I’m faced with a dilemma of sorts. I’m applying for a major in engineering and my problem is that my state doesn’t have many good public engineering schools. There’s SUNY Stony Brook and that’s about it. All the other good public engineering schools are in Michigan, Illinois, Texas, California, etc. Originally I planned on applying to those flagship publics that rank high for engineering. My rationale is that they weigh numbers much more heavily than non-academics (which are by far my weak spot in my application) compared to privates. But then there’s some other problems: what if they don’t weigh my numbers as much since they prioritize in-state? Would a private offer me better financial aid since the publics are more concerned with in-staters? Wouldn’t applying to privates be so much easier since they’re all on Common App? It’s getting tough to sort this all out, I honestly don’t know which kind of school is gonna end up being easier to get into and not as expensive.
What is your GPA and test scores? What is your FAFSA EFC and what will your parents pay? I am having difficulty understanding your post.
No, my non-acadmeics (recs and EC’s) are my weak spot. My numbers are good. GPA is 4.0 UW, SAT 1550, ACT 34, all dual-enrollment and AP classes. I probably don’t qualify for FAFSA since my family is fairly well-off, but I still don’t want to be drowning in debt. My parents will probably pay 30k at most, otherwise they’d probably prefer I go to my in-state.
Did you apply to Buffalo, Binghamton or NC State? How about Lafayette? My friend’s son had the same numbers and received merit to Lafayette and loves it ( I assume the SAT is two parts). Take the California publics off your list because they will be expensive. Try the NPCs to both privates and publics see what they say.
What is your EFC? You can fill out your FAFSA now and find your federal methodology EFC. Use the EFC estimator on the college board website to estimate your Profile EFC.
Whether you can get a certain school for 30K may depend on whether or not you demonstrate any need.
Not all private schools are picky about ECs. Most kids don’t have the long lists of ECs like you see on this board. Some kids have ECs and don’t realize it because they have a part time job or a hobby they do outside of school. Or they did something that they think doesn’t count because they weren’t an officer or award winner.
From what I hear, Buffalo is a poor school and Binghamton’s engineering program is much worse than Stony’s. And the only California public I’m applying to is Berkeley, which my parents would be willing to pay for considering its quality.
Would they pay for Michigan? You need to make a list of private and public schools and sit down with the NPC. Will you have siblings who will be in college at the same time? Have you considered Case Western?
Buffalo has a good engineering program. I don’t know where you’re getting your information.
Typically, yes (if you qualify for need-based aid at all).
Whether that results in a lower net cost depends on the schools you’re comparing and on your own situation.
Have you looked at Cooper Union or Olin?
Both are top engineering schools that may be cheaper than many other private or OOS public schools.
Run the online Net Price Calculators to compare.
Another good option might be colleges that guarantee big merit scholarships for high stats, such as Alabama.
http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
Buffalo has a very good engineering program. I was wondering the same thing.
Besides Alabama, there are merit aid programs in many less popular, less populous states. New Mexico Tech, SD Mines, Wyoming, etc.
I would 100% recommend NC State over Binghamton, OP.
Case Western is strong in engineering and offers merit based aid that might make it affordable.
@LBad96, If you’re going to continue to recommend other schools over Binghamton it’s only fair you that you mention that they rejected you. If you have reasons why NC State’s program is so much better than Binghamton’s that OP’s parents should spend ~$20k more/year for him to attend there, please mention them.
Not everyone can afford to attend any school they want. NC State costs $41k OOS. OP is in state for Binghamton, so the COA for him would be $21k. Even if OP weren’t concerned about finances, the $80k difference is a lot of money.
Are you Class of 2017? If so, we are already getting deep into application season.
You have excellent stats from a scores/gpa standpoint. Not every school focuses on ECs. You should have a number of options open to you, but if you graduate this coming May/June get on top of it asap.
Your parents will happily pay $60k per year for UCB? If so, it sounds like they’d be considered “full pay” at most/all schools.
Be sure to ASK them how much they’ll pay.
What about Purdue? Cheaper than UCB, but certainly very well respected. What about Georgia Tech?
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Would a private offer me better financial aid
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If your parents can/will pay for UCB, then doesn’t that mean that a financial aid application would show that your family can afford to pay a lot for college???
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Wouldn't applying to privates be so much easier since they're all on Common App?
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It might be easier but it also might be a waste of time if your parents won’t pay the $60k+ per year to attend.
We are from California and my children fortunately have the options of the UC’s.
My eldest daughter choose to go to SUNY Buffalo. She majored in EE and CS. She is now working for a large corporate company and has moved up the ranks because she introduced a management procedure that is efficient and that she learned at UB. It’s company-wide now.
I don’t know where you are getting your misinformation about UB @myscreenname568.
She loved the school and choose Buffalo over UCSD because of a number of things. She also recommended several classmates and peers to her company, as well as to her Dad’s engineering company, and they were hired and are working with her in sunny California.
Buffalo is fine, but I’d recommend you also go ahead and apply to some OOS programs that you really want to go to, and see what you get offered. Your stats are high so it’s possible you’ll get some aid
I’d also recommend you try RPI - they mostly care about stats are yours are high enough that you’ll likely get merit, potentially enough to bring it within your parents’ budget.
Purdue might offer some merit aid.
@austinmshauri OP has a shot at some decent merit aid at NC State. And their engineering program is better than that of Binghamton. I don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with me not having gotten in there when they’re completely irrelevant to me. It’s not a bad idea for OP to go OOS, especially considering that the UNC system is far, far better than the SUNY system could ever hope to be.