College List Thoughts

College Search & Selection
1

Recently started working on my college list, did a fair amount of research and talked to senior friends, wanted to see what college confidential thinks.

Info about me:
-Rising Junior
-White Straight Cis Male
-Upper middle class
-Go to a rural, Public HS in Mass (average or slightly above compared to the rest of mass)

Academics:
-UW GPA: 3.98 (Plus minus scale + grade inflation probably averages out)
(School offers 11 AP Classes, no humanities, and can take only Soph-Sen)
-Class Rank: 1/73 (My school is tiny and only ranks on weighted GPA so idk UW rank, the same?)
-3 APs Sophomore - Macro, Micro, Stats - All 5s - Other classes regular honors
-3 APs Junior - Psych, Calc BC, Latin - Other classes regular honors
-Plan to take 4 next year - Physics, Env Sci, CS A, US Gov/Politics - + Honors other classes and Linear Algebra/Diff Eq
-5 of those APs were online and the other 5 are offered at my school
-Haven’t taken the ACT yet but my most recent full practice test was 34 (32 Eng 33 Math 34 Reading 35 Science)
Nothing on the SAT yet but I plan on taking it this spring

EC’s
Significant:
Captain of Cross Country 2x all conference 2x sectional team champs
Varsity Track (Hopefully Captain) (Went to Nationals in 8th grade but doesn’t count :’( )
Summer job as a counselor at a nature reserve (Leadership?)

Not as significant:
Volunteer at my coaches youth running group 2x a week during the summer
Math Club
Quiz Team
Self Studied Japanese during Freshman year
Practice mental health and meditation daily outside school (not really sure if this counts but I thought colleges would like it)

So with those Academics EC’s and essays consistent with the other stuff in my application, I came up with this list with the plan of studying applied math/statistics not sure if I want a masters or not. Other things that I want in a school in order of most to least important:

  • Good math department/school

  • Cool Climate (Above 85 consistently is an automatic no)

  • Running Team/Club (Fairly sure I can run on the team of any DIII School and at an ivy big DI schools might have to walk on or run club but academics over being an athlete)

  • Not across the entire Country (like within a 15 hour drive from Mass)

  • Really introverted person so a school without huge greek life/party school is a priority

  • Not a crazy core curriculum

  • I don’t really care about the setting but I’d prefer not super urban like NYC/Chicago/Phili since I’d a few uncongested places to run.

  • Diverse School without too much elitism (Harvard and Yale exceptions :man_shrugging: )

  • Enjoy good food so nice dining halls would be nice

  • Cost is not a problem as far as I know

These criteria ruled out alot but here is my list in order of how hard I think it is for me to get in:

Safety:
Umass Amherst (State Flagship)
RPI (This and UW Madison might be low matches but finding safeties was hard)
University of Wisconsin Madison (Ik its a party school but math is good and I could find my people I assume)

Match
Northeastern (Not a match but my school has an amazing track record with Northeastern so I think I got a good shot)
U Rochester
Case Western

Reach
UVA
U Michigan
Wash U
Carnegie Mellon
Cornell
University of Waterloo
Johns Hopkins
Brown
Yale
Harvard

Considering Some LAC’s, not sure if their curriculums are something that I would want since I’m not a huge humanities person:
Bowdoin
Hamilton
Wesleyan

Williams and Amherst are both too close to home and MIT seems a little too competitive and the culture does not really fit me as an athlete and a crazy reach anyway.

So with that said any suggestions would be appreciated, specifically how to whittle down this list to around 12-13.

Thanks for reading and cheers CC community!

2

These suggestions of colleges strong for math may help you refine your own choices: For Students Seeking a College Strong in Mathematics.

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3

It’s a tough rep to shake, but most of the T10 LACs you’ve just mentioned are known for their academic strength across the board. Williams is known for its math department. Amherst has just completed a state-of-the-art science facility which could make taking classes there kind of fun. And, Wesleyan suffers the most from this misconception because so many of its alumni are famous in the news and media industries; nevertheless, it has a very high level of federal support for basic research and a math department that includes courses through the doctoral level.

4

Thanks so much very helpful to know about LAC’s would you suggest Wesleyan over hamilton or Bowdoin for math?

5

Yes I would. For math majors it is especially important that they have advanced courses already in-place in the eventuality they burn through all the available undergraduate courses.

6

Since Hamilton appears to be the only college from this group offering a statistics minor, it seems to align the most with your interest in applied math. As you progressed through the standard math courses, you would be able to choose from a variety of math electives, eventually including an array of senior seminars (of which several can be taken); mathematically related physics courses (e.g., mathematical physics, general relativity); and reinforcing computer science courses. For additional challenge, a semester in Budapest or an REU could be options as well. Hamilton’s open curriculum also may appeal to you.

7

Seems like your safety UMA could be a solid option. It ticks a lot of the boxes you noted.
My daughter attends so I’m slightly biased, but it’s a great school nonetheless. If you got Commonwealth Honors that gets you smaller classes for the First year or so plus a very nice centrally located residence area. From what I’ve heard UMass has a very good Math department but I can’t speak to it beyond that. You can also take courses (no extra charge) through the Five college exchange at a top LAC’s like Amherst.
Lots of great running trails in the area. I’d still say UMass has some party culture but it’s Nothing like it used to be 10 + years ago, and Greek life is present but not dominant like many flagships. Finally, they’re rated the #1 food of all colleges in the US. They do a really great job with variety, taste and lot of healthy stuff (or not). Best of luck wherever you end up, you will have many great options.

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8

Thanks a lot I know a few people who go to UMA but never talked with them about it. But being able to take classes at Amherst is an awesome opportunity and I will definitely keep that in mind. I think it would be a great fit for me. Thanks for the reply.

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9

Honestly, UMass Amherst is going to have exactly what you want. Apply wherever else you like, but the fact is that your safety school is also probably your best match school!

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