<p>I am an older person who is trying to help students in my neighborhood with college. I have a student interested in majoring in operations research who attends a no name high school that does not offer many ap classes. This student performed well on the SAT scoring a 2100 (m 770, cr 670, w 660). A GPA of 4.0 This school did not offer AP calculus, so the student is currently taking a college calculus class offered by the high school. We are trying to find colleges which will challenge the student. </p>
<p>Type of college: suburban or rural setting, large university, well regarded program, location can be anywhere in the us but must meet full need. This student needs a lot of FA.</p>
<p>I would appreciate any help in coming up with a list of 2 reach schools and 3 match schools. The two safety schools will be local universities.</p>
<p>I would like to know if all ABET accredited schools have the same curriculum or do the highly ranked schools are more rigorous with much more difficult exams. I do not want the student to be at a disadvantage due to the lack of computer and advanced math classes during hs.</p>
<p>Is the student a Texas resident? Does the 4.0 GPA make for a top 7% class rank? If so, then the student should be an auto-admit to any Texas public university, including many with good engineering divisions like Texas A&M (has industrial engineering). However, financial aid may be a question; take a look at the net price calculator at each school for need-based financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response ucbalumnus. I am afraid to divulge to much of the student’s information for privacy reasons. I am more interested in good programs at colleges which meet full need for match and reach choices.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link. We will definitely apply to some of those schools.</p>
<p>Operations research does not necessarily require an engineering school. Some colleges offer it through their math departments or business schools.</p>
<p>Do not forget about other public universities in your home state, including Texas Tech, Texas State-San Marcos and U of Houston.</p>
<p>Other choices: Clemson, Alabama-Tuscaloosa, Louisiana Tech, Ohio University (Not Ohio State U), South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.</p>
<p>Private schools with good financial aid (perhaps not full rides); Rochester Institute of Technology, U of Rochester, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Rensalaer Polytechnic Institute, Case Western Reserve University,</p>
<p>Adding to chardo’s reply “operations research” is primarily a set of courses, typically related to optimizing models (best use of scarce resources) for business, engineering or economics projects. Best is to look for colleges offering business or economics majors rather than a specialty in operations research. There are many colleges that are appropriate.</p>
<p>Most undergraduate business programs in ‘operations research’ are really operations management or a prescriptive analytics curriculum and not true OR. Missing are key courses that an IE, math, or stats programs with an OR emphasis will have…stochastic process/modelling/programming and linear programming. </p>
<p>It would be hard to add these courses on for a business program because the person will likely not have the prereq math or stats courses.</p>
<p>I teach at a college of business and our grad program is a true OR program. Our undergrad is not. All of the grad students have undergrad degrees in math, CS, or IE.</p>
<p>Does that mean that the student is low income? If so, the schools that “meet need” will require non-custodial parent info…will that be an issue?</p>
<p>With an income of $65k, the family will have an expected contribution unless the student is accepted to a tippy top school or gets a full ride somewhere. The EFC may be about $7k or so per year…which would be beyond Pell qualifications.</p>
<p>How much can the family contribute each year?</p>
<p>*We are trying to find colleges which will challenge the student. *</p>
<p>Eng’g programs at all good schools will be a challenge.</p>
<p>Why Industrial Eng’g. That’s an area of eng’g that would probably be one of the hardest to get employment.</p>
<p>All of the IE majors in my sorority (GPAs ranging from 2.6-3.8) have easily found paid internships. I presume this means they’ll easily be able to turn them into full time positions come graduation.</p>
<p>Industrial engineering is a much more likely place to find operations research, since most schools’ business and economics majors are not math-oriented enough.</p>
<p>Going over finances with the parents they can afford around 5k yr. This really narrows the student’s choices. I looked at the links ucbalumnus provided for tuition free and full ride schools. The tuition free schools still have residual costs of 10k which is too expensive. We will look into applying to two of the full ride schools.</p>
<p>I think the most financially responsible choice will be the local universities within commuting distance.</p>
<p>Note that financial aid offices typically expect the student to self-fund $4,000 to $10,000 from direct loans and work earnings, even at “meets full need” schools. Amounts at the lower end can be covered with either direct loan or some work earnings, while amounts at the higher end would need both direct loan and some work earnings. Depending on the school, there may be some scope for frugal living savings (i.e. going below the student budget assumed by the school).</p>
<p>So a big scholarship school with a $10,000 residual cost could be covered by the parents’ $5,000 and either a direct loan or some work earnings for the rest. Higher would likely require both, and it obviously depends on whether the student is willing to go to school under a higher direct loan and work earnings requirement.</p>
<p>While commuting is usually lower cost than living at the school (assuming same other school costs and financial aid and scholarships), be aware that it is not free, due to the student’s consumption of food and utilities, and commuting costs (especially if a car is needed).</p>
<p>I have read on cc to avoid high student debt. If the student had to take out a 5k loan each of the four years, we are talking more than 20k upon graduation. The figure could rise if the student takes longer than four years to graduate which is a possibility considering s/he is an engineering major. </p>
<p>What is the maximum debt a student should incur for an undergrad degree?</p>
<p>[Applying</a> for Federal Direct Loans](<a href=“http://www.direct.ed.gov/applying.html]Applying”>http://www.direct.ed.gov/applying.html) indicates that the maximum direct loans are $31,000, of which at most $23,000 can be at subsidized interest rates. This is for all four years total (not per year). The student is unlikely to be able to exceed that for undergraduate without a co-signer (and it is a bad idea for the co-signer in this case), so consider that as the hard maximum limit.</p>
<p>Some students and parents prefer to borrow less than the direct loan limit.</p>
<p>Depending on the school, frugal living may be able to reduce various costs (room, board, books, misc/personal) to reduce the amount of loans and work earnings needed.</p>
<p>The tuition free schools still have residual costs of 10k which is too expensive</p>
<p>Not really.</p>
<p>With his parents contribution and a $5500 loan, that would be doable. He could also work over summers to contribute.</p>
<p>There’s no reason to take more than 4 years to graduate. those who take longer usually cause the problem themselves by dropping classes, changing majors, or not paying attention to sequences or req’ts.</p>
<p>$25k in debt isn’t too much for an eng’g major, but I am concerned about job prospects for Industrial Eng’g</p>
Quite a few colleges with excellent industrial engineering programs have minimal parental contribution for a family income and $65k (and no large savings/assets). For example, entering a $65k income + $20k in savings into Stanford’s NPC results in a parental contribution of only $600, without loans. The grants include room and board, books, and various other expenses, as well as tuition. The student is expected to earn a few thousand via a part time job, which is often in a field related to his degree. The colleges with the best need based FA tend to be selective, so they’d be more likely to be reaches than safeties.</p>