Not to detract from thread but some really decent scholarship money there for high test scores at U of AZ… Still can apply until May1. Wonder if OPs son would consider.
I see that you got positive news! Accepted at UCSB is wonderful. I hope that this is giving him some peace of mind. It is a beautiful campus.
Congrats @hockeymom2000!
Yes!! Thank you. However, thanks to the suggestions on this board he has also sent applications to Iowa State, Colorado School of Mines, Arizona and a few others. In addition, we created a list of possible spring entries such as Penn State, Colorado / Boulder, etc. We also had a gameplan for a gap semster (not a whole year). His dad had to let go of his preconceived notions of “good schools” vs “the rest” and we stopped comparing admission statistics which can be incredibly misleading.This whole thing has been a valuable learning experience for all of us. I feel bad for all the stress our son went through, but at least we are armed with better knowledge for our daughter who will be three years down the line. Can’t thank everyone enough for all of the support and advice!
It’s an eye opening experience for all first time students and parents. You have to have a hook. maybe see if you can develop one for your daughter.
If you can make the money work, I have to say going from despair to unbelievably gorgeous and sunny Santa Barbara is about as big of an emotional jump as one can make. I write this from Boston as we wait for the oncoming spring Nor’easter to bring us more white crap.
Congrats!
A little late to the party here, but one other school your son may want to check out (as if he doesn’t have enough going on in his life right now, I’m sure!) is Michigan Tech. The mechanical engineering program is great, and it’s a fantastic place to be a hockey fan. He might really enjoy being part of Mitch’s Misfits, which is basically a giant, raucous, co-ed cheerleading section packed with Tech students who love the game and who turn out to support the Huskies wherever they go. There are also lots of opportunities to play hockey casually, both on campus and in the local area.
The application is quick, easy, and free–no essays, I don’t think, and no deadline. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are still opportunities for merit aid, though I couldn’t say for sure.
UCSB also has the College of Creative Studies, an honors college step-up mainly for STEM-type folks. A friend’s son attended that program and had a terrific experience.
Merit isn’t so easy to come by at Michigan Tech, but it is a very good suggestion.
My S and DIL went to Michigan Tech, they loved their time there and both have great jobs. MTU did a amazing job preparing students to get jobs and internships. They have tons of companies come to campus, we thought their placement department was top notch.
It’s also great for student involvement. Because it’s so remote, no one goes home on the weekends. My S and DIL have great friends from their time at Tech, from all over the country.
My DIL picked Tech over U of Michigan. I know a Tech grad who works for NASA and they graduate a ton of MechE’s. My S went to school with a lot of very smart, very high achieving students.
@hockeymom2000 You mentioned that he was interested in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering and that WUSTL was one of the schools he applied to. Has he considered St. Louis University (SLU)? It’s on the other side of Forrest Park and they offer both majors. They have rolling admissions and have been on the NACAC list for the last few years I think. Looks like they offer some programs with WUSTL as well (D was accepted to SLU and is interested in their BA Chem/BS ChemE program with WUSTL). We loved the campus when we did our tour.
We are still waiting on a reply from UMich but currently have UC Santa Barbara acceptance as well as Iowa State, thanks to the suggestions here. I truly appreciate everyone who has jumped in with advice and I have been sharing what I’ve learned with other parents.
A gap year is not a bad idea nor is community college for two years (very in, in fact-financially practical) but congratulations on persevering and DS coming up with two good options so far. Hooray!
A kid from my kids HS went to UCSB, and majored in MechE. He was a great student and had lots of job opportunities at graduation. Sounds like he has some choices, that’s great!
UCSB is fantastic, congrats!
Congratulations 
Keep the thread updated to let us know the thought process to make the decision since you went from zero to four if I’m not mistaken 
a top 10 school! Congrats!
@MYOS1634 We went from zero to two! One was on his original list (UCSB) and the other is Iowa State, which has a late deadline and a very good engineering program. He got waitlisted to Colorado School of Mines and ended up not completing his Arizona application after talking to some friends of friends who ended up transferring out. He will be going to UCSB in a couple of weeks to visit the campus and we are still waiting on University of Michigan. If he is rejected from Michigan, then we will schedule a visit to Iowa State to take a look.
Good luck! Looks like things are going to work out!
@hockeymom2000 So happy for your son! I’m a UCSB alum so feel free to message me with questions (although I was not part of the College of Engineering). Make sure when you visit the campus to also spend time in Isla Vista, the adjacent college town where most students live Sophomore to Senior year (even if it’s just to grab lunch). The campus itself isn’t that impressive, but the college town/community and beach front location are incredible! Enjoy your visit!