Many priviate institutions will give substantial financial aid making it the same or less than a public institution. Apply to privates, too.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a single working mom and .... I only make about $85K/year ... I cannot afford an OOS public or private school.

You likely can't afford OOS public, but don't rule out private. If he's a great student with stellar SAT scores and you're a single parent earning 85k there's a very reasonable chance you can qualify for significant financial aid from a private. Of course it depends on the private, but I know a couple kids/parents who I'd describe in similar situation who received enough aid to make their private in-line with in-state costs (in one case, far better).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, stand your ground and don’t let these other posters guilt trip you into doing anything beyond what you’ve already told your son. VT is an EXCELLENT engineering school. You’re doing the right thing.

If OP isn’t aware that there might be other options within budget, it’s worth pointing out that there are. If OP doesn’t care and only wants to allow in-state regardless of other options, then fine. But neither UVA nor VT is an easy admit, so if they are being restricted to in-state publics, they need to have at least one acceptable safety school on the list, too.

JMU has a well regarded engineering program as well, and OP’s kid is a shoo in there.

OP, have your son apply to UVA, Tech and JMU and be done with it.

Add Alabama to the list.

With his SAT, he will go for free with a stipend, plus they collaborate with all that space and rocket stuff.

You could use the college funds you have for grad school.

I told my kids that the limit of what I could pay was the cost of a Virginia state school. (And, honestly, that cost is very steep and I often wish our schools were as cheap as some other states). I then told them they could apply wherever they want (with a cap on application fees) and see if they can get an offer that comes in at that same price or cheaper. Obviously, running the NPC is your friend here and it is important to not get your heart broken by thinking you can go somewhere it is obvious you won't be able to afford. But, there are options other than state schools that can work.

That being said, I graduated from VT with an engineering degree and have zero regrets

Anonymous wrote:You are all just so damned stupid and clueless.

The kid wants Illinois and Purdue. Clearly he’s interested in top engineering schools. So why are you pushing a bunch of schools that don’t come close to fitting the bill?

The answer is Virginia Tech.

I know this board is brutal, but dang, you are mean for the sake of being mean. Obviously (to some) he’s looking at engineering schools. But why don’t you put a little less ugliness out into the world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, stand your ground and don’t let these other posters guilt trip you into doing anything beyond what you’ve already told your son. VT is an EXCELLENT engineering school. You’re doing the right thing.

If OP isn’t aware that there might be other options within budget, it’s worth pointing out that there are. If OP doesn’t care and only wants to allow in-state regardless of other options, then fine. But neither UVA nor VT is an easy admit, so if they are being restricted to in-state publics, they need to have at least one acceptable safety school on the list, too.

JMU has a well regarded engineering program as well, and OP’s kid is a shoo in there.

OP, have your son apply to UVA, Tech and JMU and be done with it.

Case is strong in engineering and gives good aid

Several of the top privates would give this kid substantial financial aid and potentially a admissions bump for being first gen. Run the NPC at top privates to see what he could get For my DS, most of them came in below what instate VT costs. With those stats, schools like West Virginia and Alabama will give substantial merit money

Did he not do Questbridge?
https://www.questbridge.org/apply-to-college/programs/national-college-match

Some schools you may want to research (other than VT and UVA) that have scholarships for FG kids like yours:

Texas A&M – Regents’ Scholarship
UC Berkeley – George A. Miller Scholars Program
University of Chicago – Odyssey Scholarships
University of Colorado Boulder – First Generation Grant

Also, look at Duke, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and WashU. Princeton is known to have one of the most generous financial aid packages. Look at their NPC online.

Try reaching out to ScholarMatch or Matriculatre to see if they will help him. Apply to a few elite schools after running the NPC at each. Look at Stanford.

Anonymous wrote:OP, stand your ground and don’t let these other posters guilt trip you into doing anything beyond what you’ve already told your son. VT is an EXCELLENT engineering school. You’re doing the right thing.

If OP isn’t aware that there might be other options within budget, it’s worth pointing out that there are. If OP doesn’t care and only wants to allow in-state regardless of other options, then fine. But neither UVA nor VT is an easy admit, so if they are being restricted to in-state publics, they need to have at least one acceptable safety school on the list, too.

Anonymous wrote:OP, stand your ground and don’t let these other posters guilt trip you into doing anything beyond what you’ve already told your son. VT is an EXCELLENT engineering school. You’re doing the right thing.

You can't apply to only one school. VT is not a sure thing. You can stand your ground on what you can afford, while still applying to other schools and seeing what they offer. It could end up costing less than VT.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are his stats? If you are a single parent, did you go to college? Is he FGLI?

If his stats are truly competitive (give us more info on profile and HS), he might qualify for 100% financial aid at many top private schools:

https://www.road2college.com/free-tuition-colleges/

His current weighted GPA is 4.5 and his SAT is 1530. I went to college and I have an Associates Degree. What is FGLI?

FGLI = First Gen, Low Income (these kids are wanted by many schools if they are high achievers)
However, ever school defines "First Gen" differently. Your associates degree might mean he is considered First Gen at some schools and not others:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/education/edlife/first-generation-college-admissions.html

Is he a senior? Has he started his applications? There are a lot of CBOs that can help him with the process for free, depending on where you live.

OP, stand your ground and don’t let these other posters guilt trip you into doing anything beyond what you’ve already told your son. VT is an EXCELLENT engineering school. You’re doing the right thing.

From his list it sounds like he is interested in engineering. He should apply to many places and see where he gets in. He should also now start searching for scholarships. If your net income is 85 K then he will be eligible for financial aid, need based scholarships and merit scholarships. Make a plan with him now to start lining jobs that will help him make money over the summer.

I believe Purdue is good with aid. We are in CA. Purdue , before aid or scholarships, is actually cheaper than many of the instate UCs due to the housing being so much cheaper at Purdue.