Please chance my son - rising WA senior 4.0/1500 for aerospace [<$40k]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics: US citizen, WA state, public HS, white male

Intended Major(s): Aerospace engineering
Career goal - work for NASA, so he understands that other fields may be options, but Aero currently first choice.

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
Weighted HS GPA: n/a
Class Rank: n/a
SAT Score: 1500 (750/750, only took once, very minimal prep, willing to retake if will matter)

Coursework
10th: AP Calc AB (5 on AP test)
11th: AP CompSci (4), AP Calc BC (5), AP Physics 1 (5), AP Chem (5), Intro Engineering, duel enrollment English & US History
12th (planned classes): AP Physics 2, AP Lit, Adv Engineering, AP Stats (might drop), duel enrollment Calc 3 & Linear Algebra

3 years French
2 years Orchestra

Awards
Dean’s list (is that even an award?)

Extracurriculars
Swimming -
High school: varsity, state qualifier, team captain
Club: Western senior zones & regionals qualifier, hoping to have sectional cuts by graduation, practices year round 6 days per week, approximately 10-12 hours/wk

Others: lifeguard, teaches swim lessons, NHS, orienteering

Essays/LORs/Other
Will have strong LOR for schools that require it. Working on essay.

Cost Constraints / Budget
We will get zero financial aid and debt is not an option. Current budget is ~$40k/year total but willing to consider up to $50k/year if the school is a great fit and the best option.

Schools

  • Safety - UAH
  • Likely - U Ariz, Iowa State, CO State, ASU
  • Match - UMN
  • Reach - UW, CU Boulder, School of Mines, Perdue?

We live in WA state and acceptance this year was really, really tough, so although UW is the current first choice, we are not making any assumptions. We have learned so much from reading through past threads on here and have added value schools to the list, mostly as safeties. He wants to apply to MIT, but we’ve already told him it’s not an option due to cost even if he gets in. Maybe for grad school :wink:

No plans to swim in college as would likely only be fast enough for D3 and most are smaller schools without engineering. He loves the mountains and not itching to go really far from home, so haven’t explored many east coast options. Florida is a non-starter due to political climate with education there.

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I love your list - and it’s the perfect example of not having to have huge name schools to accomplish the goal or reaches/targets, etc and you have lots of chances to spend well under $50k. I’ll disagree with your assessments a bit though. Also, one doesn’t need to be in aero or even engineering to work at NASA. And all these schools - I’ve looked - have interns or employees at JPL or NASA.

UAH is a safety - both admissions and cost. Great for NASA. After all, Huntsville is NASA’s second city after Houston.

Arizona (you get $32K off or WUE) - so it’s also an admission and financial safety and a very good aerospace school with a great track record. Raytheon is in Tucson.

Iowa State - also a safety both admissions and financial aid. Very well thought of on CC which is likely how you found it.

ASU - also a safety - admissions and financial.

CSU is a safety - it’s likely a financial safety. It is not ABET accredited for aerospace, only mechanical - per the ABET website - so that would be a concern.

Let’s go to your match. UMN - it’s an admissions safety. I’ll call it a financial match but I think you get there with merit.

Your reaches - UW - at worst a target because you’re in-state - with a 53% rate. In fact, I’d be surprised if you didn’t get in. Obviously it’s a financial safety.

CU Boulder - an admissions safety and strong school. But it’s a reach financially. Their scholarships are typically low. It’s possible but unlikely to get to your #. Great school though.

School of Mines - Like CU Boulder - an admissions - won’t say safety but likely - but it’s a cost reach. Does not have aerospace - but that’s ok - has MechE.

Purdue - low reach and financial safety.

I like the list - and even though CU and School of Mines are unlikely from a financial POV (not admissions), they are possible so it’s worth a chance.

You didn’t ask for more - but as you have UMN and Purdue, Ohio State would be a solid match that could make cost. And USC might be a flyer as a reach - after all it’s not too far from JPL. You’d need merit so unlikely but not impossible.

You could easily get to aero from MechE. My son had two offers as a MechE and his two internships were in automotive.

And while I don’t see many schools qualifying for aero, make sure to ask about WUE discounts. Oregon State is a WUE school although it doesn’t appear to be for the major if you’re looking close to home. They have Meche.

You have a fantastic list - and this is the type that doesn’t matter - safety, target, reach - you have mostly safeties - both admission and financial and mostly fine schools.

Best of luck.

Save On College Tuition | Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) (wiche.edu)

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I think UW is a match for admission, but as you are undoubtedly aware, admission to your major of choice is a lot less predictable.
Still, I think your son’s chances are good, particularly if he has an interesting essay.

Have you considered Embrey-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ? That might check your boxes as a safety/match, too.

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Thank you so much for the feedback. We are fortunate to have family in CO, AZ and MN for son to have a local connection…that’s why Perdue is a question mark (plus wasn’t sure re:cost). Have not looked at Ohio State will do so.

Did not mean to imply that we aren’t open to suggestions of schools we have overlooked esp a school with a sticker price above our budget but good chance for merit aid. (Ex we eliminated UMich after reading on here) Appreciate all the info!

We were really surprised at the number of rejections to UW from our HS this year (though most were targeting other programs not engineering) so know we need to have back up schools.

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Thank you, yes for sure it’s a bit of a gamble that he would get aero at UW but I think he’d also like a bit more time to explore his first year. We had Cal Poly SLO (apply direct to aero) on the list until literally this week when we confirmed how much it will likely cost. Big bummer because I think our son would like the experiential approach there.

Will check out ER in AZ as well.

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Purdue, not Perdue :slight_smile:

You didn’t imply anything. U threw it in. Dudnt know about your family. If you want your student in Arizona, Minnesota, or Colorado it can easily happen, especially in Arizona for much less than budget. but likely Minnesota too. Colorado a bit over budget. I’m excluding CSU as aero is not ABET accredited there.

For aero, U A would be in parallel to UW in my opinion. Just a lot less competitive for entrance.

As noted it’s a great list.

Embry-Riddle is an aero focused school - in addition to Prescott Arizona it has a main campus in Daytona Beach Florida as well. In a similar vein would be Florida Tech in Melbourne Florida, very near Cape Canaveral.I see your Florida comment but these are private, not public schools and aero focused.

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There are definitely D3 schools with swimming and engineering if that’s something he’d like to pursue. Sectional cuts are probably going to be needed though. My son was thinking aero but open to mech e and definitely wanted swimming (he did have sectional cuts sophomore year, so some of these schools may be too fast). Schools on his list included: University of Rochester (merit could get him there) and Case Western (has aero and merit will definitely get him there) - there’s quite a few more, but these are the ones that were a fit for my son. Also some D1 programs that were open to a swimmer with sectional cuts and improving, Utah (will meet budget), University of Maine (would be cheaper that UW instate) and University of Denver (merit should get him under budget). Just saying, if swimming is important for him, there may be schools that could accommodate him.

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What about United States Air Force Academy? Put that interest in Aerospace to use for free.

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If he has only taken it once he should take it one more time. While it may not hurt, 750 is meh in the engineering world. Purdue is not longer TO.

ETA - If he truly enjoys swimming he should explore the club swimming situation at these schools. Large, fast schools in particular will have thriving club teams/communities and many smaller schools do too.

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We tried! But he says no.

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Thank you for the swimming info! I would say he’s lukewarm on college swimming at the moment but he’s really improved a lot over the past year so that may change. We registered with ncaa just for fun and the club idea may be perfect for him. Did not realize they were competitive etc, that’s helpful to know!

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FWIW, he’s right in range for Purdue engineering with that SAT score. Sadly no mountains and D1 for swimming but, Purdue has an amazing club swim program and an outdoors club that take all kinds of trips, and ski club too. :slight_smile:

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Oops thanks for the spelling correction. I do know they are the boilers though!

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Embry Riddle, not Em try Riddle.:sweat_smile:

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Touché

Terrible typing.

And you’re right. Thanks for noting.

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I like your list. I agree with @tsbna44 that your likelies are probably all safeties. Good luck to your son during this college admissions cycle!

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@momofboiler1 can correct me…but I think they are the boilermakers.

Regardless…great option for engineering!

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Yes, technically Boilermakers but, we refer to the students as Boilers.

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Follow up question about the SAT. Are you recommending a retake for admissions purposes or eligibility for merit aid (or both)?

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For Purdue, you should take a look at its Data Digest, here: https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/ . If you click on the links for “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile” you can input data that is particular for you and see admissions data that is more relevant to you. This may help in advising your application decisions and expectations.

OOS COA at Purdue is currently below $50K. Boiler Up!

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