This discussion was created from comments split from: Out-Of-State Aid?.
To find out about merit based OOS aid do we need to talk to each school independently? My son is a jr. His scores are pretty good:
Weighted gpa: 4+
Unweighted gpa: 3.8-3.9
SAT: 1510
ACT: 35
Identified as being in the top 9% of California high school graduates
With his scores he is guaranteed entrance to A UCalifornia school, but not necessarily THE UCalifornia school of his choice. He is interested in Aerospace Engineering and within the UC system, only UCLA offers that type of program (also one of the hardest to get into). So he’d like to explore other schools that offer this type of major, like Purdue, Georgia Tech, U of Colorado. He wouldn’t qualify for need based funding, but we don’t have the ability to pay OOS. Is going OOS even possible? I just want to start setting his expectations accordingly.
@99collegemom - Purdue is stingy with merit for OOS applicants. COA runs about $44K/year for OOS engineers but it can vary some based on housing (my daughter is a student there now). Not sure about GT or Colorado.
Maybe you already know this, but you don’t have to major in Aerospace in order to get a job in aerospace. Lots of mechanical engineers get hired by aerospace firms. I suggest you find schools where you like the aerospace program or that are overall strong in engineering, and then look at their websites which will clearly state whether or not they give merit. I have found many of the lists about merit-granting schools out there are outdated, so it’s best to take your information directly from the school’s website. Also, don’t overlook the Cal Polys.
CU gives very little in merit aid, usually about $6500/yr. (and it’s an expensive school). GT is similar for OOS and only about 20% of the students are OOS (hard to get into)
Alabama or Alabama Huntsville have much better OOS merit aid for aerospace.
A friend is at SUNY Buffalo in aerospace and got good aid. How cold is your California Boy willing to get?
These schools are not going to give him instate tuition. He has the potential to get some aid from Purdue or U of Colorado…but not sure it will bring the cost down to instate costs.
Georgia Tech…I don’t think so.
There are net price calculators on the college sites. Do any of these ask for stats and estimate merit aid? Some do.
Please realize that the first mission of public universities is to the taxpaying residents of their state. They charge OOS costs for a reason…those student parents are not paying to support higher education in their state.
Have you considered University of Alabama as noted above. He would be great aid from those schools.
You can get a general sense about a school’s merit aid from Googling the Common Data Set for each school. There is a section that shows the average merit award and what % of students get merit. If your kid’s stats fall in the percentile at the top of the incoming class, their odds of merit go up.
Other sources of merit info are the schools’s own website and accepted student forums out here.
But for state schools, some are stingier with merit for OOS students. You might look at Ohio State or Iowa State as OOS publics with merit possibilities and aerospace. You have Cal Poly-SLO right in state which should be more affordable. RPI or Case Westerm are other schools to look at.
The problem with GA Tech isn’t just cost, getting in is very challenging these days. They turn down some in state students with tremendous stats.
He may also want to look at Cal Poly or San Diego State.
Arizona State and University of Arizona offer some good merit, and more if he happens to be a national merit finalist.
Illinois institute of Technology has full tuition merit scholarships (competitive) and some good merit aid otherwise.
You might look at WUE schools as well. I don’t know which if any offer aerospace but it’s worth checking.
Thank you everyone! Great advice/information.
Second the suggestion of UAlabama and UAlabama Huntsville for Aerospace majors looking for merit opportunities. Lots of alumni in both public and private sectors (great networking).
Case Western Reserve University would most likely have good merit aid for someone with your son’s stats. Consider applying early action, which is non-binding, and you’ll know in mid-December what merit aid he might receive, as well as whether he has been admitted. Unlike Purdue, once someone is admitted at Case, he/she can do any major, whereas Purdue admits by school/major. Purdue merit aid tends to go to students who aren’t in in-demand majors such as engineering.
He might be able to get a National Buckeye Scholarship at Ohio State. I think that gets you in the instate range. They have Aerospace Engineering. NASA Glenn Research Center, the Air Force Research Laboratory, and GE Aviation are all in the area.