Which schools should I be looking at for chemical engineering and mathematics?

College Search & Selection
1

I’m a high school junior who needs some help picking out colleges for next year’s applications. I’m thinking about schools primarily with math and chemical engineering majors. Other slightly possible majors might include meteorology or going to med school for psychiatry, but a school not having them wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me.

I’m primarily looking at large public universities (10,000+), but beyond the colleges I have, I’m open to larger private schools. I think I’d like to look at the West and the Northeast other than these. The schools on my list are:
University of Wisconsin
University of Minnesota
University of Alabama
Drexel University
and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh as an absolute safety.

GPA: 3.926, unweighted, with A+, A, and A- all being 4.0, B+, B- as 3.0, etc.
Class rank: 23/380 (which would be decidedly higher if grades were weighted)

I’m from northeast Wisconsin, so I’m in-state for Wisconsin and Minnesota because of tuition reciprocity. I’m also a white male age 16. I’m not sure how much that would affect anything, but I’m going to include it anyway.

“Important” classes:

Freshman year:
Accel. Lit and Comp. I - A/A
German III - A+/A
Algebra II/Precalc - A-/A-
Biology A/A
US History A/B+

Sophomore year:
Accel. Lit and Comp. II - A/A
German IV - A/A
AP Calculus AB - A-/A
Chemistry - A/A
Psychology - A- (semester)
World History - A+/A+

Junior year (current):
IB English HL I - A-/
IB German SL I - A/
IB Physics SL - B+/
AP Chemistry - A/
Economics - A+ (semester)
Calculus II/III dual enrollment - A-/

Senior year (planned):
AP Biology
AP US History
AP US Government
IB English HL II
IB German SL II
Organic Chemistry (semester)
Human Genetics (semester)
Linear Algebra dual enrollment
Other gen-ed dual enrollment
(I know I’m going to have to drop one of the classes because I’m only allowed to take 7 periods of classes.)

My school doesn’t really offer much in the way of honors classes and has few AP or IB classes, so I’m pretty certain that this is the most rigorous courseload my school offers.

I haven’t taken the ACT or SAT yet, but I will be taking the ACT in two weeks (the test is school/state funded). My ACT PLAN score from last year was a 28 composite (out of 32), with perfect math and science subscores, and I believe a 26 in Reading and 22 in Writing Skills. My PSAT score that I took this year was a 218 (In Wisconsin, that’s in line for National Merit Finalist), with a 79 in Reading, 78 in Math, and 61 in Writing. I know I will have to take the SAT as well, which will probably be in May. Any SAT Subject tests I take will be in June. I know I test well; I expect to get roughly a 33 or 34 on the ACT, and I hope to receive a 36 in Math and Science. If not, I’ll probably retake the exam.

My financial situation is a bit tricky. My parents are for all practical purposes divorced, but I live with my mother about 55% of the time, and my father about 45%. I don’t know either of my households’ incomes, but I do know that my mother qualifies for state aid and my father makes enough to be comfortable at least. I hope to look at schools that would offer me significant merit aid because I don’t anticipate having much for college savings.

My extracurriculars are weak at best. I’m in the school’s orchestra, and I sit first chair at cello, but because that’s a class during the school day, I’m not sure it counts. I’ve also been on the school math team since eighth grade as well. Everything else is sporadic. In ninth grade I was in the Knowledge Master Open when it was still around, and last year I was in the school GSA, and this year I joined our new Tabletop RPG club (think Dungeons and Dragons). None of these have much in the way of official meetings or activities, though. I understand this would be a significant downfall because of the lack of time investment. However on a more redeeming note I do work about 10 hours a week at the local grocery store, if that adds anything.

My high school counselor keep telling me to look at prestigious universities like MIT, but I’d rather be in a school where I can fit in without being elitist or so competitive that I would burn out in the first semester. I’d like to go to a place where I succeed, but not exactly stand out enormously, either. I also would need a school that’s LGBTQ-friendly (or passively tolerant at worst), so many religious schools aren’t exactly an option.

I know this is a lot, and it probably reads like a “What are my chances?” thread, but I hope this is enough information. Thanks for reading, and I promise I’ll respond to any repliers’ threads if I see any!

2

This may be the biggest constraint you have. Have you asked your parents what they will contribute to your college, and run net price calculators on all of the colleges to see whether they are affordable after financial aid? Be sure to pay attention to whether each school’s financial aid office uses one or both parents’ income and wealth to calculate your “need”.

3

This is a good list, in line with your resumé, identity and academic needs, and finances. You can get a good to very good education at any one of these schools–except for Drexel, which is not famous for its financial aid.

I know you’re looking for merit aid or low costs of attendance. You should also consider grant aid, too. It’s time you brought up the costs of college with your parents and gotten from them a figure that they can provide each of the four years. Don’t put this off because you may very well qualify for grant aid as well as merit.

NY state publics are also relatively inexpensive to the OOS student. So are some other southern publics who, like Alabama, would be interested in your grades. You might consider these. But there are innumerable private colleges who could be interested in offering you a nice financial aid package. This is why it’s so important to iron out with your parents what together they can promise you. Plant the seed in each parent’s head that you’re wondering about this, let things settle down for a couple weeks, and then return to the subject with firm intent. Give them all the time they need, but be firm that you need to know before you can put together a reasonable list of colleges to which to apply. I know it will be uncomfortable, but this is your best future we’re talking about, and sooner or later your parents will realize that.

Prestigious unis like MIT are going to offer the admittees that they decide need support this grant-based aid. Whether you’re right for MIT is another matter, but there are many elite colleges like MIT that operate on such a need-based system. If your SATIs and SATIIs turn out sterling, it’s not impossible that you could be admitted with aid to a high quality college like Lafayette, Lehigh, or even Harvey Mudd. As for public colleges, let me put Georgia Tech, Florida, and University of Maryland on your plate.

4

This is really good advice, so thank you! I will definitely have to look into these schools and their programs, as well as approach my parents about college costs. If I recall, Alabama and Drexel offer full tuition scholarships for National Merit Finalists, which is what I was initially talking about.

5

There are many more colleges that offer tuition and/or full rides to NMF scholars:

http://thecollegematchmaker.com/52-colleges-offering-full-tuition-scholarships-national-merit-finalists/

6

For your financial situation and ability, I see no reason to look beyond MN and WI.

7

Right, that’s what I was saying, which is where this post comes in. As for @jkeil911‌ perhaps I should’ve been more clear: I would like to be able to find merit aid, but it seems like NMF is the only way I could get any due to my not-necessarily-exceptional stats. As you were mentioning before though, grants are quite helpful, too.

8

http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/ lists some of the larger scholarships for National Merit status that colleges offer.

9

You need to explore your options and soon. I disagree with wayneandgarth because you have a lot of options because of NMF and your strong stats and possible unknown need-based aid qualifications, it is worth looking into more colleges than the NMF ones and home state.

Are you 0 EFC? If so, UW-M will likely cost you about 13k per year* in loans, work-study and family contribution (about 4k.) Do-able and likely the right school and great program for you, but you will graduate with 40k loans. You could have some choices and avoid those perhaps. for UMN, although they give instate tuition, I don’t think they will give the same kind of grants that UW will so you cost will be 25k per year, less the Pell Grant. Although they may give you merit award.

Your stats are very strong and the rigor of your courses are too, so I’d like you to explain why you think they are not. Colleges don’t expect you to take more AP or IB than your school offers, although you seem to be taking plenty, and you plan some dual enrollment which shows you are ambitious academically. Sounds like you will have a 2200+ SAT and NMF.

FAFSA only colleges will take only your mother’s income, but they often don’t give much aid, except sometimes in the home state. Colleges that give a lot of aid require both parent income. So you have to find out the inputs from your father and mother in order to run the Net Price Calculator to see what the ‘meets 100% need’ colleges will give you. Super aid schools like MIT will give even high income families some aid and (I’m not totally up on the latest with MIT aid) I think families earning under 75k are still fully funded except a few thousand contribution with no loans. If you can pay your family cost then you can look at them, if not then it’s merit only. So it is important to find out what ‘comfortable’ means in hard numbers for income and assets.

You might want to try the Net Price Calculator for one of the ‘meets 100% need’ schools to see the data they ask for.

So the West: There is Stanford, a very hard admit. There is USC which ‘meets need’ and gives 1/2 tuition to NMF. But their meets need is going to be higher than Stanfords. Schools determine the family need themselves. Stanford is a superaid school (like HYPMS and other Ivies). There is Harvey Mudd and Caltech. Public schools like the UC and UW-Seattle will be unaffordable because they will not give you enough money need or merit. There is also Rice in Texas.

The NE we can go into when you figure out the money situation. I’ll let you chew on this for awhile.

Schools like GT will be full pay as an OOSer unless you get the Presidential scholarship, which is possible. Same Maryland. But many privates will give you a lot. Find out what your father will contribute per year.

*UW MADIOSN ESTIMATES FOR ZERO EFC HOUSEHOLD
Tuition : $12,010.00
Books & Supplies : $1,200.00
Room : $7,300.00
Board : $1,300.00
Miscellaneous : $3,214.00
Travel : $1,024.00
Total Cost: $26,048.00

Estimated Need Calculation for 2014-2015
Cost of Attendance (COA) $26,048.00
Expected Family Contribution (EFC) - $0.00
Total Need: $26,048.00

Estimated Eligibility for Grants (Gift Aid) for 2014-2015
Pell Grant : $5,730.00
Wisconsin Grant : $2,324.00
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant : $800.00
Bucky Grant ?: $1,000.00
Engineering Alumni Fund : $1,400.00
UW-Madison Initiative Grant : $1,000.00
Total Estimated Grants: $12,254.00

Estimated Net Price Summary for 2014-2015
Cost of Attendance (COA) $26,048.00
Total Estimated Grant Aid - $12,254.00
Estimated Net Price $13,794.00

Estimated Eligibility for Other Aid (Self-Help) for 2014-2015
Federal Work-Study : $2,200.00
Perkins Loan : $2,400.00
Subsidized Direct Loan : $3,500.00
Unsubsidized Direct Loan : $2,000.00
Total Estimated Other Aid: $10,100.00

Estimated Remaining Cost for 2014-2015
Estimated Net Price $13,794.00
Estimated Other Aid - $10,100.00
Estimated Remaining Cost $3,694.00

10

This statement needs to be more nuanced, but there is an element of truth to it.
For someone who needs a relatively low-cost college with strong engineering programs, your state flagship usually is a good place to start. This is all the more true when your state has an especially strong flagship. Wisconsin and Minnesota have well-regarded engineering programs. FWIW, US News puts both in the top 5 for undergraduate chemical engineering.

The next place I’d look would be tip-top private schools that claim to meet 100% of need-based aid. Run the online net price calculators on schools like Stanford, MIT, and Cornell. Discuss with your parents whether the estimates appear to be affordable. A divorce/separation can complicate college budgeting, so it’s best to determine early whether expensive private schools are worth pursuing. If the “full need” colleges aren’t workable, then less selective private schools (with equally high sticker prices but less generous need-based aid) may not be, either.

You can look into schools like Alabama that guarantee big merit scholarships for high stats.
However, even after a full tuition merit scholarship, Alabama may not be much cheaper than Wisconsin or Minnesota.

11

Gee thanks for granting the “element of truth”. Yes, both are top 5 in Chem Eng and very strong in Math. niletheriver has in state costs for both and will still get further aid as an NMF. I’d like to think there is a wee bit more than an element of truth. Go ahead and apply to Stanford, Cornell or other top Engineering schools too and see if you can get in and what they offer in aid. I’m just saying, one would do well with the options I suggest at the cost they come.

12

You should substitute Iowa State for Oshkosh… Oshkosh is very limited - they have no ChemE program and no Engineering. You should go the Iowa State website - I am sure your grades will qualify you for some sort of discount.

13

Actually, Alabama will give you more than a full tuition scholarship. It will include on campus housing for the first year, plus a $3,500 yearly stipend for 4 years, and an iPad. The full tuition scholarship is good for 5 years, not the normal 4. Very sweet deal.
http://scholarships.ua.edu/nationalscholars/

Even without being NMF, if you score a 32 ACT, or 1400 SAT (math and reading), then 'Bama will give you a 4-year full tuition scholarship. If you major in engineering, they will award an additional $2,500 per year.
http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/
http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html

Don’t be so humble. Your stats are outstanding. Your ECs could be better but scholarships rarely depend on them. (see 'Bama again, for example). ECs mostly come into play for admissions to the more prestigious schools. Also, be proud of working 10 hours per week at the grocery store. Colleges will take note of that.

I suggest you apply to one, or maybe two, prestige schools that you think you like. You never know what might happen. No need to make prestige your main focus, but many of them do meet 100% of need. Northwestern University in Chicago is “Ivy” quality and claims to meet full need.
http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/financial-aid/

Look at Johns Hopkins and Harvey Mudd, as well. Perhaps Vanderbilt too, especially if you visit the U.Alabama campus. Vanderbilt is about a four hour drive north of Tuscaloosa.
http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2010/08/need-based-financial-aid-at-vanderbilt/

14

Can’t go wrong with either Minnesota-Twin Cities or Wisconsin-Madison. For ChE I would also suggest…

U of Rochester
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
U of Maryland-Baltimore County
U of South Carolina-Columbia
Clemson U
U Alabama-Tuscaloosa NMF
U of Houston NMF
Mississippi State NMF
U of Oklahoma NMF
Oklahoma State NMF

15

Also look at Tulane University, which offers excellent merit aid, and its need aid does not include loans for families with adjusted gross income below $75,000. Good chemical engineering department. New Orleans is my favorite college town.
http://admission.tulane.edu/aid/financialaid.php
http://tulane.edu/sse/cbe/

16

Well he isn’t picking colleges yet, he is picking where to apply. Wisc and UNM are on his list already so he is looking for other schools. Alabama is on it too,

17

Wow I had no idea what kind of options were available to me! This weekend I will definitely look into these schools, narrow some of them down, and then soon talk to my parents about paying for college and narrowing down the list some more. Thank you all so much!

18

This might simply be a matter of semantics… but I wouldn’t suggest narrowing down. Not yet. I recommend not starting to narrow down until near the end of summer.

On the other hand, at this point, it is perfectly legit to decide that particular schools are of no interest to you. I think that is what you really mean. I recommend continuing to look for additional schools for a few more months (expanding your options). I would not do any serious narrowing at this point. You could start prioritizing your preferred schools though, as well as identifying the ones you can most likely afford.

19

University of Delaware is very highly ranked in Chemical Engineering, as is Pitt. Both offer merit.

20

^ Delaware is highly ranked (by US News) in ChemE, but not higher than the OP’s state flagship, Wisconsin (or Minnesota). Delaware’s out-of-state sticker cost is more than double Wisconsin’s in-state rates. Delaware on average covers 74% of demonstrated need. This average may be much lower for OOS students. Yes, it’s possible the OP would get some merit aid. Delaware’s average merit award is about $6100 (according to its Common Data Set, section H). Merit awards typically offset need rather than stack with need as additional aid. But if Delaware looks interesting, run its online net price calculator to see if it might be affordable.

For a WI resident with a family income of $60K, I get the following net price estimates from College Abacus:

$5,000 Stanford
$13,288 Harvey Mudd College
$13,794 Wisconsin-Madison (in-state)
$17,878 Cornell University
$32,136 Pittsburg (out of state, after $9,190 in grant aid)

Estimates for U Delaware are not available from College Abacus

YMMV. The above rank order may be different for families at $120K, $180K, or higher income levels … or if merit money comes into play.