Best options for undec STEM major (Physics? Chemistry? ME?) [TX resident, 3.75 GPA, no rank, 1540 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me!
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White male from Texas
private high school

Interested in Physics, Chemistry, ME
GPA: 3.75 unweighted, 3.9 weighted (HL IB classes count as 5)
His GPA isn’t stellar, but there’s a story there if you look at the arc – he switched schools in Sophomore year from a Montessori to a more traditional school. His IB scores have been stellar once he got his feet under him
SAT: 1540; Math: 760; EBRW: 780
School Rank: not available

Coursework

Class Sem 1 Sem2
9th:
Geometry Pre-AP 4 4
Spanish I 3 3
English I 4 4
Biology 4 4
World History 4 4
Speech 4 4
10th:
Advanced Lit 2 4
Algebra II 4 4
Chemistry 3 3
Engineer Your World 4 4
Government & Economics 2 4
Film 3 3
Spanish IV 4 4
11th:
IB Design Tech HL I 4 4
IB History SL I 4 4
IB Lang & Lit HL I 4 4
IB Mathematics: Analysis HL I 4 4
IB Physics SL I 4 4
IB Spanish SL I 4 4
IB Theory of Knowledge HL I 4 4

Extracurriculars
SCUBA Master Diver; Rescue Diver; Emergency First Responder; Worked 2 summers as a windsurfing instructor

Essays/LORs/Other
His two teacher LORs (TOK and Math) should be very favorable, as both of these teachers talk about him as though he’s a rare student. His essay is still in progress and discusses what he has learned as a windsurfing instructor. His angle I believe is to show how he thinks (detail oriented, deep thinker, compassionate)

Cost Constraints / Budget
We won’t get aid, but will afford any of the schools on his list, though obviously our favorite option tuition-wise would be UT.

Schools
Likely: CU Boulder (EA), Purdue (EA), RPI
Match: Case Western (EA), WPI (EA), GA Tech (EA), UT Austin
Reach: Harvey Mudd - contemplating ED

We had a whole bunch more reach colleges on his list, but after reading an article (here!) on the topic, I’m thinking he should focus on his dream school – Harvey Mudd. Problems are that he’s never set foot there – only experienced it online. And he might get into UT, which is like 1/4 the price – but it’s so hard to know how likely that is.

We started this journey with me thinking he wanted to major in ME. More recently, and as he has gotten further into Physics, I’m realizing that’s really his passion, which changes the calculus a bit? I’m gleaning that it’s harder to get into these schools as an engineering major. I’m curious if we have the right list, and I’m also wondering how realistic my estimation is of his chances of getting into these schools. He really has no preference re. geography and says he’d be happy anywhere.

Many thanks in advance.

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I don’t think Case or GT would be a match with a 3.75.

Also, I’d caution regarding having a dream school, for several reasons.

First, no school is perfect. They all have shortcomings, usually not discovered until after enrollment. Most schools are good enough. The “dream” label can lead to letdown.

More importantly, if the student doesn’t get into that school, they may be unhappy with anything “less.” Remember, most are good enough. Emphasize that.

HMC is a niche school. My son lived with an alum. It’s not for everyone. I would never advocate EDing a school the student hadn’t visited.

Good luck!

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Ok. There is no dream school. Especially if he’s never set foot.

On top of that, you list other fine schools and yet they are gigantic.

You also said you can afford anything but you’d prefer Texas tuition.

So I’m confused. If you want to spend less than even Texas, consider Alabama where you’d be under $20k all in. More than 1k Texans are there.

Other strong large science would be a Delaware or Minnesota but are large.

There’s many mid size schools and LACs that would be great.

But

  1. There is no dream school - all have bad food, roomies, profs etc. and you can’t dream about what you’ve never seen.

  2. You need a budget bcuz if UT wins on price, then a ton of schools will beat Mudd.

  3. What type of school does he like - size, environment, weather etc.

You jumped all over without knowing anything about #3.

Slow down. He has to be somewhere four years, day after day.

You don’t choose on impulse.

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I would not categorize either Purdue and RPI as likely. Maybe matches, but for Purdue it would be a reach if applying for engineering. The SAT score will help though and College of Science for chem or physics will be an easier admit than engineering. Just be aware that if your son changes him mind and wants to do engineering later, it’s very, very hard to transfer into the CoE from out of college at Purdue.

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I posted this for another OP interested in physics. Some of the suggestions may be relevant to your son as well:

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I would put Case in the reach category since admission to that school is very unpredictable. If he is eager to go to Case, he should SHOW INTEREST in any way he can. My kid didn’t visit before being admitted, but he went to multiple local events, did an online interview, and submitted a music supplement. The great thing about Case, since your son is undecided, is that any major choice is open to him and he doesn’t have to decide right away. So, a great school to have on his list.

Another school that popped into mind with your son’s undecidedness was UMN Twin Cities. Although it is a very strong school, UMN is an easier admit than many on your list and I am guessing they may give reasonable merit with your son’s stats. You can use their net price calculator to estimate merit (try it!) The nice thing about UMN is that science majors and engineering majors are in the same school, CSE (College of Science & Engineering) and you do not have to choose a major right away. This was appealing to my son. The flip side of that is that there is a slight barrier to entry for some majors (ME is slightly competitive) but not nearly as much as at some schools. Check it out… my son loved that school and felt sorrow at crossing it off his list.

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Is he top 6%? If so, UT for Physics is a safety. If not it becomes a reach for unpredictability.
If Mudd is his favorite college and, after running the NPC, it’s affordable, that’s what ED is for.
Is there a way for him to visit during your Fall break?

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Without a rank, Texas publics will be hard to chance. They will calculate a rank from other stats, but someone else would have to describe how they do that.

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My first thought, reading about him, was Case… although my second thought was that it would be reachy with his GPA and he would have to show a lot of interest. With its wide range of possible majors and its “open door policy” re: access to programs, it seems like a great fit for his needs. Given his growing love of physics, a great path could be to start out in the Engineering Physics major, which includes a concentration in an engineering discipline. Engineering Physics Major – Physics He could pivot from there (whether by changing majors or by moving on to a related grad program), either committing further to physics, or moving toward an engineering specialization.

Mudd is a great school, but the core curriculum is a beast. If he’s up for that, it can be a great experience, but it’s not for the faint of heart. I assume he has taken a close look at the geography and knows that Claremont isn’t particularly convenient to the coast for diving, windsurfing, etc.

Has he considered Colorado Mines? They also have an engineering physics major, which can feed into a variety of 4+1 programs: Curriculum - Physics Department The department head’s letter is interesting Letter - Physics Department ME is excellent as well. If he likes the vibe at Mudd, I think there’s overlap here. COA tops out at 65K OOS, and he might get some merit.

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His school is so small that only the valedictorian makes UT’s 6% cutoff, and he is not valedictorian. I actually don’t know his rank.

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UT is a high reach but Alabama, Auburn or Clemson might be possible if he wants a big state flagship

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You make an excellent point that I think I really needed to hear. My son hasn’t expressed a preference on any of those factors you mentioned other than size, and I really think he’d prefer a smaller school like Mudd, but I’m realizing now that became a blind spot for me. It wasn’t until I read the article on having too many reach schools yesterday that I realized I’d fallen prey to the prestige factor. I thought that would really help him when it came time to get a job.

He’s an incredibly bright kid who miraculously hasn’t lost his zeal for learning, and I’d just love for him to be in a place where he has lots of options to pursue his passions as they develop. He has told me repeatedly that he’ll be happy anywhere and it’s only 4 years.

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I really think he’d prefer a smaller school. UT just seems like a no-brainer in terms of having tons of options for him and being so inexpensive. Having gone there myself, I realize I may not be giving enough weight to his expressed interest in attending a smaller school.

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Yes, unfortunately UT is largely numbers driven. Lots of good options for boys applying to LACs though

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If Mudd’s core curriculum is a beast in a science-heavy way, I think he’s up for it. He’s coasting with a near perfect grade in HL Physics and HL Math. There’s something unusual about the way they present online that harkened to his Montessori experience in a very appealing way.

I hadn’t seriously looked at Colorado Mines because I got the impression their engineering program wasn’t in his area of interest, so I need to take another look.

Thank you! I’m so grateful for your feedback.

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I had written off the LAC’s long ago when I was focused on Engineering, and when we pivoted to Physics, didn’t realize that LAC’s are a good option for that. But if he does pivot back to Engineering, are they still a good option?

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A few LACs ( or LAC- like schools) offer engineering. I would only apply if engineering were on site, not part of a 3/2 program.
Consider Swarthmore, Lafayette, Bucknell, Trinity. There are more.

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Such good info to have about Purdue. We were just discussing the question of how hard or easy it would be to switch majors, and def want to know where he should be to give him the most flexibility to follow his passions and strengths. Thank you!

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The intro courses for an engineering major will overlap greatly with what he needs as a physics major. It is easier to transfer out of engineering than into it.

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Dartmouth’s 2-1-1-1 program, with its associated LAC partners, seems to represent one of the better options for this:

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