<p>I'm having a tough decision still, on which college I should go to. I'm a senior that was accepted to Purdue's chemical engineering, and University of Missouri - Rolla chemical engineering. My family only makes 67k a year, and Purdue for us will cost around 27k a year since I don't get much financial or merit aid. Rolla would cost around 9k-10k. Is it better to do my first year engineering program at Rolla, do extremely well, transfer to Purdue, and hope to get merit aid then? This would significantly reduce my costs and would allow me to attend Purdue at a much lower cost. I was not a good student in highschool but I've done extremely well now. I feel that if I do the same in Rolla and transfer, I will get scholarships to Purdue. Otherwise, is it a better idea to just go all 4 years at Purdue? Help is appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>This hasn't come up before, but I'm not sure that merit aid is readily available for transfer students or how much merit aid Purdue provides. You should contact Purdue's finan aid office about that.</p>
<p>Purdue and UMissouri-Rolla are comparable colleges. Purdue is a great college but it does get something of a bump in the public consciousness because of sports. Purdue is USNWR ranked at #60 while UMissouri-Rolla is #190. I won't argue that Purdue doesn't have the edge but they are both in the same ballpark, and prestige means practically nothing in engineering except for MIT and Caltech.</p>
<p>I understand. The reason I liked Purdue was because of the number of students, prestige, higher ranking program, campus size, and facilities in general. Rolla is good basically for the low tuition, and easier program (in my opinion). I just don't know if it's worth paying that much extra to go into the same program.</p>
<p>I just noticed that you stated your family's income. Did you apply for finan aid?</p>
<p>Yes, surprisingly we filled out the FAFSA and we weren't eligible for more than $5000 a year (I think). It is surprising because our salary doesn't seem taht high, I'm a first generation college student, and a minority(Indian american). I didn't recieve merit because I didn't deserve it, but the financial prospects terrrified me. I had no idea I would recieve so little.</p>
<p>The FAFSA doesn't say how much aid you are eligible for, but rather the amount that a college will expect you to pay. Saying that you were only eligible for $5000 on the SAR (from the FAFSA) doesn't make sense. </p>
<p>Have you gotten finan aid packages from Purdue or UMissouri yet? Let me know and I'll give details.</p>
<p>A co-worker of mine went to Purdue (in-state for him) and he thinks it's way overrated.</p>
<p>My D (Missouri resident) also got in at both schools, with merit money at both. I would have been happy to pay the large difference if she chose Purdue (assuming she could articulate why it was a better fit) but she happily chose Rolla. She wants to work on their design teams, such as the solar car.</p>
<p>FWIW, according to collegeboard, Rolla's middle 50 ACT (25-30) is two points higher than Purdue (23-28). And both admit 79% of applicants.</p>