I have looked at Iowa State and Michigan Tech for engineering. I have a 4.0 gpa, 33 ACT, and ranked 1/271 in my class. With my stats, should I be looking at better schools like Purdue or University of Michigan? How much of a difference will the college I choose make? Any input you have would be greatly appreciated.
What state are you from?
Minnesota
What can you afford and what are you majoring in (not just engineering but what sort of engineering)?
I have looked into aerospace, computer, and electrical, but I was thinking of going in undecided engineering my first year and taking some classes to help decide. With cost, I don’t want to spend too much, but I feel like I will be able to get many scholarships.
“I don’t want to spend too much”
You need to define that specifically with your parents. Find out your EFC then find out their budget…how much can they spend per year on your college?
Ok, but money aside for now, how are MTU and ISU? Should I be looking at schools like Purdue with my gpa and act?
Engineering majors are often oversubscribed. This means that, for each school you may go to, you may want to consider whether:
a. You apply to the specific major and are admitted in the major, but changing majors may be difficult or competitive.
b. You apply to the engineering division and are admitted to first year pre-engineering. Then you take frosh level courses, decide on a major, and apply to it. In some schools, some majors may have high GPA requirements or competitive admission to enter.
c. You apply with one of the above application methods, but the school may choose to admit you as non-engineering undeclared. In this case, it is likely to be more difficult to switch into an engineering major than if you are admitted to the major or first year pre-engineering.
As others have noted, you also need to talk to your parents to see what they are willing to contribute, so that you can tailor your list to affordable schools. Run net price calculators on school web sites to check their financial aid estimates. Schools vary on the size and availability of merit scholarships.
What’s your net cost at each? What did you like about each? They’re fairly different. Why isn’t UMN in the hunt? How far are you willing to be away from home?
ISU is 29,000 (room and board included)
MTU is 43,000 (room and board included)
MTU offers significant scholarships and would bring the price down comparable to ISU. I really liked the ISU campus and dorms. MTU is much smaller, but seems to have better academics. I haven’t really considered UoM because I don’t really want to be in a large metropolis area in a school of 50,000 students.
Driving distance from home would be nice, but not a deciding factor
Michigan Tech is good. I’ve worked with several grads and for one, and they’ve almost all impressed me. All but one, and she’s not a bad engineer at all.
I recommended it over Purdue, UMich, and several others to my own child.
I don’t know IA State, so can’t comment.
At first I meant them to be separate questions, but they kind of became the same thing, sorry
MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Caltech, WPI, RPI, RIT, Georgia Tech, Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Northwestern, Virginia Tech, Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice
^Just some ideas. Some of those are easier to get into than others
What is your home state?
You may explore the top 50 engineering schools or so. You may pick a few reach schools, but make sure you have several match schools like Purdue and below and at least one safety which may be your in state flagship (except for the very top ones like UCB or UMich). Where is home state and do your have any regional preference.
Budget?
Which type of Engineering?
UMN-TC and UWI Madison. Check if you are eligible for in state tuition exchange in mid west.
My home state is Minnesota and I’d like to stay in the Midwest, but it is not a deciding factor. I have thought of computer, electrical, and aerospace engineering but haven’t decided.
The U of Minnesota and UW-Madison are both very strong in Engineering and in many other programs and are a great bargain for you – UW-Madison will also be at a bargain price due to the reciprocity agreement. You might call UMTC a low match/safety and UW a match or low match. Assuming you like those schools and can afford them, those two are a very good start.
I don’t think going OOS to another public school and spending ~$100k more is worth it, unless you can get enough fin aid from Michigan or UVA to make them competitively priced. But there are also private schools to think about, of course.
Beyond that, think about the following to find schools that fit you:
- Do you have environmental preferences like the size of the school, the size of the surrounding town/city (rural, suburban or urban?), and campus size?
- Do you have a preference for social vibe? For instance, what kind of party/Greek scene are you looking for, sports scene, and what kinds of things do you like to do for fun? What types of people do you fit in with best?
- In terms of academics, are small class sizes important to you? Do you care about the academic calendar (semesters vs. quarters)? Are you looking for a broad education outside of Engineering or would you rather go to s school with fewer distribution requirements?
Those questions will help you narrow your list. And obviously, run the NPC to see if those schools are affordable.