@mathmomvt, it’s been 2 years now, but S2 received enough merit to lower the cost to under $30 at the following:
University of Minnesota
University of Pittsburgh
Temple University
St. Olaf
Case Western
Illinois Institute of Technology
South Dakota School of Mines also came in very reasonable with guaranteed merit but he decided not to apply.
He applied as either an engineering major or geology/earth science major. He had a 3.8 gpa, SAT score over 2200.
The best deal came from IIT, which had our total out of pocket under 15k. He/we loved IIT, but ultimately decided on University of Rochester, as he wasn’t quite sure about engineering and wanted a school that offered a wide variety.He also loved the music and arts available at UR. (cost was low on UR, but mostly due to need-based aid + merit).
He started in engineering the first year, but is now a geology major 