Perhaps the parents spent all their money on the first kid’s college education…and have huge loans already to pay back for,that kid.
We don’t know.
Massachusetts can be æ very expensive place to live. That salary range is not that high.
^^
I don’t doubt that. It’s just that why do people with much higher incomes (and no extra money) think that those with much lower incomes can also make large loan payments after borrowing a lot… I just think it’s just an impulsive response and answer to get rid of the problem.
OP please take a serious look at UAH they have an amazing engineering program and many of the top employers recruit and offer great internships. If I could talk my kids into engineering that’s where I’d send them, with their merit options you’ll get the most for your your money.
@ANewName105 Here are two outside scholarships that my son had applied for and won with stats that were similar to yours. He had slightly higher SATs but was not IB and did not have SAT II scores. AFCEA in particular was exceptionally valuable. The scholarship he won - I can’t remember the name of the particular one, but it was $10,000. Additionally, he obtained a very valuable internship through contacts made through “networking” at the scholarship dinner. The internship lasted all through college and was a high enough pay that he invested money from it in various funds before graduating college. So perhaps one or both of these will help:
http://www.afcea.org/education/scholarships/undergraduate/northeast.asp
(AFCEA has many scholarship so look at all of them and apply to as many as possible - this is just one link)
http://www.sameboston.org/post-committees/scholarships
(I am guessing that you are in the Boston area. If not, find the S.A.M.E. chapter that is closest to you or the area of whatever school(s) you think you might actually attend. This particular link doesn’t give the application yet. We are in Maryland and I believe my son’s application was due in March/April time frame. When you look at the link, it is okay if you have no connection to military. We do not either. That being said, as a computer engineer, electrical engineer, or STEM major, they are useful majors in the military and therefore consider and DO offer scholarships to civilians for these type of majors:) As with AFCEA, apply to several chapters if they are options. Cast a wide net.)
Good luck to you!!!
Some very rough numbers …
I can’t imagine Case, RPI, RIT, or anything other than one of the guaranteed merit scholarship schools will have much aid available at this point.
It’s worth pointing out that all of the schools we visited reported 100% employment within 6 months for CS and Engineering majors.
Middle 50 ACT scores per college data daht com
RIT: 26-31, no guaranteed scholarships as I recall, net cost ~53k
UAH: 24-30. guaranteed full tuition. Net cost without ~35k, net cost with ~14k
SD School of Mines: 24-28. Net cost without scholarships, ~25k
UMass Lowell: 22-28, net cost in state ~ 27k, OOS: ~35k.
DD has applied to both Case and UAH, and liked UAH better I believe.
FWIW, it wasn’t that different a couple decades ago, and I exercised the ROTC option. They appeared to be need, color and gender blind.
I think UAH also offers some eng’g awards that stack on top. He’d also have co-oping jobs that could help pay for any shortfalls. He might have to borrow a bit more at first, but once he started co-oping and doing summer internships, he might not have to borrow much or anything more.
UAH has top facilities and the coordination with CRP is amazing.
Also, consider looking locally and regionally for outside scholarships…more realistic chances than for those national ones. Check area credit unions, power companies, local service groups, (elks, lions, kiwanis, etc.) also area chamber of commerces or similar…
^^
Yes those are nice to help pay for books for a year, but those are usually one time awards and too small to help pay for college.
I’m a member of the “every penny counts” group. My kids both got $4000 or so in local scholarships…but they were for freshman year only.
I also subscribe to the “every penny counts” perspective. I realize local scholarships will not fund the entire cost of school…but every penny means that much less a student has to pay up front or pay back in loans later. My D14 was able to pay for her entire first semester bill herself (and she was VERY pleased with herself for that) using summer work funds, graduation money…and you guessed it…7 local scholarships she received (totaling a little over 5000 dollars). In my eyes that is not “too small” to help pay for college!
OP mentioned hundreds of “options” when they did the national scholarship searches (most of those wouldn’t pay for a huge portion of college either) and was looking for suggestions…I was just pointing out that most students have better luck with local or regional scholarship options.
And…if a student lands a “full ride” at a school…there are a few that will still stack outside scholarships, and when total scholarship money exceeds the cost of tuition, room, board - the school will refund the money to the student to cover other costs such as books, travel, miscellaneous costs. Those extra “small scholarships” also come in handy in that type of scenario.
oh I agree.
But some make the mistake of adding up their local awards to determine if a school is affordable, forgetting or not realizing that those awards disappear after the first year.
We’ve had kids post her who’ve faced that and had to leave their schools after the first year.
we’ve also seen kids post thinking that they don’t have to worry about FA (even tho they need it), because they’re applying to a bunch of scholarships.
My kids got a few one-year-only scholarships, a few renewable ones, and some from the schools. They actually got a better packages as sophomores than as freshman, but that’s because of a change in need based awards. For next year, they are both applying for more scholarships through groups they’ve joined, some that the FA had information on, and they are earning more because they have more experience. There are more scholarships for upperclassmen, but you have to look for them just like you have to look for the local ones as a high school student.
By year two, sometimes the expenses are lower. The student finds cheaper housing, less travel home, figures out how to get books cheaper. Upperclassmen can sometimes get jobs that pay more too, internships or co-ops, jobs that involve serving liquor so have better tips.
Some people only feel comfortable knowing where every dollar is coming from for senior year before starting college. We didn’t have that option, and my kids never would have started college if they’d had to have all the money up front. We had year one covered, and now year two is fine. Just starting the quest for funds for year 3. If there is a time when the funds don’t come through, we’ll have to go to Plan B - take time off, do an internship or co-op, transfer, apply for more scholarships, go part time.
(edited - just saw your stats on first page of the thread)
A good friend of mine has a son at UMass-Lowell on a full tuition scholarship, he only has to pay room and board.
He had close to a 4.0 in high school, but if there’s a full-triton scholarship, there are lesser awards that might help you out…
I think you should take a look outside New England at this point too. Especially at the midwestern and southern schools…
U of Alabama-Huntsville was mentioned; what about Louisiana Tech? Ohio University in Athens OH gives out merit until February, I think.
Honestly, I’d look into every directional state college with Engineering, that gives merit scholarships, between the East Coast and half a day’s drive from home.
I think the general wisdom is that, with Engineering, it really doesn’t matter so much where you go to school, and… in general, the less debt one graduates with, the better off you will be after graduating.
Deadline for the scholarships was 1/5: http://admissions.latech.edu/tuition_fees/scholarships/freshman-scholarships.php
See reply #44 for more automatic full tuition or better scholarships that may still be available. Reply #68 lists those which are full ride.
@BeeDAre <<<
A good friend of mine has a son at UMass-Lowell on a full tuition scholarship, he only has to pay room and board.<<<
If that student only has to pay room and board, then he has a LOT more than just a “full tuition scholarship”.
At the UMass schools, a “full tuition scholarship” is a joke…only worth about $1500 per year. Tuition is very low (state law), so the schools skirt the law by charging super-high fees (over $10,000 per year for fees)…and the “full tuition award” doesn’t cover that.
So, either your friend is paying for those fees, or has a different scholarship. Many MA families are thrilled to learn that their child has been given a “free tuition scholarship,” but then are later shocked to find out that it only covers $750 a semester, and they have to pay $25k per year for fees, room and board and books…
http://www.uml.edu/thesolutioncenter/bill/tuition-fees/Undergraduate/default.aspx
This student only has the full tuition scholarship (called something like John and Abigail Adams scholarship). He would have to pay a lot more than just room and board and books.
@mom2collegekids @ANewName105 UMass Lowell offers free tuition AND fees scholarships but that for EA. Also tippy top students can get a free ride.
You’re in a tough position for sure. I know bottom-line cost for my daughter at UMassAmherst would have been $18,000 or so but a few of the other Mass state schools came in at the $10-12K mark which should be doable if you take loans, work full time during the summer and do work study for spending money while in school. I would also say look for schools that are 100% need based finaid and see who is still taking applications. And, FWIW, if you can manage UMA, I say go for it, that school just keeps getting better and better. Its no longer the safety school it used to be, its reputation for excellence is unmatched with the NE state schools and from what I understand companies love to recruit from there.
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UMass Lowell offers free tuition AND fees scholarships
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Yup!
BeeDare just mentioned the free tuition scholarship. Maybe the friend’s son got free tuition AND fees? who knows!
Friends’ son - at Mass -Lowell - received a merit scholarship that was equal to the cost of tuition and fees. He had to pay for room, meal plans, and books, according to my friend.
He lived at home his last year (commuted) and graduated this past summer.