How much for engineering undergrad at a top 50 school?

[Anonymous]

This was from a few years ago but these are the ANNUAL costs for the engineering programs my DS was admitted to:

UMD (in-state)
Tuition & Fees $10,600
Room & Board $12,400
Total Cost $23,000

Pitt
Tuition & Fees $36,000
Room & Board $11,600
Total Cost $47,600 ($39,600 after merit aid)

VT
Tuition & Fees $33,000
Additional for engineering $2000
Room & Board $9,500
Total Cost $44,500 ($41,000 after merit aid)

He’s currently at UMD and paying the differential tuition so the total cost this year is closer to $26,000.

[Anonymous]

I may have missed it, but is OP in Maryland?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Son attending UVM for engineering in the fall. Got merit aid which is bringing our total cost to $30K per year. That’s all inclusive.

what is UVM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Son attending UVM for engineering in the fall. Got merit aid which is bringing our total cost to $30K per year. That’s all inclusive.

what is UVM?

University of Vermont

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I may have missed it, but is OP in Maryland?

Yes I am in MD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine’s a rising freshman at Princeton and we did not get any financial aid. So we’re paying a little over 70k per year

Does that include board and spending money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is absolutely no reason to go to any of the schools mentioned here over UMD, which has an excellent engineering program. And I say this as a Cornell undergrad and PhD. It's baffling to me how much money people are willing to throw away on name brand when the education is identical. If your kid were majoring in something corny like germanic studies then yes it's ivy league or lifetime barista, but engineering will have access to most of the same jobs so you're just flushing your tuition dollars down the toilet

Standard engineering douchebag attitude. Emotional intelligence of a gnat.

I wasn't aware it required emotional intelligence to waste money. You learn something new each day. Thanks for your amazing perspective

It’s required it to avoid insulting people without realizing it. Or you’re just a douche. Seems like a little of both. Also funny that you don’t know what corny means. Moron.

Never, ever, overestimate a Cornel hotel admin grad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is absolutely no reason to go to any of the schools mentioned here over UMD, which has an excellent engineering program. And I say this as a Cornell undergrad and PhD. It's baffling to me how much money people are willing to throw away on name brand when the education is identical. If your kid were majoring in something corny like germanic studies then yes it's ivy league or lifetime barista, but engineering will have access to most of the same jobs so you're just flushing your tuition dollars down the toilet

Standard engineering douchebag attitude. Emotional intelligence of a gnat.

I wasn't aware it required emotional intelligence to waste money. You learn something new each day. Thanks for your amazing perspective

It’s required it to avoid insulting people without realizing it. Or you’re just a douche. Seems like a little of both. Also funny that you don’t know what corny means. Moron.

Never, ever, overestimate a Cornel hotel admin grad.

The above poster might have offended some people but I agree with them that there is no reason to pay 2 or 3 times the cost for an engineering degree when UMD is an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Son attending UVM for engineering in the fall. Got merit aid which is bringing our total cost to $30K per year. That’s all inclusive.

what is UVM?

University of Vermont

I know- it doesn't make much sense since Vermont is abbreviated VT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Son attending UVM for engineering in the fall. Got merit aid which is bringing our total cost to $30K per year. That’s all inclusive.

what is UVM?

University of Vermont

I know- it doesn't make much sense since Vermont is abbreviated VT.

University of Vermont's founders chose to call the school Universitas Viridis Montis, the "University of the Green Mountains" in Latin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Son attending UVM for engineering in the fall. Got merit aid which is bringing our total cost to $30K per year. That’s all inclusive.

what is UVM?

University of Vermont

I know- it doesn't make much sense since Vermont is abbreviated VT.

University of Vermont's founders chose to call the school Universitas Viridis Montis, the "University of the Green Mountains" in Latin.

Interesting, thanks.

[Anonymous]

What happens when engineering students washout from the program? Over $100,000 for a washout pol sci degree is expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happens when engineering students washout from the program? Over $100,000 for a washout pol sci degree is expensive.

They study other things, then get other jobs. You really needed to ask this question?

[Anonymous]

I think the 1st semester bill from VA tech engineer school was 13k, tuition, fees, room, board and xtra engineering fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, to be clear, private universities (like Cornell) might give need-based aid. Use the Net Price Calculator to find out how much. You can find it on the financial aid website for each college. No one here can guess whether you would get enough in need-based grants from a private to meet your budget.

For publics, you would need to look at in-state options, as well as the out of state publics that offer merit (which you may find are not top 50).

Consider whether you are asking about top 50 overall or top 50 for engineering and what you think that actually does for your student's future career. Engineering is a different kettle of fish from, say, investment banking. Prestige may matter for certain jobs from certain schools, but once you get outside the top ten, whether it really matters for your kid will depend on some specifics.

Consider your annual budget. If you will have 150 saved for this kid, and kid kicks in summer earnings or the small federal student loans, then let's say the total cost needs to be around 40k/yr.

Our family is not eligible for need-based aid. For my college freshman planning to study ECE, the only schools that came in at or under that price were two in-state publics and a mid-size private in the Northwest that is not in the top 50 either overall or for engineering. The private offered nice merit money that brought down the price and that is where he chose to attend. It is not a school that pops up in this forum often, but it is ABET-accredited. The rest will be up to him when he interviews.

Would you mind sharing what the mid-sized private is? Being originally from the PNW, I'm insanely curious.