Oregon State won’t hit budget and Auburn likely won’t either. Merit isn’t what it was. Fine schools both of them. Both substitutional to Arizona.
All I’m saying is most MechE programs are substitutional - and they want a great astronomy program. U of A is one of the tops in the country.
When factoring in what OP said - are there ‘better’ than U of A, I don’t think so. Higher ranked yes and they are noted above. Purdue would check a lot of boxes at a similar price. There’s other strong schools at half the price.
Oregon State will cost more than Arizona. Auburn has better merit than OSU but unlikely to get to $40k. This student gets $30500 off at Bama and will be below $20k.
Is Bama better than Arizona ? Nope. Like the others, it’s substitutional.
Arizona will be better in space topics.
UTK is strong in space topics. Not sure if can get to cost but may be worth a look.
But the main point is - Arizona is a GREAT engineering school. When someone says better, I’m not sure there is.
There are more selective universities - a Purdue for example which would also be a GREAT choice given the dual interests with space topics.
But at every school, engineering is hard and nationally half don’t finish in the major. At less selective schools, maybe.
But the parent/student should be proud with a MechE degree from Arizona…similar to other schools mentioned above and will be premier in the astronomy side too.
Are there cheaper - yep - but not sure they are better - K State, Miami, Iowa State, Bama, Ms State, and more. There’s also fine niche schools like Missouri Science & Tech, Tennessee Tech, etc. All equally great names.
Btw I’d be less concerned with a top formula SAE team and more concerned with how students are assigned and what they’re allowed to work on. I’ve heard many a story about kids not getting to work on areas that interest them. You’re a part of a team and there’s a leader. So it might be good to connect with the club leader at each school to see how hands on one can be at an early stage.