It is really okay to stay in state for college. The social awareness of where people apply and get accepted is a very short window. The four years (or more) you are in college are long. No one at college cares where you applied, what your test scores/GPA was, etc. It’s a whole new world for you.
Imagine this…you get accepted into Yale…and have to agonize over attending a school far from home or argue with people about why you turned down an Ivy.
Adjusting to college can be a difficult time for any college freshman. You want to be as comfortable as possible, and part of that is geographic distance from home. I would apply to Rice and any other schools that you can actually see yourself attending. Then, you have time to make overnight visits and check them out more thoroughly.
So glad to hear you are set to apply through the Common App. That makes your situation much less stressful.
Rice sounds like a good fit. Warm weather makes me think of Duke, Vanderbilt, Davidson and Pomona. GL. You sound like you have a lot of what good colleges want.
Do not expect to be visiting family frequently when you are a student. Particularly as a first year student. You will be on your own and expected to function like a (semi) independent adult.
You also need to establish some solid criteria for any decision to apply to additional schools since you’ve been admitted to Texas-Austin and TAMU, two universities that are excellent for engineering and will be a bargain for you because you are a citizen of Texas. That being said, if you are curious about smaller, more intimate engineering schools that offer a different experience than the Texas public universities, then investigate others, but keep in mind that they could be unaffordable, depending on your finances.
Rice University
Rose Hulman Institute
U of Dayton
Illinois Institute of Technology
Washington University in St. Louis
Saint Louis University
U of Portland
Northwestern University
U of Pennsylvania
You say that weather is important to you, and that’s a valid criterion. But be aware that there are more well-regarded engineering schools in the northern states than in the Sun Belt. A couple of smaller but very solid public colleges located in places where the weather is not extreme are South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and the University of Utah. A poster here on CC named Eyemeh knows quite a bit about U of Utah, so you may want to contact him by private message. He says the financial aid packages at Utah can be fabulous. As for SDSM&T, tuition is quite reasonable and may be equivalent or near the sticker prices in Texas. By the way, there are several Texans at SDSM&T.
Forgot to add Texas Christian University, especially for Mechanical Engineering. There’s George Washington University, too. Also, you would be an automatic admit to SDSM&T (and Utah, I believe) based on your GPA/scores. Additionally, someone stated that U of Utah grants state residency to out-of-state students after the Freshman year.
Thank you all so SOOOOO much!!! I didn’t expect so much help, and now I feel so much better and relaxed about what I’m going to do. Thank you x 100000000!!
I would definitely look at Davidson’s 3-2 engineering program with Columbia; you would do three years at Davdison (a top tier, awesome liberal arts college), and then 2 years at Columbia doing engineering.
Since you mention your parents’ divorce, do you know if both of them will be cooperative with financial aid forms and contributing? Many private schools with good financial aid require CSS Profile with both parents’ information.
Trinity University is in San Antonio, great weather, in-state, Engineering, NOT cutthroat at all, and you would receive wonderful merit and financial aid, possibly full tuition scholarship. Brand new Integrated Science building just opened last spring, so wonderful facilities for your studies.
Smaller than Rice, second “ranked” school to Rice in Texas.
If you want DI athletics, then Rice is an excellent, excellent choice.
Since you are mostly trying to live up to expectations - sometimes getting a big scholarship can garner just as much awe and respect as a big name school. So, you could try for a big scholarship in Texas.