So the issue with your list is the Texas schools won’t assure a major. Purdue doesn’t either.
So you have no sure thing.
With your stats, you can go as low as $20K a year (Alabama) - but either way, you need a safety - something like Texas Tech, K State, Iowa State, Bama - really one of a million schools - UMN, Colorado, Delaware, etc. Colorado School of Mines is another that’s smaller. There’s plenty of private too - from U Denver to Rose Hulman (very small) to WPI and RPI and more.
You’ll get into schools on your list but the issue is - can you study what you want… PS - why isn’t Rice on your reach list?
Thank you! Rice makes a lot of sense but I don’t want to overweight on reach schools as the chances are low already. All of your other suggestions make sense and include schools I’ve never heard of and need to research. Thanks again!
Can you provide some more information about what you want from a school - public vs private, size, urban vs rural, region, etc.? The schools on your list vary greatly. Have you visited any schools already on your list?
With your stats I think you would be a likely admit at Case and Purdue. If you don’t mind very small and a bit isolated, check out Rose Hulman where you would also likely be an admit.
Have you considered CMU? They have a policy of gender parity in STEM majors, which helps female applicants. It is a reach for everyone, but you would have a shot there.
I have visited a few schools. In general, I think I would like a smaller school but it’s not a huge requirement. I have no preference in terms of urban or rural. I’m more interested in getting into a good engineering program. I also like CMU but this feels like another reach school. I think I’m having the hardest time identifying target schools. I will definitely look more into Rose Hulman.
UT Austin may not be ideal if you are undecided engineering, since changing major may not be easy (it directly admits to engineering majors and fills them up). Texas A&M may not be ideal due to its secondary admission (ETAM) being very competitive for some majors (e.g. mechanical).
You may want to find other safeties (e.g. other Texas public universities) where you are assured admission, including to your major, and would not find it too difficult to change to a different engineering major.
Most are very good - and most will land you in the same place. Ranking in engineering is less important than other majors.
Mine turned down a reach for a true safety - and works with people from that reach and other top 10, 15 schools. His school was 90 or something like that in regards to engineering.
As he told me, rank is for parents and to sell magazines.
It’s true - most companies seek ABET accreditation and a 3.0 GPA - so you’ll find Western Michigan and Michigan grads together, Oklahoma State and UT etc.
My son’s hiring class had Michigan, Purdue to W Michigan and Akron. He, from an SEC school, met a Columbia grad at trivia, and my son was making more.
So find the right school - engineering is math, math and more math - no matter where you go - it’ll crush you.
Colleges like Mines aren’t hard admits but very well reputed. Same with a school like Missouri S&T. If you were interested in Chemical, schools like Delaware and UMN are leaders, etc. but likely earn no different salaries than Kansas State or Purdue, etc.
Companies pay by location typically…not where you went to school.
You’ll have to hustle to find an internship and job no matter where you go.
It’s best you find the best environment for you - so you will excel in your four years.
I definitely think there are more schools that fit the criteria of being not so big, very good for engineering, and yet not too reachy. Obviously you don’t have to apply to all of these, but I think some would give you what I would call Likely/Foundation options that could be more attractive than your Texas publics, or in some cases maybe more Targetish options. I note some of these are repeat suggestions.
In terms of quite small, I would also recommend Rose-Hulman and also Clarkson, which is pretty small for a university. Both of these have excellent engineering programs where top students go on to all sorts of great next steps (grad programs, competitive employers, and so on), and are ABET-accredited for all three majors you mentioned.
More middling in size, these all have different vibes and curriculum approaches, but I would check out RPI, WPI, Rochester, and Colorado School of Mines. Same deal, all send top students into all sorts of great next steps, all ABET-accredited (I believe) for all your majors.
Purdue is a good choice, and already on your list. If you want additional suggestions, check out UMD and UIUC - both have excellent engineering programs and should be targets for you.
If you want smaller, check out Stevens Institute of Technology, which should be “highly likely”/“near safety” for your stats.
My son had similar stats to you and he got into both CMU and RHIT. While a reach, CMU is not as hard to get into as MIT or Stanford.
Rose is an interesting bird. First, it is very small - I think a bit over 2,000 students. Second, it is pretty isolated located a few miles outsided beautiful, scenic, Terra Haute, IN. Third, they are on a quarter system, not semesters and they try to cram a semesters worth of material in each quarter… and there is no grade inflation (expect some Ds or even Fs). Fourth - and most importantly - the school does not offer PhDs and the focus is on undergraduate teaching, with class sizes below 30 students, and lots of access to professors. My son did a summer STEM project there and the professor running his biodiesel project was terrific. It is ranked #1 among engineering schools that do not confer PhDs, ahead of better known schools like Olin and Harvey Mudd, and it has great outcomes.
If you want a “likely admit” (is anything a “safety” anymore?) you might want to look at Pitt. While fairly large (~ 20K) the campus feels small and manageable, with the engineering buildings just a couple blocks from the main dorm. They are located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, next door to CMU, and the two schools have a cross-registration agreement. They have an honors program for every major, to which you apply after acceptance, that provides priority class registration, classes taught at a higher level, and better access to research opportunities.
I recommend demonstrating interest with campus visits, Zoom info sessions, essays, etc., especially for privates that might practice yield management, like Case Western. In past years, parents on CC were outraged that Case deferred their very high stat students. Case is used as a “safety” by students who really want to attend schools like CMU or GA Tech, and the AOs there would rather offer slots to students they think will matriculate there. Believe it or not, CMU’s yield rate is not great because many students who apply there would rather attend MIT or Stanford, if accepted.
The other benefit to campus visits: after a site visit you might decide that you love it or hate it, and the school will move up or down your list accordingly. For example, my son decided he was not interested in UofM after visiting the campus.
I think you will get into CWRU (provided you at least do some of the virtual tours - they do care about demonstrated interest) and I would guess Pitt would be almost a safety for you with those scores. Similarly, I think you will easily get in to WPI and RPI - you have the grades, class rigor and scores and resume for anyone, but they are both actively recruiting women because they are both imbalanced. Personally, I liked both more than Rose, but mostly because of the slightly larger size and easier access to a city, which were important for my engineering student.
If you are interested in WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), I’m happy to tell you more about it - that’s where my S22 ended up and he’s been very happy. They are on a quarter based system, which means you have four, seven week long quarters a year. You take three classes per quarter. It does mean you cover material more quickly, which is hard for some students, but it’s actually worked out better than expected for my ADHD kid. With less stuff to try to balance and navigate, it’s easier to set priorities. Also classes meet more frequently (often four times a week instead of three) so there isn’t time to dawdle - but knowing that, there’s also less accidental procrastination. Because the students end up taking 12 courses a year instead of 10 (like most schools) students who come in with AP credits can pretty easily minor or double major (my son is double majoring in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in writing). The other unique thing about the school is that they require a quarter long project junior year - most of which are outside the US. My son spent eight weeks in Greece. If you are interested in travel abroad, that can be very challenging for engineers, given all the course requirements, but it’s easy to fit in at WPI. There are, of course, downsides. Pricetag is a big one. But if the school interests you, consider applying and see what merit aid you get. They give almost all strong students a good amount of merit aid and, in the past, gave more to women to try to increase attendance. Which leads to the second downside - there is definitely a gender imbalance. Despite there being a majority men, it doesn’t feel unwelcoming to women, and the guys don’t seem to have a bro-culture mentality when dealing with their female colleagues. Because so much of the ethos of the school is project based work, students learn early to work together to be successful.
You are in an enviable position of being able to be full pay if you/your family so chooses. Congrats! That opens lots of potential doors.
I’d like to add to the recommendation to look at Rice. One of my kids is a Rice grad (MechE) And had a wonderful experience. He actually started out as a physics major but changed to Mech E, so, at least when he did it, changing majors into engineering was quite doable. As for salaries, I wouldn’t recommend thinking about that at all at this point. So many variables go into careers and salaries, and no one I know, nor to my knowledge no one my kids know, discuss/compare salaries. IMO it’s just not something people do. FWIW, my kids went to different colleges but they work in different divisions of a FAANG (other son is a Chem E) and even they don’t discuss or compare salaries. So focus on the schools that offer you the best college experience that aligns with your personal goals.
There’s no rule that you need X targets and Y safeties. Especially if you’re full-pay.
Given that you have some excellent safeties (maybe add another like Texas Tech or UTD) and are full-pay I’d consider adding Rice, CMU and a Georgia Tech or UCB. Shoot your shot.
If you’re looking at target schools ask yourself if you would attend over a safety. Would you pick Purdue or Case over UT, A&M or a UTD? Especially for the cost.
If you’re a NMSF or better there are schools that offer fantastic scholarships AND perks. Take advantage of these schools. Good luck.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts! My main takeaways from this thread are 1) add some real safety schools to the list 2) Consider smaller out of state schools 3) consider the costs of out of state vs in-state - I really don’t want to make my parents pay more, if it doesn’t make sense. Here is my preliminary list factoring in input that I will work to reduce after some research.
You can actually go OOS with your stats for less than in-state - schools like Mississippi State, Alabama, UAH for smaller.
If you get NMSF, Tulsa is free - as in tuition, room and board. Alabama would be 5 years tuition, 4 years housing + $4K scholarship each year. UTD is also very aggressive.
This list as you showed is fine - but some of the schools on it will be more than in state schools - Mines, WPI, RPI, Case Western, UIUC, CMU, MIT, Stanford and Cornell (unless you have need but sounds like you don’t)
Just pointing that out - because if you want your list to be in state or less, in addition to Bama, UAH and Miss State, you could look at an Ole Miss, Arkansas, Kansas, Florida State potentially, Louisiana Tech and maybe add a U Houston in state as another.
But admission wise - you have a fine list with at least 5 acceptances.