Yeah! I’ve found that, on average, I’m probably going to have to take out around 6-7k in loans per year, no matter what school I go to (without merit aid, that is, but I can’t estimate merit aid at this time). MIT is by far the cheapest on the NPC, around like a $100 estimated contribution. Michigan, RPI, and WPI are the most expensive, asking around $30k. I know WPI offers good merit aid, with a full scholarship for FIRST robotics members, though.
My parents will not be contributing any money directly to my college expenses. They’ll slip me a $20 here or there for gas and food, but any tuition is just infeasible for them.