PA resident
Public High School
Engineering Major (ME) or perhaps Chemistry
Has a brother in college so would open to public schools or private schools that will give some aid because of that. Really doesn’t want a school in a very urban area (like Temple).
Like to keep it below 40K
3.51 UW/3.59W
Taking 3 AP classes next year (Chem, CS and Gov), plus 3-4 honors classes, taking Business Calc next year.
Most likely TO.
Would like to stay in PA, OH, MD, VA, NC, IN, MI, NJ or NY
Why business calculus instead of calculus suitable for engineering majors?
Any particular kinds of engineering? If chemistry is of possible interest, would chemical or materials engineering be of greater interest than other kinds?
Pennsylvania public (or semi-public) universities with chemical engineering are PSU main, Pitt main, and Pitt Johnstown.
Other kinds of engineering can be found at PSU Altoona, PSU Behrend Erie, PSU Berks, PSU Harrisburg, Shippensburg, and Slippery Rock.
Wondering too about the math. Are the 3 APs the only APs? Chemistry there will be more names - schools like Millersville, Salisbury, etc. could come in. So a focus on ME - but if they are not math centric, they will not make it.
I’d check into these - the first Purdue is a huge reach obviously and would a bit above $40K - but I think C MIchigan is under $30K. Grand Valley State is another for sure. And I imagine the Slippery Rock and Shippensburg as well.
But I imagine most, if not all of these, will hit budget - but check.
But I wonder about the student’s ability to succeed in MechE if math is an issue.
You didn’t say West Virginia - but look at WVU too.
| School Name | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| Purdue University at West Lafayette | West Lafayette | Indiana |
| University of Southern Indiana | Evansville | Indiana |
| Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant | Michigan |
| Grand Valley State University | Allendale | Michigan |
| Michigan State University | East Lansing | Michigan |
| Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo | Michigan |
| The College of New Jersey | Ewing | New Jersey |
| University at Buffalo, The State University of New York | Buffalo | New York |
| Clarkson University | Potsdam | New York |
| State University of New York at New Paltz | New Paltz | New York |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Charlotte | North Carolina |
| The University of Akron | Akron | Ohio |
| Ohio University | Athens | Ohio |
| Pennsylvania State University, Behrend College | Erie | Pennsylvania |
| Pennsylvania State University, Berks Campus | Reading | Pennsylvania |
| Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, The Capital College | Middletown | Pennsylvania |
| University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown | Johnstown | Pennsylvania |
| Shippensburg University | Shippensburg | Pennsylvania |
| Slippery Rock University | Slippery Rock | Pennsylvania |
| York College of Pennsylvania | York | Pennsylvania |
They said ME…or Chemistry.
Your GPA and choice of Business calc vs. AP calc would likely mean Behrend (best branch for engineering) or Altoona (more residential, close to UP).
If your SAT math score is 600+, submit.
You could try applying for Material Science Engineering as suggested above, because it’s in EMS, and check summer (not Fall and summer, just Summer) to increase your odds if you want UP rather than Behrend. Although they prefer calculus and SAT math scores, fewer students apply so you may have a shot.
(You can also post on the PSU Summer/Fall 2026 PSU forum of you wish).
SUNY Buffalo is a great suggestion and would be a high target.
I think OP needs to come back and clarify. They said “Engineering Major(ME) or Chemistry”. ME might not mean Mechanical Engineering.
OP, what type of engineering is your son interested in?
Just an FYI, TCNJ is excellent for chemistry. One of the best and actually graduates more chemistry students than Rutgers. They’ve also lowered their out of state tuition, so should be quite cost competitive.
If you’re open to one more neighboring state, you may want to also look at University of Delaware. Well known for chemical engineering and they graduate a lot of mechanical engineers.
UDel highly unlikely to hit budget - hence I left it off b4 but TCNJ is on the list above.
Since there was a lack of clarity whether the majors under consideration are mechanical engineering and chemistry or chemical engineering, I decided to err on the side of caution and only included schools that have all three majors. I slightly expanded the states that you were considering if you had surrounding states (i.e. WV, DE, KY). But these are some schools that your son might want to check out that I think have a good to excellent chance of meeting the budget, some of which have already been mentioned:
Clarkson (NY): About 2500 undergrads
Kettering (MI): About 1300 undergrads
North Carolina A&T: About 12k undergrads at this HBCU
Ohio U.: About 19k undergrads
Rowan (NJ): About 15k undergrads
U. at Buffalo (NY): About 20k undergrads
U. of Dayton (OH): About 8200 undergrads
U. of Louisville (KY): About 16k undergrads
West Virginia U.: About 19k undergrads
Western Michigan: About 13k undergrads
Widener (PA ): About 2800 undergrads
Add Manhattan University to the list. (Not in an urban area like Temple, despite the name. Not even in Manhattan. Excellent for engineering.)
We have a family friend that had a great experience as a mechanical engineering major at York College. We are in CA and it was cheaper than in-state tuition at a UC school. He graduated in 2020, so I’m not sure if that is still the case.
OP here. He wants Mechanically Engineering or Chemistry. He isn’t sure which one. Trying to get him to say he that he wants to major (or not) in engineering but he hasn’t made a decision yet. His other interest is Chemistry. So, those are the two likely majors. He is taking Business Calc because he will take (repeat) calc in college. I know that he will be branched at PSU if he goes for engineering. He isn’t sure if he is ok with that. Pitt is the same, likely branch if engineering. I am think OU could be a great fit.
You need to find a school at the budget - I put a bunch above in post 3 that hopefully will hit budget (all based on MechE as everyone will have Chem but not everyone will have MechE).
Engineering is all math - calc and calc and calc. He should take it in HS to see how he does, does he like it, etc. Calc 1 in college is just the tip of the iceberg.
If engineering is a possibility, then in most cases, he should start there. It’s typically easier to transfer out to an Arts & Science major (Chem) then vice versa.
In my mind, with a 3.5 UW, no test score and little rigor, I would look beyond PSU and Pitt - even main campuses.
He’s more a W Michigan / Ohio U type student - and that’s ok!!
He can try for them (of course) but I think, you are right, he gets branched - and no reason he can’t have a great four year experience somewhere. And who knows, maybe he applies early to Pitt and does get in.
PS - if he decides MechE is out, then you can add other in states like Millersville…or inexpensive OOS like Salisbury, and maybe Christopher Newport and Mary Washington.
Best of luck.
If he decides he wants to major in Engineering I’ll encourage him to take Calc. His issue is whether he will put the effort in. Our school’s math classes are known to be harder than the same class in college. We know he will need a better effort if he wants to major in engineering.
hmmmm - I think he’s wrong. The math he will do as an engineer in college is beyond the pale of anything he can imagine.
As my son says when I ask him (for another kid) - so how was the engineering curriculum or this class or that class or how did your school work relate to your engineering job (he claims it didn’t) - the answer from him is the same 90% of the time - it was just math, math, and more math.
It may be that engineering is not for your son as you noted already with your last comment or that he’ll need the better effort.
And certainly when schools are looking at prior coursework, running away from a class is not a good thing - especially if looking for the named brand, in state.
There’s a reason that engineering has easily the highest drop out rate (50% or so)…one really has to be committed.
Please make sure your son is - or perhaps it’s not the right path for him. Math in college will be far faster paced and advanced than anything he will do in HS - no matter what he thinks of the rigor in HS.
But if it is an option, it’s likely best to start there (engienering) and pivot off.
Just curious - why MechE instead of ChemE if Chemistry is is jam?
With those interests I’ll also suggest that he consider materials science / materials engineering. It has some overlap with both of those areas, so he might find it interesting!
What’s his highest math score (SAT)?
If he is uncertain about his math preparation, he may want to try this quiz to find out if he needs to review any precalculus topics before calculus.
If he expects not to get into Pitt or PSU main, consider those branches and PASSHE schools with the desired majors:
Pitt - Johnstown
PSU - Altoona, Behrend Erie, Berks, Harrisburg
Shippensburg
Slippery Rock