<p>I forgot that Tulane doesn’t have much in the way of engineering anymore. :(</p>
<hr>
<p>I’m in the upper middle class income level, so obviously I don’t qualify for much need based aid. I was wondering if there are respectable universities out there that would offer me a **substantial **amount merit aid?</p>
<p>Folks…maybe I’m wrong, but I think the OP is looking for BIG MERITS that pay for most of COA. I could be wrong, but the feeling I’m getting is that if the school has a COA of $50k+, then the OP is looking for full-tuition or something like that which would leave him with about $20k per year to cover in other ways.</p>
<p>EMMERS…how much is your EFC? Can your parents pay their EFC? If not, that will be an issue. Have your parents said how much they can pay each year towards you college costs?</p>
<p>If you’re looking for big merits, then you need to look mid tier or lower. </p>
<p>I know that you say “biomedical - bio engineering”…that is very limiting, when it comes to merit money (I know this because a friend of mine is looking for the same for her son with high stats). How strict are you with that? What is your intended career? Would Chem engineering with a bio minor or something like that work? Or Mech Engineering with a bio minor?</p>
<p>It’s a shame when agenda driven posters muck up a perfectly good thread in which a kid is just looking for some advice. My own son will be applying to a number of the universities named in this thread in an engineering-related field, and hoping for merit aid at those that award it. But every one of these schools is an exceptional institution of higher learning. You couldn’t truly go wrong at any of them. So good luck to the OP.</p>
<p>i-guy,
Lots of declarative, self-assured (and often wrong) statements. Ah, the folly of youth….</p>
<p>Uhh, maybe the world is a little bit bigger than NYC (are you upper west or upper east??) and that relative degrees of prestige vary as you move around the USA. If you think that the Ivies “destroy” Rice in prestige, then you are probably right if you are talking about NYC/the Northeast and applicants from that neck of the woods. But if you’re making such claims in the Southwest and especially in Texas, let me suggest that you get your little fanny out of town before sundown. You’re dead wrong and folks in Texas don’t take kindly to such know-nothing arrogance. </p>
<p>BTW, the same could be said for many, many folks who know the other non-Ivies that you seek to banish to the netherworlds. They don’t have the same ideas on prestige as you and they almost certainly would not be constantly running down other schools in the flip manner that you regularly do. I really wonder how many of these schools you’ve actually visited or recruited at. My guess is zero. </p>
<p>As for selectivity, I know that your declarations of Ivy superiority don’t stand up. Would you care to make some factual presentations as I have done above (note: several of the items deal with selectivity measurements)? The reality is that student quality is high and nearly indistinguishable at all of these schools. </p>
<p>Your crusade to demonstrate your intellectual superiority reminds me of the Dr. Seuss story, “The Big Brag.” Ever read it or did anyone ever read it to you? It’s a children’s book, but you could definitely learn a little something from it.</p>
<p>I’m glad that my thread has generated so much conversation. There seems to be a lot of “snarky posting” about ivies vs. other universities. </p>
<p>I guess to quell the minor quarrel, my intentions for this thread was to benefit myself, but also other CCers like me:</p>
<p>upper middleclass
pretty good stats
interested in engineering (or a likewise selective major)
have extra time on their hands to try and receive other college opportunities</p>
<p>I appreciate all of the suggestions, I need to get-to-looking ASAP! :)</p>
<p>As to answer mom2college kids - I am looking for approximately half-tuition or anyother “good deal”. Basically a “good deal” entails a good education that through financial aid would beat my current GREAT instate value (UIUC, approx $34,000)</p>
<p>you hit it right on the money! My ideal major is biomedical/bio eng and my secondary option is chemical/biomolecular eng :)</p>
<p>Also… my parents are willing to finance “whatever it takes.” I don’t mean to sound so blaisse, but I have finished applying to my top choices and for lack of better phrasing… i’m curious at other options that may not be “brand name” schools yet still offer a competitive education and provide a substantial amount of merit aid to “attract” me. (sorry the word attract sounds really conceited)</p>
<p>I guess a little more information about my quest for college:
Stanford - deferred
UIUC - accepted (Chem/Biomol Eng)</p>
<p>waiting to hear from:
Cornell (legacy)
Columbia (legacy)
Upenn (Jerome Fisher Program - ENGIN as default)
Johns Hopkins
Franklin Olin School of Eng (half-tuition scholarship guaranteed to all accepted students)</p>
<p>Thanks for your time, effort, and brainstorming :)</p>
<p>OP, ignore the uninteresting guy. Seriously.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine having so little else to do that it would be worthwhile to answer the nonsense he is dropping all over this site, so just do yourself a favor and ignore it.</p>
<p>There are many good suggestions here. Rice is a great school. I don’t know if they offer any full tuition merit awards, but they do offer some significant ones. Their COA is less than most of its peers to begin with.</p>
<p>re post 26. My son had a stellar hs record. I would be willing to bet a bit that it was better than that boringguy. However, he wanted to finance as much of his education himself as possible, graduate with no loans and with a lot of savings in the bank. A whopping merit award from Vanderbilt engineering has allowed him to do that. He is having a great experience and I do not think his future is in any way harmed by not attending a higher-ranked engineering school. He is, as I suspect you are, a highly motivated student, and that does make a difference.</p>
<p>OP is original post, or original poster, meaning you, the person who started the thread.</p>
<p>EFC is expected family contribution to the cost of the school. If you are affluent, your EFC is equal to or greater than total COA, which is cost of attendance.</p>
Put another way, EFC is what you pay after financial aid (if any) is subtracted from the total cost of the college (tuition, housing, food, books, etc.).</p>
<p>mmm i’m not quite affluent but through 17 years of savings and work / work studies, i can pull off tuitions with top sticker values.</p>
<p>I guess my whole thread was based on the premise of greed :), but i know for a fact there are other engineering students like me looking to discover other great “little-known” opportunities.</p>
<p>EDIT -
midmo! I really value your post about your son (very helpful). </p>
<p>“However, he wanted to finance as much of his education himself as possible” << exactly my intentions too!</p>
<p>*i’m not quite affluent but through 17 years of savings and work / work studies, i can pull off tuitions with top sticker values.
*</p>
<p>Wow…you have $200k+ saved! How did you do it? </p>
<p>BTW…COA stands for “Cost of Attendance” which is the total amount it costs to attend a college - tuition, fees, room, board, books, transportation, personal expenses. Many privates are costing about $50k+ per year. Many OOS publics are costing between $35k-50k per year for COA.</p>
<p>Wow, elitist much? There are at least a hundred schools that are comparable to the Ivies. Take a look at the sort of alumni that the top LACs turn out. I’d bet Swarthmore means nothing to the common Joe, but its graduates are just as spectacular as Harvard grads. That said, you have to realize that elite schools don’t make elite students. Harvard students had all the qualities of high-achievers before stepping foot on campus, and your future isn’t handed to you on a silver platter just because you have an fancy degree. You may have to open your mind before you call yourself interestingguy.</p>
<p>To the OP: Have you checked out Tulane? They have excellent merit aid and if you apply with the Personal Application, they make a decision within 2 weeks of receiving your scores and counselor recommendation.</p>
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