<p>My 1st D is now a third year at UCSD in the CS program in the engineering school with a minor in O-Chem. She's not the strongly assertive type and has had no issues there. UCSD is a bit different in that it has broken the Uni down to 6 'colleges' in an effort to foster a small school atmosphere within a large research Uni. The students are housed by college and there are many social activities each college has. The 'colleges' aren't related to the major and students will actually take classes in many areas of the campus including the other colleges. Each college has its own GE requirements which drives some students to pick a particular one aligned with their interests. Picture this college system taking the first two years of students (they generally live o campus the first two years) and dividing them by 6 to place them in the colleges. So, that'd be about 20,000 UG Students/first 2 years/6 colleges = about 1666 students per college.
Some say this college system divides the student body somewhat and others say it gives the students a smaller place to call home. I dont think it really mattered much one way or the other for my D though.</p>
<p>The big advantages are: A large amount of research dollars are flowing into UCSD which opens up lots of opportunities for research work and also attracts top-notch professors in their fields. Professors actually teach the UG classes - not TAs. There are lots of biotech businesses in the immediate surrounding area opening up lots of internship opportunities. UCSD is one of the top Universities for the science now and seems to still be on an upward swing in this area with its emphasis and with the dollars. The Uni is large enough to also have good programs in many other areas opening the doors to interesting minors as well as changing majors if one chooses. </p>
<p>The possible downsides: There are some large classes - especially in the beginning classes. Professors are generally accessible however. The programs can be rigorous but I assume they would be at any high-end college. Your D's credentials show she'd likely do very well however.</p>
<p>Colgate is putting a tremendous amount of $$ into its new science center (currently under construction). Your daughter's stats would make her a likely Alumni Memorial Scholar at Colgate (aid still need-based but in the form of grants; one time $5K stipend for travel/research for all AMS). Lots of travel abroad opportunities. Asian Studies major which might be of interest.</p>
<p>Zagat, Your daughter has some wonderful accomplishments and is within the range of acceptance at any college in America. At this point I would suggest circling around what she wants in a school rather than focusing on where she could get in (assuming of course that her investigation will include a range of selectivity). </p>
<p>I agree that her ECs are solid and that her Japanese sojourn is not all that commonplace. It is the kind of life experience that greatly appeals to colleges as long as its amplified in application essays, recommendations and resumes. </p>
<p>Her legacy schools are all excellent choices but somewhat different in character.
If she likes Stanford, she might apply early to Michigan and use a rolling acceptance as a safety.
If she likes Brown, she should look at Smith, Wesleyan, Grinnell
If she likes Williams, then Id suggest Hamilton, Kenyon, Bowdoin
Although highly selective, Swarthmore and Pomona would also seem to be a good fits.</p>
<p>From personal experience Id steer a shy person toward a small LAC. Personal attention is certainly available at a large university but you have to be somewhat of a squeaky wheel to get it (or as you say "self advocate"), skills that are not always well developed in 18 year olds.</p>
<p>Not much to add, except that science-oriented girls are especially precious at LACs. If she presents that way, shy or not, she will have an awfully good chance at lots of them. Especially those (like Wesleyan) that have traditionally had a harder time attracting science-oriented kids, but very much want to.</p>
<p>The only thing "missing" from her ECs are silver bullets (like having already cured cancer, been elected governor, won an individual national junior title in tennis), but come on . . . the vast majority of kids accepted to lots of great schools don't have that either.</p>
<p>If she is really a scholarly kid, she should look at University of Chicago (which has already been mentioned). There is a lot of self-selection that goes on with the kids who decide to apply there, and they seem to do a pretty good job of sniffing out which ones belong. It's not for everyone, but it's heaven for some kids, and it has world-class people and resourced without quite being the same kind of lottery that Harvard, Stanford, or MIT are.</p>
<p>There is a lot more student/faculty research in the first two years at Smith than there is at Williams - and for about 50 students it is paid research, the bulk of it in the biological sciences, where they are a national center for genomics research. </p>
<p>"Not much to add, except that science-oriented girls are especially precious at LACs."</p>
<p>Not at Smith, where 30% of the majors are in science/math/engineering. But it is true that generally speaking, the percentage of women in the sciences in LACs, as a percentage of the total student population, is pretty small.</p>