer Science, because she is interested in helping develop personal medical equipment and devices (she has T1D). But I wouldn’t be shocked if she ended up changing her major to Computer Science (which is what she always wanted to do up until recently). It will just depend on how much she likes biomed once she really gets into it. Seems like it would be easier to change her major if she ended up deciding to at ASU from biomed to CS, since they are both part of the Engineering College. She also wasn’t super impressed with computer science department at UofAz when we met with them. Anyone have experience with or information on Computer Science program at either school?

Thanks for anything you can share!

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@CCinDenver - Disclaimer - I got my MBA from ASU and have a son graduated from Barrett and a rising sophomore in Barrett, so my opinion is biased.

That said - Barrett Honors College is hands down a better path than U of A. My understanding is that their honors program is just that, a program. At Barrett, it is a separate community at ASU. Each campus has their own dorms for Barrett students. The Barrett program also involves a senior thesis. Until recently, only ASU and Princeton had programs for undergrads that required a thesis.

Barrett advantages - Newer dorms, best dining hall and priority registration for classes. Neither of my sons had any trouble getting classes. They were not always at ideal times, but there was usually enough flexibility in class offerings to make it work.

Fulton School of Engineering - I am not very familiar with U of A’s Engineering program. ASU’s is well regarded in a number of disciplines. My DS who just finished his freshman year is a CS major. He likes the program. He is leaning toward cybersecurity and ASU is a National Center for Academic Excellence in that field. With AP credits, he has the chance to graduate with an MS in CS in 4 years. ASU is in the top 50 CS programs in the country. They do offer the BSE in Bio Med. There is a partnership with the Mayo Clinic in the Phoenix area.

Scholarship - My DS is a NMF. I assume the NHS package is comparable. His scholarship is 100% of tuition, guaranteed to cover any increases over the 4 years. As part of Barrett, there is also $1500 toward research and another $1000 or $1500 for travel. So, we are responsible for books, room and board (pricing for R&B are on the Housing website and Barrett website). Books are usually less than $500 per semester, depending on rentals and used availability. I think last semester he spent $150 on books. There are several other scholarships that are Barrett and Fulton specific that are available to freshman.

Feel free to message me with other questions. Go Devils!

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Thanks! Super helpful info. We are visiting ASU this coming Monday, including the Engineering college and Barrett Honors. Should be fun!

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No problem