This is really helpful, thank you! Lol, it might be turn out to be the same for us. I was reading about the tunnels when I was researching RIT. It’s a big school, so DS was gravitating towards WPI, but when I saw that they are test blind, I crossed that one off, thinking we wouldn’t get much merit. Thanks for the info regarding those two.
1 Like
Thanks for this! I was checking out Huntsville as it seemed to be the smallest. Didn’t realize it was more of a commuter school. What are your thoughts about Birmingham?
Louisiana Tech has about 8,000 students, is rural, has an honors program, and would give your son generous merit aid. Has more of a commuter feel, probably like UA-Huntsville.
Missouri Science & Tech has around 6,000 students, is rural, and might come in under budget. I’d take a closer look at it, for sure. It’s classified as a residential campus.
I’ll keep my thinking cap on for others.
2 Likes
Oregon’s Honors College gets high marks, but I think Oregon State’s engineering and CS programs generally rank higher.
I don’t have further info on the CS programs at Whitman and Willamette, but it might be worth looking at what courses they each offer and asking their admissions offices for more info, if they look appealing.
Two more rural options that offer WUE discounts, for your consideration:
- Washington State (may feel too large, but students generally don’t go home for weekends and school spirit/bondedness is high)
-University of Idaho
1 Like
UA-B is more known for health sciences. Alabama’s medical school is located there.
1 Like
University of Oregon does not have an engineering school, it’s at Oregon State.
1 Like
Appreciate all your comments and help. The one huge reach I was told to check out is Vanderbilt since they give some aid, and running the NPC it appears to be more afforable. Is this wishful thinking? Lottery right?
Merit at Vanderbilt will very much be a lottery but it would be a good option for a high reach school.
3 Likes
my son was looking for computer engineering schools a few years ago. He ended up not choosing it; but we were impressed with Tulsa University in oklahoma. smallish private with engineering. Tuition ended up being around 9K there (that’s what we looked at everywhere. not R&B as we know that’s on us and somewhat similar all over. . . ). So - just throwing that idea out. Its “crossovers” are St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis; Creighton, Drake, and similar schools.
(and nice job to your son by the way!)
3 Likes
Instead of Alabama, why don’t you apply to UAH - smaller, suburban (so not rural) - and very well reputed. You don’t need to worry about decent merit. It’s all in a table. Same with Alabama and Arizona - automerit - but they are large. Ms State is not huge…and it’s rural. It’s large…but not extra extra large. Ms State will show you your scholarship on their calculator…but Alabama, UAH, Arizona have an auto merit based on a table. Murray State as well.
Another good one would be Missouri S&T.
Wyoming would work too - and be cheap.
Good luck.
3 Likes
Coming from Nevada, definitely look at your WUE options!
Humboldt State just became Cal Poly Humboldt, and will be expanding its STEM offerings over the next few years: Academic Programming Build Out | Cal Poly Humboldt Your son sounds like he would like the environment in Arcata. They have wonderful themed residential learning communities that can give the experience more of a smaller-school feel. (Cal Poly Pomona is a WUE school too, but it’s much more of suburban-LA commuter campus.)
Western Washington U is another one that’s competitive for WUE $ but could be a possibility. The range of STEM majors is a bit limited but the ones they have are very good.
The more rural flagships like Montana and Wyoming also offer great deals; also the Honors College at U of Arizona - not WUE but gives great merit. SD Mines offers a great, hands-on approach in a smaller school with a rural setting and a bargain price; the one downside is a high attrition rate, presumably because it’s a high-rigor program that’s easy to get into. And it may not be strong enough on the non-STEM side for your son’s range of interests.
5 Likes
UAH’s last pre-COVID common data set says that 66% of frosh lived on campus (so probably about a third commuter).
Of course, the reason UAH was built up was probably because, back in those days, most of said staff would not attend or send their kids to the existing public university in the area, AAMU, which also has engineering majors and clearly defined merit scholarships.
| College | Scholarship | Amount | Criteria | Renewal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAMU | Presidential | Full ride, $1,000 for books | 3.75 HSGPA, 28 ACT or 1310 SAT | 3.50 college GPA, 30 credits/year |
| AAMU | Merit | Tuition | 3.25 HSGPA, 23 ACT or 1130 SAT | 3.10 college GPA, 30 credits/year |
| UAH | Academic Excellence | $19,900 | 3.50-3.99 HSGPA, 32-36 ACT or 1450-1600 SAT | 3.00 college GPA, 24 credits/year |
3 Likes
Just make sure to correctly specify which CS major, because there is a very different one listed in one of the new majors to be offered (listed in that link).
Whitman has a 2/3 engineering program, and a small but growing CS program. They recently received a large donation to fund 2 new tenure track positions, and are currently interviewing candidates. If you son is into outdoor activities (hiking, skiing, rock climbing, fly fishing…), or would like to try, then I think the school would appeal to him. Might be over budget, and the CS program may be too small for your son though.
1 Like
Thank you all for these additional ideas. I should clarify the desire for rural. He’s loves the outdoors and dislikes the hustle and bustle of a busy city, so that’s why I think he wants to be in a rural area. Having said that, he hasn’t visited anywhere yet, so I want him to consider alternatives as well.
Didn’t even consider Humboldt; I will look into that, as well as others mentioned. Thank you!
@ucbalumnus, thank you for the additional info regarding the ratio of commuter versus noncommuters. It probably means it will be quieter on campus, which I think will suit DS well.
I do have a question on those automerit charts, in particular UAH and UA. Until recently I didn’t think he would be able to qualify for the Presidential Elite because of the GPA cutoffs, but I realized that they are using weighted GPA. What would one do if the school doesn’t weight grades? Is there anything that can be done to qualify since DS would have over a 4 weighted?
Lastly, any input on UTD? I think he would qualify for AES. Thank you.
2 Likes
Probably a question best asked to the colleges (if there is some other way of calculating a weighted HSGPA for their purposes) and your high school (if it will add some kind of weighted HSGPA).
3 Likes
Miami of Ohio might be an option if the size is OK for him. They provide merit based on weighted GPA:
It’s a pretty campus in Ohio. We know quite a few people there, all who love it. My nephew was in the honors college and is now in med school. Another friend is currently in the honors college.
2 Likes
AES appears to be a competitive scholarship without pre-set stats thresholds:
https://enroll.utdallas.edu/freshman/aes/prospective-students/qualifications/
I’m now seriously considering this school, as they give good merit. Probably a long shot for the Presidential Fellows but I hope they have a good CS/engineering program.Thank you!
Good idea - thanks!