DS is interested in a double major of Chemical Engineering and Math. He has a 33 on his ACT (34 if the school superscores). We are specifically looking for school with generous financial aid. Our EFC is about $2000 which is pretty much the limit of what we’d be able to contribute (we have 5 others still at home to support) and ideally DS would like no or minimal loans ( I know we are asking for the world here).
I’ve been looking at different schools, but I’m finding it absolutely overwhelming trying to find schools rated well in both majors that then would offer large scholarship/aid offers. The NPC don’t seem to include scholarship numbers so I’m wading through all these colleges trying to read what scholarship he might qualify for. It really seems there should be an easier way to find this information but so far I haven’t figured out how.
I don’t think your expectetations are realistic. Even with an EFC of zero and at a school known to meet 100% of financial aid, around $3000 of that will be work study and around $3000 will be some sort of federa
What is his GPA, weighted and unweighted? GPA is a better indicator of college success than SAT or ACT scores. Also, how hard was his high school (both overall as a school and his actual class selection)? And, how have previous years graduates done in college (also a judge on how his high school prepares it’s students)?
You might try to first solve the region of the country, big school/small school and city/rural setting preferences first. There are a lot of good schools out there and many are quite similar in their engineering preparation such that it is the other factors that make a difference.
Once you start to put together a list, there is a document called the “common data set” that most (all?) colleges publish. Goggle that along with the college name and it should come up. It has a wealth of admission and financial aid numbers that can help. Also pay attention to the 4, 5 and 6 year graduation rates. As expensive as college is, a less expensive college can get expensive real fast if it takes 5 years to graduate. And there are many colleges in which it does take that long to get a degree in engineering. (ex. my DD selected a college that was a little more money but was cheaper at 4 years than her other choice at 5 years, which was their average time to get a BS degree)
I don’t think your expectetations are realistic. Even with an EFC of zero and at a school known to meet 100% of financial aid, around $3000 of that will be work study and around $3000 will be some sort of federally guaranteed student loan. So, with that said, you/he have to decide what an undergraduate Chem E degree is worth. Most people say don’t carry more than one year’s salary in student loan debt. So, let’s say $65k. Personally, I think that’s too high. I’d try not to take more than $10k per out in debt. Take as little as you can, but realize, it’s an investment and we rarely get anything for free.
Now on to the most generous schools. They tend to be the most expensive ones. They also tend to be the ones trying to increase their rankings, but are pretty well ranked already. A few examples are Case Western, RPI and WPI. They are generous to try to attract top students what might otherwise attend schools ranked higher.
DS is homeschooled and I haven’t fully calculated his GPA (I’m still trying to understand how to do the weighted verses nonweighted stuff) but I’m guessing 3.8-3.9. He had 2 B+ his freshman year (he took AP Calc BC and Physics and they were a stretch for him as a freshman), everything else is an A. So far he’s taken AP Calc BC, and AP stats and gotten 5’s on both of those. This year he’s taking AP Chem and AP computer Science, he’s gotten 5’s on the practice tests so far so we are hopeful that will carry through on the test. Next year he will be taken AP Physics Mechanics/Electricity and Magnetism, and AP Econ Macro and Micro. For math he is working with a private teacher so there is no college credit there but this year he is taking Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations and next year Complex Analysis. Otherwise he’ll have 3 years of spanish, 4 years of english, traditional history/government stuff etc. I’ve always picked the most rigorous materials I could find/afford but I have nothing to compare to especially since he’s the eldest.
He’s totally fine with work study, he just doesn’t want to have to take loans if possible and spend years paying them back. I paid my way through college and he wants to do that but I keep reminding him that things have changed since I went to college and he will probably have to have some loans. I’m just trying to help him indentify places where he can hopefully minimize that amount. Just looking at the maximum federal loans ($5500, 6500,7500,7500) adds up to some serious change. I don’t think either he or I would be comfortable with him taking on $27000 in debt.
And I guess as far as “good” schools, I guess I’m thinking top 100 in that field (maybe even 200). Every time I try to run searches for colleges, we get the list of Harvard, MIT, Carnegie Mellon etc because they keep looking at ACT scores, but realistically, I know DS’s chance of getting in is slim to none so I’m trying to find more realistic options.
$27k of debt for a Chemical Engineer is VERY manageable. Considering the median starting Chem E salary of $65k, the $310 monthly payment over 10 years would be pretty easy, especially considering wage growth over the time of the payback period. Certainly, take the best deal you can find, but in no way shape or form is $27k of debt for a Chem E degree, one whose full value is anywhere between $100k and $250k, anything but a screamin deal.