Parents of students 3.5-3.8 gpa?

This is all so helpful! Did anyone’s kid try for McGill or other Canadian universities?

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Thanks.

He knows he needs to focus on getting above 3.75 and has done his research on the courses he needs to take and the credits he should not take.

I have been watching the discussions on various boards on CC. Don’t know where we would be without all the helpful comments on the boards

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Thanks! I found this on their website too. This is very confusing.

"While NYU does not guarantee we will meet the full demonstrated need of every admitted student, our recent move to a more need-based awarding model for scholarships has helped to make NYU a reality for more and more students. "

https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/high-school-counselors/nyu-scholarships.html#:~:text=While%20NYU%20does%20not%20guarantee,students%20is%20now%20approximately%20%2430%2C000.

My D21 was accepted at both Toronto and McGill. She had about a 3.8 UW and a 29 ACT.

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The perfect thread for my son; please help him build a list of schools with reputable engineering and merit aid to keep the total cost of attendance under $40K/yr. (will not qualify for any financial aid). 3.8UW/5.0W, 6 APs (4s), 3 DCs, (a semi-challenging selection of courses but certainly not the most challenging available at high performing, public hs that does not class rank), 1360 SAT. A motivated student who strives to do well but is also motivated to have non-academic social life/interests. Anticipate decent to average essays/letters of rec, light on ECs (which are primarily sports-related), part-time job, one internship related to intended area of study. Looking for large, vibrant (sports, not commuter school) campus (prefer warm climate, large town/city) that is not dominated by Greek life (therefore U of Alabama is not a match). ASU/Barrett is his top choice so far but looking to add similar options, particularly schools that will not require a secondary application into engineering or make it difficult to change majors.

U of Cincinnati ticks most of the boxes although not necessary warm. D1 sports, strong engineering, urban, etc…

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State of residency? What kinds of engineering are of most interest?

Universities of Arizona, New Mexico, and Hawaii? In-state public universities?

This doesn’t meet all your criteria, but University of Dayton springs to mind. The son of close family friends is in the engineering program there, he’s very bright, and he’s definitely challenged. He got very good merit there as well.

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The schools my daughter applied to that have reputable engineering programs and that give generous automatic merit based on stats were Michigan State and Iowa State. For her, Michigan State came in at around $38k/yr OOS, and Iowa State was a great value at under $23k/yr OOS.

Iowa uses the Regent Admissions Index and is auto-admit if you meet the criteria, which is a really nice thing to have in hand. It was her first acceptance and came IN THE MAIL less than a week after she applied.

Select your home state to see auto-merit awards:
https://www.admissions.iastate.edu/scholarships/freshman/il

Michigan State lays out its merit tiers clearly, too.

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I’m not sure how these schools do entry into their engineering programs, but I think all of these would have potential. They’re all ABET-accredited, in warm(er) states, in large towns/cities, with at least 10k students (most are multiple times that), and residential campuses.

• Louisiana State
• Texas Tech
• U. of Arkansas
• U. of Central Florida
• U. of Houston
• U. of Kentucky
• U. of Louisville
• U. of New Mexico
• U. of South Carolina
• U. of Tennessee

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I would not eliminate a school because you think it’s greek.

My son goes to Bama, joined the engineering frat first year, didn’t like it, dropped out - and spends his time studying, hiking, and biking - is not in a party scene at all. There are kids that play board games. The Honors Dorm - he went there specifically for it as he got his own room - yet hated it because it was too quiet. You can find your clan anywhere. ASU is super huge and will be similar in greek, etc. to a Bama…Arizona is another to look at, MS State if you can be a bit more rural is yet another. Just because a school has a sizable greek population…don’t forget, the vast majority will not be Greek. If you want a top Honors College, in addition to ASU you can look at U of SC…but even Bama has Honors + the Randall Research and Blount Scholars…so you can find these wonderful types of opportunity anywhere. Bama has more NMF than any other school - why?? Kids with great #s get big $$ - so it’s not just the party animals but tons and tons of smart kids…not trying to sell you on it but you mentioned other schools that most would rate similarly…so you have to give the entire school a true look.

UAH is a smaller school, highly regarded with internships nearby and is getting a wider crowd.

If you can be at a more focused but smaller school, look at ERAU in Daytona and Florida Tech in Melbourne Florida - both have good merit. For a larger public, perhaps USF (in Tampa) would be a bit more mellow.

A lot will depend on $$ you seek - because a 1360 SAT, in many engineering programs, won’t bring significant $$. You already know at Bama is $24K (with a possibility of a raise to $28K). You’d also get $2,500 extra from engineering - so your tuition would be - $5500 after the $24K and $2,500 engineering. Arizona will be based on the UW GPA - so at your current GPA, you’d be at $20K off…so $18K or so in tuition.

Lots of schools offer merit - but I think a UAH sounds more your speed than a Bama (or ASU or Arizona) based on the comment made about Greek life, etc.

Good luck.

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TX resident. Unsure about which type of engineering in particular, so the ability to change majors is important (and it’s commonly known that this can be difficult at our state schools).

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Thanks for your comment, all good points to consider! One in ten in Greek life at ASU seemed a lot less dominant than one in three at Alabama, but I admit I presumed the rate was more like one in two or higher at Alabama (and first-hand knowledge of many types of students into various social scenes is helpful.)

Utah is a similar option which is great for outdoorsy kids (skiing, hiking, climbing etc). If you aren’t in a WUE state then the cheapest option is to stay for residency the first summer, then the costs for tuition, room and board are roughly $45K the first year and $25K in subsequent years.

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This seems to be the case for UT Austin and Texas A&M College Station.

But what about various other Texas public universities? e.g. UT Arlington, Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio; Texas Tech; various A&M other than College Station, Houston.

Common Data Set section F1 can tell you what percentage of students join fraternities and sororities. For example:

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U. of Arkansas offers very nice discounts on out-of-state tuition to residents of states that border it. Texans would qualify for it.

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ASU is more of a commuter school than a Bama. Or an Arizona. it’s not a commuter school by nature - but more so than others.

Big publics will all have the party life, many a greek and yeah the houses at Bama are enormous. My kid is an introvert - too introverted - does his own thing. I can see where someone could be overwhelmed - but I can see that anywhere.

While you like the big schools in warm climates at $40K - you are really limiting yourself - well, to these types of schools - and frankly Tuscaloosa or MS State - those are not large town/cities…but a Huntsville might be more the speed (UAH) - with great merit too…just thinking of others in a city without the party/greek - and warm weather…an FAU but that will be more commuter-ish. A UCF - large like ASU. USF as mentioned b4. U of South Alabama in Mobile may be another to look at…and Louisiana Lafayette.

Good luck.

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Are you willing to share merit amounts? My D24 is seriously considering a similar list…with similar stats.

Every school offered between $22K and $26K, except for UVM, which offered $17K. Simmons University was the most generous, with the $26K scholarship granted all 6 years for the 3+3 DPT program.

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My S22 had a 3.65 UW average and 4.1 W. Only a handful of ECs (including a lot of volunteering) but no leadership. 4 APs (can’t take until junior year at our HS) and the rest honors. Was accepted at the following schools: UMass Amherst (in state), UConn, Pitt, Syracuse and American. Went TO. Is a strong writer looking to major in Psychology. Was rejected at Wm & Mary (his reach) and UMD (didn’t apply EA - friend with similar profile got in but applied early which is a must).

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