You want to be an engineer ? Depending on the type, the top schools aren’t necessarily the top schools. And where you go will matter less if the school is ABET accredited.
But a Purdue is going to better than Ivy in most cases. Not an easy get but certainly achievable. The salaries coming out of Rose Hulman are nothing short of amazing.
Depending on the discipline you want - if it’s chemistry, a not so difficult UDEL or UMN blows away the top schools.
If it’s MechE, it can be most anywhere. Ga Tech blows away the schools you listed but guess what - their students will intern side by side with Alabama, Auburn, Houston etc. and have every opportunity to outperform them - my kid did at Alabama where he was invited back to his internship the next year but his two ga tech roomies weren’t.
There’s the tippy top of engineering, then the near elite, and then maybe a hundred plus really great programs that deliver sometimes as well as the elites. What is important in some of the disciplines is ABET accreditation, not the US News ranking.
So you haven’t hurt anything. You’ve helped yourself. Based on pure merit awesome schools like Alabama, UAH, Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas and more will throw crazy money at you.
But it gets better. If you are national merit as you say, you can go to U Tulsa free. Alabama for four years of free tuition and housing plus $3500 a year.
Schools like Maine, UTD, USC, Fordham and others have strong NM programs. And so many more.
So if you are budget constrained - your academics have you the golden ticket. Your NMF will multiply that golden ticket.
You can still apply to top schools that provide need based aid - a UVA or the privates like Duke, Cornell. But have your folks fill out their net price calculators to see if the schools say you have need. If they don’t and you can’t afford $350k, you saved time by not applying.
So the only thing wasted is your perspective.
Your accomplishments would be the envy of most every kid…and especially the parents footing the bill …of most everyone in America.
Engineering - the brand name - honestly short of a few - not critically important.
One more thing to OP - you saysUCs prioritize GPA.
To be clear, the UCS and CSUs are test blind - so your test has no factor. U of Washington is also test blind.
Schools that will require tests are the Florida publics (UF is very well thought of), Purdue, UGA and I’m sure there’s more (like Georgetown but since you’re engineering you’re not applying there).
Best of luck but you have a wonderful situation and I think you don’t fully understand the engineering landscape - so relax, you’re going to do great!!! But - you also want to ensure you fully understand calculus - so the grade is no worry but your grasp of the material is pertinent to be successful. 40-60% of engineering students nationally (so not just top schools but all schools) don’t finish in engineering - depending on the study one is looking at.