@Collegefrazzled Please take a look at the full ride, full tuition list someone posted upthread. None of your son’s current options sound affordable. He can only take out $5,500 in federal loans the first year. $6,500 sophomore year, and $7,500 junior and senior years. You said earlier you can only contribute $10-15k over 4 years. That’s an awful lot left to borrow to afford any of the options you are considering.
@itsgettingreal17 I just checked the NPC on both Shippensburg and Pitt. It’s so sad but I have to say that there is no way we can afford Pitt. The Net price is actually higher than what I calculated. It just breaks my heart. I can only hope that Shippensburg offers him more scholarships and that he is successful when he graduates there. I only wish I would have saved up money for college when he was younger. My oldest graduated with a 15K loan.
I know the OP isn’t interested in Ohio colleges but U of Toledo has a cost of about $28,000 for OOS. With the SAT, he might get a $14,000 scholarship to being the costs lower than any other option so far, but I’d have to check with the gpa. Computer Engineering is ABET accredited and the campus seems very pretty.
As far as Etown goes, if there is a history of leadership or overcoming adversity, I would show that and put in an app by February 1.
I second looking into U of Toledo (and they also have strong co-op opportunities!) plus consider the Pitt branch campus for 2 years then transfer to main campus option (factoring in possibility of co-op at Pitt to make it affordable). I think taking a few days to consider other options would be an excellent idea. You already know you have an affordable option in York and possibly Ship so consider other choices. You may want to insist on a Penn State branch campus application “just in case” so you don’t close the door on that option. We are all rooting for you!!!
Unfortunately my son did not participate in extracurricular activities. We have so much going against us. I don’t think their branch campuses are that much cheaper. I will tell him to consider other colleges. He’s stubborn though. Thank you so much for everyone’s support and help! I think he will end up going to Shippensburg.
You are doing everything right. Your son is lucky that you are working through all of the finances with him and supporting him through college!! Also, it seems like he has options he likes with his choice of major. Don’t be so hard on yourself 
even though we all understand how stressful the college app process can be.
@blossom I agree about reconsidering York – my D has a friend who is also going for nursing and she decided she ‘didn’t like how spread out the campus was’ – first it kind of wasn’t - campus isn’t all that big at all and if we walked it (rather than using the shuttle as the tour had us do) it seemed much closer together.
I have had to counsel my kids a bit over the years on what is important vs what is really just well NOT.
@Collegefrazzled I have 5 kids - the last one is going to nursing at York. The dorms at York were normal, not smaller than anywhere else I have seen (through 4 others, and tours with the 5th as well), and AC in York not necessary and SOME are AC (for upperclassmen) – that squarely falls into ‘not a good enough reason for mom’ - at least at my house! We will be spending about $60,000 for the 4 years at York for D and she will take her GSLs – the price, the program all more important than AC or a bigger dorm. And like I said it seems your son has better stats - I would be very tough love about this if it were my kid.
Agree with @toomanyteens - A/C is in the area of “I don’t like the student union” protests.
Here are some websites that compare important factors (you can add other schools to the comparison engine):
http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/3803-3846/Shippensburg-University-of-Pennsylvania-vs-York-College-Pennsylvania
This site is great:
http://www.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/search1ba.aspx?institutionid=215293,217059,216010
This site uses CDS info:
https://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=53
I’m not very familiar with Parchment; I think it’s like Naviance and requires an account and possibly payment, so not sure how much more you can get from this site, but anyway, here it is: http://www.parchment.com/c/college/tools/college-cross-admit-comparison.php?compare=Shippensburg+University+of+Pennsylvania&with=York+College+Pennsylvania
@Collegefrazzled If you think Pitt is the right school then I think you should appeal directly to admissions. Ask to talk to someone who can walk you through the financial aid. Definitely try to negotiate. You just need to know what you think you can afford and see if there is a way to get there.
You are doing the right things…keep fighting…you’ll figure this out. Your son is lucky to have you on his side!
re AC, yeah, my kid 1 went to school in Connecticut and NO rooms had AC. A few days in September are warm, that’s it. Get a fan. My kid 2 went to school in eastern Pennsylvania and only the newest dorm has AC. There is really nothing unusual about not having AC.
For some reason, York is not publishing their generous merit aid like they did in previous years. The website used to very clear about merit, and what stats were required but it is no longer there. It could be that they are scaling back. Curious, why is Ship standing out vs other PASSHE schools?
@Portercat I agree about York not publishing it – my D applied thinking we wouldn’t get enough aid but when the offer came it was as affordable at ESU (a PASSHE school) - with a much better program (nursing). We were very surprised and pleased.
Do make him understand that going to Shippensburg just because he was too stubborn to apply elsewhere is likely to be something he regrets a few years from now.
(It’s not a matter of “prestige” but rather an indictment on the State of Pennsylvania, which has cut its funding to PASSHE schools so much that they went from 70% funded by the State, 20% funded by students, to 70%+ funded by students and 20% by the State although they’re supposed to be public schools… and while their resources and offerings went down, their price tripled. People who went to PASSHE schools in the 80s were very happy with that choice. They were well funded and offered good programs for B students in the State. The proliferation of branch campuses and funding cuts have led to the current situation.)
Will he be okay at Ship? Probably. Will he have the resources and opportunities he’d have at Pitt (or even Pitt Johnstown)? No.
Discarding York because of no A/C, not applying to Elizabethtown because he can’t visit, not applying to Pitt-Johnstown because he got into Pitt Main … those aren’t serious enough reasons for a kid whose parents are desperately looking for college funding.
^ Agree. Particularly as the parent will be carrying the majority of loans necessary to fund it. My kid would have to consider all affordable options and I would not be going into unreasonable debt.
Yes yes and yes – we told one of ours that was being pretty unreasonable that she could get on the train with us and cooperate or go to community college and we meant it.
Private colleges like Elizabethtown may give him a lot of aid and that is a wonderful school. I’d definitely throw an application there. What about Arcadia - it offers a general engineering and computer programming. If it could save you a lot of $$$ it might make sense to start there and then transfer
Thanks @toomanyteens. There is a very clear difference in the merit options from York between 2017 and 2018. Even as recently as last spring, they published very clear scholarships. Now they don’t. There are only a few.
@MYOS1634 Even though funding has gone down and the price tripled, in most cases the PASSHE schools are still significantly less expensive than state related or private. Enrollment is up at a few of them this year.
True, by far! The state-related universities are very expensive and have almost tripled in cost too. There’s just no “value” cost among “public” universities in Pennsylvania. 
OP: what about Temple? His test scores are above the top 25% and his achievements give him a good shot at Honors College, which is excellent and offers significant merit aid (even if its scholarships have decreased).