With your Harvard net price coming in at half the cost of Pitt etc, I would run the NPCs at several top private universities to see what looks more affordable than your public options and add some of those privates to your list. (For those colleges using the College Board NPC, you should be able to save your info, and then run the NPCs at many of the top 50 privates.)
While it is lovely that you are getting pointed at lottery schools, you should be picking a couple of auto merit schools as safeties. Location is a luxury so just have them in your back pocket.
Unfortunately, merit is not going to make NEU any more affordable than what you’re seeing currently. Any merit award you get is going to be absorbed into your need-based aid package, and your out-of-pocket will remain at the EFC that they’ve calculated. (Unless you get more than 40K/year in merit, but I don’t think awards of that size exist there.)
It definitely doesn’t hurt to try with some super-reaches where the aid is generous.
And definitely run lots of NPC’s in search of schools with acceptance rates above the single digits, but still in the elite/competitive/generous range. Definitely look at Tufts, which might hit the sweet spot between Harvard and Northeastern in terms of generosity vs. competitiveness. Excellent engineering and CS. And closer to home, definitely see what Lafayette & Lehigh would give you. The URM/1st-gen bump will help a lot there.
On the merit side of things… the 5-year co-op based CS program at Cincinnati is excellent, and with the merit you’d qualify for it might end up being cheaper than your in-state schools. NJIT has some good OOS merit, I believe. SUNY Buffalo is a top-notch STEM school and has some generous merit opportunities as well. In terms of the southern auto-merit schools; if you don’t like the large-southern-flagship vibe, perhaps consider UA Huntsville, which is a smaller and more STEM-oriented school in a tech-heavy city near the TN border - you’d get full tuition merit with your stats https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/freshmen/freshmen-non-al-merit-tuition-scholarships
At this point you have some good options but at a price point that would be difficult for your family. Hopefully you can find some options that will improve on that financial baseline and also satisfy your other criteria.
No, you missed Early Action deadline for scholarships and aid. OOS cost of attendance is more like $55k.
Adding to what @coolguy40 mentioned, as a National Hispanic Scholar (which I assume means NHRP scholar) you could go to Arizona State University Honors college tuition free (price should be under 20K per year including room, board and all fees). It’s not the northeast but why limit yourself to the northeast?
I would just prefer to live within driving distance from my family, which I understand may not coincide with where the money is. They are fixated on schools in the Northeast that they do not realize are as competitive as they are. I also think if it came down to it, studying in a state like Arizona would make them less inclined to help with the bill.
University of Kentucky (Lexington has daily non stop flights to Philly), but would be close enough to drive for move in. You’d be eligible for full oos tuition and a $10,000 for on campus housing the first year. See Patterson in scholarship grid for Non-Residents (must apply by Dec 1)
https://www.uky.edu/financialaid/scholarship-incoming-freshmen
OP already got in to PSU, why would he consider UK as PSU has a much stronger CS program.
He is “looking for schools that would hopefully be cheaper in comparison to those”
Notre Dame and Princeton would also be cheaper than Penn State, but not exactly a safety since they are reaches for admission.
Is Penn State a safety - he’s in, but can he afford it?
Does this mean that they are willing to pay $30k per year? Or would that be financially uncomfortable enough that you and they really want a significantly lower parental contribution? If so, how much lower would make the finances reasonably comfortable?
Probably anything below $30K for safeties/low matches, $30K-$35K+ for high matches/reaches. If it gets to that point, my net price for Pitt is around $31K and they wouldn’t have a problem if I can make the case that it’s the right choice.
We live pretty frugally so my parents wouldn’t be entirely uncomfortable but I’m trying to also be considerate for them as well as for my younger brother.
Is your net price at Penn State within the limit?
It appears to be slightly higher than Pitt, which would be fine in the case of a lack of higher-ranked options. I think they would rather spend a little more to keep me closer to home than save money by sending me across the country where they wouldn’t be able to see where their money is being spent (unless, of course, the opportunities there justify it).
Why would someone go to Harvard for CS over these other schools. Brown Cornell and Columbia are much stronger imho. UMD is not “ok” as suggested. It’s fantastic. Also look into GT and Perdue. Hamilton has a good CS program. Carnegie Mellon might be perfect. And if you are going to spend more than 30k it’s much better than ivies. I would give John Hopkins a look as well.
Once you have been accepted to a few, then compare. Lose Harvard.
This alternative to NPCs is convenient, and might help you explore a greater variety of schools from a financial aspect: https://myintuition.org/.
Regarding Harvard, it resides in proximity to schools with notable CS programs, such as MIT, Northeastern and UMass. In this academic area, Harvard recedes a bit in comparison.
Back in 2016 when our S was investigating CS programs, he took a look at Harvard. At that time it did not have what he was looking for, but they were investing big $$ in facilities and faculty. So, I’d recommend giving them a look at least for due diligence.
Should I keep a reach-heavy list of schools or should I balance it out more? I’ve already applied to 2 safeties (Penn State and Pitt) and 1 target (Northeastern); when I filed the FAFSA, I included those 3 and 7 other reach schools that I may end up applying to RD.
Head of a solid CS program at Hamilton is a graduate of Massachusetts/Amherst.
Many many profs are from overseas as well. Many different countries.
What areas are specifically within the “close to home” limit?
As far as safeties go, remember that not only must they be automatic for admission (or already admitted you, and including to the division or major if applicable), but also automatic for sufficient financial aid or scholarships to make them affordable (or be affordable at list price). Are there any such schools within your “close to home” limit (besides perhaps Penn State)?