Sorry. Forget about GaTech if you can’t pay 50k. There are very very few scholarships for OOS. Like 20-50. DD had your daughters’ stats. She got accepted only from waitlist mostly because she was legacy…
$0 scholarship.
You have chance for scholarships only if you are MIT caliber or flew to the moon and back…
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Have you looked at Wake Forest? You’d have to check the NPC of course, but they have a really interesting liberal-arts-based, but ABET-accredited, engineering program:
And then a robust French Studies department:
Winston-Salem is a decent sized city, and there are a variety of airport options.
If that sounds interesting, Trinity College in Connecticut has a broadly similar liberal-arts-based/ABET-accredited engineering program:
And again a robust Francophone Studies program:
Trinity of course is located in Hartford, again a decent sized city with an airport and more options not too far.
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Medium-sized, small city, engineering but also strong liberal arts, merit aid…this feels like several Jesuit schools might fit well. Marquette comes to mind immediately, as long as Milwaukee isn’t too big or too far from the Northeast. Loyola Marymount also, but LA isn’t anyone’s idea of a small city and couldn’t be farther from the Northeast. St Louis U would give minimum auto-merit of 12k, and this student should be competitive for larger amounts. Villanova (ok, not technically Jesuit but still Catholic) would be great but would likely require a competitive scholarship to get to that budget.
ETA: I just noted the French language comment; Marquette offers 4 different concentrations in French, and SLU literally has a fleur-de-lis on the school crest, so I think they have it covered. 
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Ooh, I want to second Marquette. Milwaukee is only like a 2.5 hour flight from the Northeast Coast, and I agree it seems like a great fit academically.
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Is she a National Merit Semifinalist? (Seems likely given her SAT…) If so, U of Tulsa would be free, and they have this: International Engineering/Science & Language - The University of Tulsa which, unlike most of the International Engineering programs (in addition to URI, UConn has one too), includes a number of non-engineering STEM majors, including math and geosciences. (And yes, they will fund all five years for dual-degree students.)
I agree that Canadian schools could be great for French bilingualism, but the heavy hitter Canadian U’s won’t come in under 32K.
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Thanks for the reality check @momsearcheng … D25 needs this reminder as she has not flown to the moon and back 
! She loves GT but the NPC has it unaffordable without some merit aid. I know it’s a tough admit, and getting merit aid is even tougher… We won’t hold our breath, but I suspect D25 will apply.
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Not sure if D25 is a NMS… I don’t think we will find out until the fall? She received a 1510 on the PSAT last fall with index score of 227.
Thanks for the suggestions @momofboiler1 @NiceUnparticularMan and @txfriendly. I will investigate all these ideas, as well as the others upthread, and follow up with NPC realities and D25s thoughts! I really appreciate the ideas!
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He got such a fantastic deal from Wheaton that an extra year won’t matter - also he will have no loans so if he needs to take a little for last year - he will make good money as an engineer - he can pay them back easily. The only drawback is not guaranteed - you apply January of second year for this program.
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Great to know @George2020 - Sounds like a fantastic fit for your S! It seems as though merit aid can be a wild card for many of the schools deemed unaffordable by the NPC.
What math class is your D currently in? Would she be in danger of running out of math classes at a school without graduate degrees in math?
(By the way, there have been some terrific suggestions coming in.)
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I am glad you put Stony Brook on here- as it checks all of her boxes. If you’re in state it’s a great option. Even OOS, probably still more affordable than a lot of the privates. She would get likely get merit also.
Look into it, see if it’s affordable.
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She is currently taking AP Calc AB, and will take BC next year.
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I’m getting tired but wanted to sharing this list of schools your family may want to consider:
For schools that are ABET-accredited in environmental engineering, your family may want to look into:
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Iowa State – About 30m from Des Moines
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Johns Hopkins (MD)
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Marquette (WI)
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Southern Methodist (TX)
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SUNY Albany
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SUNY ESF – limited majors here, but if she decides engineering or environmental science (or similar is for her), this would likely cost no more than your in-state flagship and your D could attend classes at adjacent Syracuse for anything that ESF doesn’t offer.
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Syracuse (NY)
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U. of Central Florida – in Orlando: Also has an attractive offer for NMF students, I believe
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U. of Cincinnati (OH)
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U. of Miami (FL)
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U. of Minnesota – Twin Cities
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U. of Oklahoma – About 30m from Oklahoma City
For schools that are ABET-accredited in civil engineering (which is often a close relative to environmental engineering and/or offers a concentration with the civil engineering major).
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U. of St. Thomas (MN)
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Brown (RI)
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Merrimack (MA)
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Western New England (MA)
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Wentworth (MA) and can take classes at, your other Colleges of the Fenways schools
Some of the schools are obviously far beyond mid-sized, but programming like honors colleges, small majors, etc, can definitely shrink the school down in perceived size.
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Some really great suggestions here, thank you! I have some work to do with the NPC and will circle back. Thanks again!
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A PSAT selection index of 227 will certainly make National Merit as this is above even the most competitive states’ cutoffs.
Here is a thread that describes the schools that give big merit for NMFs:
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Is she open to an all women’s college? If so, Smith could work.
I also agree with those suggesting University of Tulsa. It’s a small private university in Tulsa, a fun city. I know it’s not in her preferred geographic location, but it has the combined engineering/foreign language program, she would find many peers (over 25% of this year’s incoming students are National Merit), it would be a full ride, and for her it would be a safety.
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Pitt - Yeah, it’s a drive but you do it a few times a semester and the city is FANTASTIC. Also, Pitt has a large language program including some less commonly taught languages. Go visit. Food options around are excellent. As good as the campus food is bad. My S18 went to Pitt over RPI in part because he wanted to continue German
Delaware - Also a large language program (my S24 applied to the three lang major), lots of study abroad (UDel is the original abroad school) and all the usual Eng varieties. It’s a cute town and in the same range as Pitt size wise. Like Pitt, it checks lots of boxes but is less urban and not as far. Merit is also easier to come by.
UConn - My S16 went as did most of my family. Good options for academics, great school spirit, got merit, but …. it is absolutely out in the sticks. Lots of cows and wind.
Btw - Yours has great ECs/scores not “typical” ECs. First chair, president, 1500+ etc are really excellent.
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So the NPC - hopefully you got it right.
Not sure her language - but if you look at schools that will meet $32K on their own. Academicky will be tough.
UAH will be under budget full pay with auto merit. Huntsville is a growing area. They have a French minor. Not sure it’s ABET (Civil is - which is a related department) and they have lots of ABET. Small city, cheap tuition due to auto merit and STEM oriented.
U of Miami is a meets need school - so if you have need. Might be too urban.
Was Purdue mentioned? It’s low 40s - so if you can stretch and some do get merit. Maybe it’s too big but there has to be tradeoffs.
I’m sure there’s lots of great ideas - but the money will be tough.
I looked at environmental engineering from @AustenNut note - so choices are limited.
I wish you luck.
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Some great ideas here, thanks.
Since we are still in the early stages of making her list, D25 has decided she would like to try and find schools with greater than 5,000 students - she really feels 2 – 3,000 total students is a bit small for her (thus ruling out Bucknell, Trinity, and Lafyette, for the time being…I did run the NPC on these anyhow, and none are affordable, so there is also that). She is also shying away from places that she sees as being super cold…she is not a fan of the cold and snow (not a skier) and thinks the seasonal depression would be a real thing (thus ruling out UVM and UMaine, unfortunately). I encouraged her to keep Marquette in the running but she is lukewarm about the location. However, the size is good and the NPC puts Marquette only 2k/yr above our budget.
We have added URI to UConn and UMass as large state school options.
I leaned into the NMSF schools after diving into @fiftyfifty1 s link (thank you!) and was so happy to really put the time into learning about UA. This was the standout school of the dozen or so I really investigated. D25 will definitely be applying! UCF has some appealing aspects but I hear not to hold your breath for the 40 NMSF OOS awards. After a more thorough review, many schools suggested offer engineering, but not environmental engineering, so we eliminated those (including Fordham, U Tulsa, and BU. - U Tulsa offers petroleum engineering and engineering physics). Also, many of the schools are just too pricy based on the NPC. U Pitt, which seems so great, is 20K/yr more than my max budget.
So, currently, D25 has:
WUSL (currently leading the list with major, vibe, and price tag/NPC)
GT (another top runner, D25 thinks it’s beautiful, and NPC deems it affordable)
RPI (this is actually not affordable without serious merit; no language, but enough positives to stay in the running for now)
URI
U Conn
U Mass
U Alabama
Maybe
UCF (only 40 OOS NMSF awards; D doesn’t favor going to FL)
Marquette (both pros and cons, location being biggest con)
Not interested in an all women’s college… Still looking into Wake Forest, UDel and McGill.
Thanks for your insight!
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Re: URI - depending on her interests within environmental, it could be worth looking at their standout Ocean Engineering department as well. Given the challenges of climate change and sea level rise, the areas where this specialty overlaps with environmental/civil are going to see a growing demand for engineers. The major has multiple tracks https://web.uri.edu/oce/academics/ocean-engineering-b-s/tracks/, and the department has great research and fieldwork opportunities that take advantage of the coastal setting.
Glad you’re finding a good variety of programs that work, both cost-wise and appeal-wise!
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