<p>Help Please!</p>
<p>ACT 33, rank 3/600, SAT 2240 (710/760/770), NMSF, Summer Science Research Experience</p>
<p>Invisible in her large (2400) high school due to extreme shyness.</p>
<p>Thinking non-party, non-greek, where she will come out of her shell and make friends. Also needs to offer at least some merit aid. Strong science. Also must have good extracurricular choirs and orchestra. Looking nationwide.</p>
<p>Suggestions?</p>
<p>thanks so much!</p>
<p>You have absolutely got to look at Rice! The residential college system (non-Greek) offers an incredibly inclusive social life and becomes an instant family to incoming freshmen. Rice is also very strong in sciences, offers great research opportunities, close student-faculty interaction, a collaborative environment, and provides 1/3 of its incoming class with merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Rice also has a very strong music department. But note that it is not non-party – there are lots of parties at Rice, but there’s no pressure to drink.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t have any ECs beyond music, she will probably need to look at less selective schools.</p>
<p>I am sure Cornell University would love to have your daughter. There are sororities and fraternities at Cornell but they do not dominate. I never joined. Look into Cornell, visit, see how it feels to your daughter. Excellent sciences. Lots of choirs and orchestras.
[Cornell</a> University Department of Music Choral Ensembles](<a href=“http://music.cornell.edu/performing/choral-ensembles/]Cornell”>http://music.cornell.edu/performing/choral-ensembles/)
[Cornell</a> University Department of Music Instrumental Ensembles](<a href=“http://music.cornell.edu/performing/instrumental-ensembles/]Cornell”>http://music.cornell.edu/performing/instrumental-ensembles/)</p>
<p>I would suggest swarthmore with her grades. With her interest in science she will move up the applicant list. Swarthmore is a small school in suburban Pa. with a beautiful campus. They have success in getting students into top phd programs. I would apply and see if they offer her money. Son was offered half scholorship with very similiar stats and interests in spite of our high income.</p>
<p>Look at Grinnell</p>
<p>St Olaf has a gorgeous new science building and some really caring instructors. The music opportunities are excellent. With her test scores she would be eligible for merit money. The students are primarily your classic easy going midwesterners. <a href=“http://stolaf.edu/about/[/url]”>http://stolaf.edu/about/</a></p>
<p>The other colleges in our area that you might like to read about are Carleton and Macalester. Carleton is in the same town as St Olaf and runs on quarters rather than semesters. They have a terrific record of placing students into Phd programs. Macalester is in a residential neighborhood in St Paul. The street nearby has lots of little ethnic restaurants and shops. Macalester has many contacts with the various medical research firms that are based in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area. <a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/about/[/url]”>http://apps.carleton.edu/about/</a> <a href=“http://www.macalester.edu/about.html[/url]”>http://www.macalester.edu/about.html</a></p>
<p>Pomona College has a welcoming friendly vibe. The freshmen are housed on floors that are based on a common interest theme such as international music, community service, outdoor activities. The end result is that a student automatically has a shared interest with the others on the floor and it really helps with creating friendships. The science programs there are very very good. It does not offer merit aid but it has one of the most generous financial aid policies. <a href=“http://www.pomona.edu/Welcome/AboutPomona/FactsAndFigures.shtml[/url]”>http://www.pomona.edu/Welcome/AboutPomona/FactsAndFigures.shtml</a></p>
<p>Top LACs and Chicago.</p>
<p>Occidental and Tulane might work. My neighbor was a bright shy girl, and she says Carleton did wonders for her.</p>
<p>She should consider MIT. It is a very collaborative atmosphere. The kids are super smart but unpretentious and she will have lots in common with everyone so it will be easy to make friends.</p>
<p>Another college that comes to mind is Harvey Mudd in Claremont CA (as is Pomona). It is very science oriented and from what I hear, very intense. Orchestra and choir are joint offering with the other Claremont Colleges: Pitzer, Pomona, Scripps, Claremont Mckenna.
[About</a> HMC](<a href=“http://www.hmc.edu/About.html]About”>About | Harvey Mudd College)</p>
<p>I absolutely second Grinnell. In general, I’d say that smaller schools are probably better. Does she know if she wants to be in a city or in the 'burbs or in a more rural area?</p>
<p>Also look into Lawrence University. A physicist friend’s daughter just started there and he was really impressed with the science facilities. And they have a wonderful music school with opportunities for those not in the conservatory.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the insightful comments so far! She does not want to be in a city (where she feels unsafe or the local neighborhood is not safe) but also dislikes the very rural where there is “nothing to do”. A vibrant college with a town attached within walking distance would be ideal.</p>
<p>Beloit, Kalamazoo, Earlham or Wooster</p>
<p>My DDs were both shy in HS and have both blossomed in small LACs. Their scores were a little higher, similar with limited ECs. DD1 loves Denison attached to quaint Granville OH (very walkable from the college, but the town is quiet). Denison also offers full tuition scholarships for NMFs. DD2 attends Lewis and Clark college in Portland which has free bus service to the downtown area. A good portion of her time is spent hanging out at Powell’s Book Store (it’s awesome).</p>
<p>Bad suggestions so far:
[ul][<em>]Carleton (virtually no merit aid)
[</em>]Chicago (too big)
[<em>]Cornell (too big)
[</em>]Rice (too big)[/ul]</p>
<p>Good suggestions so far:
[ul][<em>]Beloit
[</em>]Denison
[<em>]Earlham
[</em>]Grinnell
[<em>]Kalamazoo
[</em>]Lawrence
[<em>]Lewis & Clark
[</em>]St. Olaf
[li]Wooster[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Possibilities to add to good suggestions:
[ul][<em>]Agnes Scott
[</em>]Centre
[<em>]Hendrix
[</em>]Hope
[<em>]Knox
[</em>]Puget Sound
[<em>]Rhodes
[</em>]Sweet Briar
[*]Willamette[/ul]</p>
<p>DEFINITELY consider Beloit!</p>
<p>I would take a look at Carelton. It is huge in science and produces an amazing amount of Phd’s. It is also in a cute college town. Reed might be another good fit.</p>
<p>Rice is too big? In what way? The undergraduate enrollment at Rice is about 3,000 students – the size of many LACs with the resources of a larger research university.</p>