Private universities with similar vibe to UPitt and UMass Amherst? [mechanical engineering, northeast or mid Atlantic]

Parents Forum
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I know this is kind of a random specific question but my son really seems to connect more with a few out of state universities. He really likes what he has read about UPitt and loved his visit to UMass Amherst ( said it felt “chill” :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:).
But the reality is we have an older one in college and it’s unlikely they will award enough merit aid to make it as affordable as his in state option.

so ideas of similar private universities?He is going to study mechanical engineering and prefers to stay in NE and mid Atlantic area. Applying to nyu, BU, U of Rochester, Tufts, RPI, WPI , Villanova and just to have an LAC options-Union and Lafayette. But he doesn’t to seem to love those options as much as the state schools.

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What budget number are you trying to hit?

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Aside from the ones on your list already, Syracuse is the most obvious option that comes to my mind. Maybe also George Washington and Drexel.

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You might want to run the net price calculators for these colleges AND find out if they offer merit aid. Some don’t. And of those that do, it will be highly competitive.

We don’t know your budget…and we don’t know anything about your student!

But I will suggest looking at University of Delaware.

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If RPI is affordable with merit, Purdue and UMD were about the same cost for my student. (UMD with a presidential scholarship and Purdue just outright). My daughter felt that both had very similar vibes to Pitt.

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I hope this student is a HS junior! Is that accurate @melissabel

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Good point, otherwise the ship has sailed for UMD and likely Purdue since the EA deadline has passed. Both fill the bulk of their class in EA and merit is only considered in EA as well.

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We have run the calculators and the ones who meet full demonstrated need for our budget. It’s just some are difficult to get into and my son is still lukewarm on them

Wondering if there schools we may have overlooked

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He applied to UMD. Just doubtful they will give enough merit to be within our budget. He also isn’t sure he would like it he is worried it will be a competitive enviornment

Purdue is out of his preferred area

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The UMD students we know said it’s very collaborative. I’ll hold out hope for some merit for your son!

How about RIT? I understand they are generous with merit and are very collaborative.

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It’s a tough question. Umass and Pitt are very different. And you haven’t shared a budget other than to say calculators show you’d be there. But would you be in ? Don’t forget, most schools are need aware and UMD will certainly be over $50k.

When I think Pitt, I think in city. For very low cost, UAH but you want to be in the NE and mid Atlantic and its South. It could be $20k-ish could other schools down there too stat dependent. So how about VCU ?

NYU and BU are nothing like UMASS or PITT and NYU is off campus in Brooklyn.

Have you checked URI And UNH or UMaine or even UMass Lowell or Southern Maine? I don’t know the budget - so if you share that we can narrow down schools. And let us know what state you are from. Budget has to trump all when there is one.

Schools like Hofstra and Clarkson will probably be better financially than Laf and Union. UHa too (Hartford) but guessing these aren’t what he’s looking for. Since you have Laf and Union, how about Bucknell.

SUNYs are reasonable but again we don’t know the budget so reasonable vs what ? Buffalo, Bing, New Paltz for smaller). Neighboring TCNJ too. And how about a school in PA like Shippensburg.

Others (again may be in or out of budget since it’s unknown) - UMBC, Miami U, WVU (just south of Pitt - could be high 20s). Is that in budget ??

Really need to know what we are working with but for lowest cost, you might need geographic flexibility.

And if you have very high need, schools that are need aware may turn you down because of it. Lafayette actually agreed to an article discussing this - basically the budgets are only so much - do you spread amount more kids ? In their case they rejected qualified kids needing too much to do so. I imagine with less intl kids coming that will make the situation worse for kids needing a lot of aid - but again we don’t know how much you need.

So that alone isn’t a safe route.

Please provide the budget and gpa/test score so we can help you find schools even if they’re not like Pitt or UMass. Plus the state you are from. Thanks.

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UMaine offers a Flagship match scholarship. Nice engineering program. Would definitely classify it as “chill”.

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What about looking at other state schools that give merit? Minnesota is pretty generous with merit for out of state students.

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With having 2 in college, we really need it to be close to what we would pay for his state school. Around 35k. We might be able to stretch to 45k since they will overlap for only a year

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No, he is a senior. He has already applied to 12 schools EA but wondering if there are private schools he should consider for RD

Or maybe one of the private schools already on his list might already be a good match for a kid who likes Pitt or Amherst

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We visited Drexel and he wasn’t a fan of the location. I thought maybe GW - I think he wasn’t sure how strong their engineering program is

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So you can pay $35,000 and have another in college, and you are looking for a lot of FA?

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RPI wasnt great with the net price calculator since they dont meet full need. It was similar to U of Delaware and UVM in price

Private full need schools seem to be the best option. Union, U of R and Lafayette are good targets so I am hoping one of them has the laid back, vibrant community that he seems to like about Pitt and Amherst.

I would love it if he landed at BU like his sister (as would she)

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I think you will need to look first at which private schools actually give a lot of merit. A lot of the more selective schools give merit to VERY FEW very top students, or give it to their athletes or students who come from an underrepresented population. Generally privates that give a lot of merit to a lot of students are schools that are less selective or where your student is kinda a step above the general student population academically. They use merit to entice. When my older child applied a few years ago she was given a lot of merit from Case Western, but I think that was the only private school that gave her merit. She did get merit from Minnesota that brought it down to the same level as our instate option.

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Financial Aid is different though! You mentioned merit, but if you qualify for financial aid then most selective private schools will give FA.