Schools with Astronomy and Mechanical Engineering? Formula SAE team? [CT resident, 3.97 GPA, 1540 SAT, <$40k]

Purdue will be close but slightly above your budget (mid 40s). But they have a competitive racing team:

However, it’s also in a rural location.

Another school you might want to consider is UMD. Like Purdue, they too have a strong mech engineering program as well as astronomy. But they’re in a suburban area just outside of DC, and they also have racing teams:

https://racing.umd.edu/

Although their COA is much higher, your son may get merit based on his profile that could get the cost down to the mid 40s (if you can stretch a bit).

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