My son is OOS was accepted to Purdue and plans to study engineering. He is a NMF and was accepted to the Honors program. He was disappointed to receive no merit scholarship and we don’t qualify for much aid. He is considering some attractive offers to two other schools. For those OOS who went to Purdue with no merit aid did you find that there were opportunities for scholarships or other ways to fund the high cost after Freshman year? He hates to walk away from Purdue but right now it doesn’t look feasible. Thanks for any advice!
We are in the same boat. Purdue is my daughter’s first choice(we are OOS) and for what she wants to do is by far the best place of her choices to go, but it will cost WAY more than all the other schools she’s looking at due to great merit aid at the others. She is interested in internships or possible co-op but for her intended major(Statistics and Actuarial Science) I don’t know what the opportunities would be. It’s going to be a tough decision.
Same here as well. Purdue would have been his first choice followed closely by our in-state flagship. While his intended major (Aerospace) is top-notch and obviously a draw for Purdue, I didn’t anticipate having to essentially pay full price for him to go there (1570 SAT, NMF, all A’s, etc; so far only wait-listed for Honors)). We’ve not received much word on merit aid from other institutions yet, but our in-state option is guaranteed to be cheaper at the very least.
Where else was he admitted?
With or without Honors college?
Would you be able to pay for Purdue out of pocket or would you have to take on loans (or refinance/HELOC)?
We would have to take loans to pay for it. He was admitted to Engineering at Univ of Minnesota (15K scholarship) - still waiting to hear on honors there. And Arizona State Barrett Honors program - free tuition. He had some others but those are the two that he is still considering.
Not worth parental loans. If you can afford it, 5.5k federal loans (student only) are worth it but not more than that especially if you have choices as excellent as UMN or ASU Barrett with no debt whatsoever.
@meltimnkids Our son has been admitted to the same schools as yours! U of Minn, Arizona State and Purdue…plus Iowa State and U of Iowa (but he doesn’t want to stay in State.) We have merit scholarships from all, and Honors at all but Minn. Wondering if he still has a shot or if they’ve elected all their Honors students? He’s in Comp Sci, which is in the Engineering school at all but Purdue. Still waiting to hear from some private schools in March, but he’s starting to lean toward Purdue. Where do you think your son will go?
I think UMN Honors results have not been sent yet? Carlson+ Honors would change matters in my view.
We were told not all Univ of Minn honors decisions are out. Some have been told but not all. Was told for Engineering avg ACT 35 & 4.0. He’s close to that so not sure. @MFHP96 - he also was accepted to Iowa state but he decided against that. If he had recieved any merit $ from Purdue the decision would be easy. But since he didn’t he changes his mind daily between ASU & Minn. He needs to declare his first choice for Natl Merit so pressure is on.
My OOS is in the same situation. Accepted FYE at Purdue-his DREAM school…waitlisted honors so far…He wants to major in Aerospace and minor in Astrophysics or Astronomy. He has not received any merit $ from Purdue at all. He got the Arizona Excellence Scholarship from U of A which is full tuition and books, he also to the Chancellor’s Award from U of Colorado. We are waiting on financial aid from U Maryland and Virginia Tech. He auditioned for a couple different Purdue music scholarships so we are hoping to get some help there. But if not, Purdue is probably not gonna work out. We are going back to visit U of A for a second time and just got back from a visit to Vtech this week.
UAz is nationally famous for astronomy and really good at aerospace. Colorado would be another very strong choice, too.
Wow, @meltimnkids, @MYOS1634, @kswaiz and @MFHP96, your kids sound amazing!
I’m also in MN, and helping a friend with finding good merit scholarships for her son, Class '19, who wants to study some type of Engineering. He is a very high stats and great EC kid, like yours, but probably just missed the Nat’l Merit SF cutoff. I told him I thought there were still many merit opportunities for 4.0/ACT 36 kids like him, but many school websites are not very specific about the $ amount, or who qualifies (except the Iowa St and U of I, which are a little more straightforward). If you don’t mind me asking, what type of $ amounts are your students being awarded. Which schools do you think have the best combo of great engineering and good merit aid? The student is here in MN, and we aren’t even sure what he might qualify for at the U of M! He is open to attending anywhere that has strong academics and engineering. Feel free to message me privately, if you prefer. Thank you very much!
My D accepted to Purdue with merit scholarship ($5K per year) (OOS) and deferred at Ohio State. Could attend Ohio State for half in-state tuition (less than $6000 per year tuition). Is Purdue worth the extra cost? Do we wait to see if she gets accepted into Ohio State or go ahead and accept Purdue? Ohio State is first choice, but afraid she won’t get accepted to main campus and will be accepted to a regional campus instead.
^You have till May first. Wait till your decisions are in hand. Or, if you wish, you can deposit (especially for housing) and withdraw that deposit as long as it’s before May first.
Typically Purdue is not a direct/guaranteed admit to the specific engineering discipline. Does this weigh in your decision?
This isn’t meant to be snarky, I’m just curious. How do you know that you would pay only $6 for tuition at OSU? Do they send out scholarship/financial aid info even if you have been deferred? Have you received your financial aid package from Purdue yet?
@Ivvcsf. Yes have received financial package from Purdue, no from Ohio State. I am an employee of Ohio State which grants half off tuition and fees (not room and board) to dependents. I have two older kids both currently attending Ohio State. Since she is deferred we have no info on any chance for scholarships. But i am not holding my breath, cause I would think they will all be awarded by the time she would get admitted (IF she is admitted)
Good luck on the tOSU admissions. i think because of the earlier FAFSAs they must be sending out their FA packages earlier than when my D was applying. She didn’t received her FA package until late March.