<p>I'll go right into the topic
I am going to be a senior in september,
male, asian, live in NY</p>
<p>87 GPA for junior year, around top 40% of my class
1900 SAT Math 740 Reading 580 Writing 580
I will take SAT again in October right before the application process starts, i'm confident in getting a 2000 ( Math hopefully around 740 - 800 if i'm careful) Reading and Writing can go up to 650</p>
<p>I have pretty much no AP credit so far( got a 3 on European history and i guess that doesn't count)
I'll be taking AP economics this year and i'm sure i'll get a 4 or above</p>
<p>Family Income very low, around 50k a year.
Have a brother in Navy( he had to enlist because my parents cant afford his college tuition)
And I will need major financial help for out-of-state schools</p>
<p>some volunteer at the church</p>
<p>inconsistent sports participation</p>
<p>But I am in a club 4 years straight</p>
<p>Lets suppose I write a pretty good college essay :) I have a college professor help me with it</p>
<p>I really want to major in engineer, so i'm going to apply for all the good engineer schools
I will apply for following schools.. ranking in the order of interest..</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Michigan</li>
<li>Boston University</li>
<li>Georgia Tech</li>
<li>University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign</li>
<li>New York University</li>
<li>UPenn</li>
<li>UC Berkeley</li>
</ol>
<p>And if you can, please tell me about my eligibility for financial aid..</p>
<p>Thank you for finish reading and any advice would be appreciated! </p>
<p>btw I’m going to take SAT subject Math II and Chem in october, both will be 700+ I hope.
Also taking ACT in Oct, got 32 on math 31 on Eng in practice tests ( dont know about the rest but they’ll be around the range)</p>
<p>Out of state schools will be ridiculously expensive. Your scores are not competitive for merit aid and most of your choices probably won’t offer need based aid. Stick to in state schools.</p>
<p>Because of your stats and the level of your ECs, I would say most of the schools you are interested in are definite reach schools. Writing a really good essay and making your interests more clear would help for sure. If you’re worried about financial aid, I would pursue more in-state schools because right now you have all private schools or out of state public schools, which are likely to charge you more. This is how I would classify your schools:</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Michigan-reach</li>
<li>Boston University-high match</li>
<li>Georgia Tech-reach </li>
<li>University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign-match </li>
<li>New York University-reach</li>
<li>UPenn-very high reach</li>
<li>UC Berkeley-high reach </li>
</ol>
<p>My concern- reading your posts- is not if you get into any of these colleges ( you might get accepted to some) but then how will you pay for it?</p>
<p>The most selective colleges are also generous with need based financial aid, but they also select from the most high achieving students. Colleges in the list you have are not likely to award you the amount of financial aid you need to attend. Included in the cost of attending college is also transportation. </p>
<p>I would advise you to look at options that are affordable to you and your family- and this would include your in state options, as well as community colleges.I know that isn’t a popular choice here on CC, but for a student with financial need, it can be a savings and a good step towards your goals. </p>
<p>Also, many engineering students have taken advanced classes such as AP Calculus, AP physics and also other AP classes. Starting at a CC could be an opportunity to take additional advanced math classes, and your general education classes required by most colleges - English, history, foreign language, at a lower cost than at a four year college. With planning, you could be prepared to transfer into a four year state college. </p>
<p>Although improving standardized tests, and writing a good essay helps, it doesn’t “make up” for other parts of the application. Colleges look at everything. Of course you should do your best in every section. </p>
<p>In general, state colleges provide the best financial options for in state residents, so looking for financial aid at an out of state college is rarely better unless one attains a merit scholarship- and one has to be at the top of the application pool for that. Joining the armed forces, like your brother has, is one way to get funding for college. I think you are capable of getting a college degree, however, to get that degree, you should look at your best financial options.</p>
<p>@pennylane2011 yes I am aware of my state colleges, some of them have pretty decent engineer school as well but schools like michigan and urbana champaign draws my interest more, if theres a lack of financial aid I may receive I’ll probably look at federal students loans. I assume I’ll work much harder in a more prestigious school with higher achieving classmates than in a state college (am I right on this?)</p>
<p>I see you have a couple of midwest schools on your list. I would suggest looking at Miwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) for a safety. It’s an excellent engineering school–small class sizes and hands on learning (rather than book learning), plus they give very good financial aid.</p>
<p>Those schools are all very high reaches with your stats. Even if you somehow got in, none of them will give you merit aid and will be very expensive.</p>
<p>You aren’t being smart with your choices . If you are in a low income family, and your scores aren’t way above average (your scores are great still) you shouldn’t be applying to schools like u mich, nyu, berkley , upenn, bu and basically all the colleges on that list. I think maybe you’re focusing too much on name brand and not on what the smartest thing to do is. The decision is yours but if I were you I would look at. Suny buffalo, Albany, bing, stony brook . Good luck :)!</p>
<p>OP, of course those schools match your interest, but it takes more than that to attend one of them, even if you get accepted. There is a limit on how much you can take through federal loans ( I think it is about 5K, I am not certain). Every spring there are posts on CC " Help I can’t afford my college" and the reality is that not all schools provide enough financial aid to meet a student’s full need. </p>
<p>I think students are less aware of the costs than parents (like me) are. It is possible to have a “gap” between the cost of attendance and a financial aid award, and this can be prohibitive. To some extent- in some situations- paying for college is much the same as paying for anything else. You might really be interested in a top school but if that school costs too much, you will need to find one you can pay for. Exceptions occur- mostly for really top students- getting into a college that meets full need, a substantial merit award, or acceptance into a program for low income students, but these are exceptions and they are not common. Students who have less than spectacular records are not likely to be one. </p>
<p>There are paths to becoming an engineer that you can take, and I know of students who started at their CC and transferred to a 4 year college. The degree they have is the same as someone who was there for four years.</p>
<p>Take U Michigan for example. Out of state tuition is $42 K a year, room and board is $10K- total of $52K and this doesn’t include books and other expenses. Penn State and GA tech’s tuition is about $30K. Now compare this to the cost of a SUNY- Tution: about $8K, Room and board about $12K. Total : $20K a year. You will need to consider how much financial aid you will get and what is left for you to pay at each school. Each college has a net price calculator on the website. </p>
<p>Wherever you apply- you must have some affordable colleges on your list as well. </p>
<p>@toesockshoe BU is more expensive than NYU…
I wont go to NYU because if I end up in NY I’d rather go to a public school
thanks for the insight though</p>
<p>Have you considered the Coast Guard Academy? It’s hard to get in but at least you don’t need a Congressional appointment.
You have to serve 5 years; on the other hand, that means 5 years guaranteed employment.
Their engineering program is excellent.</p>
<p>@pennylane2011 Yeah… the costs are so overwhelming
I am going to be the first person in my entire family including my cousins (some of them didnt get into a college and others are too young) to be able to go to a college. So my mother has a very high expectation for me. She urges me to go to a name brand school. But I think I’ll go to a SUNY so my parents dont have to work their butt off for my tuition </p>
just messed up my junior year there</p>