Update - my son was approved for TE at Drexel! (the merit was quite similar, but this is a help!)
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Yay!!! That is great news!
Thank you so much for this! And I may reach out to you via DM to connect about the ASD. I know so many love Pitt. Not only did we love the university, but we really loved Swanson itself and having their own dedicated engineering advisor who reaches out in May.
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We are definitely in the midst of this now and keeping the total cost in mind, including potential income from co-ops, which for engineering can have quite an impact.
I’ve been following Pitt on Instagram and reddit for the past year and have read a lot about the housing situation, endless construction, etc. I’m interested to go back and see it one last time to see how it feels now that we have all of the information.
In terms of U Del, he was waitlisted for the Honors College, but now that there is an additional cost for that, and given that he wants to live in the engineering llc, he was just fine with that decision. Frankly, I’d rather pay extra for the spectrum scholars program than the honors college. We recently spoke with two civil engineering department chairs from different schools. Both advised against the honors college with engineering majors because the curriculum is so demanding.
His stats are not as high as some of his peers, but he had a fantastic out of the box essay, volunteer work, several extracurriculars that he committed to for 3-4 years, etc. He’s also taking the most difficult courses the school offers (organic chemistry and calc 2) both are dual enrollment classes. Organic chem in particular pulled his gpa down a bit.
We’re also OOS and currently U Del is the second most expensive. Pitt is slightly more, then Stevens, then Drexel. He was accepted to Syracuse on Friday night, but decided to narrow down his list and declined the admissions offers everywhere else.
Oh - and since you can apply for TE each year at U Del vs being one and done at Pitt, that is a big consideration too. Thank you so much for all of this info!
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DD just got TE at Dickinson, plus a generous merit scholarship. We don’t know much about this school but with a COA around $30K, we will likely plan a visit soon. Appreciate any insights anyone has about this school.
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Sleepless - that’s awesome! Congratulations! A quick thought: you said the COA is around 30, but Dickenson is set rate, which would put total COA in the 40s somewhere. You mentioned the merit scholarship “plus” TE, which raises a potential question: I’d call them just to make sure that they stack those two category of merit award. Some places do allow you to keep both, but some don’t. Better to check to be sure.
Does anyone know if RIT TE has a waitlist? Son just received TE offer there but very unlikely to attend. Would like to know whether if he releases it sooner, it could help someone.
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I just looked at her official acceptance. The FA offer lists both TE and an academic merit scholarship, so it appears that Dickinson stacks. And I had the number wrong, her estimated COA is actually $26K!
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My kid did not receive it, but there was no note about a waitlist in his letter, unlike Drexel. I would reach out to their office to ask. They were super responsive in general. I really liked RIT, but he declined his admission offer earlier this week.
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Huge congrats!!! That is incredible. Very happy for you. I’ve heard that it’s a fantastic school.
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That Dickinson offer is fabulous!! Super congratulations!!
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That’s amazing! But I’d call to make sure. I had a similar issue with D26 a few years ago at a different school - the notification stacked the awards, but when I called they said that was just the way financial aid listed it, in the end they retract the non-TE merit awards. Given that experience, I’d just email them or call so that you’re 100% sure that it’s a stacked offer. I hope it is - because 26k for Davidson is pretty insane!
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If I recall, your situation was earlier in the process and not an official award letter (I may have misunderstood). In this case, if it is an official award letter with an acceptance link, I would print it, do a screenshot, etc. and hit accept.
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No, it was an actual award letter in my daughter’s case. She was awarded TE + various university merit scholarships, and it showed the total COA at the bottom taking both into account. There was no way we could afford the school if they didn’t stack - similar gross price COA to Davidson.
When we checked, they tried to claw back the university merit awards claiming that was just how financial aid wrote things up, and said that the policy was that if you accept TE the university merit awards are forfeited. It was really a nightmare, since this was D’s #1 school, and she thought one thing, and now was being told something different.
In the end, they relented and gave us enough of the university merit awards to make the COA doable (she attended, and graduates next year). I have another daughter applying for TE next year - and the experience with the older daughter taught me to always check to make sure that listed stacked awards are really stacked awards. 
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That’s awesome!! Congrats!! We visited Dickinson and loved it!!!
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What a terrible experience but I’m glad it worked out in the end. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll definitely call.
That would send me over the edge! Good for you for getting it resolved it your family’s favor!
Here’s my update: According to Dickinson’s FA Office, their policy has changed; they now allow stacking. I called twice this morning. On the first call, the FA rep confirmed she was getting both awards. I called again when I saw that their Grants and Scholarships page says that students getting TE are not eligible for other merit aid. On the second call, the rep put me on hold, came back, and said that my daughter’s FA counselor confirmed they are doing something new and allowing students to receive both TE and merit aid. I probably should have gotten all this in writing, but I am going to take them at their word for now. Thanks, Excel_Dad for flagging this (and for your amazing spreadsheet). It is important to confirm.
I’d love to hear from anyone knows anything about this school. I’ve heard it’s great and know it’s a Jeff Selingo “Dream School,” but would love to get some personal insights from anyone whose kid or kid’s friends go or went there.
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That’s the dream! Congrats! (Please let other schools follow this model.)
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D26 received TE at American! Still pricey, but not as pricey as some others!
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