All of my kids are STEM kids. My older two wanted larger research institutions with recognized CS/engineering programs. My youngest is a junior in HS, wants to study CS, and is more open to considering all options. He has the stats and possibly the ECs to get into a top tier school. So far we have visited Northeastern, WPI, Harvard, Yale and MIT – of those he liked Northeastern, Yale, and MIT. He’s also a dual Canadian citizen, so we are going to be looking at Waterloo and Toronto during his April break.
Neither of us really has the smaller liberal arts schools on our radar. Are there schools in either the US or Canada that we should be checking out? We had planned to also visit CMU, Rochester and RPI this spring, but maybe we should be looking for something different. He is a likely NMSF, 36 ACT on the first try, junior class president, and active member of drama club since freshman year. Our criteria for American schools is that they should be something “different” from what he could get at the Canadian schools that we know are well reputed for CS and that he can go to at a fraction of the price of most US schools, and/or will give him merit aid to bring costs in line with what he can get in Canada.
scroll down to post 57 to see the list of U’s/ colleges that offer merit $$ for hi stat kids.
But be aware, MOST top LAC’s dont have the $ to offer the kind of scholarships you are looking for.
Both of these colleges would also be strong in the supporting discipline of math. However, as with most highly selective U.S. colleges, neither offer merit scholarships.
That’s great, @menloparkmom, and information I’m glad you were able to correctly offer. (We initially cross-posted, otherwise I would have seen your earlier inclusion.)
“Our criteria for American schools is that they should be something “different” from what he could get at the Canadian schools that we know are well reputed for CS and that he can go to at a fraction of the price of most US schools, and/or will give him merit aid to bring costs in line with what he can get in Canada.”
I think this will be hard to achieve. Most LACs don’t give merit aid in amounts large enough to make that happen. What exactly would he be looking at cost-wise at Canadian schools? Do you expect any need-based aid or would you be full pay absent merit aid?
another suggestion is CalTech.
It’s UG population is less than 1000 , and it has a superb CS program.
And if he likes MIT he will probably like CT. It is located about 10 miles from HM.
Since you are looking for merit aid, he should also apply to USC.
If he is a NMF and is accepted he will automatically receive a 1/2 tuition scholarship. And if he applies before Dec 1, he is eligible for consideration for one their 150 Trustee full Tuition scholarships. And yes, USC has a terrific CS program. But admission is highly competitive and you DO have to “show the love”
If you are coming to SCal for a visit I strongly suggest you visit USC , HM and CalTech.
DS also initially thought that he would go to a small LAC. He changed his mind when visiting USC, as part of a SCal road trip. And when offered the full tuition scholarship he did not hesitate to say yes.
CalTech is on his list. It’s small, but does it resemble a LAC in other ways?
Thanks for the reminder of Harvey Mudd. We will not be going to CA to visit schools this spring, but he will probably apply to a few schools out there sight unseen and visit later, if he gets admitted.
It’s going to be incredibly hard to be UT/Waterloo at the cost and considering the major. None of the schools listed here beyond Caltech/Mudd will frankly even compete in CS with those two. The best application strategy may be to put out the lottery app to the top CS programs with generous aid, apply to UT/Waterloo, and then a few matches/safeties in the US in case those don’t work out.
If he gets into an MIT or Cornell or Stanford etc. and really loves it, we can probably make it work financially if we assume he can make good money over the summers (his brother did really well with his summers). But if he happens to fall in love with Waterloo or U of T, so much the better. (My husband and I met at Waterloo,) So I do think that the strategy is going to be to apply to the 2 in Canada, the lottery schools, an a few with likely merit aid, and probably UVM as a safety (but I’m annoyed that they’ve stopped giving out good NMF scholarships, even in-state).
So really for our visits now, we’re thinking about what schools might have a very different feel/approach than the lottery schools or the Canadian schools. For example, we visited WPI because I think their approach with very short semesters and a very project-based curriculum and focus on international experiences is pretty cool, but he didn’t like it.
And I do think that Caltech and Mudd, being much smaller schools, would be good to add “something different” but not practical to visit this spring (possibly over the summer).
I would advise visiting HM and CT during the school year, if at ALL possible, as UG students, and many profs, are gone in the summer. He just wont get the feel of those places san students and profs to talk to.
Mudd does have merit, but even very strong applicants often don’t get it. But it is a great school, and has more LAC flavor than Caltech. My D graduated from Mudd last year; feel free to PM me if you have questions about it.
Also, my D visited Mudd in the summer. It isn’t a perfect time to visit, but there are students and profs on campus. Lots of students remain on campus over the summer to research.