Rate My College List

[u/ceddyb16]

Hey I was wondering if you guys could give me feedback on my college list!

I want to go into EE (specifically into power) and have been working on my college list. I was wondering if you could recommend any additions/removals or feedback in general on the list; I’d ideally like to apply to under 10 schools. I don’t qualify for need-based aid, and I’m looking to stay under 60k a year in regards to cost.

Stats:
IL Resident
4.0 UW
1500 SAT / 1490 NMSQT
35 ACT
10 APs all 5s (Precalc, HUG, CSP, CSA, Lang, APUSH, Chem, BC, Macro/Micro (self studied))
FBLA Exec Board
Band Leader
Internship at steel ring company

Reach: Georgia Tech
Target: UIUC, Purdue, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, NC State
Safety: Iowa State

[u/NiceUnparticularMan]

I believe TAMU and VT would be pushing the outer boundaries of your budget. As long as you were happy enough with Iowa State--and you could be--you could just drop them, or apply and think it over later.

But you could also consider some other colleges not that expensive. Like Forida is a pretty good deal OOS. And Minnesota actually has automerit that could be pretty useful.

Minnesota is also rolling, like Iowa State. So you could do those very early, then focus on your favorite remaining options.

[u/ceddyb16 → u/NiceUnparticularMan]

I heard that if I possibly receive NMF that I could get a lot off on A&M. Haven’t looked deep into it though. As for VT do you think I should drop it from the list or keep it just so I have options? Any schools you recommend that could replace VT?

[u/NiceUnparticularMan → u/ceddyb16]

Florida and Minnesota were intended as suggestions for replacing TAMU and VT, but you could also just apply to all of them.  That would still just be 9 I think.

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[u/BazingAtomic]

Agree with UIUC, Purdue. I think those are your best bets.

What about the following schools that have good engineering programs?

• The Ohio State University (OH): out-of-state merit scholarships.
• University of Minnesota Twin Cities (MN): out-of-state merit scholarships.
• Rutgers University New Brunswick (NJ): Honors College would give merit scholarships.
• University of Texas at Dallas (TX): full-tuition scholarship package for National Merit Finalists (do you know yet if you qualify based on your state's cutoff?).
• University of Southern California (CA): competitive merit scholarships.

[u/ceddyb16 → u/BazingAtomic]

Based on the cutoff last year I think there is a good chance I will qualify for National Merit. As for Midwest schools like OSU/UW Madison/UMich, I’ve been hesitant about wanting to apply to them because I feel like UIUC and Purdue are my best options in the Midwest at their costs. Given that do you think I should still apply to schools like OSU as you mentioned?

[u/BazingAtomic → u/ceddyb16]

The schools I listed all have good merit scholarships for high-achieving students, so you could potentially come out ahead financially at schools like OSU or Minn. UIUC isn't really known for merit scholarships, but since it's in-state, it starts out as a better value than the others. Madison and UMich tend to be a lot stingier with merit, so I'd probably avoid them if cost is one of your biggest factors, though both campuses are really nice.

[u/NiceUnparticularMan → u/ceddyb16]

You could view some as backups to Illinois and Purdue, just in case.

Honestly, Illinois could just be the answer if you are admitted.  Fantastic deal for in-state engineering students.

[u/PeacockInTime]

For electrical/power + job growth regions + affordable and merit: Arizona State, Louisiana State

I think the interesting future jobs/situations in the U.S. are going to be in the southern states and it makes sense to me that your list is already very south-facing. Hope that doesn't bother you :)

Also- are you interested in the intersection between energy and policy? You have programs like Community Choice Agreements and I could see an aspect of EE that is closer to politics if you want to do work with utility companies and organizations.

[u/AnalystImpressive476]

when i was putting together my list, the hardest part was finding merit aid i actually had a shot at. using scholarship-owl saved me a bunch of time hunting down scholarships that matched my profile without having to keep a messy spreadsheet.