My two cents is that given what you have told us, that is already an extremely solid list, and I believe pretty well-balanced in terms of selectivity for your daughter given her reported qualifications.
So of course if you can add some more good options that is great, but to me it looks like you are already where you would need to be to have a really solid application plan.
To me- you want smaller but not too small - a UAH and more academicky - a UAH will be a better fit than Bama - which isnāt the large flagship.
Youāll find smart kids everywhere - especially at Bama (and UAH) as they buy them in - but itās still the huge flagship/greek/sports, etc.
Tennessee Tech might be another to look at - mid size and a bit more academicky - and better weather. Like UAH, they also list as āCivil and Environmentalā. These will both hit budget - and are tweener schools size wise (8-10K) - without all the zaniness of a big flagship. I may have mentioned UTC above - another that might be worth a look - again, without the big flagship zaniness.
But if she is NMF - then yeah Bama, Maine, UTD and there are others (Tulsa), FSU (where engineering is off campus and shared with Florida A&M) and more - might work for even better deals.
My daughter graduated from UDel honors, she received the mex $17,000 with a 3.95 34 act, so I think this student would be one of the 100 students who get more. My daughter met her friends in the honors dorm, they had higher stats than she did and took school seriously (as did my daughter).
With her stats I think your D25 would be a very competitive applicant to WUStL, especially if she goes ED (ED1 or ED2.) Obviously she still needs 1-2 true safeties, but I do not think WUStL is āpie-in-the-skyā for your D25 at all.
In fact WUSTL has a reputation for liking high numbers kids, although it appears some high numbers kids were not admitted this cycle, and some thought it might have been a yield protection thing. It is hard to know that for sure, but ED obviously solves any such issue.
However, it also apparently worked for my S24 (who ultimately decided to RD rather than ED2) that his HS sends a lot of people to WUSTL. And it is in his final two, so good job spotting the fit all around I guess!
Anyway, the OP has a long time to go before having to decide any of this, but if WUSTL was still a clear, affordable #1 by the relevant timeāthat does seem like a solid ED scenario.
I think there are plenty of places that offer applied math, environmental engineering and French. I realize that Pitt may be out of the running due to cost (though they do sometimes give decent OOS merit these days), though just wanted to mention that applied math and a language shouldnāt be too tough to do - my middle kid went to Pitt and got degrees in Applied Math and Linguistics. Not quite the same thing as your daughter, though middle kid did AP French and AP Spanish in HS.
Hi, Sorry for any miscommunication! D25ās list above is a list of schools in addition to her pie-in-the-sky list!! Her super high reaches (unlikelies) would keep her closer to the northeast (which she would like), check all her boxes (applied math, possibly engineering and continued language), and be the best financial situation all around. It is the schools with the large endowments that significantly help our NPC numbers ā¦. Significantly, as in, allow a school to be really affordable vs really not affordable. Definitely in the financial donut hole here ā I know I am in good company. Hopefully this makes more sense ā sorry if my initial post wasnāt clear.
Although she has lots of time to decide, I donāt think D25 will apply ED anywhere (again, that lame financial piece). I just know the reality of needing a realistic and affordable list. Applying RD to WUSL might make it a harder admit for herā¦
Thanks for the link @aquapt, will definitely explore this. D25 likes the idea of an honors college at the bigger schoolsā¦.Iāll look into this.
Youāre right, @tsbna44! D25 likes the ātweener school sizeā, lol. They are harder to find and I appreciate your list and will circle back to it.
Congrats on your S24ās acceptance @NiceUnparticularMan - super exciting! What a great position to be in! Best of luck to him.
Even if the NPC didnāt come back favorable, I still think your D could be competitive for one of the big scholarships at Southern Methodist or U. of Miami, both of which would have the tweener vibe in terms of size. Did Johns Hopkins have an unfavorable NPC? I would have thought itād be competitive price-wise with a school like WashU, but I could easily be mistaken, and it would also be in that midsize range.
If SAD is an issue, then I understand eliminating a number of the NY schools. But I still think that U. of Cincinnati or U. of Oklahoma could be contenders that would give good merit aid, and Cincinnati has been a Delta hub for decades.
Again, all of these offer ABET-accredited environmental engineering.
Has your daughter looked at Blount Scholars at Alabama? Liberal arts LLC (cohort all live and take classes together) and is open to all majors incl Engineering.
Thanks @AustenNut , I havenāt run the numbers for Johns Hopkins - but thatās a good idea. Iām not sure if itās the location and vibe D25 favors, but sheās open minded. I was wondering if we should also be researching/considering large scholarships which might broaden the list. Thus far, we have really only been leaning into the NPC.
Sorry, not sure what SAD meansā¦.
Iāll pass this along, @CollegeMamb0, thanks! D25 mentioned the Randall Research Scholar program which seems exciting to her, and she is also curious about the accelerated Masters option. I think a living-learning community would make these huge schools much less intimidating to her, esp being so far away.
SAD = Seasonal Affective Disorder
oh, yes, thank you. My mind was on budget 
@momofboiler1 answered itā¦and shows that I shouldnāt use acronyms too much!
I think checking the NPC is great and vitally important. That gives you a firmer idea of what the price is likely to be. But there are some schools that offer full tuition or full ride scholarships, and I think your D could be competitive for some. So if thereās a school where the NPC comes back unfavorably, then I would look to see if it has a big merit award (or if it stacks merit on top of financial needā¦most schools do not, but some do). If thereās no big merit, then the school should definitely be eliminated. But if thereās big merit, and your D really likes the school, then it could stay on as a reach option (meaning a reach to be affordable even if the odds are favorable for admission).
Depending upon how strong your daughterās French is, another possibility in Canada is Ottawa. The University of Ottawa is an officially bilingual university. It is possible (at least for graduate students) to attend and only take classes in English. However, there is a tuition break for bilingual students who take some classes in English and who also take some classes in French. The last time that I checked (which was a while ago) I think that this even applied to International students. I do not know whether this might be enough to meet your budget.
McGill is likely to be adding a requirement that students obtain some level of ability in French to graduate, but it sounds like this will not be a problem in your daughterās case and in fact might be a plus. Costs are in Canadian dollars and the exchange rate is good for Americans, but I am still dubious about McGill meeting the budget.
Dang, I wish Tulane had environmental engineering. It could be a perfect fit. Iād suggest Syracuse or CWRU if the weather was better ā they might come in at budget since CWRU is generous and Syracuse buys in top engineering applicants with merit. There are some great suggestions here. I particularly like the suggestion of SLU.
As she narrows the list and possible majors, if engineering is a possibility, apply for engineering. It is easier to switch out of engine than to switch majors into engineering and she will have plenty of math classes that first year.
Have her look at the actual classes she would take for the different engineering disciplines and math majors. Environmental engineering at some universities is very focused on wastewater management and practical necessities of modern society while others are more broadly focused on climate change or environmental impacts.
Combining dual majors with engineering is tough even when the college promotes several options to do so. Ask how many are able to do so each year at the colleges you visit. I have found it to be single digits for some options. When the classes pile on those get dropped. They can prioritize foreign language and intensive immersion programs with some planning. There are some colleges that offer foreign language courses in the summer in Europe and anyone can attend them. They just need to make sure the credits will transfer back at their home college and can get that pre-approved. (We looked at a UVA summer program for German at one point.)
Staying in or near the northeast, but avoiding the cold and SAD triggers will take some planning That could be URI or UDel. UDel has a cute downtown. UNH is a little further north, great small town with train into Boston, and has some excellent environmental programs and nationally recognized sustainability practices. They also have ocean engineering (mentioned above at URI) and high achieving students are offered merit that could get you to your financial goals.
So sorry @coldWombat what is SLU? (thanks for bearing with me, Iām new at this). St. Louis U?
I agree, @pathnottaken! For many (most?) students, it can be super difficult to land on a potential major at age 17. D25 has always gravitated toward applied math and data science, and then climate science entered the scene, and she loves that tooā¦. She landed an engineering internship last summer, absolutely loved that as well, and decided to seek out colleges that offer engineering, incase that becomes her route. As you said, she could always opt out of engineering, but harder (sometimes not possible) to opt in. I like your idea of having her look at the actual classes in the different engineering disciplines - super helpful, thanks.
Yep, you got it right!
Another option might be schools with more innovative majors
Wisconsin would require aid for sure to stay in your range, but Iāll use it as an example.
UW-Madison has a BS AMEP program in applied math, engineering and physics. The math and physics are more structured but the engineering is a self-designed sequence agreed with your advisor. So itās not a compete engineering curriculum per se, but itās close and OTOH you cover more different territory in one major versus dual major or major/minor.
There may be others programs like elsewhere. In some fields the full curriculum would be advised (even a PE license, eg enviromental) but if their interest are more geared to a mix of math and engineering, then maybe.