Do the Pitt branch numbers include room and board? If not, it is apples and oranges.
@Portercat Yes, it includes room and board.
The Pitt branches have tuition several thousand less than Pitt main. Also they offer scholarships for lower stats.
@MYOS1634 The state grant for Youngstown would not be the full state grant you could get if you attend a PA school, it is reduced to a max of about $500 I think. But Youngstown State has a very easy to use net price calculator and they did show a match of $500 for us, for an extra grant of $1,000.
- I meant to say in my other post, that if OP's son would consider computer science, then he might have more options.
I am not against PASSHE schools. My S is looking at music education and several PASSHE schools have a good program for that.
The computer engineering program at Ship is fairly new. I think it started in 2014. So maybe reach out to the department there and see how this first cohort has fared so far as far as retention rate, progress towards graduation, GPA, co-op or internship opportunities, etc.
His stats are high for PASSHE so he might get merit at Ship.
If he adds computer science major, then he could add West Chester, IUP and Bloomsburg to the PASSHE options. They all have honors colleges too and might offer some merit.
But he would have to apply soon.
Knowing your FAFSA EFC would be helpful to determine additional federal or state aid. But the net price calculators usually give an estimate of those, although some schools lump all scholarships and grants together.
I would run NPCs on all the schools mentioned here and then you can report back if you want with the findings.
http://www.ship.edu/Scholarships/
Info about Ship scholarships. Looks like your son should get at least $2,000 a year.
They mention departmental scholarships too so you can inquire about engineering scholarships.
Elizabethtown aid looks like it maxes out at about $29k for scholarships (not counting the full-tuition Stamps Scholarship, which is likely hugely competitive).
I don’t think merit and need-based aid would stack there beyond EFC. COA is a shade under $60k, so I’m thinking it’s not a good financial fit for a family like us, with a higher EFC and no way of paying it.
@MYOS1634 OP is only able to contribute $10-$15k over all 4 years (so $3,750 per year max) . There is a huge gap, and parent plus loans are practically unavoidable, but need to be minimized. Toledo or any school that can get down to under $15k per year seems like a no brainer to me.
Wait, I thought OP said 90K max, 60K preferable, with 10-15K/year budgeted?
If it’s 10-15K for all 4 years then it makes finding scholarships even more important
I might just call Etown to see if merit scholarships are stackable and if there’s a maximum because my D got the maximum merit scholarship with admission and we’ve been debating about having her audition for a music scholarship. If she’s reached the max, I’d tell her not to worry about the audition.
Another option for the OP to consider…UA Huntsville has ABET accredited computer engineering. With a 1390 SAT, her would get free tuition. Room and board are very reasonable. UAH has a very late deadline when it comes to submitting scores for scholarship increases, like late spring or summer. Huntsville is rich with internship opportunities. Students get their own bedrooms in the dorms.
@MACmiracle - the reason I even mentioned it is because of the wording under E’town’s Trustee award:
Trustee Grant
These grants are available to students who demonstrate financial need. A student must apply annually to be considered for this grant. This money is an outright grant to the student and does not have to be repaid. This aid is listed as a credit on the College bill. The receipt of additional merit awards may impact this amount.
There is no such wording under the music scholarship listing, which is not need-based so I’m figuring that could indeed stack.
Geneva College has some ABET accredited engineering as well. I think they have EE.
@mommdc My son did get the scholarship. He will receive $2,000 a year at Ship totaling $8,000
My daughter’s plan for ChemE at Pitt has always been 5 years to include 3 semesters of co-op to help pay. At Pitt’s open house, they said their students average $5000/mo in coops. Figure 3mo/semester…
Compare that to the 14K he’d automatically receive at UToledo… or the scholarships he’d stack at YSU… or the automatic 7.5k at Pitt Bradford - when COA is similar…
Did he apply to Honors? May he get extra money there?
(He should definitely apply to Honors because a kid who achieves at the 650+ level on the SATs doesn’t need the same type of instruction as a kid who scores in the 400s.)
@Debgal34 When I contacted Pitt’s Co-op department they told the average was $3,000 month. Co-ops would help a great deal I am sure. However, I also thought that with the extra semesters there will also be extra housing costs. They had 2 schedules on their website and only one co-op can be taken in the summer. Two of the summers the student is required to take classes.
@MYOS1634 I really don’t want him to go out of state or too far from home. Pitt is about 4 1/2 hours from us and that’s long enough. I will contact University of Pitt to find out about the branch campuses. He did not apply to Honors. I thought the students would automatically get an invitation to Honors if they qualified
@mommdc I will look onto Geneva. Honestly it’s so stressful now because of the timing. We don’t have much time left to visit the campuses or research them. Also, some may require his teachers and/or guidance counselors to write a recommendation letter.
@MACmiracle Thank you but I really don’t want him to attend a college out of state especially one like Alabama that is almost 15 hours away from us.
He more than qualifies (1100 SAT would be top 15% so he’s much above that, as I said he’s likely top 1-2% there and will have few peers, although they’re likely to be in CSE/honors) - but he must apply.
http://www.ship.edu/Honors/Prospective/Application/
You don’t contact Pitt Main to know about Bradford or Johnstown, just like you don’t contact Ship to know about West Chester. Branches are their own universities, you have to contact them directly. Also, as far as I know, application is on their website directly and it’s free.
Why don’t want him out of state? I understand that you’d want him to stick around but, as a young man… he’s going to build his own life and if you taught him well, he’ll come back.
Youngstown is so close to Pittsburgh that Pittsburgh area residents get a special rate… 4 1/2 v. 5h… it’s all a half day’s drive. And that saves you lots of money (right now, Ship is 21-22K v. YSU about 14K. That’s not chump change.)
Pitt Bradford has a 2+2 program. It means all students who pass their Engineering classes at Bradford are automatically admitted to Swanson school of Engineering at Pitt-Main for junior and senior year, and get a Pitt degree. And he automatically gets a 7.5K scholarship.
http://www.upb.pitt.edu/engineering/
Johnstown is more residential.
http://www.upj.pitt.edu/en/academics/academic-divisions/engineering/
@mommdc - Our EFC is 014564 but honestly I don’t know what this means, do you? I checked the other colleges. Messiah would be $30,830 net price, Elizabethtown is $26.760. He was already accepted at York college and cost would be about 19K. I know this might be a no brainer and he should just go to York but we did visit the college and he said he does not want to go there. As a parent, should I force him to go to a college he does not want to go to? I have talked to parents that have done this and the students ended up doing poorly. My plan is to contact University of PItt to ask about their branch campuses and to contact Ship to find out more about their Internship programs. From what I was told they have applied for accreditation for electrical engineering and I believe they are applying for mechanical as well.
Ideally, I would love my son to attend Pitt and really wish I could figure out a way how to accomplish this. Thank you
http://www.geneva.edu/student-financial-services/financial-aid/calculator/netprice-calculator
Geneva sends us emails and they said you can even apply over the phone for free.
Try the net price calculator, it might come in lower than York and Ship, or it might not.
Visits can wait until spring if necessary, after financial aid numbers are all in.
But the merit offers are not going to be around forever.
A 14,000 FAFSA EFC means no Pell grant and most likely no PHEAA grant either, or a very small one (maybe $500).
I think if he doesn’t want to go far, his best options are Ship, York, community college to Pitt or Pitt branch to Pitt.
You don’t need to visit to fill out an application.
We get that you’d love for your son to attend Pitt. But right now it seems like that’s only possible by your son taking out the maximum in loans, AND you guys taking out a boat load of loans as well.
So the sooner you get out of the “the financial aid fairy is going to visit our house” mode of thinking, the better options your son is going to have come April.