Chance Me: Aerospace/Mech; 4.46/5; 35ACT; ok ECs [CO resident, 3.98 GPA, <$50k]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics
US Citizen, CO, private

Cost Constraints / Budget
no constraints but I want to probably max at 50k/yr

Intended Major(s)
Aerospace first choice, mechanical 2nd choice

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
4.46/5 (3.98/4)
12 APs: (Calc AB 5; Phys 1 4; APUSH 5; Macro/Micro 5; Compsci 4; Lang 5; Phys C Elec & Mechanics; Lit; Stat; Calc BC)
35 ACT (36R, 36E, 35M, 32S)

top 10% of school GPA wise but probably ranked 15/300 students (school doesn’t rank)

List your HS coursework

  • English: 2 honors, 2 AP
  • Math: 4 yrs (Alg2-CalcBC) + Stat
  • Science: Honors Bio & Chem, AP Phys 1, AP Compsci, AP Phys C Elec, Ap Phys C Mech
  • History and social studies: 1 honors freshman, APUSH, Macro/Micro (DC Gov summer)
  • Language other than English: Spanish 1,2,3
  • Visual or performing arts: 2 classes required
  • Other academic courses: 1.5 stem classes, 1.5 business classes, including capstone classes for STEM & Business w/ DECA proj for Business & Research for STEM
  • BIBLE: required fr, soph, sr

pretty much just took hardest courseload with 1 off period a year until senior year and I have 2 now

Awards
Academic All State / 3 Varsity Letter
NMSQT Commended, AP Scholar Distinction,
STEM Award (about 20/300 kids achieve), extra courses + research project
Seal of Biliteracy
NHS

Extracurriculars
(Include leadership, summer activities, competitions, volunteering, and work experience)

  1. XC, ran at regions SO-JR & team got 2nd, but I wasn’t top 7 for state team SO-JR, vry good team, t7 on team this year, ranked T20-30 in nation (overall regional level)
  2. Track, scored @ league to win league champs (regional level)
  3. Boy Scouts (local level EC)
  4. Eagle Scout proj (raised 2k + managed 260 hours of cumulative service) (regional level EC)
  5. STEM research proj (not crazy not published just did for class, kinda BS)
  6. Religious (mass + volunteering)
  7. Math club SR year (idk if i’ll put)
  8. DECA project (probably not, just gonna have to write a paper for class)

Essays/LORs/Other
(Optionally, guess how strong these are and include any other relevant information or circumstances.)

didn’t start yet but I’m a good writer & have my idea, gonna keep these fun
probably mid essays but they’ll be a good representation of who I am

Schools
(List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)

  • Extremely Likely: CO School of Mines EA
  • Likely: Udub
  • Toss-up: CU Aerospace EA (Reach? know some kids who got deferred from engineering w/35s & cracked stats)
  • Lower Probability:
  • Low Probability: Georgia Tech EA & UT Austin EA

Thinking about UCs? (too expensive)
Santa Clara? (will they give me merit?)

Anyone have any other ideas of schools that would be good for me? I don’t really like living in hot areas so im iffy on UT Austin & GT. I don’t know anything about northeast schools & ivys except that they’re expensive and need better ECs. I’m comfortable with mines but would like some other out of state schools to apply to just in case.

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  1. Talk to your private school counselor about the where - they’ll have the best info regarding chances. But I’ll hazard a guess.

  2. Your ECs are more than fine.

  3. Mines is a safety and top notch. But it doesn’t have aero - just a minor.

  4. CU is likely for you and top notch.

  5. UW is a match. 43% acceptance rate but you have a good shot. But not close $$ wise so forget it. Plus it’s test blind. Same with UCs - not close to budget and test blind.

  6. You don’t need a big list - you need one that works for you - and given the major, the where likely matters little. So the two in states are great.

There are 79 ABET accredited aero schools.

So hit the desires. You’ll get a great education anywhere.

You don’t want hot - so take out UT (too pricey) and GT. And the other fine aero schools that would crush the budget - like UAH.

Instead, throw in a Purdue for a reach type - well within budget. Or if you like the city, UMN. You’ll be in with merit and it’s strong.

Iowa State and Kansas are both solid safeties if you want to leave the state.

Really with the two Colorado schools you’d be done (a Minor at Mines paired with MechE). And if you want a specialty school like Mines you can add Missouri Science and Tech and RPI - which you’ll need merit but it’s possible. Ohio State is another that might work financially.

You’ll be fine with a list of 5-6.

There’s other great schools that will crush your budget but they’ll be hot.

But CU, UMN, and Purdue, you’ve got a great list. You can be done there.

Add Iowa State or KU - and you’d be golden - great names under budget.

But the others I threw out are fine too.

Budget first - there’s a reason you mentioned it so picking schools that don’t meet it is a waste of time.

Good luck.

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Another vote for Purdue. They have a great aero program and will be under budget. I think you would be very competitive with your high test score, GPA and course rigor.

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And that’s worldwide. There are only 63 in the US.

In addition to all of the good advice above, ask yourself what you want to do. Aerospace is a big industry that employs people with all sorts of degrees, including civil. You can be in aerospace without an AE degree.

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I saw 89 but 79 in US.

My son works in the industry as a MECHE but does a lot of IE work.

Most industries have employees from tons of majors.

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For aerospace engineering bachelor’s degree programs, ABET lists 87 total, of which 79 are in the US. However, some are duplicates, such as University of Colorado Boulder being listed under its former name of University of Colorado at Boulder as well.

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Regarding Purdue, here is a link the the Purdue Data Digest: https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/. Look at the links for “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations,” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile”; I think that you would be competitive for admission there.

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The thing is with the budget, my parents have said they will pay anything. But I’m the one who is kind of nervous doing that (and paying 90k/yr for some school which is $360,000!)
They did make $500,000k/yr gross until this year when my mom quit her job, and they averaged around $380,000 over the past 10 years. So price is really weird for me + my dad is retiring next 2 years since he’s 70.

I’m also not dead set on my major. I want to work with computers, but I decided I couldn’t major in computer science because the market is so bad and it seems like no one is able to get jobs + I wouldn’t be able to get into a top program like I can at CU. Tbh, I picked aerospace on a whim and also considered data science, EE, and I only picked aero from watching youtube videos.

Thanks for the advice. I will consider UMN and Purdue. I have considered Purdue before because it is a good engineering school but I took it off my list since it seems to be in the middle of nowhere, but I think I was a bit hasty in that decision. I also was a bit wary about going to school in the midwest because I can never see myself living there. Tbh I can’t see myself living in georgia either, I autimatically took all Florida schools off my list because I visited there once and it was miserable.

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Purdue isn’t middle of nowhere (less than a hour to Indy) but then UMN is perfect and look at Ohio State.

Your parents determine what they want to pay but I appreciate you wanting to hold tight to a #. I feel that way about my undergrad. My dad paid a lot and I regret it.

If you truly want to stay in a # you can.

Guess what - Michigan or CU or Minnesota and I can name others - you’ll likely have the same level job.

As for CS - no one knows the future. We know today. That’s for any job/major.

You can go higher cost if you want - schools like UMD but based on description, the two Colorados, UMN, and I’d keep Purdue. If you get in, you can visit and decide. Throw in Ohio State.

If you decide later smaller is better, you have Mines. Want more throw in more small just in case, an RPI or WPI.

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I would add Ohio State as suggested. It is a top Aerospace & Mech Eng school, in a city with Big 10 sport. It is a target for you and can be under budget with merit. They offered $14.5K merit/year to S24 for pre-Aero ENG OOS with lower stats.

You may want to consider Cal Poly SLO, top Aerospace program and well known among Areo/defense companies. It is reach with 20% Aero acceptance rate, a little over $50K for OOS.

Good Luck.

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I agree Purdue is super obvious. It is a worthy Aerospace “dream” school. I don’t really think kids should have dream schools, but if you are looking for a school where it would actually make sense to go out of state rather than stick with your excellent in-state options, Purdue is one of the very few otherwise meeting your parameters that I would think is worth considering.

Otherwise, as it happens a lot of the top Aerospace programs are in the Sun Belt, which actually relates to where it made sense to locate flying and launching operations. But some less reachy/not-Sun-Belt options you could consider would include Iowa State, Utah State, and Wichita State.

All are reportedly super plugged into the industry in their own ways (I note Wichita in particular is a huge market in this industry). Like Purdue for Indiana and CU for Colorado, Iowa State and Wichita State are the Lead Institution for the Space Grant program in their state. Utah State is not, but it is the host of the Space Dynamics Laboratory, which is one of only 15 UARCs (University Affiliated Research Centers) for the DOD, and the ONLY one for the Missile Defense Agency, and they are a frequent NASA contractor, and so on.

I also note at Utah State, unlike Iowa State and Wichita State, there is not a separate Aero department, but it shares the co-lead with Mechanical in the relevant department:

I believe these are all well within budget OOS even full pay.

Moreover, Utah State is a WUE participant, and Wichita State also has a discount program for Colorado residents, even more if you come from certain Colorado metros:

Iowa State has automatic merit for Colorado students based on GPA:

https://www.iastate.edu/admission-and-aid/admissions/first-year-students/national-scholars/first-year-scholarship-awards/co

Anyway, I am definitely not suggesting you must choose these over your in-state options. But, I think they could be interesting options to consider and so might be worth checking out.

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Aerospace has a more limited number of employers compared to computing, data science, or a more general type of engineering like electrical or mechanical. Note that aerospace employers employ many with mechanical, electrical, etc. engineering backgrounds. At some schools without an explicit aerospace engineering major, aerospace electives may be available under another engineering department like mechanical engineering.

Aerospace employment is more likely to require a security clearance than many other kinds of employment.

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Since you’re undecided on what you want to do, I would choose a school where there’s sufficient flexibility for you to change your mind, whether it’s aerospace to MechE to data science to CS to business, etc. Frankly, paying more to have that flexibility is something that I can definitely see the value in. (Additionally, you don’t have to pay more to get this flexibility. An option like Iowa State would keep all your options open and would be well under your own self-imposed budget. It’s just something that I think is very worthwhile.)

University of Cincinnati might be a school to look into. It’s ABET-accredited for aerospace (among many other fields), but the school tends to be really focused on co-ops. Thus, you’d be able to spend six months trying out a position and then if you find you don’t like it, you could pivot and try a different field. Getting those in-person, hands-on experiences can be really useful.

Purdue and Georgia Tech both have a number of students who participate in co-ops, but I don’t know if it’s to the same degree as at U. of Cincinnati, so it could feel odd having friends out on co-op at different times whereas I think it’s more synced up at Cincy. That is definitely something to research further, though, as that’s supposition on my part rather than actual knowledge.

Rochester Institute of Technology (NY) is another school with a strong co-op culture. And you may also want to check out Rensselaer Polytechnic (NY) and Worcester Polytechnic (MA). They are very strong schools and would allow you lots of flexibility to discover your interests, and I suspect you would also receive good merit aid (enough to bring it within your self-imposed budget).

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