Chance/Match me Aerospace or Mechanical, Good to very good school, IL resident, 3.98 GPA, 35 ACT, 1540 SAT, NMSF

[aunt_bea]

I completely agree that you should consider SUNY Buffalo.
It’s under everyone’s radar.

No one wants to go there because of the weather. Our daughter, however, had really good choices in schools, but she chose to go to Buffalo because of the minimal cost to us and because of their programs.

We’re in California. Yes the UCs accepted her.

If our daughter, from Southern California,

with her surfboard and flip-flops, can go to the tundra of Buffalo to get a really good underrated education in engineering, and come back to California, as well as, become a manager/mentor to many engineers, then your son should be able to tough it out in snow drifts of Buffalo.

Check it out. It’s reasonably priced, becoming stronger in their programs, and their graduates are out performing their expectations (according to our daughter’s managers). It’s a good school

[FlyingRiddle7]

@tsbna44

If cost matters - and you need a budget - you’re not going to beat Bama but UAH is in the aero hotbed - Huntsville - surrounded by aero companies galore. With NMF, you’d get 4 years merit, 1 year housing, and $3K for study abroad. Not Bama cheap but cheap. It’s smaller and more STEM focused although has most majors.

He’s not very enthusiastic about UAH and it’s on me. When we flew to Alabama, we toured Tuscaloosa first, and Huntsville the day after. Any campus you tour after Tuscaloosa will look like a mid-range community college.

But also yeah, it does have a feel of a commuter college.

@tsbna44

[Purdue] Statistically CWRU is a target or even likely but - there are some anomalies there.

CWRU came from nowhere. They keep badgering us with marketing materials literally every day for the last 3 weeks. Got 2 postcards on the same day once. I did some research and I think it’s fairly good private college, high price tag with (presumably) good merit-based aid. But there’s probably dozens of similar schools across the country.

So it will probably come off the list at some point.

[5for5]

Georgia Tech should not be a Target but a Reach. The profile is good but not inconsistent with a majority of applications to Georgia Tech Engineering OOS. The acceptance rate is at 9%OOS (that number is even lower for OOS Engineering) and they received well over 67,000 applications last year to put it into context. Their Aerospace Engineering Program is ranked #2 in the US. Your kid has a shot for sure though. Good luck!

[tsbna44]

Funny you mention that.

My son started with WUSTL and was sold - it’s quaint, comfy, and forgetting the pedigree, they at least 6 years ago, marketed the snot out of their Tempurpedix mattresses.

Then we went to Purdue (loved) and UIUC (couldn’t wait to leave). We then, against his wishes, sent him to STEP at Purdue to validate his interest and he came back in love - the campus, the food, almost everything - and then got in and got $10K merit (I don’t hear of that anymore) and he was sold. He had his sweatshirt. We’d go into restaurants at home in TN and hear - Boiler Up all over.

So we were done.

But alas, Senior year has a job shadow or visit a college day. He had a friend say, 3 of us are heading to Tuscaloosa - come with us. So he went…..came home, applied, got in a few days later, and announced to mom and dad - I’m going to Bama.

hmmmm - what - I had known they had a large Jewish population which and good merit but Purdue (smaller Jewish population) was well in budget and I was good. At the time (not now), Purdue was overcrowded, housing kids in triples or apartments off campus. The Honors dorm at Bama got your own room and a shared bathroom with one other. And they had palm trees. As you saw, the campus is pristine - like Disney Land - and my kid is about aesthetics….so I get it.

Given he outperformed intern-wise a top 5 you listed and crushed it job market wise, it worked for him.

I’m not sure he took advantage of all the resources (ok, I’m sure he didn’t) but he took a job (couldn’t get an internship after first year) - so he detailed cars. He wanted to be in the auto industry so it was tangentially related. Got that internship after the second year - not easy - and oh by the way, they had Ga Tech, LSU, Ole MIss in his group - so yes, the elite and non-elite work together.

When you talk about college and region working - my kid only applied for Leadership Rotational type programs - and his offers were in various (4 cities, two years - started with an aero company in Utah, then Arizona, CA and Florida and is settled in California) He had others in one place but rotating jobs - an aero in South Eastern Mass, PA, Iowa, and Ohio. His 6th offer came late (he was done by xmas) - it was his intern job…in TN…so not agreeing with you’ll end up where you go to college….only if you want to.

As for CWRU, some have talked of great merit. It’s a tough school - low yield so they do need to buy kids in - perhaps kids that get the next level up like a UM or MIT. But if you like it (some do, mine didn’t) and you have a spot, it’s worth it.

In the end, you’re in an enviable position and you can take your time.

Some doesn’t realize what $40 or $50K is like - writing a check 2x a year. I imagine (but thank god don’t know) that it’s not easy.

But you can set yourself up with the cheapy school to have in your back pocket - in case you get sticker shock last minute.

There’s really not a bad school on the list - but then it becomes, do I want to pay$35 or $40K for Iowa State vs. free at Alabama (you pay for food but get $4K in allowance). And don’t forget - 5 years at Bama covers the Masters too - if you choose so.

Best of luck - the good news is - your son is going to have lots of options….sometimes that stinks too - then you fret on - what to choose But that’s a good problem to have.

[FlyingRiddle7]

@tsbna44

Where you go will or can have zero impact on where you end up.

My Alabama kid had I think one interview for a Southern job (Tampa) and is in Irvine, CA. The other 18 interviews were midwest, northeast (including a well known aero), and west.

You apply for jobs on line today - that’s how most find them - and you can target areas for employment, where you want to be.

Budget should be your concern over region - if you’re picking regions for jobs.

Region can be fixed by your job search…is what I’m saying.

Full disclaimer - I graduated from college in my home country and started my career there before moving to the US. It was also a long…long time ago.

Having said that, I’m still working and (occasionally) on the job market, and my observation is that if you’re fresh graduate and you’re applying for jobs through job boards, you’re toast. The point of getting into respected university is to get involved in actual research projects as early as possible, work with professionals whose day job/other job is actually doing what you’re studying to be doing, connecting with companies through research and (eventually) internships, which should give you a leg up when you graduate (or maybe even a job offer before you do). These are companies that operate in the same region you’re studying. UAH has a connection with NASA because there’s a NASA research center right freaking there and students can take part in the projects, and have have NASA engineers come in and help with research and other stuff. Ditto for some Florida universities (UCF perhaps?), right AT the Space Coast. Or Washington State University (Boeing). Or Arizona State (plenty of space companies there). Or Texas.

Alabama has a number of automotive manufacturing facilities (Mercedes, Hyundai, Honda), a lot of which are assembly plants but there should be some engineering there as well. They must be coming to UA for their future staff needs.

UIUC has a clout so companies do hire out of it, even though it’s in between the cornfields. Other schools, that are not as known, might not be as lucky if there’s not that many companies around.

That’s what I meant when I said that location kinda matters.

[tsbna44]

@FlyingRiddle7

The point of getting into respected university is to get involved in actual research projects as early as possible, work with professionals whose day job/other job is actually doing what you’re studying to be doing, connecting with companies through research and (eventually) internships, which should give you a leg up when you graduate (or maybe even a job offer before you do).

Yeah - that sounds nice - but that’s not the real world. Cornell, until recently, posted the how students get jobs on their job board. By far and away, it’s social boards (presumably linkedin and indeed, handshake) and company boards. Yes, all schools place at job fairs or on campus interviewing - including every school mentioned, and alums - but as the Cornell data showed, that’s few vs. the relative overall. interesting several parents were just discussing handshake on another thread and I noted my kid found listings there days after indeed - and another said, my kid has the exact same on handshake as their friends at Michigan. With zoom, etc. it’s easy today for companies to spread their tentacles vs. targeting on visits.

It’s a different world and Covid sped up the adaption.

How else would a kid, as talented as he is, have 19 interviews and 5 offers by xmas.

Different field but my daughter chose a regional public over highly ranked schools - and everyone says DC is so tough and you can’t get internships if you’re not at a prestigious school - and she had 7 offers, 5 paid - and worked for arguably the top think tank.

So I think the world has changed…..and research can be had anywhere - profs and departments at both my kids schools - sent out emails regularly offering. It may be more competitive at the more academic schools - and in the case of engineering, these schools all have design projects integrated with volunteer companies.

Top rated schools won’t tell you this because - that’s part of their allure and they continue to get the best and brightest. That’s why Alabama buys them - that’s the only way to get them I’m assuming.

I myself am in Automotive (not engineering) - and i’ll tell you the engineers are from all over - whether it’s Tennessee Tech, CU Boulder, Kettering, UMASS, USC or you name it.

Everyone is entitled to believe what they want and I have no doubt a Stanford or MIT do open doors - but I think the narrative you’re laying out - is 10 or 20 years past…I think before covid although covid and zoom sped the adoption to where we are today.

I’ll also tell you most engineering majors don’t work in engineering jobs - the Wash Post says up to 75%. I know my son’s second internship wasn’t…and I asked him, why they want an engineer then. He said - because they like how they think.

Kids today find jobs….moreso than the schools although the schools can help facilitate via career fairs, workshops, etc.

Good luck

[FlyingRiddle7]

@yikkblue

When you ran the NPC for Texas A&M, the calculator did not account for the fact that an OOS NMF is guaranteed non-resident tuition waiver plus 10.5k per year (see link, 3rd paragraph below the NMF table). Thus, the COA is only around 22k. You can get this number by looking up the COA for a Texas resident (which an OOS NMF effectively is) studying engineering (which costs slightly more than other majors) and subtracting 10.5k from the result. In addition to the waiver, starting Fall 2025, an NMF (actually NMSF suffices) is not required to go through an entry-to-a-major (ETAM) process that sometimes scares students/families away (see link). So there is a lot to like about Texas A&M.

THANK YOU! Yes, I got it from the list of NMF-aligned scholarships but have been unable to quantify it until now. It has a good engineering program, including aerospace, and has a name recognition too. I do understand that it’s a smaller school in a smaller town, so might be not for everybody, so I’ll advise my son to take a trip and see if it’s something he’ll like.

@yikkblue

I’m not sure if Georgia Tech does in general, but you want to be careful with what their NPC result actually says.

That’s unfortunate. He really liked the campus, including the fact that it’s in the city, and it’s a very good school with good connections in various industries. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

[tsbna44]

Texas A&M is one of the largest schools in the country - and the campus is enormous - and very nice.

You won’t find a school with a stronger alumni. They are cult-like - in a beautiful way. I went to a grand opening of a business there - and as the leadership was introducing themselves -it wasn’t I’ve been doing this 10 years or i’m from Houston….It was I’m A&M class of 98 and some sort of grunt. They’re fanatical.

The town is smaller but not small - and is very nice - and you can fly directly there from Dallas on American Airlines.

Engineering is large too. They also have a corp of cadets - 2300 strong - so a military aspect that’s unusual.

I’m sure it’s a fantastic experience, unlikely most any other school.

[FlyingRiddle7]

@aunt_bea

I completely agree that you should consider SUNY Buffalo.
It’s under everyone’s radar.

No one wants to go there because of the weather. Our daughter, however, had really good choices in schools, but she chose to go to Buffalo because of the minimal cost to us and because of their programs.

Thank you I’ll check it out! We’re in Illinois, so weather’s not an issue

[FlyingRiddle7]

@chmcnm

Please run the NPC for MIT and similar schools. If it’s not affordable don’t apply. If he gets in and it’s not affordable it will become a very difficult conversation.

If he gets in and you decide to pay for it will you do the same for siblings? That’s another very difficult conversation. Either situation could cause hard feelings.

Please help me understand this. So for ultraselective colleges that he listed as reach - MIT, Stanford, CalTech - the Net Price Calculator will be accurate? As in, that’s the price you pay if you get in (_I_F_ you get in). No grants, scholarships, special offers, whatever you see is what you’ll pay. Is that correct?

[tsbna44]

Need aid only. No merit. If you have an unusual situation, like a business it could impact, but otherwise it should be accurate.

[MMRose]

It’s usually accurate, depending on whether you own a small business or are divorced, in which case it may not be accurate — unless the NPC asks about these circumstances. Note that every NPC is different so you have to do them all.

It’s a good idea to print out the NPC for your own records when you fill out the FAFSA and CSS profile — that way, if the aid package is significantly different, you can ask for a meeting to understand why and sometimes they will adjust it (or explain the difference).