<p>Since the OP will be settling in the Hamptons I don’t think he’ll be getting much FA from MIT.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I suspect the trip to the Hamptons has to do with his high-income dad (Non Custodial parent).</p>
<p>The OP has a problem that he has a high-income dad (NCP) that won’t pay the $50k+ per year for a pricey private. </p>
<p>That pretty much eliminates the top schools that will look at the NCP’s income and not give aid. His dad may not understand that those schools don’t give merit since most of their students have stats similar to Pioneer’s stats.</p>
<p>Pioneer needs to find out from his dad how much he will actually pay and then find schools that fit that amount or find schools that will/might give him big merit so that combined with his dad’s money, his costs will get covered.</p>
<p>He should apply to USC (calif), Vandy, Emory because they do give big merit to some desirable students (especially URMs). However, he also needs to apply to some schools that will give him assured big merit for his stats as financial safeties - since he wants to get out of Texas. GT is also a possibility.</p>
<p>Even though Pioneer is a URM, that doesn’t mean that they will ignore the NCP income and still give money. I know of an AA student with super stats who has a huge gap at MIT because his high income NCP won’t pay.</p>
<p>When did OP mention cost/aid?</p>
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<p>Over on the financial aid and scholarships section of this forum. The OP wondered if he would qualify for aid…divorced parents…lives with mom who earns a low income but has wealthy dad who won’t pay for a $50K a year school. ALL of the schools currently on the OP’s list (MIT, Cornell, Princeton) with the exception of UT require the non-custodial parent information to disperse need based aid. If the NCP really has the ability to pay, this student will not get aid at those schools which give need based aid only.</p>
<p>BUT I did suggest that this OP look at other schools…there are some terrific smaller more secluded schools…where the OP might get some decent MERIT aid to help with the costs…Lafayette, Lehigh, Villanova.</p>
<p>P.S. I loved the comment about “3 hour drive with no traffic”…I’d LOVE to know where there is NO TRAFFIC from the Hamptons to Princeton.</p>
<p>There seem to be two types of engineering schools out there.
- Filter Schools such as UT Austin or University of Michigan Ann Arbor these schools provide the material you need to become a good engineer but may not provide the support to help you get through the tough times. (Hence the high dropout rates).</p>
<p>2) Support Schools such as MIT the Olin School and Rose Hulman that provide you with both the material you need to become a good engineer and the support you need to get through the program.</p>
<p>If the first type of school is your thing then go for UT if you like (Though funding cuts will be hurting them the next few years). If you like the second type of school perhaps do a bit more research into both the big name schools and also look up the US News rankings for Engineering Schools who’s top degree is a bachelors or a masters find out who on those lists fits your needs and shoot for that school.
Best of luck</p>
<p>*When did OP mention cost/aid? *</p>
<p>On another thread, the OP mentioned having an NCP dad with a very high income who won’t pay $50k per year for college.</p>
<p>Therefore, that pretty much eliminates all the top schools that will ask for NCP info, because those schools will expect the dad to pay big bucks. </p>
<p>So, the student needs to concentrate on the few top schools that might give him merit…like Vandy, USC, etc. But, since none of those schools guarantee to give merit, and their scholarships are competitive and given in limited numbers, the student also needs to apply to some schools that will give assured merit…for financial safety schools.</p>
<p>I never read the other thread. This changes things just a bit.</p>
<p>I would think that in order to get substantial aid from MIT, Cornell, or Princeton, the student must be exceptional in some way. OP may have the goods to get into these schools, but are they going to discount for him?</p>
<p>OP may want to consider some other top engineering schools “just below” these (for lack of a better term). Perhaps Georgia Tech, Lehigh, Perdue, RPI, RIT, Carnegie Mellon, etc. All prestigious engineering schools that may offer a lower net cost than MIT and co, especially if it allows them to get an MIT-worthy student. Being from Texas could also work in your favor at some of these schools if they need that diversity.</p>
<p>Even Cooper Union is worth a try. Extremely competitive to get in, but can’t beat the price (free), though NYC housing kinda eats up the savings. Visits to Cooper, Lehigh, and RPI are doable from the Hamptons.</p>
<p>*
I would think that in order to get substantial aid from MIT, Cornell, or Princeton, the student must be exceptional in some way. OP may have the goods to get into these schools, but are they going to discount for him?*</p>
<p>No. I know a URM male who was the Val of a top school, super stats, admitted to elite schools (MIT, Columbia, etc) and they didn’t give him a break on family contribution expectation - even though he had an NCP that wouldn’t pay.</p>
<p>I do agree that kids in the OPs situation need to look at schools below MIT in order to get some merit to make them affordable.</p>
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<p>None of these schools gives merit aid. The only way to get financial aid at these school is to have financial need. If your parents hve the means to pay…but won’t…you won’t be able to go there unless you can figure out some other way to pay the cost of attendance.</p>
<p>I second Rose-Hulman and Rice. Both are great schools that do give some merit aid.</p>
<p>I apprectiate all of the sincere advice. It seems the general consensus is that I ought to set my sights a little lower financially until I can determine whether or not my father would be willing to pay for an Ivy League education, which I’ll be sure to do. </p>
<p>Rice is out of the question: great school, but only 30 minutes from home. And I don’t particularly care for Houston.</p>
<p>UT Austin is incredible. It’s the only school I’ve visited so far, and I loved it. I know Cockrell is harder to get into than the university itself, but I think my stats are good enough to warrant an admission. If anything, I’m visiting MIT, Duke, Cornell, and Princeton to get a general feel for the “elite” universities. From there I’ll be able to judge whether I truly ought to throw myself into their application pools.</p>
<p>Definitely look at Lehigh when you go out to see Princeton</p>