@SAMichaelScarn Only 35% of students on main campus for Penn State get scholarships granted by the institution, but it says they equally consider both in state/OOS students. Maybe. But, I see that my ACT score is in the top of their range. So that could be a possibility. Thanks! I could still hypothetically submit it tonight, but I wouldn’t have a LOR.
EDIT: Penn is 50,000 PER YEAR. I don’t think that’s going to be a school where I’d be a financial fit.
WPI looks awesome, but their OOS tuition is SO HIGH! I wish I did GWC, I’ve done other independent CS stuff so I don’t think that counts. For some of these it lets you sumbit projects you’ve done, so maybe I can use that as an advantage. 
@TTG
Congrats on the ISU acceptance! You’ll still have to pass a couple of semesters of physics at a lot of colleges (Iowa State requires 2 semesters — I know because one of my kids has TAed for the classes). And they expect incoming students to have taken HS Physics. It would be a good idea to brush up (maybe take a MOOC or online class over the summer) before entering any engineering program.
@intparent good point. I am taking algebra based physics now and calculus 1. I could start with calc based physics after I learn calc in school year.
Any other suggestions???
PS- Iowa State was an awesome suggestion. It looks like I will also be admitted to their honors program and be highly competitive for their engineering scholarships.
I think U of U is awesome… it’s just the location. I like a lot of diversity and although SLC is probably the most diverse part in the state, I’m just not sure I’ll find as much diversity in Utah as I would in other states.
So for Michigan your math and overall Act is to low. They only look at unweighted GPA which yours is their avg for engineering, which is awesome. But your circumstances and ECs are great but they look at GPA and class rigor first. Might want to reach out to engineering admissions. They are pretty upfront and extremely helpful.
Iowa State University was going to be my suggestion as well. Great school spirit and also one of the largest engineering fairs in the country. I know many graduates that had several job offers before they graduated. Good merit.
UIUC… We are Instate and my sons at Michigan since Illinois doesn’t give really any merit 2 years ago. But they do have a new initiative for lower income and scholarships but CS is one of the most competitive programs they have. Kids with much higher ACT scores aren’t getting in.
Look at Michigan State University. Forget about rank its a great school for engineering. Alabama is hot for OOS scholarships. North Carolina State has a great engineering program also with good merit.
Good Luck.
Another thought: University of Nebraska? Check out their auto-merit at your stats.Looks like you would at least get George Beadle OOS scholarship with a 29 ACT which is $15,000 off a very reasonable tuition. and room and board. They love OOS students, and offered my daughter another $3000 freshman award for sending in a very short essay (close to decision deadline). It was her cheapest option by far, but we never visited since it was a ten hour drive and she had already fallen in love with a few other visited schools.
Don’t know anything about engineering at UNL, but have heard great things about campus and Lincoln itself. Friend’s daughter went there from Chicago area and decided to stay after graduation with great job offers (business major) in Lincoln.
Also quick decision–almost as fast as Iowa. If money is a major factor UNL would be worth a good look.
@Knowsstuff True. It is an obvious reach school for me. I know they said when I visited a few years ago they wouldn’t consider you for engineering if you had lower than a 28 math… which is unfortunately my case. However, my application SCREAMED engineering and I know it would raise lots of questions if I didn’t apply engineering (common app essay was about engineering project, ECs all reflect Engineering/CS), ect. If anything, my passion for engineering showed through my application.
I don’t know if they’d see it in a good light if I called and asked them if it was a realistic school for me. I am afraid they’ll think I am trying to pry out answers. They’ll probably just say it’s holistic admissions and they’ll see when they get there.
I applied to Michigan State already, but their OOS tuition is 50,000 A YEAR, which is really expensive. Even with merit… I don’t know if it would be realistic. I didn’t know that at the time I applied and I’m kinda disappointed about it. They have a good CS program, too. (I’ve known about it for years.)
@bobo44 So I just looked them up, they’re actually a T100 Engineering school. (In the 90s.)
OH wait. This looks like a realistic option. So Ohio was just added to Midwest Student Exchange Program this year. Basically, that means I get a certain amount of tuition off just being an Ohio resident. So with that and that scholarship, that’s looking to be a realistic option. Thanks for the suggestion!
@equationlover… Not sure if you applied EA yet for Michigan but can always apply LSA and transfer to engineering regardless of your essay. As far as calling or emailing they are there to help. They don’t tally up and report you to some place in admissions. They truly want to help you be successful.
https://www.engin.umich.edu/admissions/undergrad/
The person on the bottom of the link is wonderful and has helped many people.
Reaching out to your schools Michigan regional counselor is a big tip btw… Ask an intelligent question. I assume you might have some accommodations? Ask about how they can support you. Or anything else that you can’t easily find.
BTW Michigan is reach for just about every oos student. Like 10,000 on the wait list last year so don’t feel bad and most people seem to get deffered.
As for MSU, I was thinking more of their honors program which is Instate tuition for OOS plus research opportunities etc. Your grade point is there and might bring up your Act. If you get it, it would be a somewhat more affordable option but Iowa State is a good value all the way around.
Just make sure wherever you go if you need additional support that they can supply this for you to be successful.
@Knowsstuff University of Michigan is known as the #1 place for students with disabilities, which is another thing that draws me there.
Okay, I will call and ask. Thank you! Yes, I was worried they would tally or something.
With MSU, it says their average honors student has a 31 ACT. The program is very selective.
Iowa State is too, but I emailed them and asked if I could possibility still get in it with a 29 and not a 30, and they said that would specifically look at my apppication to see if I had other things that made up for it (another qualification I could have had is top 5% class rank, I have a 10% class rank, but I explained that my school is very competitive.) So thankfully, they’re taking the time out of their day to look at that for me. How nice.
Yes MSU honors has gone up like yearly with their Act but they do factor other things into it and your grade point is an amazing. Email the honors head with a short summary of your accomplishments like the Intel award. It’s a big deal. In fact your resume is amazing. Let them know you really want to be in honors and need help financially.
As I tell my own kids in college… . Sometimes you have to take a chance and bet on yourself. Good things always happen when they do that.
If your essay is as good as your ec’s… You will get a fair look from Michigan. Showing interest is a big deal for them. Your regional counselor helps in the decision process. Sometimes your school counselor or principal has a relationship with them and they will ask who they should looking at. Let that person be you.
@Knowsstuff I knew that regional officers played a deal in the admissions process, but I didn’t know that they were the same person. I figured that they would have two or something to eliminate bias (although that sounds rather stupid) if people called to talk to him.
It’s kind of hard to think of a question that isn’t covered on their website. If I ask a question about Engineering, they will refer me to the engineering department. Their website is pretty extensive.
I will definitely call that guy from the Engineering department. I had no idea that they had separate admissions offices. Otherwise I would have called them earlier.
And that is true. I will email the honors program office. Iowa State was very nice about it, hopefully they will be too.
Oh wait @bobo14 it looks like the Midwest student exchange program thing is apart of the award you mentioned. So no extra money there ):
At our OOS school that was highly competitive like number 1 in Illinois the kids we told to let the regional person know your interest but yes not with something you can look up. But even a question about support etc would be fine. The point is it does show interest to them and that counts. Always a quick thank you for your time afterwards. If it’s between you and someone else for that one spot that person might remember you… Others might disagree with this but I have seen it work first hand… The rest is up to you.
IMO this is really bad advice if you want to be an engineer.
@Knowsstuff @TTG Since you guys both seem to know a lot about engineering. What about Colorado State and University of Washington-Seattle?
I really want to go out west someday so maybe those would be good options?
I’ve heard University of Washington- Seattle has surroundings comparable to Ann Arbor. My ACT would be their average ACT. It doesn’t look like they have automatic scholarships and the COA seems VERY high, but could this be a good option if I get OUTSIDE scholarships? My guidance consoler said she’s going to help me look for scholarships.
The only downside is they’re VERY VERY VERY good in CS, so apparently it’s REALLY hard to get into the CS major there.
Colorado State has a high ranking in engineering and CS (top 100) and I would be the top of their stats. It’s $43,000 a year baseline. Thoughts on that too? I would likely be competitive for a lot of their scholarships.
UW is one of the top CS programs in the country. It’s very competitive OOS, lots of CA students in particular apply there. I believe that some students are directly admitted into CS and others apply for it after starting their studies there. Financial aid is pretty limited, and it’s expensive OOS. So that’s a rough pretty tough one, though I would never suggest someone not apply because it’s tough. Just some good basic info to know. One of mine was just out there less than a month ago visiting a friend who is in the CS department, and stopped by the dept. for an event. Stunning facilities, they said.
CSU is in Fort Collins. We visited Fort Collins about 7-8 years ago. It’s one of my favorite towns, really nice, and close-ish to Boulder and even Denver. Mountains are right there. Excellent school. Also gets lots of CA students, though I don’t know the numbers. Colorado is expensive for OOS students. State knows there’s high demand, especially from CA, so can basically charge a premium price, as is the case at Michigan and other schools. But, anyway, a great place.
I like the Nebraska suggestion too. I was through there last summer (lots of traveling the last few years, including 3 cross-country drives). It’s in Lincoln and really is an urban campus, which is not what one might think when one thinks of Nebraska. And Omaha is a very dynamic city too.
If you are getting a Midwest deal, and want to go urban, Minnesota is outstanding, and pretty diverse, I think.
I still like the Kansas idea. I was through Lawrence this past spring and thought it very cool. I have some neighbors in our very nice (and well-known) town, who teach part-time at KU. They prefer Lawrence to our town. And they said it was developing a tech sector. Would you be able to do a trip where you visited Ames (ISU), Lincoln, Lawrence, and Manhattan (KSU)? KU and KSU are very close to each other, and not that far from Lincoln. It seems like that would be helpful. I’d think 1 or 2 might really click for you. I know that is not always possible, which is fine.
And for some fields, like engineering and business, it’s good to research if you are applying to the school generally and then apply to those programs once you arrive; or if you are applying to be directly admitted to a specific program or school. Direct admit into engineering is often more competitive, but then you know you are in the program and don’t have to risk not getting into it later. At least as of about a year or two ago, UW had direct admit into CS, and UW students could also apply after a certain point. So it varies by school. And I can’t say positively about UW now.
Good luck!
I doubt UW would be affordable.
@intparent With the Midwest deal thing, I would get tuition off at U of Minnesota at every branch EXCEPT twin cities (sigh.)
Yeah, it’s looking like CSU and Washington St. won’t be affordable.
I just tuition off at U Kansas and U Kansas St. U Nebraska- Lincoln I also get tuition off, but it looks like it is already apart of the scholarship someone mentioned, which is unfortunate (so I couldn’t add up the two.)
U Nebraska- Lincoln with the aforementioned scholarship would bring the COA down to roughly $25,000 per year. With Pell Grant it brings it down to $19,000 per year. That’s more adorable. And there’s other scholarships too that I could probably get.
Kansas has $54,000 total ($13,000 per year) for 28 ACT and then the MWEP ($11,164 per year) BUT it says it cannot be combined with any other renewable scholarships per year. Does this mean I cannot stack? Because that’s a difference of bringing down my COA per year to $10,000 (with Pell Grant) VS $23,000 per year.
Kansas St. is a LOT more generous. The tuition would be only in state tuition, plus my pell grant. BUT you have to major in certain majors, and non of them are CS or EE related. They do have industrial engineering listed and mech. E with a concentration in nuclear engineering listed.
The automatic scholarship at K St. requires a 3.5 GPA…I’m not sure that will be possible given how hard engineeing majors are.
Iowa State is looking to be the most affordable out of any of those.
Iowa State would be $8,000 per year.
Also- I can only visit after it looks like a responsible school I might be able to attend. My sister and I are born seniors, with lots of colleges in different states (she likes UK, Tenn, Penn, Indiana-Bloomington) I have mostly looked in Arizona, Michigan, Indiana, and Iowa. We’re going for two different majors so that probably explains it. But she has not thought about money at at, but I have.
The good news is we both have OSU, U Cinci where we’re both applying, so we’ll for sure visit there.
A Pell Grant isn’t a “scholarship”. You should call admissions at Kansas and ask them, if you are wondering if you can apply the Pell grant and their scholarship.