Please help me redo the entire engineering college search...

So my son just got his SAT scores up a bit. 1220 SAT with 3.7 GPA (about 40 DE credits). So we are redoing the entire college search again. It’s great, but we had done tons of work over the summer and now we are having to redo it all!

Can anyone suggest ABET Mechanical Engineering schools that would accept him BUT, ALSO give out generous need based aid? We have 9 people in our family and 2 in college and make around 98,000. Anyone who could give some guidance would be sooooo appreciated! I know for a lot of places he still won’t get merit aid…

What state are you in? Is it one with an affordable public university?

At University of Alabama - Huntsville, his stats would qualify him for 40% off OOS tuition.
http://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships

Sorry, We are in Maryland. University of MD is out of academic range. UMBC is an option, however he would really like to go away. Those are our only in-state options.

9 people as in parents and 7 children? You must know your EFC with 2 kids already in college. How can it possibly be affordable for him to go away?
What were your plans before that this SAT score would impact it so?

<<<<<9 people as in parents and 7 children? >>>

There are 7 children? And 2 are currently in college? What is their EFC and how are their costs being covered??

How much can you contribute for each student each year??

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Sorry, We are in Maryland. University of MD is out of academic range. UMBC is an option, however he would really like to go away. Those are our only in-state options.


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When going OOS to schools WITH engineering, but not having high test scores, it can be very difficult to find schools that will give a large amount of aid. Since going OOS can usually mean a $45k-65k+ price tag, finding ones that would leave you with a very low net cost may be nearly impossible.

The issue is the eng’g req’t, but also what you need net cost to be??? I think New Mexico tech might give a nice award but the net cost may stil be significant

What schools did you have on your earlier list that would have worked for your son? Why is that list obsolete?

South Dakota charges very little additional tuition for out of state (I don’t know much about their merit aid):

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology http://www.sdsmt.edu/
OOS CoA sticker (so tuition, room & board etc) $24,770
http://www.sdsmt.edu/Admissions/Tuition-and-Fees/

South Dakota State University https://www.sdstate.edu
OOS CoA sticker $19,810
https://www.sdstate.edu/office-admissions/office-financial-aid/cost-estimate

In Ohio some state schools are recruiting OOS through large merit or simply don’t charge a large markup:

University of Toledo http://www.utoledo.edu/ (mandatory co-op program, so a very strong career services office)
OOS merit award $12,500 http://www.utoledo.edu/admission/freshman/scholarships/2018/out-of-state.html

Cleveland State University http://www.csuohio.edu/
Viking Award $7,500/year http://www.csuohio.edu/financial-aid/viking-award-for-out-state-students

Try the net price calculators at these schools. Let us know how it goes, if you’re willing, best to worst so others can get an idea, too.

<<<<<<<
He has ADHD and some mild learning disabilities that he receives accommodations as a dual enrollment student at our local CC. His reading is so slow which is why he does poorly on tests. He is also a slow processor which slows him down with everything.

But he is stubborn and determined to go as far as he can which is why I am seeking as many options for him as I can find.

Unfortunately, we are unable to help him pay for college at all. We have 7 children and spent all the nest egg we had saved on adopting 3 children. He will get a small pell grant but will need to get loans.
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Ok…7 kids

Parents can’t contribute anything

ADHD

Well, then, i would say going away to school is a terrible idea. The type of schools he might get best aid likely will not be giving aid for things like transportation, etc. That alone could cost you, the parents, an extra $1000+ each year in travel costs. And if your insurance doesn’t work well in the new state (and this is common) then another policy will have to be purchased.

Having ADHD can be another issue when going away to school…meaning more than a couple of driving hours from home.

Lastly, if he’s going to be stubborn about this, then put the responsibility for him finding an affordable OOS school in his lap.

            Engineering just spits out kids with great academics. I really don't know how test scores etc tracks with success in engineering, but if the dropout/major switch rate is 50% + you can bet that there is some correlation. That is way less painful when your kid is an appropriate low-cost college where you aren't paying room and board to add insult to injury. 

Agree with @mom2collegekids – don’t pave the way in this one.

ADHD kids get used to using parents and others as auxiliary brains. If he wants to show he’s ready to fly the nest, he needs to find a college that will fund him and handle all the application details and deadlines without being micromanaged.

My older daughter is at community college and paying her own way. CC is a very likely option for my son also (though only 1 more semester), however we are doing due diligence in trying to find any other option first. He is a very determined student and this summer went on ADD meds which is completely changing life for him. His focusing abilities have been amazing since he started meds and we are feeling very positive about future outcomes. Knowing his personality (super determined- stubborn was probably the wrong word- and won’t give up- no worries of him using ADHD using mom as auxiliary brain…) I think he’ll thrive at a 4 year school.

As far as me doing school research, we agreed that I would do the heavy lifting with college searching and he would do all the heaving lifting in searching for private scholarships. It is working well for us. He has been at our local community college for 4 semesters with dual enrollment and is tired of it and frankly doesn’t have many other classes he can take that will transfer. He could probably do one more semester at the CC after he graduates but then he has lost the chance for any bigger freshman scholarships.

EFC is around $5500. My son also has about the same amount saved for his first year, but will have to earn that over again each summer.

Here are some schools that are on our list, but I don’t know enough about NPC’s to know if I can trust the numbers. If anyone has any comments about them, comment away! I will check out the others listed above. If you have any other names, let me know!

Arkansas Tech
Bradley
Cedarville- already accepted
LeTourneau
Jacksonville U
Lake Superior State U
Milwaukee School of Engr
Oklahoma Christian U
Southern Illinois Edwardsville
Tennessee Tech
Univ of Maine
West Texas A & M
Youngstown State

Even the worst NPCs are probably better than blind guesses for financial aid. But use care if the parents are divorced (you need to know whether to include one or both parents’ finances, depending on whether the college uses the non-custodial parent finances), or if there is significant income from other than wage/salary (e.g. small business).

A lot of people have never heard of UAH, but it is strong for engineering, especially aerospace. It’s a small nerdy state school in far northern Alabama. No football, but higher stats than the University of Alabama or Auburn.

University of Maine (which has Mechanical Engineering) will discount the out-of-state tuition by $13,200 for a Maryland resident with 1120+ SAT and 3.0+ GPA.
https://go.umaine.edu/apply/scholarships/flagship-match/

Normal OOS tuition is $27,960, so that would drop to $14,760. That’s pretty good for OOS tuition, although it will be higher than in-state tuition at UMCP or UMBC.
https://umaine.edu/stuaid/aid-basics/costs-at-umaine/

GWU. the mechanical engineering also has an aerospace concentration. Many of the students intern at NASA and the government prime contractors such as Northrop Grumman. Run their NPC, my son is in SEAS and received almost exactly what the NPC calculated.

So just to clarify, you would be happy to pay for your kid’s room and board at an OOS school? Or are you hoping FA would cover even that? The examples people are giving are examples that would cost you 25K a year maybe? What can you actually pay?

Which CC is he attending, and how close is he to fulfilling the requirements for direct transfer into UMBC or UMUC as a junior engineering major? That might be his best option over all. He should go have a nice long visit with the transfer advisor at his CC to learn what his options can be if he decides to go the trnafer route.

UMBC is a solid choice. You could do a lot worse for in-state options. Going OOS isn’t all it is cracked up to be. He can move to another state after graduation if he wants to.

I wouldn’t dismiss UMBC. We are in-state and my DD will be applying there with a 3.97 uw, 4.7 w, 1490 SAT (760 Math).

We visited UMBC and I was very impressed with their program and emphasis on undergrad success and excellent internships. My DD will also be applying to UMD, Pitt, UDel and maybe some reaches like Hopkins, UVA, etc but UMBC is definitely on her list. One of her friends who graduated last year and was a top student chose to go to UMBC.

He would qualify for the Amigo scholarship at UNM which provides in state tuition at about 8K per year. Room, board, and books would be about 18K annually total, plus transportation costs. Southwest has direct flights from BWI.

https://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/non-resident.html