<p>My son is a junior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia and is currently considering where to apply for college. </p>
<p>His stats are as follows. He got a 2250 on his first try at the SAT. He is retaking it in June and thinks he can do better. He got a 2350 on the PSAT. He got an 800 on his Chemistry SAT II and is taking the math and physics counterparts next weekend. By the end of this year he should have a weighted 4.3 grade point. He is all A's in the sciences, computer sciences and math. He does not have to work hard to do well in them. For example, he says he is bored by AP calculus, because he finds it too easy. His B's are in German and English, which he doesn't like. He is the kind of kid who tends to work just as hard as he has to. Last summer, he worked as an intern doing research in a chemistry lab at Georgetown will be going back again this summer. The professor who direct the program there is very high on him and has already offered to write a rave review. My son says he wants to be a research scientist/professor in physics, chemistry or some related field, or maybe an Isaac Asimov. </p>
<p>He is looking at LAC's and mid-sized universities. We have visited a number already. He really liked Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Reed and Haverford. Harvey Mudd, Princeton and Swarthmore not so much. We have yet to do our New England swing. MIT, Williams, maybe Middlebury and Wesleyan. We also plan to look at Washington U in St Louis, Duke and the University of Chicago. My own view is that Caltech would be the best place for him if he could get in. He loves LA. Carnegie Mellon strikes me as not that strong in the sciences. Reed seems attractive because it produces such a high percentage of students who go on to get PhDs. </p>
<p>My question is, are we on the right track in these observations and are there schools we are forgetting? One last point. Our son is not an Ivy League type. He is not a joiner and does not have the extracurriculars they presumably are looking for.</p>
<p>If your son is looking at MIT,Caltech and CMU, you may also want to look at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Troy is a far cry from L.A. though.</p>
<p>Even with such strong credentials, and especially considering his ECs are less developed, he needs some match/safety schools. Consider Grinnell, Macalester College, and the University of Rochester. Unless cost is not an issue, also consider one of your in-state public schools.</p>
<p>If he likes Reed, he definitely should consider Chicago, which also has a high PhD production rate. It can offer more courses, more research opportunities, and better facilities than a LAC, but still has small average class sizes. However, he may not like the Core course requirements.</p>
Thomas Jefferson (if it’s the same one I’m thinking of) used to have an excellent team(s) for the ARML team math contest, which I don’t think has ever been accused of being boring. It covers topics like discrete math, number theory, and areas not typically done in HS. Did your son check on this? Since it almost always conflicts with the June SAT, I suspect your son didn’t sign up for it. If he still can, and has the talent and interest in math, I would encourage him to defer his SAT and go for this.</p>
<p>As far as your question about colleges, the one thing I encourage kids with strong math and sciences to do is to pick a college that offers engineering. It’s not unusual that the math a high schooler likes is more directly related to what’s covered in Engg rather than in the college math department, and it’s useful to have this option open. It’s perhaps less so, but you can have a similar epiphany, with the sciences, such as physics.</p>
<p>If he is not fond of writing, Chicago would not be a great fit.
CMU is quite strong in science, particularly CS.
How about Olin? Case Western?
YOu’ll need some safety schools too - maybe consider some of the flagships, like UMdCollege Park?
Does TJ do the AMC/AIME? Those are good math events , particularly since they don’t require knowledge of higher math. (I don’t know ARML but it sounds as if he might not fare well if he hasn’t already done some number theory…)
As a match, he might like Boston University which is where the good doctor taught.</p>
Sorry about hijacking the thread a bit, but in DS’s HS days, AMC would have been done by now and AIME was by invitation. The advantage of ARML is that it’s coming up in early June and I mis-stated if I implied it is only about number theory, etc. ARML is a team tournament that covers a wide range of math topics. For someone who likes math and is good at it, but bored by math at school, this is a great outlet. In HS, we somehow assume if a kid has mastered AP Calc, then he knows everything there is to know about geometry, algebra, and trig - not so at all as anyone who’s done AMCs/AIME/USAMO or ARML can attest.
<a href=“http://arml.com/2010_Contest/2010contestentiredraftv1.4.pdf[/url]”>http://arml.com/2010_Contest/2010contestentiredraftv1.4.pdf</a></p>
<p>If he liked Reed and Haverford, then I second Grinnell as a match/safety. Wonderful sciences with extraordinary facilities (S is a biochem major), they offer merit aid to kids with his grades and test scores, and they have no distribution requirements (so he won’t have to take another English or German course if he doesn’t want to.) The vibe is unpretentious, understated, quirky, individualistic and strong work ethic (but he has to like rural - Grinnell’s in a small college town an hour from Des Moines and Iowa City).</p>
<p>UVA is really no one’s safety. It’s the most popular in-state choice and it has a wealth of high-achieving feeder high schools to select their incoming class from. Competition for admission is keen, particularly among applicants from Northern Virginia.</p>
<p>Beyond the state of Virginia, your son may want to consider Worcester Polytechnic Institute, similar to RPI. I second the recommendation of Case Western Reserve University. As for liberal arts colleges with very good science departments, consider Allegheny College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Beloit College and St. Olaf College.</p>
<p>I think you son has University of Chicago stamped on his forehead! </p>
<p>I agree with Rice and would add Stanford.</p>
<p>Caltech, HMC and MIT are obvious choices too.</p>
<p>Among LACs, I think Bowdoin, Carleton, Haverford and Wesleyan are all worth looking into.</p>
<p>I know you said he does not like Ivies, but Cornell may be worth a look as it has a different culture and feel.</p>
<p>I would also not count out large public universities like Michigan and Cal as they give out scholarships for students with your son’s credentials and science majors typically attract very few students. Typically, Chem, Math and Physics classes at Michigan and Cal will have fewer than 20 students.</p>