Chance me Ga Tech, UT Austin, Purdue ACT 36 [KY resident, 4.0 GPA, likely NMSF, mechanical or civil engineering or physics]

Kentucky resident so OOS for all
Female
Large public HS, junior class currently
Seeking engineering mechanical/civil/physics

ACT composite 36
PSAT 1520 (228) so likely Nat Merit this fall
GPA 4.0 unweighted
My school does not do class rank

8 AP’s including calc BC, physics, CSP, HG, US History, Seminar
4/5’s in all AP exams taken so far
6 college courses at local university
Gold Seal Biliteracy Spanish

Silver Key writing award
Volunteer Tutor/mentor for underprivileged middle school students in math and science
Competition dance national champion
Women in science and engineering club
Honors math club (no leadership positions).

GaTech is the dream but as I am OOS for my top 3, I am also planning higher chance options, including NC State, VAtech, and others.

Let me know what other info would be helpful and thanks guys!

I think you clearly have the sort of academic profile that they (or really any engineering college) is looking for in their applicants. So it is absolutely worth applying to a selection of such engineering colleges you can comfortably afford and would be particularly excited to attend.

You are also right that these days they get so many highly qualified applicants that they have to turn away a bunch anyway. I don’t think we can really predict with any precision the odds of that happening, it is just important to note it definitely can happen.

So, you are right to think you need to identify affordable and exciting options across a range of selectivity. Fortunately with your qualifications, it is pretty simple, you just need to look at their OOS engineering admissions policies and rates.

Like as long as you were either an auto admit (as you would be at, say, Iowa State, a college I think you might consider), or they had an above 50% OOS engineering acceptance rate generally, with your numbers that would make them what I would call a Likely. You should have at least two of those, and it could be more, particularly if you are interested in maybe chasing merit (I note Iowa State also has auto-merit).

Then if the OOS engineering rate is between like 25% and 50%, I would call those Targets for you. And you might want to have like 3-5 of those.

And then you could have a few sub-25%, the sort that I would call Reaches for Everyone.

OK, so Georgia Tech–pretty much Reach for Everyone for OOS engineering.

Texas, same deal.

Purdue–last I knew (like for Class of 2028), it might more count as a Target for you, although note just because you get into First Year Engineering at Purdue does not mean you will get into any engineering major.

NC State, my impression is that would also likely be a Target for you OOS.

Virginia Tech might actually be getting toward Likely territory, but maybe borderline. Including because at least in my circles, they have a reputation for sometimes waitlisting or even rejecting high numbers applicants (a practice sometimes known as yield protection, but is typically less about the stats and more just they want to make sure they actually enroll the classes they want).

OK, so if you like this kind of big public engineering powerhouse, I do think you need at least one more really good Likely, maybe two. And again, I think given your interests, Iowa State is a great choice to nail down that part of your list. But there are plenty of others you could consider for Likelies and Targets, and it could be for non-academic reasons.

Like, do you have a feeling about whether you would like to be more in an urban or college town setting? For various reasons there are not as many big public engineering colleges in urban settings, but there are some, like Minnesota, Washington, or Pitt.

Or do you have any interest in a smaller college, say a midsize private university or even smaller? You don’t have to be interested, and sometimes people strike those for affordability reasons. But you might qualify for substantial merit at some interesting options.

Just some things to consider. Again, with your numbers I think you are in the fortunate position of being able to play this a lot of different ways, depending on what you prefer in a total college experience, and of course can afford.

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Purdue - Yes

NC State and Va Tech - yes

Ga Tech and UT Austin - certainly possible but no assurance.

Any budget issues?? If you are National Merit, you can go for free or near free elsewhere, and likely get a similar job outcome, thus saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Good luck.

Do you have cost constraints?

Thank you for the thorough and thoughtful response. I will look into Iowa State. The more feedback we get, the more i realize the unpredictability of it all so…need more targets and likelies! My dad is getting tored of driving though.

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Parents make too much so won’t meet any need criteria but we will have 3 kids in full time college simultaneously. Will be a combination of parent money and loans. Scholarship who knows? Very doubtful my my list of schools.

Talk to your parents about how much parent money will be available to you.

If you make National Merit Semi Finalist and advance to National Merit Finalist, then there are some colleges that will offer large scholarships (up to full ride) based on that. There are also a few colleges that offer large scholarships (up to full ride) based on your 4.0 GPA and 36 ACT.

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So you can only take $27K of loans over four years. You can get more - but then you’re in the high interest rate zone - very high.

And outcomes are likely similar no matter where you go.

So my son went to Alabama (turned down Purdue), interned with kids from one of the schools in your top three you mentioned (was invited back a second summer, they weren’t) - and works with kids from Michigan, Purdue, and other top schools but also W Michigan and Akron - and they all make the same.

Engineering, short of a few schools, is not prestige oriented - ABET accreditation (especially for MechE) is what you see.

So whether it’s an Alabama (5 years free tuition, four years housing + an annual stipend) or U Houston (free tuition) or the great deals at UTD, Tulsa (full ride), some of the Florida publics and more - you can avoid all that - with having three kids in school at the same time.

In other words, you have national merit - but at your list, it’s not really relevant.

But it’s the golden ticket for those who want to use it.

And that those NMF schools, you won’t be the only smart kid. Bama has the amongst the most NM Scholats if not the most, Tulsa has by far the highest concentration of Natl Merit Scholars - over 25% of the entire university.

So something to think about vs. starting your career strangled by loans and really losing the freedom in life to do things you want - live where you want, choose the job you want, etc. - the loans will drive those decisions.

Even if you don’t get NMF, you’d get 4 years free tuition and one year housing at Bama + $1,500 a year and a one time $2K research stipend. And Tulsa is full ride for NMSF.

Just other ways to look at things - because nothing is worse than debt - nothing - especially when you don’t necessarily get anything more for having it - and in many ways, you get less.

Best of luck.

UT Austin and GT have mandates to fill their class with instate applicants so it’s really tough to get in from out of state, even for very strong students like yourself.

I also agree that Purdue is more likely but not a definite as it’s getting more and more competitive every cycle. (I’m curious to see what the admissions stats look like this year as there was a big increase in applications).

My Purdue engineer really liked RPI. Similar vibe and with your stats you should quality for merit. You can ask your guidance counselor to see if they would nominate you for the RPI medal.

Pitt has a really good engineering program and has rolling admission, so I love them for high stats students like yourself because if you apply when the common app opens, you’ll have your answer very early (like September/October) which makes it a great safety. My Purdue engineering works with a ton of Pitt grads. Lots of similarities between these programs other than location.

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OP – Since Purdue is on your list, you might look at the Purdue Data Digest, here: https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/; and especially the links to “Applications, Admits, and Matriculations” and “New First-Time Beginner Profile”. You can plug in your stats to some of the interactive links on these sites, and perhaps get an idea where you might fall relative to recently admitted OOS applicants to Purdue.

In regards to potential NMSF money, my son – who graduated from Purdue in 2022 – received $250/semester for his NMF status; it was nice but not an overwhelming amount. You might look at some of the schools that @tsbna44 mentions which give lots of money for NMSF/NMF status; and you might include the University of Oklahoma on that list, as it awards some good NMSF/NMF money, here: National Merit Finalist Scholarship.

Also, have you visited the campuses of any of the schools that you have listed? Sometimes that will help you narrow down and weed out some of the schools on your list.

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Absolutely - all three of these are vastly different - not just in environment but other things like weather and housing. My son chose his school for two reasons: 1. His own dorm room vs. a likely triple at Purdue when he was going (6 years ago, not today) and 2. Palm Trees

So yes, don’t just pick names because they are big…find the right schools for you as you will be there four years, day after day.

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Just echoing what others are saying–it turns out your cost of attendance may be quite different at different colleges. Some just cost a lot less to begin with, and then some have auto-merit for grades and/or test scores, and some have it for National Merit, and some also have discretionary merit, and potentially all of differing amounts.

Just to keep using the same example, Iowa State has a pretty decent non-resident cost of attendance to begin with, but it was still around $43K for non-residents in 2024-25:

OK, but then as mentioned, Iowa State has auto-merit. It is actually state based, so you can look up Kentucky:

With a 4.0, you would qualify for $12K/year. That brings that COA down to around $31K. And that is getting quite competitive–if you can afford that much.

OK, so all this will update, but point being that is one option that is pretty much automatic for you that will cost you in around that range.

But can you do better in terms of cost? I bet you can, actually. Can you do better at an an engineering program you would like as much as Iowa State’s? More complicated question. Would you be willing and able to pay more for an engineering program you liked even better? Again, complicated.

But if you get an idea of what your budget looks like, people around here will be great about giving you options for meeting that budget. And if it is a bit flexible depending on what exactly you are looking at in a college, that is fine too. The more you can explain how that would work for you, the better we will be about making suggestions.

Congratulations on your great achievements so far.

For less costly options, I would suggest:

University of New Mexico @WayOutWestMom can tell you the benefits of engineering there.

All of the University of Alabama campuses…look to see which appeals to you.

As noted, University of Tulsa has a great full ride for NMfinalists.

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Even better, UTulsa’s full ride is actually for NM semi-finalists (although most make it to finalist status, this may be a key difference for some students).

UTulsa NMSF scholarship

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Also, NC State limits out-of-state students to no more than 18% of its entering first-year undergraduate class.

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It appears Alabama is now four years + 1 year of housing: https://afford.ua.edu/scholarships/out-of-state-freshman/

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https://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

No that is semi or Presidential Elite. If a student is elevated to NMF, here’s the package.

National Merit Finalist Package

First-time freshmen who are recognized as National Merit Finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation are strongly encouraged to submit all application materials by the January 10 priority deadline to ensure consideration. If eligible students submit an admission application and all supporting documents after January 10 or by May 1, they will receive consideration for admission on a space available basis.

Students must have at least a 3.5 GPA after completion of their junior year and list The University of Alabama as their college of choice with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation before May 1, 2025.

If admitted, students who are eligible for the National Merit Finalist package will receive:

  • Value of tuition for up to five years or 10 semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
  • Four years of undergraduate on-campus housing at regular room rate* (based on assignment by Housing and Residential Communities)
  • $4,000 per year undergraduate supplemental scholarship for four years**
  • $2,000 one-time allowance for use in research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA)

I did not consider Alabama but that is a good suggestion. My twin (looking at a different major is going to visit, so we both might go now. That’s hard not to at least look at.

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Thanks for the info! We did visit GaTech, Ilinois UC, Purdue, Cincinnati, and Michigan so far. At Purdue Women in Engineering Program this week, they essentially say almost nobody gets scholarship from OOS. They really go all out to make us nerdy girls feel welcome though. I did not like the prospect of possibly living in a dorm WITHOUT air conditioning!