^FYI when I ran U of Denver, nothing came scholarship wise. Their NPC may not include it but I do know that S17 would be below their average and as such, at best, on the lower end of their offers which would still make it more expensive than CSU. Their highest offer (published anyway) would at best make it equal to CSU. Of course they do not show a sliding scale with the offers so who really knows but it seemed enough of a long shot for us not to puruse. The site says 60% receive merit awards and to me that implied upper 50% of admits as being most likely for anything.
@curiositycat333, I went with S17 on the OSU honors college tour. Brand new building, good location and facilities. The priority registration, housing, etc. were big pluses, and there are study areas, etc. that looked like it would be really helpful. They said that there are more engineering majors in the honors college than any other major. The tour guide said her brother was an engineering/honors college student at OSU (now working for Daimler in Germany). There is a senior year project/presentation requirement in engineering, and it seemed like the engineering/honors college students used their engineering project for their honors thesis.
@toowonderful, I was referring to Oregon State. I am very familiar with the Columbus, OH OSU–may Dad is a Buckeye!
OMG I how have tears in my eyes… (Happy Ones) We need to find DS a few more schools that look at teacher evaluations.
His teacher just sent me back the most wonderful responce about my son when I mentioned his not being able to respond till August. He would write the most perfect letter. This teacher had him freshman year & again this past year. And really knows my kid and how much he has changed and improved in the last two years.
"did your S like the school based on location or ? OSU, WWU, Seattle U, U of Portland and Gonzaga are all solid engineering options for the 3.2 35 ACT kid but I do think there is a shot at UW. "
@eandesmom, we only had 3 days for a quick trip to get an idea of schools, so we went to Seattle/Portland and tried to see big urban/small urban, big rural/small not-urban, public/private, etc. We went to UW, Seattle U, U of Portland, Reed, Oregon State.
–UW: didn’t “sing” to S17, but of what we saw it was what he liked best (but he’s concerned that it may be too big (he’s a quiet kid that historically hasn’t sought out teachers, etc–he just puts his head down and powers thru).
–Seattle U: a contender, but S17 felt it was too much like his current school (but S19 liked it best).
–Reed: S17 didn’t like the feel or the humanities emphasis at Reed, or that the area around it is residential.
–U of Portland: S17 thought it was similar to Seattle U, but mostly didn’t like the city of Portland (bummer to my DH).
–OSU: also a contender, but S17 felt it was too rural. I’m not sure we really know the area, as we only drove from Portland to Corvalis and back. We didn’t see anything south of Corvalis, etc.
@Hankster1361 Sounds like our two son’s stats are very similar. S17 has a 1520 (new SAT) & UW 3.1 GPA. Test scores just a bit lower (1520 is about 34 according to concordance tables). He has a positive upward trend, and a much better 10-12 GPA, and some honors classes on the transcript. Is interested in Engineering but not sure, defiantly something in STEM.
We went on a trip this past spring. We didn’t look at Reed because I figured it was too far a reach plus the humanities emphasis. S17 doesn’t want anything too suburban. We did look at Lewis & Clark and he didn’t didn’t like it. Too suburban, too “not real” in his option. We look at both UofO and OSU and he loved both. I really like Corvallis which OSU is in. We though about U of Puget Sound, but S17 thought it would be too suburban. He is being very particular about location and it’s making things very hard.
@Hankster1361 I am not sure what type of engineering is of interest but Western Washington is really special and is a great size at 15K compared to UW and OSU. Very different from all the others in my opinion but takes a little bit of the best of each. Solid honors program that your son would have a chance at. On the LAC side, I’d also suggest University of Puget Sound and maybe Willamette as solid options. It may have been our tour guides at University of Puget Sound, but while neither were STEM majors (one English, the other Business/Environmental Policy) they definitely talked up the STEM options quite well. Very strong in Math, Biology and CS I believe.
“Only Hankster and his son know whether the likelihood of a 3.0 gpa or greater is there for freshman year pre-engineering course load.”
@eandesmom, S17 seems to be the stereotypical late blooming boy, and appears to have found his stride (I hope!). He did fine thru middle school, crashed as a freshman but has had a rising trend each year with a 3.7 GPA as a junior (including HPhysics). I’m taking my cue from S17 (as best I can since he doesn’t give many cues!) But he seems motivated (yay!) and says he wants to do this. He’s doing a summer internship with the college of engineering at the local flagship U, while also taking Adv. Precalc as an independent study–so far he’s got an A in that class (fingers crossed–he needs at B+ or better to take AP Calc as a senior). Luckily, S17 thinks he can be happy lots of places. He sometimes wants a name program, but sometimes he wants to be near skiing. Either way he knows that he wants to have at least some fun in college 
The balance as an engineering major . . .
@Hankster1361, thanks for the notes on OSU. That’s the most recent (hopefully last!) school to be added to D’s list.
@curiositycat333, I’m glad you received such a great response from your S’s teacher – sounds like a great LoR in the works!
So grateful for this thread! It’s rather daunting to see the stats of some of these kids. Everything from 4.7 GPAs to near perfect ACT and SAT scores. BTW, this is my first post. I have a DA17. We live in Georgia. She has a pretty expansive list of schools that she plans to apply to. See the list below.
-University of Alabama (applied)
-Ole Miss (applied)
-Georgia Southern (applied)
-Auburn
-Mississippi State
-Valdosta State
-Kennesaw State
-Florida State (my alma mater and somewhat of a REACH)
-University of Georgia (REACH)
We’ve visited Bama, Auburn, FSU, Georgia and Kennesaw. The others she will visit if she’s admitted. Of those Auburn is her top choice.
She has a 3.4 UW, 3.7 W and a 24 on ACT. She’s retaking the ACT in Sept.
@curiositycat333 I forget but has your S looked as Washington State? It would definitely check the rural bucket, admission bucket, possibly some $$ bucket. It gets the party rap (though I don’t think much differently than OSU or U of O) but the engineering is rock solid, as is really the whole school. @Hankster1361 it might be something for your S to consider as well, I am not sure what the honors program reqs are but it would check the close to skiing bucket (though so would Utah lol).
@AHS2017Mom Welcome!!! I know what you mean about some of the stats elsewhere. Mindboggling. Very cool but wow…My S has pretty identical stats although we don’t officially weight. His core classes only gpa (which we don’t calculate but I did figure out lol) is a bit lower though which I hope doesn’t hurt him too much but we will see I guess. I figure he’s at a 3.45 UW/3.7W and 24/25 ACT but with core only it’s a 3.22 UW 3.6 W. Darn Spanish! If all the schools used the UC calculators/methodology for leveling GPA’s he’d look better (10-11 grades only), that’s a solid 3.7. LOL! Oh well. He is retaking the ACT in Sept as well, he does have a 25 superscore but not all of his schools superscore.
That looks like a solid list of schools, I am very impressed she’s already applied to 3 and that she has a final list! Our list is still in flux, 2 new ones on our radar this week, but I do think it will settle by 9/1 at the latest. At least I hope so. 10/1 if I am a bit more realistic. We will visit one more before apps I think (and likely re-visit 2 for interviews, program meetings and auditions) and the rest post acceptance as needed. What does your D want to study?
@eandesmom She wants to go to law school but plans to be a Business major with a minor in English. She is currently interning at a Pro Bono Law Group here in Georgia. It’s a paid internship which is an added bonus. She’s been pretty consistent with the schools she likes. She’s definitely a Southern girl and she loves college football (like her Mom 
). College football has had a significant role in her list selection. What schools are on your S’s list?
@AHS2017Mom that’s a nice combo and leaves plenty of options if she opts out of the law school plan. My S has also considered law school but we have strongly counseled against given the current job market for lawyers. Which is really sad. It doesn’t mean he won’t still pursue it though, it would not surprise me in the least. Our list is very much in flux. Right now it looks like this
Will definitely apply
Western Washington University (safety)
University of Puget Sound (match)
University of Wyoming (safety)
Will almost certainly apply
Oregon State University (safety)
University of Vermont (match, maybe low reach)
Who knows if he will apply
Temple University (match)
Bradley University (match)
Alfred University (match)
Ohio University (match)
Beloit College (match)
Ursinus College (match)
Allegheny College (match, maybe low reach)
Ithaca College (match, maybe low reach)
Humboldt State University (safety)
We have a number of issues in narrowing down the list. Cost is a biggie, out of that list only 3 are financial safeties. Location is another, he’s pretty restrictive with what he wants. And then there is the major question. He is currently looking at the following as possible paths. But in reality he could totally change his mind on all of it tomorrow!
Energy Resources Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering
Mechanical Engineering with an Energy Concentration (preferably a renewable or sustainable one)
Mechanical Engineering
Environmental Engineering
Environmental Engineering with an Energy Concentration
Energy Science
Environmental Science
Environmental Studies
Environmental Policy
Or some kind of mash up of the above with a side of sustainability and social justice and maybe a sprinkle of political science. LOL!
We also need a school that has some kind of music program that would allow him to keep playing jazz (and ideally get some money for it) but not “such” a strong program that he’s not good enough to get a spot. Preferably a school that has a semi decent (but not “too” strong again) theater program so he could potentially continue theater tech work as his in-school job.
Ideally he would like rain, trees, mountains, cool college town, not too huge of a school. But then he thinks a city “might” be cool, if it was the right one and snow/wind are ok but no dessert or super hot sun. Some of the schools on his list will be warmer in the summer than he’d like but we have discarded a lot that meet the weather constraints for other reasons. He would prefer a school that isn’t super focused on sports or greek life.
Has anyone mentioned Oregon Tech? http://www.oit.edu/
I thought someone was looking for a STEM school on the west coast away from any cities… That sounds like Oregon Tech. Though I don’t really know anything about the school (just found it through various searches). cappex doesn’t have it listed though, so I’m a little bit confused…
Does anyone have information about Montana State University in Bozeman, for engineering? S17 would ultimately like to work in the astronautical/aeronautical engineering field, so likely looking at electrical or mechanical engineering for schools that don’t have the specialty.
@theshadow we looked at OIT when originally doing searches. While it does have some programs of interest it is too tech for my S. As (or more) importantly, Klamath Falls is well…widely regarded as the armpit of OR by many we know. The fact that not one kid from our school has ever applied there in the past 3 years is pretty telling to me as in the big picture of things, it’s not remote. I think someone toured it and liked it though, not sure to be honest.
@Hankster1361 Montana State is a solid school. My brother went there though not for engineering. It didn’t have enough program variety for my S or it would be on our list. U of Montana had more options but not enough to make it on either. Kind of interesting. Locally, Montana State is definitely preferred, we know 2 out of the 3 headed there next year and lots of kids at our school apply. University of Montana on the other hand has about 1/3 of the application pool that Montana State gets and even less attending. But, in Montana, according to friends who live there some view U of Montana higher. I feel bad for the state, neither make the US news rankings or the Fiske book and that seems unwarranted if you ask me, as I think both should be. Anyway, not sure specifically how good they are for engineering but it does have a very positive rep here in Seattle for whatever that’s worth.
@curiositycat333 I LOVE that story about your S’s teacher! Every kid should have an LOR writer that feels like that.
Congrats to your son @curiositycat333 – what a fabulous thing to have a teacher who knows your son so well & be
so enthusiastic about writing a LoR – that’s great to hear!
Welcome @AHS2017Mom–What area of study is your D interested in?
(BTW - my username doesn’t have an ‘e’ in the “the” - it’s ThShadow… It’s a username I made up a loooong time ago back when usernames were limited to 8 characters… 
)