He made a khan account yesterday, thanks for the suggestion earlier. Between that and his princeton review book, I think he will be in good shape. I think the biggest thing that messed him up with the ACT is he didnt practice timing, so he is sure to do that now.
He is ok with a less diverse school, as long as the faculty and student body are diverse friendly. There are going to be people everywhere that arent going to like him because of his ethnicity or race, but as long as the school doesnt have an environment that fosters that mentality, he is fine with it.
I actually just stumbled into the questbridge website earlier today so was going to talk to him about it when he gets home from school. Everything I looked at points to him qualifying.
Since your son is interested in computer or electrical engineering, you might look at UT Dallas. I believe your son would qualify for a merit scholarship but don’t know if the COA would be too high. UT Dallas is more of a studious, serious campus and is diverse. The housing is nice.
Look at Rice, especially if he gets his math score up. Run the NPC. I think you will find it affordable (I just wish it weren’t so competetive to get in…).
It can be very eye-opening to run the NPCs. Definitely look at Questbridge.
If he is similar to my kids, you are spot on. He may revise the list a number of times. All good.
Given the stats on your initial post, if he desires, he can have a pretty high Safety relative to a student in the middle of a high school class, so you don’t need to have many ‘Safeties’. He can only matriculate in one college and he is building a nice resume.
Good luck, MamaBear. A lifetime ago, after a summer studying at MIT, I applied to MIT and NCSU and Brown and others. I like the mix of schools on his first list. I ended up going to NCSU because it was the most cost effective. I think your son would do well at NCSU.
I suggest he adds another safety school or two. Not that he won’t get into A&T, but he should have options. For the last few years, NC has offered “free application” for NC students applying to public NC universities – I think that free application period is in October. You should take advantage of that and apply to every NC school he has the slightest interest in. You never know which one will provide the most aid/scholarships until he’s been accepted.
Congratulate your son for me on his hard work and dedication.
@EconPop i feel like I had heard about the free application period, but completely forgot, thanks for reminding me! And he also said thank you. @collegemom3717 I will be sure to make sure he looks at that more closely, thanks.
Well, my son thinks NC State is too large after looking at some of the virtual tour and researching the amount of students attending. He will be going on a tour with his dad in Aug there just in case it may change his mind. I had a feeling it might be since even though his school is on a community college campus(~7,000 students) his high school is extremely small. (Less than 250 total) I know when we visited App State in the spring he liked it and would have put it on his list if they had an engineering program. He also would like a school that has an assortment of art classes to take.
Is that even possible, Or just wishful thinking?
His favorite thing is tinkering with computers, but he enjoys drawing. Currently his school clubs give him an outlet for his art (Art Club and Drama Club -Stage Crew)
Anyone know schools like that that are no more than 8hrs away from central NC?
Oh and sorry if this should be a new thread! I was going to post a different thread but with the new layout, I am confused on how to do that from my android phone.
I saw on another thread that your son liked NCSU more after the tour, I am glad you looked. I would also look at UNC-C and ECU before writing them off. Mt daughter just finished at ECU and had many friends in engineering and they loved the program and all landed very well after graduation. And quest bridge is a great program with his stats he could land a great school anywhere. Best of luck!
Thinking about mid-sized schools, since he thought NC State was too big for him. If he gets his math score higher when he takes the SAT, you might look at Rice, Brown, and Northwestern (whether as Questbridge or regular options). All give good need-based aid, are diverse, and I know Brown and Northwestern have excellent art options (Brown students can take art classes at the terrific Rhode Island School of Design as well as at Brown); Northwestern students in McCormick Engineering can take art classes in Weinberg liberal arts). I think many schools will have studio art classes, and options to work on scenery for student theater.
I wonder if Case Western would be a good option for a match school for him? Very STEM focused, pretty diverse, and he might get merit aid (run the NPC to see how much need-based aid he’d get).
@itbgirl We actually plan on visiting UNC charlotte, he hasnt written it off yet He is waiting on the questbridge app to open so he can apply. @genevieve18 Thank you for all these suggestions!
We changed the date of the NC State tour when we found an earlier opening in july. After the NC State tour, my son actually had a change of heart, he likes it. The only reason Rice has not been on his radar is because it is sooo far. (We are in central NC)
There is a Rice fly in program called SOAR. It targets low income students, first generation students, and minorities. The application closes August 5. If accepted he would get an expense paid trip to visit. He should consider putting Rice on his QB match list. Rice accepted 55 Questbridge match students last year. https://admission.rice.edu/soar
Did you look at QuestBridge? Though the chances are minuscule that he will get the Match with that great scholarship, going through that venue jacks up hid chances of getting accepted to other schools on his list and I believe the app fees are mitigated.
What can you afford to pay vs what the NPCs are showing at the private schools where home equity is counted? If he qualifies for free lunch, get into the program because it is possible that make a difference in waiver of fees, enhancing chances for certain scholarships.
Yes, as @aquapt brought up, there will be trade offs in terms of Highly selective schools, good aid, which often go hand in hand versus truly being URM.
I hesitate in writing this because it’s always so wonderful, when there are exceptions to what I’m going to say. Many many kids, especially minority, a lot of them having taken CC or highschool versions of Calculus bomb out of Engineering, Computer Science, other STEM subjects. Especially at these highly rated engineering programs because the pace is very fast in those courses and the bulk of the students are facile with the subject already. Most of the time, there is no comparison between a 5 test score AP Calculus BC kid retaking the college’s STEM calc courses and the one who took a general Calculus 1, 2 course at their local school whether it be college or highschool The latter gets slaughtered. I know many exceptions to this-I’m married to one, have very close friends who are and know some kids who grit their teeth and endured but it’s usualky painful and ugly. Most give it up. I can’t say not to give it a go, if accepted to a school with a well known engineering program, but be aware it is likely to be a very tough go. For optimal chances in succeeding in Engineering, Pre med programs, getting the grades and well understanding the material, smaller schools with nurturing, not hate keeping philosophies are probably a better choice giving better chances of success in the ultimate goal.
Good point from @cptofthehouse. When you visit schools, ask about the 1st year retention rate for engineers (ie, how many switch majors after the first year), which usually correlates with the graduation rate (and yes, 5 years is nearly typical for engineers anymore, though usually because of work placements or class availability).
And when he goes, don’t ‘place out’ of the first level Calculus group. Collegekid had the choice, and chose to take the first level Calc course & says it was one of the best decisions she made. Even with AP Calc the class wasn’t easy- and it is so fundamental to the rest of the course that having a strong base was worth it. And, not struggling right from the start helped her confidence during that first term adjustment to college.
@houston1021 i spoke with my son about the Rice fly-in, however it requires a referral, almost impossible this late and geographically, it is about 17 hours away. He doesnt want to be too far from home. If it hadnt required a referral, he was open to the fly in though. @cptofthehouse Based on NPC, Private schools are much, much more affordable than most of our in state public schools, however they are harder to get in. He is going to try for the questbridge match, the application is now open and he is working on it. He does get free lunch and we have been using waivers for the standardized exams. I’ll be sure to pass along the Calculus info you and @collegemom3717 have brought up. ?
College Greenlight (do an internet search) has a list of fly-in and diversity programs and it allows you to filter by geographic region. Davidson College is one school with such a program, and they offer generous need-based aid. Their engineering program is a +2 partnership program, but they do have Computer Science, in case it’s of interest.
I’ve always liked NC State. My son did too after visiting but he’s not applying. We’re OOS. What about Pitt or Temple? Lehigh, Lafayette, and Bucknell are smaller, good schools within 8 hours of NC.
@chmcnm We have not visited, but my son really, really likes Lafayette, and loved the virtual tour. Based on NPC, its half the cost of Nc State, so I like it too ?.
Wake Forest’s engineering program is small and brand new, but if he likes Lafayette and the engineering-within-a-liberal-arts-college scenario, Wake is incrementally more diverse than Lafayette and of course closer to home, and probably has at least as good a financial aid outlook. https://news.wfu.edu/2018/08/21/wake-forest-engineering-gains-momentum-receives-prestigious-invitation-to-join-keen/ The downside is that they don’t have ABET accreditation yet, because they cannot apply until after the first class of engineering majors graduates in 2021, but the stated plan is to apply at that time and obtain accreditation that will cover the class of 2021 forward.
I also agree that if he likes Lafayette, then Bucknell and Lehigh should also be on radar. Also CWRU, which is strong in fine arts as well. And if MIT is on his radar, consider nearby Tufts, which has a more LAC-like vibe but also excellent engineering as well as fine arts. In addition to Tufts’ own longstanding arts programs, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts became part of Tufts in 2016.
P.S. If there’s a private U he really loves, where the NPC predicts a good financial aid package, Early Decision might be a path to consider, as it could improve his odds of acceptance. For example, the ED acceptance rate at Lafayette is 46% (vs. 29% overall), and they fill 49% of their class with ED applicants. Wake Forest’s ED rate is 44% (vs 25% overall), filling 60% of the class. Both schools have both EDI and EDII application cycles.
Between that and his princeton review book, I think he will be in good shape. I think the biggest thing that messed him up with the ACT is he didnt practice timing, so he is sure to do that now.