WPI uses preferential packaging, ie., better scholarships for girls so that they have a decent F/M ratio.
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Reminder that there is a politics of abortion thread in the PF. Please keep this thread focused on the OP. Thank you.
The “best” is always perception and not reality.
You’ve probably heard my son’s story but if not, he went to Bama, turning down Purdue, Maryland and others.
While I thought that was nuts, he told me I was wrong and he was right (in reality). He works with Michigan, Washington, CWRU, Purdue grads - plus schools like W Michigan, Akron, Utah, etc. and more.
They all make the same - depends where they live.
When he was stationed in Utah for his first 6 months, he befriended a kid from Columbia at another defense/aero company at trivia night. The Columbia kid made less and they had the same thing - kids from so many different schools.
So you have a budget - live within the budget - and you’ll be fine.
When you look at job descriptions (and it depends on the discipline but using Meche as a catch all, often they will say - must graduate from an ABET accredited school.
So I would put my worry on budget and fit (is the school right for her) and worry less about the best - which no one can state - but magazines can.
For hands on, you might look at Louisville - Dem governor just re elected - red state - not sure
of their reproductive stance. But it’s got a fine cost for a smart kid.
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That’s what I’m hoping for — WPI would be a great match whether she was Biology or Engineering or Neuroscience. Project based learning, study abroad -etc. — all the boxes she wants.
But the calculators all say about 35K for the tech schools…
UMN Twin Cities
Michigan State
With good SAT and GPA, you can get below 30K at both (counting tuition + fees + board).
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I’m glad that you’re having such a positive experience at GVSU and I wish that we had more students like you who could talk about the schools that don’t get as much publicity. Hearing others’ personal experiences is often much more compelling than seeing some data point about a school we have no familiarity with whatsoever. But, it does show how doing a little investigation can reveal some great hidden gems!
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If engineering focus, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology may be of interest, but she would need to get the competitive non-resident scholarship that brings costs down to in NM resident rate (about $25k total).
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Moscow ID is 30 minutes from Spokane WA (which we all know because of the murder trial)
But in the west people are airlifted for all kinds of medical treatments. It’s just part of living in less populated areas. When my daughter was in the NICU, babies were airlifted in (or mothers giving birth) from Wyoming but also from ‘rural’ areas like Colorado Springs, Aspen and BOULDER (no level 3 nursery in Boulder, which is only 40 miles from this hospital). Friends just recently avoided having their daughter airlifted from Littleton CO to Children’s hospital in Aurora (about 20 miles, all by highway) because they were 10 minutes outside the ‘rush hour’ rule; this dispite being AT a Children’s Hosp location (she needed a special ENT doc).
It is just a way of life in the west that you may have to travel for care you need.
As @tsbna44 points out, there are red areas in blue states, and there are health care deserts in most states.
OP is looking for affordable schools (under $25k). It’s likely some compromises will need to be made, and if healthcare can be found in a neighboring state, that might work for that family. If not, they can look for other schools at $25k, but I really doubt that’s going to be a school in the northeast.
One daughter was in a similar situation looking for an engineering school (although even $25k would have been difficult to come up with). She made a lot of compromises to find a school she could afford without huge loans and parlayed scholarships and grants to make it work (private school). It was in Florida and many have crossed that off because of politics, but she didn’t notice or care. Other daughter, who was much more liberal, ended up in Wyoming and didn’t find it to be conservative (Laramie itself). She could easily get to Ft Collins or Denver, for anything she needed and it was cheap.
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Is the desire for abortion access based on a desire to be able to access one? Or is it a desire not to not accept support from a state that restricts access?
State level access doesn’t mean much. PA has abortion access, but if you go to school in Erie you’re still a few hours away from a clinic.
There’s a good chance that some schools in restrictive states will be nearer clinics across the border in less restrictive states.
At some schools out west you’ll be hours from many, many services, an abortion clinic being one of them, regardless of state laws. If access is the concern, the best metric isn’t state laws but distance.
The OP stated upthread that the concern is not about access per se but about the policy/law as a precedent for more restrictive policies affecting womens’ rights in the future.
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Hey guys- a parent posts that a kid doesn’t want snow, humidity, crucifixes on campus, too many hills, all the buildings need to match, needs to be within 1/2 hour of a ski slope, campus which doesn’t have a main road running through it- and we more or less accept that at face value. Kid wants a blue state- surely we can deliver those suggestions without a diatribe about how easy it is to be medivac’d to another state for health care, right?
I’ve lived in lots of places. There are worse litmus tests to the overall “zeitgeist” of a place than evaluating abortion access. Even if you are male, don’t have a uterus, etc. It doesn’t tell the whole story of course- our country is complicated. But it’s a handy shorthand for lots of other things.
Can’t we respect the OP’s limitations in the same way that we do all the other requests that come our way?
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I don’t want to dip into politics -but yes, it’s more as a shorthand for a lot of other things. If she needed medical help she couldn’t get where she was (of any kind) - I’d go get her myself and get her care. (The privilege of having enough money to do so is a blessing. Not everyone has options or support.)
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It’s going to be difficult to bridge the 25-35k difference at many, many universities. Is there a way she can work this summer and set some money aside (students can earn a maximum of 6k a year before it’s deducted from their FA I think - sorry, wd need to look it up - but the point is, if she could earn 3k working this summer then another 3k over senior year working very part time… it’d be a start?)
For a STEM school, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago has some full tuition scholarships. My D is a grad. It’s an excellent school.
ASU and University of Arizona might work too for some merit aid.
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Also look into NJIT. That one could work too
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I had NOT heard of this one - thank you! And she can’t say there isn’t plenty to do in Chicago 
Plus far enough from home for her -but only a short airplane ride --win/win!
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Yes -that’s definitely the plan! And work study if she can get it.
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Even without the full-ride, the tuition calculator comes in within range! Thank you for this suggestion. Putting it on the list.
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I’m glad it was helpful. Another helpful thing is that the top scholarships at IIT will cover a co-terminal masters degree (at least they did a few years ago-check on that). My kid used a lot of AP and dual enrollment credit to get a bachelor’s and a master’s in engineering in four years and a summer. She also had internships every summer, a job lined up before graduation, and has been successful passing licensure exams (PE,SE) and in her career so far. And she really enjoyed living in the city. Plenty to do for sure!
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