Whole new ballgame?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So ive posted here a couple times asking about colleges and what i need to do and how competitive i was. the most widespread piece of advice ive gotten was raise your SAT scores. Ive done just that. So i was curious what a jump of 90 pts changes.</p>

<p>I'm a senior from NH looking to go into engineering. </p>

<p>GPA- 4.0 out of 4.8
SAT's- 630 math 610 reading 680 writing
<strong><em>SAT's- 690 Math 640 Reading 650 Writing</em></strong>
AP's- US History (4 on the test), World History, Biology, Computer Sciences
Couple of extracurricluars (blood drive, math honor society, national honor society, etc.) including work experience since I was 16. </p>

<p>Im still looking at schools such as Virginia Tech, West Virginia (applied), University of Florida and Central Florida, Clemson, NC State, Purdue, and maybe like Georgia Tech. </p>

<p>what does a 90 pt jump do for me at these schools.</p>

2

<p>*the most widespread piece of advice ive gotten was raise your SAT scores. Ive done just that. So i was curious what a jump of 90 pts changes.</p>

<p>I’m a senior from NH looking to go into engineering.</p>

<p>GPA- 4.0 out of 4.8
SAT’s- 630 math 610 reading 680 writing
<strong><em>SAT’s- 690 Math 640 Reading 650 Writing</em></strong>*</p>

<p>So, the 690 Math 640 Reading 650 Writing is your latest test results? you now have a 1330 M+CR SAT. Congrats on the improvement. :)</p>

<p>Your ECs are rather meaningless for these OOS publics. These schools mostly admit by stats. </p>

<p>Anything above Clemson is too much and even Clemson is relatively high. And in terms of financial aid… I understand It’s unlikely I’d get any.</p>

<p>If I remember correctly, your parents want you to keep your costs around $30k or less. If that’s true then your list just won’t work…except for WVU.</p>

<p>If you truly want to keep to your parents’ budget then you have to apply to schools that will be affordable. These schools aren’t going to give you aid. And, most won’t give you any merit money. You’re considering adding GT? Why? It costs $40k and won’t help you at all. </p>

<p>I realize that you’re happy with your new SAT results, but you need to include schools that will give you merit for your stats so that your education will be affordable.</p>

3

<p>You are very close to the next scholarship level at WVU ($7,000 per year), which requires 1340 and 3.8. I believe the 3.8 can be a weighted GPA. (Your GPA confuses me, but it looks to me like a 4.0 weighted. Correct me if I’m wrong.) I think you should call Ryan Sigler, Coordinator of Enrollment Management, Freshman Engineering at WVU and find out what you are eligible for and if there is any wiggle room. Ryan is very helpful.</p>

4

<p>I still don’t understand why you keep looking at public schools to which you are out of state. You won’t get the tuition benefit that makes these schools attractive. I don’t think any of these schools are worth it for an OOS. </p>

<p>Edit: Purdue and Georgia Tech are obviously worth it if you can get some aid. The rest are not worth the cost for an OOS.</p>

<p>Your new scores may help you get into one of the better private school’s with a good engineering program. As a NH resident, don’t you get in-state reciprocity at any other state schools in the northeast?</p>

5

<p>Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Purdue not worth it out of state?</p>

6

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Not if money is a concern! If the family doesn’t have $160k+ for those schools, then it’s not worth the debt. </p>

<p>My H is a Purdue grad and he hires engineers. He doesn’t pay the ones from Purdue or GT any more money than he pays the engineering grads from other schools. The MIT grads get like $5k-10k more…maybe…if they’re impressive.</p>

<p>Since he’s majoring in engineering and he now has a 1330, he has just reached the minimum for …</p>

<p>The University of Alabama…College of Engineering Scholarship…(for all engineering and computer science majors who apply by Dec 1st)</p>

<p>Students who have a 30-31 ACT or 1330-1390 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA **will receive a tuition supplement to bring their University-level scholarship offer up to the value of tuition. In addition, they will receive $2,500 per year for four years. **</p>

<p>So, he’d get** free tuition PLUS $2500 per year**. This is worth over $90,000! **His remaining costs would be under $15k and he’d get into honors and honors housing. ** Bama also has a brand new engineering mega complex.</p>

7

<p>Mom2collegekids: Your tenacity always makes me smile when I read your posts! :slight_smile: And I truly mean that in a good way! And I agree, Alabama is an excellent choice for the OP - monetarily, it would be hard to beat that scholarship.</p>

8

<p>^haha I agree</p>

<p>if you have any questions about Clemson, let me know!</p>

9

<p>If his parents have 120K to contribute, would graduating from a top engineering school with 40K in loans not be worth it?</p>

10

<p>

The assumption in your question is that this applicant with 1330 SATs would get into a “top engineering school”. By Top, I mean Berkeley, Stanford, Caltech, MIT, Harvey Mudd, and probably about five more that could be debated (Rice, Georgia Tech, the Service Academies, a few more).</p>

<p>Top Engineering schools have SAT Math score medians around 760 or 770, along with strong performance in HS AP Calculus (usually BC), Physics, Chemistry. This applicant does not list AP Calculus (either flavor) in his/her post. So, your question is moot as far as this applicant is concerned… stats do not fit a “top” engineering program. </p>

<p>As to the broader question, only MIT, Caltech, Berkeley, Stanford, and Harvey Mudd Engineering grads can command higher salaries (in Engineering positions) than other Top 50 Engineering programs out of undergrad as a common practice. And the difference is not much… maybe $5,000. The top half of the class from any of these can of course double their money immediately by hiring into IB or Hedge Fund, etc.</p>

11

<p>No, I made no assumption about whether he would get in or not. We’re talking about Georgia Tech, Purdue, maybe Virginia Tech. Obviously he’s not getting into MIT.</p>

12

<p>^ then no, the debt is not worth it.</p>

<p>P.S. I am wrong 12.6% of the time.</p>

13

<p>lol DunninLA. Interesting statistic.</p>

14

<p>So they’re not really getting a better education at top 20 enginneeing schools? If they are, is that worth it? And on another note, I also wonder if kids consider their parents contributions “free money” and only worry about their own bottom line. Compare the kid who’s parents contribute 120K and has 40K of loans at graduation vs. the kid who goes to an in-state school, no parental contribution, and graduates with 80K of loans. Just thinking out loud here.</p>

15

<p>I’m not even certain that the OP’s parents aren’t including student loans in the $30k per year budget. The OP hasn’t been really clear about what his parents can pay. I’m not sure if he’s ever gotten a clear number that his parents will directly contribute with cash.</p>

<p>$40k in debt is a lot. And, it’s too much if it can be avoided - unless going to a MIT/Cal Tech kind of school.</p>

<p>$40k in debt involves federal loans and private loans. Fed Direct loans are only to $27k. Borrowing that additional money requires co-signers…which most parents won’t do.</p>

<p>And, since college costs rise each year, that $40k estimated debt is probably underestimated. By the time that student is a junior or senior, a school that costs $40k per year now, will be costing $46k+ per year then. So, his real debt could be $48k+</p>

<p>By the time the kid graduates, the debt is easily going to be $50k+. His payments are going to nearly $600 per month for 10 long years. That’s like 2 additional car payments…in addition to whatever car payment he actually has! </p>

<p>How many new grads can afford 2 or 3 car payments in addition to all their living expenses?</p>

<p>When you’re employed and your co-workers who don’t have that debt are making the same as you, you’re going to be very annoyed that $6k per year of your “take home pay” is going to debt that you didn’t have to incur. They will be buying homes and moving on with their lives, while you’re stuck with this debt.</p>

<p>If you had no other choices, then you could live with that annoyance. But, if you look back and realize that you didn’t need to incur that debt, then those monthly payments are going to be an albatross around your neck.</p>

<p>My H used student loans for grad school…which he didn’t need to do. He had a fellowship for tuition, room, board, books. He only borrowed money to pay for dates and entertainment. </p>

<p>So, imagine how annoying it was to pay back that money when the loans were not necessary? Believe me, he regretted it. When we went to buy our first home, we had to take into account that we couldn’t afford as much because we still had his stupid student loans (that were unnecessary!)</p>

16

<p>*I also wonder if kids consider their parents contributions “free money” and only worry about their own bottom line. Compare the kid who’s parents contribute 120K and has 40K of loans at graduation vs. the kid who goes to an in-state school, no parental contribution, and graduates with 80K of loans. Just thinking out loud here. *</p>

<p>Well, if the parents aren’t contributing anything, then I doubt that second scenario could exist. A student can’t borrow that much without very cooperative parent co-signers who have high enough incomes to qualify for such big loans.</p>

<p>Yes, most kids probably do focus on “their debt” and think of their parents’ money as “free money” (like a scholarship).</p>

17

<p>In the end I feel like it’s gonna come down to wvu at vt. Which is quite frankly how I’ve felt for much of the process. I am officially admitted to wvu. And am going to apply to vt come January. It’s probably gonna end up coming down to which campus I like better after a second visit. And which one is a better deal.</p>