Mom of a high school junior here. He is a strong student (1540 SAT, straight A’s) and has taught himself a LOT of coding. He wants to major in CS, but he also wants to travel, learn lots of other things, and get some hands on experience in the field. He thinks he would prefer a smaller school, but still open minded.
We live in WA. No geographic preferences yet. What schools come to mind? Any hidden gems we should be aware of? Just looking to jump start the research process. Thanks for any thoughts- I have loved this forum!
No brainer…Harvey Mudd. That’s if it isn’t too small. Great program. PArt of a neat consortium.
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Was going to say Harvey Mudd…
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As the parent, have you determined the budget limitations?
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I would also recommend Cal Poly for either CS or SE. It’s not a small university (approx. 20K), but classes are small and students get lots of hands on experience. Amazon has an AWS training center in SLO that’s a collaboration with the university. All the big names hire out of there. One of my son’s friends (full disclosure, son is an engineering alum) interned at Salesforce and Apple, got great offers at both and has worked at Apple since graduating. Plus, it’s in an idyllic location.
One more voice for Harvey Mudd.
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Didn’t you on a previous thread advocate for Cal Poly based on its large size and scale? OP states they would prefer a smaller school. The answer is Cal Poly and the question is…
“The thing is, for engineering it isn’t really scalable on just square feet or student body size. It’s what those square feet, and an engineering program that size get you.
Those things would be more than one machine shop used only for student projects and clubs, not for instruction, a rotational dynamics and vibrations lab, multiple wind tunnels, including a mach+, propulsion lab, mechatronics lab, two CubeSat labs, Anechoic Chambers, a computer intelligence lab, robotics lab, engine lab, etc. I could go on. There are more than 80 autonomous lab spaces in engineering alone.
That’s the advantage of scale. It’s noticeable when comparing engineering programs. It might not matter to everyone.”
Congratulations it sounds like your kid had an amazing experience and has leveraged his education. That said OP states…
Doesn’t seem like a school with 24,000+ undergrads fits that ask.
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WPI is a great option. Also, beginning with the Class of 2022, all students will receive a scholarship up to $5,000 to complete a global project. There are other opportunities for travel as well.
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Those are great suggestions. An LAC may work too…many have CS such as Grinnell. Or a Rose Hulman…known more for engineering.
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It depends on why someone wants a small school. If it’s small classes and the perception that they can’t get them at bigger programs, then Cal Poly is worth mentioning. The largest lecture hall on the whole campus holds 200, and it’s in the business school. Calculus is capped at 32. Physics, 40.
I prefaced it by saying this:
I think the OP is old enough and intelligent enough to know if it’s worth a look or not.
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How does the student feel about general education requirements? Harvey Mudd has rigorous and voluminous general education requirements (including 11 humanities, social science, and arts courses). CPSLO is a CSU, and CSUs have relatively voluminous general education requirements, although the minimum rigor of eligible courses is lower than at Harvey Mudd.
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Looks like Cal Poly would be a “safe school” with an avg SAT of low 1300s and a 28% acceptance rate. Maybe worth considering it accordingly.
A good friend’s daughter that wanted computer science and a small school ended up at Olin. She loves it but it’s tiny and it’s not for everyone. And she’s more into the intersection of aerospace engineering and atmospheric science now as a senior. Check it out!
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I was also thinking of Olin and Rose H in addition to Mudd. Those are three schools that immediately come to mind when someone says “small”.
If you are thinking more of “ish” - Case, RPI, and Rochester would be matches.
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Not for computer science. I think it’s the most selective major (or at least one of the most selective).
You asked earlier about warts. In my mind, it’s the learn by doing approach which is also one of its strengths. For the non-tinkering, building engineers (the kids that love math and science and problem solving and go into engineering because it combines it all) it can be intimidating. Particularly coming from poor public schools with not much in terms of lab experience. The engineering curriculum is hard enough as it is and then you throw intense design or lab experiences into the mix for first years; it works beautifully for some people but not for others. As a non tinkering engineer I love the kids that come out of CalPoly but it would possibly not have worked for me when I was 17, 18. Just my thoughts.
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CPSLO admits by major, and engineering majors and CS tend to be among the more selective ones.
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I also really like WPI and Olin.
Olin is REALLY small though. Anyone interested should visit to be sure it’s a fit. There’s lots to like, but there are only 75 or so students per class. With a student body of roughly 300, it’s very unique.
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Harvey Mudd, Pomona, Carleton, Grinnell, Williams, Amherst and Hamilton represent some smaller schools with excellent CS departments. HMC offers a generally tech-oriented environment (with distribution requirements across various fields), while colleges such as Grinnell, Amherst and Hamilton offer notably flexible and balanced curricula. This article may offer you a sense for the research opportunities your son may find at schools of this size: https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/perkins-comp-sci-ai-machines-communicate.
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He should take a look at Rice University.
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