I have studied various rankings for the LAC list - Niche, USNews, best math and cs colleges that also cross listed in top 50 LAC, and few other rankings, and read as much as I could on the ranking sites and college websites, and have some basic ideas.
Now I would love to hear some experience based or otherwise not obvious to public information such as research opportunities or a professor with AI/ML specialty, that make of those 15-50ish school great for preparation in AI study, which I hear is combination of Statistics and CS (not necessarily double major though). The top 1~15ish LAC are, as I figured, all great for all majors anyway so I wouldn’t focus on them yet.
Regardless of ranking (even 1 through 15), look at the college’s catalog and schedule to see what upper level CS and statistics courses are offered and how often.
^ college’s catalog and schedule to see what upper level CS and statistics courses are offered and how often.
Sure, I have even been looking at professor’s bio which was easier since LAC are so small with only a few professors. I am still interested in anything not on their website too.
^ Female? Some women’s colleges are strong there.
Yes, but let’s generalize this list (include all types) so the data can be shared by all who is interested.
^ With Wellesley you can take classes at MIT
It is a top 15 college though. I am looking for those with “N” on Prestige field of my list.
Wellesley, State: MA, USNews: 3, LAC CS: 7, Niche:15, Forbes: 17, Prestige: Y, Art Portfolio: Type 2, Application Due: ED 11/01, 01/01 RD 01/01
Looking for additional info on schools like this, rank 15~50 with promising Stat/CS program.
Skidmore, State: NY, USNews: 41, LAC CS: 26, Niche: 36, Forbes: N/A, Prestige: N, Art Portfolio: Type 3, Application Due: ED 11/15, 01/15 RD: 01/15. Note: Semester Math/CS Budapest program. Been Developing CS Dept, Professor Topics: Visual Processing, Collective Decision Making, Data Security and Integration. Mobile Health/Wearable.
With cross registration, be sure to note the commuting convenience to the other school, how easily students can cross register based on the policies of both the home school and the cross school, and whether the academic calendars are the same.
For example, Barnard / Columbia and the Claremonts are very convenient for cross registration. But Wellesley / MIT is an hour commute by public transportation, and their calendars are not identical.
We thought that Lafayette, Bucknell, Union were all LACs that were particular strong in STEM (all offer engineering) so they may be worth checking into.
For full disclosure my D went to Lafayette and loved it (but did not major in your areas of interest) – but I can tell you that many students there do research with professors there and many students double major.
I would not encourage list-making based on one or two professors at a small college. Faculty have a tendency to move. And by the time the OP’s D is ready for college, a top AI program is going to need to include behavioral economics, psychology, and a few other social science disciplines.
Isn’t your kid a sophomore now? I think you are awfully intense about this search at this stage. Odds that she knows what she wants to do are pretty low right now (wasn’t it visual arts two years ago, but now it isn’t)? There is a lot of change in kids between 15 and 18. Let her get her testing done, next year visit some different types of schools to see what she likes, and start zeroing in more later in junior year.
^ I am personally interested in the topic regardless, and likely not the only one interested. Let’s leave anyone’s specific students out and keep it generic.
^ By experience based … information, I am hopping to hear more on what’s not on college websites or not obvious at least, but the current students and alumni experienced.
^ And simple preference of other parents are very valuable too, as they are often based on real and useful data that they don’t want to share, or that affected their opinion in the past and then forgotten.
