Help Building a Realistic College List for A Wonderfully Average Junior [NC resident, 3.54 GPA, <$40k, civil engineering or business]

Thanks again. Unfortunately, the majority of NC schools, public (arghhh!! Say it isn’t so!) and even private, are a no for him. Had to convince him to tour several by stating we were just visiting to compare features he liked/disliked and promising we would not force him to apply. He is very aware that if we can’t afford a school he may have to rethink /adjust his college path. He is okay with this but is stressed out trying to figure out where his college home will be. Does it feel right? Is it financially possible? Will he get in? If not is there an alternate path to get there that he is comfortable with?

If $40k or less, Marshall, Tennessee Tech and UTC are winners - even full pay !! Actually at $30k ish and Wyoming is $38kish minus $4500 merit so mid 30s. UAH is also $39k and looks like $5k merit.

Some of the others mentioned above by others may or may not be but they’re potentially worth pursuing but make sure you have at least one, if not two, that are assured!!

This way, no matter what, you have an affordable home.

Yes he’ll get in. Yes if your budget is $40k, you can afford it.

Is it comfortable - hopefully one will be !! Huntsville is Rocket city. Modern. Educated. Lots of space and defense firms. UT Chatt is in a cool, tourist city and Tn Tech is a small town. Marshall a very nice smaller city bordering Appalachia - so lots of variety. Wyoming - almost big time sports and surprisingly close to Denver. All these have D1 hoops, football and more.

Lots of great choices above too on other posts. check their NpcS. But I think you can take the win on admissibility and affordability !!!

1 Like

He attended from 2020-2024. Just graduated. They prepared him for applying for work, and to interview and in getting internships. All his friends have solid jobs within 6 months of graduation. Academically it’s solid and he really enjoyed his time there (he joined about 3-4 professional clubs, involved in a Christian fellowship group, and played club sports. He also worked on campus in the sports marketing. He traveled abroad for summer and was part of a class that traveled to NYC, Japan, and Denver for school. Received merit scholarship of $24,000/year. My Daughter is a freshman elsewhere, but received $42,000/year. Merit is automatically given. For my daughter it was likely based on grades. She was test optional. For my son it was based on his test scores. Go to the net price calculator for the schools.

https://www.up.edu/finaid/costs/net-price-calculator.html

Housing I believe is guaranteed for two years and possibly even up to three, though most like to rent a house with friends off campus within walking distance. Off campus rent is “affordable” in that single rooms are probably $600-750/month but less if you double. Of course I’m comparing it to my daughter’s in the Bay Area.

Son loved the school. Truly a diamond in the rough in that it’s a small school in a very nice area of Portland. University Park is a nice area across from the city/downtown. It’s generally a very safe area that has easy access/drive/Uber to PDX. Although places to eat are driving distance, it’s easy to take Uber around.

Of course they have food at the Phouse as well as at the cafeteria, but you cannot beat the food in Portland. I believe it rivals any other city in the US (as good as NYC, LA, SF, HNL), and no sales tax!

Of course the majority of graduates tend to stay on the west coast, but there are Pilots everywhere (even in NYC or Japan).

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

4 Likes

Keep in mind, if you’re looking at a lot of colleges on the opposite coast, that travel costs will be a significant factor. If you have a kid who is good with just coming home for Christmas, it might not be a big deal but if you think homesickness will come into play, then you might want to have those conversations now.

I’m also in NC and I get the whole not wanting the high school 2.0 factor from the more popular NC publics. My daughter felt the same way. We also required her to apply to several in-state options. She chose to go out of state, which we were able to financially swing, but be aware that there are social struggles with that decision also - when you’re an OOS student at a college where many in-state students already know each other.

2 Likes

Well aware, but the school is under the population what OP preferred - didn’t mention setting. IME kids from different schools don’t hang out much with each other…and I know a bunch of kids at Clark and WPI and Holy Cross and none really love Worcester though all LOVE their schools. My kid applied to 2 of those too.

YMMV

Yeah, it is a top 100 US News and roughly #50 for engineering. Great career outcomes. Top 100 for WSJ too. Has an interesting short semester system and LOTS of projects.

Home to the first robotics engineering major…(also a bit of a mecca for FIRST robotics kids as WPI made some of the source code or something…and Kamen went there I think?).

1 Like

If you end up interested in WPI let me know if you have any questions - my older son is a current junior there, and I’d be happy to chat. We’ve been very happy with the school in general, but it definitely doesn’t have the Big College Sports vibe going on. That said, their club soccer program is strong, so that might be a fit for him, and there are minor league sports in town. Boston sports are big, as the school has a lot of students from MA/CT and it’s easy to find other students to watch and root with if that appeals.

4 Likes

Fairfield would be reachy- but I don’t think it is impossible by any means based on kids I know that got in this year/last year. Average weighted gpa is almost a 4, but a 3.8 (assuming roughly apples to apples) isn’t that far below…

They do care a lot about demonstrated interest - so visiting, interviewing, etc goes a long way!

Also, I find people on this boards are very conservative abotu GPAs. If I had done a “chance me” they would have said my kid would get in almost nowhere, they got in their reaches.

Can wpi get sub 40 with merit only?

It’s a tad over $60k tuition and fees plus whatever r&b is - so assuming high 70s.

Just so op knows whether or not it’s realistic.

They need to do that with every school - and knowing it’s a 3.5/3.8 student who is TO without a ton of rigor.

When chasing a price, they need to look this way.

It may work - I dunno - but that’s why I’m asking.

I’d suggest every school each of us mentioned be looked at through that lens - so OP is not focusing on the improbable.

Thanks.

Definitely needs to take physics next year if he’s serious about engineering.
I know he’s saying no to NC schools but just wanted to throw out there that UNC Asheville has a joint program with NC State so they do 2 years in Asheville and if they maintain good grades, they go to Raleigh to finish the degree with their exceptional program. Their acceptance rate is much higher and the school is cheaper overall. Plus, humidity in Asheville isn’t as bad as other places in the state. Maybe he’d consider?

2 Likes

Quick note: I work for a large consumer electronics company in the greater Boston area. Over the past 15 years l’ve hired at least ten URI engineering new grads. All had solid skills and were successful.

3 Likes

What about Boise State, Montana State, and Wyoming? Definitely no humidity, some big-time sports (not sure about Montana State – they have sports, but not sure about division), and some generous merit aid for out-of-state students.

1 Like

Glad that some of the schools I suggested seemed to be resonating with what your son has already identified!

I find that many colleges tend to do merit aid in one of two ways. There are those who only provide merit aid to a minority of students, and for them it’s a way of attracting the very top students to them. Then there are other schools that provide merit aid to the vast majority of their students, and for them it is more of providing a discount (with deeper discounts the more they want the particular student). So there are a number of colleges that will give 95% of their students scholarships averaging $27,000. That would be an example of merit aid as discounting (IMO).

This site has aggregated some merit aid data from some colleges’ Common Data Sets: Merit Aid by Institution – College Transitions. It was last updated in November 2024 based on the 23-24 Common Data Sets.

If the aggregator does not include a school (or even if it does), you can look at a school’s Common Data Set (CDS) yourself. An internet search for “School Name” and “Common Data Set” should get you the document. It contains tons of information (including on class sizes, admission priorities, etc), but for learning more about merit aid you would want to look at section H2, lines N & O:

You can you this information (plus the number of first-year students and undergrads that is located elsewhere in the CDS) to calculate what percentage of students are getting aid and what the amount is, and that can give you a good idea as to the school’s philosophy of granting merit.

Using the aggregator for the four schools that already had your son’s interest, this is what pulled up:

  • Gonzaga: 53% of undergrads without need and 99% overall received merit aid, averaging $19,313.
  • Marquette: 40% of undergraduates w/o need received merit aid, averaging $23,115
  • Seattle: 97% of undergrads receive merit aid (did not specify if it was students with or without need), averaging $26,897
  • U. of Portland: 36% of students without need, and 96% of students overall, received merit, averaging $24,880.

Many colleges will ask for academic stats (GPA and test score) in the Net Price Calculator. If they do, they will also often provide an estimate of the minimum amount of merit aid that your son might expect.

I think UNCW has a similar 2/2 program for engineering with NC State.

2 Likes

Exactly. Already with you on travel costs and homesickness. Also being able to get to him quickly or have him come home ICOE. Oldest child is OOS but luckily there are enough OOS students so she doesn’t feel out of place.i think her going OOS makes DS feel he has the entire country to choose from BUT different kids, different skill sets. She is resourceful and advocates for herself, son is still learning. DS gets along with everyone and doesn’t self isolate (as long as he can play a sport) which is good.

1 Like

Thank you. He needs to test so will have to wait and see how that all plays out. Seems quite a financial stretch. Glad to hear your son had a wonderful time. Big congratulations on his being employed and adulting. Yay!

1 Like

UDel? I don’t think he’d get merit though.

WPI is too expensive. Thank you anyway. Looking at prices most NE schools are $$$$$ geez

My thoughts as well. Having gone through college app season several years ago with DD I learned to not go by the NPC because it simply means loans for us, which we don’t want.

Thank you. Will see if he can get into physics. I tried but No to UNC Asheville. I know UNC Wilmington also has the 2+2 program but he doesn’t really like the feel at the school. I know what he means in the sense that it has a CC feel to it IMO. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but he’s expressing wanting more of a traditional college atmosphere. I think he needs to re-visit so I will re-mention UNCW. Many kids we know transfer out of UNCW after a year because they get tired of the school OR it was just a starting point OR let their momentum fizzle. I also don’t know if he will stick with CE interest.