On the financial aid letter from LaTech, their estimated COA is $24,000.
Swarthmore does not guarantee to meet need as defined by FAFSA EFC. You could be eligible for PELL and not get aid from Swat. They guarantee to meet need as THEY define it.
OP, you , yourself cannot take on more than about $26k in debt over those 4 years . They go after your parents for the rest of the loans . You just sign so they can go after you if they don’t pay up. Also, even that $26k in loans doesn’t really add up to “just” $26k. There is this thing that is called interest and it starts charging up the instant you get the money and capitalizes.
It comes down to how comfortable your parents are in taking on this loan. Not “comfortable “ in that they wave their hands and say, “Sure, sure, we’ll co-sign ” but they are truly not jeopardizing their finances. Future, health and retirement taking on about $50k in loans that will quickly increase due to the interest factor. I know a lot of parents in a bad way because they took such loans with their kids having all the best intentions. Most young adults simply are not mature and responsible enough to make that commitment to their parents no matter how great those kids are.
So, without knowing what your parebts’ Financial situation is, can’t say how risky taking out those loans are.
Stuff happens in life. It’s not likely to be s smooth 4 years. Most engineering majors bail. That’s a hard statistic. Only half of the freshmen who start out in Swat’s engineering program, complete it. You may not make that salary you are counting on to repay those loans.
So, this comes down to a hard talk with your parents as to whether or not they can take on the $50K in loans. Unless they take it through PLUS which is pure parent loans, without you co-signing, they are often stuck with the loans even if you die. PLUS brings it home to parents that it’s THEIR loan more clearly than the co-signed stuff that is usually A worse deal for many reasons but fools parents into thinking the loan is not on them.
If parents truly can handle the loans, yes, I like the Swat option best. It’s a top drawer school and if Engineering doesn’t work out, their other departments are as good as it gets. Meet new people, a whole other life, Philly, etc.
Unfortunately, I jumped on the college prep boat a little late and didn’t qualify for National Merit. I did apply to several other colleges, all of which paid full tuition but little else. I’m not considering those other colleges because I would only have to pay about $3k more per year to go to Swarthmore and LSU would offer pretty much the same at a lesser cost. Also, thanks to all of you for the help! 
$72K is a great deal of debt to ask parents to take on. However, every family has a different comfort level with debt. I suggest having a frank discussion with them about their feelings and concerns.
With those stats it may make sense to take a gap year and look into schools with better scholarships. University of Alabama is one that is often mentioned here.
$72K debt is too much, especially when parents haven’t been upfront with OP about how much they will pay, and seemingly don’t have the will or means to pay their $20K EFC. We don’t even know if the parents would qualify for Parent Plus (or other) loans.
Swat is the only school of the 3 that uses CSS Profile, and they came close to the family’s EFC, but did not meet it. That’s why EFCs should be viewed as the minimum amount a family will be expected to pay. Many schools don’t come close to meeting EFC…even meet full need schools, which typically use the Profile, and have idiosyncratic need determination calculations.
As a few posters have noted, OP might look at U Alabama and UAH. Both schools seem to still be accepting apps, but who knows if the colleges of engineering have spots…no harm in calling and asking tho. I expect those schools will cost around the same as LSU, so more expensive that LA Tech. OP, run the NPCs to see what your estimated cost at each would be.
Both UA and UAH are in better financial shape than LSU and LaTech so it’s worth sending a quick app.
Total estimated costs:
University of Alabama: $24,000
University of Alabama in Huntsville: $10,000
I’m surprised that UAH is so low. Would it be worth it to go there over LaTech?
Thanks to all of you for the information! You have all been helpful and I am very grateful for it.
Swarthmore seems like a bad idea now, so it’s between LaTech, UAH (if they let me apply), or a gap year.
Yes, UAH is in the middle of a research park and is financially healthier than a Louisiana public university.
UAH would be a great choice.
@mom2collegekids is there a contact person you know at UAH?
@Uncomfortable By any chance, are you a first gen college student? If so, Swarthmore would offer many other opps to you to enhance your social capital and your career. This is what I did. Swarthmore gave you a lot of aid, which means they want you. Have you called them to tell them you are uncomfortable? They may be willing to up your award, especially since you bring geographic diversity.
Is that a generous offer from you to pay for @Uncomfortable to attend Swarthmore?
Are these the only 3 you are considering or do you have other offers…I know you narrowed down but maybe you want to reassess all your options?
As a mom who made many mistakes with my own school debt, I would suggest sticking to the best financial offer for an ABET program. Student loans are not fun and your parents would have to take plus loans. At your age, you have no idea how loans can impact lifelong decisions…but trust me they can!
My son got into an amazing school with full need met…unfortunately the full need they met exceeded what we can comfortably pay per year…and his scholarships just dented into the school aid leaving the amount we owe as the amount we owe. So, yes, a gap can exist between what a school thinks is need met and what families can pay at times.
Good luck! D - day is close!
@1stTimeThruMom I’m not first gen. I’ll consider calling them though, and nice joke 
Swathmore does not have any ABET engineering degree plans. You dodged a bullet. Go to LA Tech and work hard.
@dallastxmom not accurate:
Swarthmore Engineerinb is ABET accredited.
http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=169&ProgramIDs=
Following that link for Swarthmore shows a generic “engineering” degree vs a robust engineering dept with accreditation for several specific fields of engineering (which the vast majority of jobs are going to want. For example, BS in chemE, EE, ME, etc.).
@Uncomfortable If you truly want to major in engineering, Swarthmore is not worth the $$ and will not give you the engineering course options that the others will. I don’t know anything about LA Tech, but our ds earned his chemE degree from another state’s tech school (not well known one) and has an excellent career. Have you contacted their career services office to ask about what companies are recruiting on campus? Understanding who is employing their graduates might help clarify things for you. (I tried to see if there was a published list, but I couldn’t find one. It looks like everything is in their handshake portal.).
If UAH is still accepting applications and offering merit, that would be another great option. They have an excellent relationship with Cummings Research Park for getting internships and co-ops.
@janjmom Your posts about meeting need lack understanding of how meeting need works. Plenty of families have an expected familial contribution that is beyond their ability to pay. Saying they don’t gap is meaningless. They define your ability to pay, not you. Just bc they deem a family able to pay $20,000 or what ever per yr does not mean the family can. Our kids face a scenario where our ability to pay is approximately 1/3 of our EFC. That remaining 2/3 means that meets need schools are way out of our kids price range.
I’m confused why everyone is not considering LSU as an option. Any financial woes do not touch the jewels of the school- business, engineering, landscape architecture, etc. And when I looked it up USNews ranking, LSU is ranked ahead of University of Alabama in engineering despite everyone always pushing Alabama on CC (I realize for their amazing scholarships). If you want to live in New Orleans or Houston after college, a degree in engineering from LSU will set you up well. I know many that have done very well.
And LaTech is fine, but Rustin is a small boring town.
Graduating from a highly ranked college does affect starting salary, both as a result of the companies who recruit there and the positions that will be open to you. Look at the salary surveys for individual colleges.