Here is a thread on schools with a strength in water resources:
Are you in one of these state universities?
See if he can shadow a professional civil engineer (or do some informational interviews), ideally those working in water resources/hydrology.
One useful skill he can start in high school is learning to use GIS (specifically QGIS which is free an open source).
When the time comes to decide which universities to apply to (which is not now), I would have him spend time on the course catalogs to determine the degree to which the university offers courses/specializations/research opportunities in water resources/hydrology/etc.
S23’S went to (what I believe is) the only highschool to teach GIS. Coming in with those skills, he walked into a research position his freshman year and also had a paid (student) position running the GIS lab.
Not with these stats. I think it would only be a few.
I’m not sure that I understand the logic. I feel as though, if our flagship is a target, it makes sense to have other targets on the list, as well as safeties. I agree that if his stats stay high, it’s unlikely that he’ll find a reach school that will offer him enough merit aid.
I agree WPI seems like a great fit, and it is a place he could potentially play and meet his academic goals. Is high level merit a possibility here? One of our big questions right now is whether schools exist where staying in budget, playing, and meeting academic goals is a realistic combo.
Re WPI - my son is a current senior there (happy to answer any questions). He graduated our rigorous HS with a perfect GPA (no Bs) in lots of honors and AP courses, had a 35 on his ACT. He receives $20k merit money per year. So tuition + room and board is about $54k.
He competed on a D3 team (rowing) and had an amazing experience, only stopping because he wanted to try a different sport. They make it easy to be a D3 athlete and engineer - practices don’t conflict with labs, travel doesn’t mean missing class/labs, and junior year when they do a term long project that is typically abroad coaches may ask that athletes avoid missing the term when the sport is most competitive, but they understand and support the project and term abroad program.
RPI is another school that is generous with merit money for high achieving kids. If your student is interested have them talk to their guidance counselor to see if they will nominate him for the RPI medal award. It’s guaranteed $40K/year.
Purdue will be over budget but not by that much and costs could be off set if your student co-ops.
This is a good thought too - many (not lots) have majors in hydrology - I didn’t put Arizona on the list because it’s not $35K (right now low 40s with merit). At Bama, it’s in Geology. Not sure where the family is from but UC Davis (very expensive OOS) has strength it appears.
On the list I sent, and likely all have some coursework but some may have more. For some it could be in Geology or Atmospheric Science. Nebraska has hydrogeology and some Arabic. For any school, you should check the course catalog to make sure it’s offered regularly.
On the reddit you provided, NM Tech offers a hydrology option within Environmental Sciences. But I don’t see any languages.
WVU has a Environmental, Soil, and Water Sciences major and an Arabic Minor.
Like many I looked at, there’s a Water Research Institute associated with the school.
So that’s the kind of homework OP will really need to do. While I’m know little about Civil Engineering (and OP might need a double or a minor in hydrology type fields to accompany the engineering major) - OP might set up (when ready) 30 minute informational interviews with Civil department to discuss their desires and to see if (either in engineering or in combo with one of the other majors/minors) their desires can be met academically. Or perhaps, it seems more have graduate degrees in hydrology - and perhaps that’s a combo - undergrad in CivE with a Masters that’s more technical to the desires??
Yes, many flagships are safeties - maybe not for everyone - but for this student. My apologies.
@Sportsball - the ones I listed above in post 20 are all either safe (all but two) or likely if the #s stay (UGA, FSU) and most, if not all, will hit $35K (if it were today).
I had read (it was late) - that it wasn’t for everyone - thinking socially or academically, etc.
My apologies.
If you meant which privates would hit $35K, you’d have to get an LAC list and go down, way down, and maybe they wouldn’t. Or maybe a smaller public - but then wouldn’t have CIVE or if it did, the breadth in hydrology. You can try Buffalo and Stony Brook which both have Arabic. I don’t know that they get to $35K - it’s possible. In the NE, URI is another possibility but not assured.
Clarkson as a private might - I have a friend from NH paying a bit more now - but I don’t see they have Arabic.
So that would be the rub with smaller schools.
Thanks for the correction @ucbalumnus and @vwlizard - yes, tons of schools will work (as noted in my post) - all safe except FSU and UGA which I’d say as likely and with the merit needed.
Personally I would back off until next year. Lots can change plus no need to add stress or anxiety. Too many unknowns like NMF status. That alone could change the list.
Maybe look for summer programs related to his interests? My youngest son did several camps in high-school. Great for determining likes and dislikes.
He needs a reasonable list IF he pursues recruiting. Some of the same schools could be on the list if he doesn’t pursue recruiting. And he (or you) can start to create a list of options if he does not pursue recruiting.
But really…for the schools aside from recruiting, I think I’d still suggest waiting.
If you want to look deeper for the not recruit schools…maybe look at schools with good club sports that would work.
But he can’t figure that out without figuring out what his options would be if he closes the door on recruiting
He doesn’t need this done now. There are many many many colleges with ABET accredited civil engineering programs out there, many. And he might still be happy with your flagship U.
My logic was that if your flagship is a yes if he gets in, then you only need to worry about finding safeties in case he doesn’t. He can apply to however many reach schools he wants, but he must find a safety that he both loves and is financially viable.
I’m not sure what the current merit awards are at WPI. I know that RPI tends to give more merit than WPI, but I think those schools have very different feels. There is a new regional scholarship at WPI if you reside in one of these states. WPI’s reach expands well beyond New England and into other regions of the country.
”To honor our growing alumni base and connections with industry and community partners in these regions, WPI will offer a limited number of Regional Scholarships to incoming first year students. Starting in Fall 2025, students attending high schools in California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Texas will be considered for a Regional Scholarship.”
What level of athletic recruiting are you looking at?
But merit wise, RPI nor WPI and like no private schools I can think of ((Cooper Union included although they are looking to do free tuition again per their ten year plan - in a few years but doesn’t have language) - so I don’t know of any that will come to $35k short of a Tulsa if NMSF happens. Tulsa is not Civil accredited. Cooper Union. York College is ABET for CinE but only has elementary Arabic. It’s amongst the lowest cost private schools - about $45k b4 merit which they offer.
To me, given the budget, does the state flagship work for Civil, perhaps a minor in something water related and Arabic.
If yes and it’s a safety (not a UC/UT/UVA type), now if you want $35k or less, don’t waste time on schools that won’t get you there.
The only reason to pursue others outside your flagship would be they cost less, they offer Turkish or Arabic, or perhaps their programs and offerings are better aligned to the water interests. Or - they wanna be away from home.
That’s what he needs to figure out. He’s gotten interest from Ivies, and he thinks he would be happy attending and playing there, but that’s a whole lot more money than our flagship plus club sports, and he thinks he would be equally happy there. He’s also open to the idea that a school that offers merit aid and D3 sports (like WPI) could be the happy middle ground, so we’re trying to figure out which schools might offer significant merit.
Do you have other kids in college? If so, it might be worth running the NPCs at the Ivies, as they (and some other private schools I think) still give a “sibling discount” for financial aid for the years that the kids overlap.