<p>Don’t worry about ‘winding up’ at a state university–just be sure it’s engineering school has a good rep. My nephew attended Ohio State University for engineering, got good grades, made sure his profs knew him, and interned for NASA (one of the places that offered him a job after graduation). He was one of the team leaders for the Buckeye Bullet as an undergrad(!) because of his hard work. After graduation, He took a good job with Rolls Royce (said it paid better than NASA and he wouldn’t have to move), stayed there for 2 years, pocketing the $, then decided to keep challenging himself, so he’s back at OSU (has decided to go into medicine–wants to develop intelligent artificial limbs for children!).</p>
<p>Point is 1) a good undergrad, even at a state school, can take you very far and 2) very few parents are in the profession they thought they’d be when they were 18! Use your smarts and your initiative to get a good foundation and keep all options open.</p>
<p>Oh, and I, too, was the mature one with good common sense, so basically ignored while they tended to the others. It wasn’t until I was older that my folks told me how much they bragged about me because they were so proud. Hope this helps!</p>