Can he retake the SAT/ACT?
He should also apply to test optional colleges, in particular WPI.
The score would likely be a red flag for most engineering peograns, unless he scored, say, 630 math/470 English.
Why does he want mechanical engineering?
How rigorous is his curriculum? Will he have taken precalculus or calculus, and AP physics 1 or physics honors by the time he graduates?
Most “meet need for most applicants” or “meet most need” for B students wouldn’t have mechanical engineering, so how committed is he to that major?
The only one that may meet these parameters is FAMU, for the joint engineering degrees with FSU.
How much can you afford to pay? Your son can take the federal student loan (~$5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a soph, and $7500/year as a junior and senior). If he works summers he can probably earn another $3k. That gives him ~$8k/year.
Do you know your EFC? If it’s below ~$5k, he may get a small Pell grant. An EFC of $0 would make him eligible for the full ~$5k/year Pell. They phase out at an EFC of about $5,000. Do you qualify for any state grants?
I agree…look at Wentworth and University of Hartford. The thing is…he may get some merit and/or need based aid…but neither of these expensive schools meets full need so, you still likely to have a sizable bill.
There are TONS of colleges that have mechanical engineering as majors. What about University of Wyoming? Or Montana? We know students who got merit at both of these schools…and they are less costly anyway.
One thing to consider…at SOME colleges…if you are awarded a merit award if reduces your financial need…and therefore your need based aid is less also. At many places…your son won’t get BOTH merit and need based aid…because the merit aid will reduce his need.
In addition, he will be applying to colleges that don’t meet full need for all…so you need to look at less costly options from the get go…and also understand that SOME schools apply a higher standard of admission to students applying directly into engineering.
It sounds like the CC with articulation agreement to one of the MD schools would be you best bet financially. In addition, it would give your son the chance to actually take college level courses on that track.
Look at the colleges on this list. You need to check CURRENT costs as the list hasn’t been updated in a while…but my guess is relatively speaking…they are still less costly than most.
That’s tough. I am in the same situation, looking for high % need met colleges with engineering. The colleges that meet full need are very selective. Some of the LACs are less selective but don’t have engineering. My S is in a better position with a 3.8 and a 34 ACT, but even those stats don’t give him a great chance at being admitted to a meets need school.
Engineering is tough, and it might be hard to hear, but with your S’s scores and gpa and your financial concerns, CC might really be the best start for him.
Can you afford $20,000 per year plus travel and miscellaneous costs? That is approximately the non-resident cost at South Dakota State University (the listed cost does not include travel and miscellaneous costs):
https://www.sdstate.edu/office-admissions/office-financial-aid/cost-estimate
Admission is not very difficult:
https://www.sdstate.edu/office-admissions/freshmen
And it has mechanical engineering:
https://www.sdstate.edu/mechanical-engineering
With these stats, your son is in a VERY different boat than the OP…VERY different. He would be guaranteed admission to University of Alabama…and engineering…with a sizable merit scholarship…plus $2500 in addition for majoring in engineering.
But back to the OP…I’m not clear on what they feel,they CAN pay annually? Maybe that could,be clarified.
That would help to know the budget. Michigan Tech, South Dakota, Grand Valley State in Michigan , Montana State, cone to mind in the northern Midwest.
York College of PA has an ABET accredited mechanical engineering program. The direct costs are about 30K per year (extra fees for engineering) and he could get 8K per year in scholarships. You’d also have low transportation expenses.
Tennessee Tech? Texas Tech (any scholarship there or smaller Texas schools means instate tuition : less good than Texas Tech but Midwestern State, Lamar, UNorth Texas, UT el Paso)?
@steppingstonema - Can you give us more details about the financial aspect for your family? Does it look like your son will be eligible for a Pell grant? Is there any money from the parents, or is he essentially on his own for this?
Also, what county are you in? Can he commute easily to a CC in a different county that has better articulation agreements? Happykid graduated from Montgomery College then transferred to Towson, so I am more familiar with what those places have to offer than I am with the rest of the MD public system.
Utah State encourages students to become Utah residents to gain instate tuition after the first year. So he would have to pay the $19,000 tuition plus R&B (around $7,000) for year 1. If he becomes a Utah resident, the tuition goes down to $6000 per year, plus R&B. Utah State is one of the few state schools that does this. He’d have to live in Utah year round to be eligible.
Utah State has merit scholarships that reduce the year 1 tuition, but not with your son’s current ACT and GPA. It’s all on their website - they are very transparent. They also offer need based aid but I don’t know the details.
This is not for everyone but for some students it works.
I posted on one of your other threads that I think community college or Frostburg State is your best option. He could do three years at FSU and transfer to UMD-CP for two more years to get the BSME. Or he could start at Cecil College and transfer to FSU for 2 years to get BS in Materials Engineering or another school with an articulation agreement. His GPA and ACT indicate that he may need some extra classroom help before he is ready for the engineering curriculum. Cecil has a degree in logistics and supply chain management which is a great backup option if engineering does not work out. The engineering curriculum is very tough even for A students.
Good luck!
Ever hear of St. Vincent’s College? Your S could totally get into the school and they are known for having an above average engineering program with incredible Financial Aid, especially need based. He would also get upwards of $10,000 merit if I remember correctly. Though it is small, it would be about 6 hours drive (depending on where you are in Maryland, of course). I would also look at schools such as Duquesne, Robert Morris University, and John Carroll University, with the latter being the one which would provide the most aid with an incredible environment in Cleveland. Honestly, you are probably better off looking at small liberal arts schools and other private schools, as publics have much lower percentages of % aid, especially because they typically have so many kids applying on the high end of the spectrum. Another school that may be of interest is La Salle University (Philly). Good luck! I feel for you here!
Delaware State offers a BS in Engineering Physics and he would get merit aid based bringing tuition down to instate level based on his stats.
^St. Vincent’s has no ABET-accredited engineering programs, nor do John Carroll, La Salle, or Duquesne. Robert Morris has only a few ABET-açcredited programs.
Delaware State is not ABET accredited either, my mistake.
This student needs to look at eye NET costs. Sure…some of those schools offer decent merit awards or need based aid…but will the net cost be less…considering the costs upfront are a LOT higher.
And for engineering…ABET accredited is important.
Thanks everyone. We know community college and then transfer is his best option, but we were also trying to see if there were ANY other options. We understand he is in a difficult situation. Just trying to make the best of it. He has ADHD and some mild learning disabilities that he receives accommodations as a dual enrollment student at our local CC. His reading is so slow which is why he does poorly on tests. He is also a slow processor which slows him down with everything. But he is stubborn and determined to go as far as he can which is why I am seeking as many options for him as I can find. Unfortunately, we are unable to help him pay for college at all. We have 7 children and spent all the nest egg we had saved on adopting 3 children. He will get a small pell grant but will need to get loans. With 9 people in family, 2 in college and one modest income we were hoping to find need-based aid. It might just not be possible…
Morgan doesn’t have Mechanical Engineering. Frostburg’s program requires you do 2 years at Frostburg and then you’d apply to UMDCP but take the classes at Frostburg. If were were going that route, it’d be cheaper to just go to community college for the first two years. And the admission requirements are the same…