Schools that offer strong engineering programs AND Merit Aid or Meet Financial Need

College Search & Lists
1

My DS (rising junior) is compiling a list of colleges to consider. We have a list started, but I’m sure there are some we don’t know about.

Stats:
35 ACT
1490 PSAT (sophomore year…will take again next year for NMF or NHRP consideration)
4.37 Weighted GPA
4.0 Unweighted GPA
Currently ranked #1 in his class, but is changing schools (see below) so that will change. New school doesn’t rank.
5’s on AP Calc AB and AP Stats exams

Musts:
Strong engineering program
Merit aid OR strong need-based aid

Prefers:
Smaller city
Outdoor recreation
Smaller school (I don’t think this is a deal breaker)

Considerations:
He prefers a cooler climate
He prefers to go north (we’re in KY) rather than south
He prefers to stay this side of the Rockies. Visiting schools in the west may be difficult, also, but not impossible.

Additional info:
He has some EC’s…probably not as many as others, but quite a few. Cross country, swim, and track fresh and soph years, science club, Mu Alpha Theta, Beta, advanced choir, assisted with the middle school academic team, went to state for Math with his academic team, numerous math competition awards, works as a lifeguard and a tutor. He doesn’t have as much leadership, but has served as an officer for a few clubs and I think the lifeguarding and tutoring could be leadership.
I think he’s pretty realistic about his chances at a high-reach school. I do think limiting applications to 2-3 high reach and having an equal number of target and safety schools is absolutely necessary.

He’ll be attending a dual-admission residential high school program at a university for junior and sr years, so he’ll get in 8 science courses, plus 2 years of research there. He won’t be able to continue the high school sports (he can do club sports, but I don’t think many in the program have time for that). He hasn’t started that, yet, though. His home school doesn’t offer AP science until junior year, but he did take dual-credit bio Freshman year.

Any suggestions?

2

Not an answer to your specific question, but since it seems like you are extremely prepared for a younger HS student (is he a rising Jr.?) you might appreciate knowing about a mentoring program that I wish we’d heard of a year or so ago. Google Ace Mentor Program in your area.

To try to give you at least one college to answer your question, you might want to look into U Alabama, which I learned about on this message board.

I just did a search on College Confidential for “merit engineering” and several conversations popped up, including this one http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2015239-strong-engineering-schools-with-decent-merit-scholarships.html

Good luck!

3

I’m not sure what your budget would be. A lot of merit might not be enough at some schools and a little merit might be all that’s needed at others.
3 NY suggestions I have are University of Rochester, University at Buffalo and Cornell.

UR meets (their definition of) full need. It’s a great engineering university. It’s slightly out of the actual city of Rochester. They do offer merit.

UB is a NY public, so they aren’t going to meet full need and it would cost you more as an OOS than in state. But most people consider the SUNYs to be good prices even for OOS and UB has some nice merit for both in and OOS. UB is in a suburb of Buffalo, not directly in the city.

Cornell is in a small city and meets full need.

My d19 has very similar stats and is looking at chemical engineering. Those 3 are all very good schools. At UB, we met with an honors college admin and he said she would be almost definitely a direct admit to engineering and the honors college and he encouraged her to apply for the Presidential scholarship (also open to OOS), as well as mentioning even without the Presidential she would very likely get a merit scholarship, which last year kids with her stats were getting about $5k.

4

Oh, also RIT. Many appreciate its Co-op programs. Those stats would be in line for good merit but… they don’t meet full need and are pretty expensive for most.

5

My son’s favorite safety was Utah. He almost made it his final choice. His stats were slightly lower and he got a year free followed by three in state. They do give a limited number of full tuition waivers. Many have concerns about LDS influence, but SLC is less than 50%. The engineering department has great facilities and good curricula. The school feels smaller than it is by student body. They love their sports. The weather is nice, with 222 sunny days a year on average. The dorms are unparalleled. Outdoor recreation is hard to beat. You really have to visit to appreciate both the campus and SLC.

As for target, reach, etc. that’s pretty overblown. There are quite a few schools that are very difficult to get into with known reputations of being poor experiences for undergraduates. Concentrate on the other intangibles you’ve outlined.

6

He might see good merit at RPI and Clarkson.

7

University of Pittsburgh (rolling admission, so he can apply early)
WPI
Case Western
Carnegie Mellon has great engineering, but very competitive and virtually no merit.

Run NPC for an estimated COA at schools on your list

Look at your home state school too.

8

Have you looked at Olin? Currently half tuition merit based scholarship for all students. Selective Engineering school. Fits most of your criteria except limited outdoor recreation. Definitely worth looking into if they have his major. They only have 3, Mech E, Computer and Electrical E, and Engineering (where students build their own concentration). If you have any questions, there are plenty of Olin parents waiting to jump in and answer.

9

@mom2twogirls, He’d like to stay under $25,000 a year…preferably less than that. When we’ve run net price calculators, there are a LOT that would put him between 20 and 30 thousand a year, so I think that’s a reasonable figure for him. In an ideal world, he would stay under 20. He’s going to have to decide whether he wants (and can get admitted to) a top-tier school or if he’d be better off at a school with a much lower price tag. Cornell, Rochester and RIT are on the list already. I actually think Cornell might be a good fit. I’ll add the others you suggested.Thanks!

@eyemgh, where did your son end up?

@ma2012, we’re visiting Case Western in a few weeks. He was impressed by their virtual tour.

@MuggleMom , I have Olin on my list. The net price is one of the lower ones we’ve researched.

10

Automatic 100% tuition waiver for his stats at UAlabama-Huntsville, a smaller state school in the Appalachians of northern Alabama, just below the Tennessee border. UAH is noted for two things: engineering and ice hockey. Huntsville is a smaller city, but a regional center for technology.
https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships

Estimated annual cost of attendance at UAH for a non-resident, assuming 100% tuition scholarship: $17,410
https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/costs

11

4.0UW/35 ACT was enough to get a four year full OOS tuition waiver at Utah this year. And there is also a competitive full ride (Eccles) scholarship for the top 30 students each year.

12

I definitely agree with having Rochester on the list. (UR - haven’t seen as good aid at RIT) He seems like an ideal candidate to be competitive for their higher awards. Pittsburgh (also previously suggested) could provide merit aid and be a nice safety. It’s more urban (in feel) than Rochester. UR has their own “bubble” campus and Pitt is right in the city. Cornell is more rural, but is still worth visiting if you get to the state.

13

This sounds like Tufts to me. 5500 undergrads, excellent engineering, top-notch need-based aid.
Easy access to Boston/Cambridge, and also great outdoor recreation opportunities including a Mountain Club with its own lodge (“Loj”) in New Hampshire.
https://students.tufts.edu/orientation/pre-orientation/two-tufts-wilderness-orientation
https://tuftsmountainclub.org/

It’s in the “reach for everybody” category but he certainly has the stats to be a competitive applicant, and coming from an under-represented state would give him an edge.

14

Have you considered Colorado School of Mines?
I think it would be an admission match but a financial reach.
His stats qualify for a $14K non-resident merit scholarship.
That only gets you about half way down toward your target price.
You could narrow the gap with “self help”, but you’d probably still need additional grant money.

15

He chose Cal Poly. He’s now a masters candidate.

16

Miami of Ohio and Iowa State… Iowa states engineering program is very strong. Both with good merit etc.

17

Some great suggestions so far. Purdue offers merit scholarships – some take need into consideration, others do not. You must apply EA by Nov. 1st for consideration.

I’d also suggest looking into Rose Human.

18

Purdue’s scholarships are few and far between, especially for out of state applicants. That said, they have had a tuition freeze for the past 8 years and is fairly affordable.

19

OOS students at Purdue are eligible for both the Trustees and Presidential Scholarships which range from $5K to $16K for OOS residents, and $2K to $10K for instate. There are nearly 1,000 of these scholarships disbursed annually between these two programs. There is another $4K scholarship for Indiana residents only (there are over 400 of those given annually)

20

There are only 100 trustee scholarships given out at Purdue yearly ($12- 16k). The Presidential scholarships which are more numerous would not bring the COA below the $25K that the OP was looking for. The incoming freshman class is over 8,000 students. Not great odds IMO.