I appreciate that you are opening our eyes to the budget but I didn’t say we have a “strict” budget. I said we could probably pay more than that, but would prefer not to.
However, I’m really confused. Are the NPCs totally useless? Mines comes in on the NPC at $44K, so not totally out of reach. Arizona is coming out to $25K after a $30K merit award. Baylor, U Miami (if she could get in), Wake…she qualifies for merit and aid at all 3. I’ve put in a lot of specific financial details at those schools. I am new to all this so maybe I misunderstand.
Clemson I agree is a big stretch financially and it appears being a double legacy doesn’t matter.
Auburn would be a better fit for my daughter than Alabama and we are now thinking about it. (Edit, Auburn looks to be expensive). We would consider Kansas but not Kansas State (she didn’t like it when we visited).
All ABET accredited engineering majors will have engineering design course work as well as engineering science, natural science, math, and general education course work.
But note that some engineering majors, particularly more unusual ones, may not have ABET accreditation, even if other majors at the school do.
Your reply is super helpful, thank you! We will take another look at Oregon State. West coast schools really appeal to her (I’m from California).
Her cousin attends JMU and that would be good for her to have family there and also nearby. I will look at the numbers. We looked at Virginia Tech but IIRC it was spendy.
Miami checks so many boxes for her. I love to hear that about the band. Thanks for that info. College Vine has her chances there at around 33%, so not great but not down in the 20% range either.
If the NPC is favorable and she really loves UMiami, it could be worth considering an Early Decision application - they give a pretty significant admissions “bump” for ED.
And yes, I thought about VT but didn’t suggest because affordability didn’t seem likely. JMU is far more likely to make budget.
Arizona has $20k merit. The $30k is gone due to their financial struggles. .
You don’t know if you’ll get merit at Wake (unlikely) or Miami ( more likely). But they both meet need and if your need is that high. 24 of 1384 first year at wake got merit last year.
Since you noted up front you’d like to be $40k and since it’s very very possible, yea I focused there.
Ps per the common data set Clemson considers legacy but nonetheless u of sc is gonna end up within budget. Not Clemson.
My wife did Chem E undergrad and Food Science masters. Cornell is the only private school Food Science school that I am aware of, so state school heavy. Most schools’ food science programs are focused on the primary farm product of the state, such as U Minn TC milk and Texas A&M beef.
U of Arkansas has one of only a handful of Poultry Science programs in the country, and Tyson Foods is 10 miles from campus, with summer and full-year internships available. The building is very modern, and they give additional scholarships outside of regular merit.
Fit is very important to us. She does not want to attend Ole Miss or Alabama. (Believe me, I’ve tried. They would be very inexpensive.)
My husband will never pay for The University of South Carolina. Four generations of his family have attended Clemson so there is no way he would be happy with his daughter attending South Carolina.
There are plenty of choices without those 3 colleges.
I don’t think anyone has mentioned it in the comments, but I think Baylor, identified as second choice here, is indeed a good fit. Excellent band program (we know two current members) and solid for engineering while also offering food science courses, though not sure if the latter is a major. Baylor does have fairly prominent Greek life, but the school is big enough that there are other social alternatives too. The NPC there isn’t known for being especially accurate, but I do think there’s a decent chance of getting close to 40k with merit on these stats.
While my niece did very well with merit at U Colorado, housing in the area is VERY expensive. YOu will need to figure that into the equation as they do not guarantee housing after freshman year.
That’s helpful, thanks. It’s very hard to find information about how much merit she could expect at Baylor. I do know that she qualifies for merit, but not how much.
Baylor would be an excellent fit for her and is one of her top choices. They also have “Greek organizations” that are more interest based. We lived in Texas for awhile so that helps with our comfort level.
I apologize, because I am not trying to be argumentative. But U Miami NPC comes to roughly $33,000 which closely aligns with our expected family contribution. (I don’t have the exact number in front of me).
What am I missing?
Of course she may not get in, but that is a different argument.
Yes of course we are comfortable with Baylor being Christian. I wish there were more schools like this. Notre Dame is one of the few others I can think of, but her stats are not there.
I don’t think there is published info about EA vs. RD acceptance rates. Based on this list Early Action and Early Decision vs. Regular Decision Admission Rates there’s a big boost for ED. (The USNews profile also quotes a high ED acceptance rate of 60%.) The ED number is (as with all schools) inflated by the inclusion of recruited athletes, and there may be a trend of early applicants being more highly-qualified, but it’s a big enough differential that there clearly must be a significant “ED bump” as well.
Of course, only apply ED if it’s a true first choice. I just mentioned it because it sounded as if it might be, and the projected net cost sounds relatively affordable as well.
A 3.94 and 32 ACT - take your shot at UND. I don’t think you’re as far off as you think and if you get turned down, so what? You can only go to one school. It’s ok to get turned down. If that’s high on your list, you want to find out…but they have many a 32 ACT at UND. Yes, it’s below the 25th percentile but close - and their TO rate which they don’t show - but it looks like 1200 of 2075 submitted…so go for it if the NPC works!!! And I would submit the 32.
Since you mentioned Wake and religious schools work for you, check out Mercer U. A work friend’s kid just graduated (now in PhD), they seem to have a marching band (shows on their website…not as hard core) and I know she paid less than $40K with merit.
It’s a smaller school like a Wake in Macon Georgia.
Very good rep. 13 majors in engineering. Some seem a fit.
Not sure if you can find a major…but might be worth a look.
Cal Poly Pomona is an easy application (no essays and no LORs) and has engineering and a strong food science program and a pep band. It says COA for OOS is 41k. It has a pep band.
It has a large commuter presence but also know some kids live on campus.
More expensive but more prestigious is Cal Poly SLO (San Luis Obispo).
Both emphasize hands-on engineering.
Other Cal States might work out as well. There are a lot of them!