<p>Hi :] I'm a junior in HS right now and I've been trying to look for good LAC/small universities that are strong in the science area. So far I'm going to apply to Harvey Mudd for sure next year, and most likely Mount Holyoke as a safety...unless something happens and I no longer like it.</p>
<p>So here is a brief overview of me:
Asian Female
Total GPA: 3.84 (UW) 4.06 (W)
SAT: taking in March...next week
AP: so far I've taken 4, it will be 9 by senior year
EC: MHS, XC/track last year, People Speak Club, volunteering at the boys and girls club and at a dental office...which could technically count as an unpaid internship
First generation of college if that matters?</p>
<p>Tuition is an issue....income bracket is rather low.</p>
<p>Umm so can anyone help suggest colleges that are strong in science, and I have a shot at getting into?</p>
<p>Sounds like Grinnell might be a good fit. Exceptionally strong in the sciences with state-of-the-art facilities, the smallest class size of any top LAC (no class larger than 30, even intro bio and chem classes), no distribution requirements, and excellent mentoring. S loves the understated, unpretentious, individualistic midwestern culture and close relationships with the faculty. The food is great, there’s more to do on campus that you can possibly participate in, and there’s lots of money to fund student research. The huge endowment also makes Grinnell one of the few top LACs that provides merit aid in addition to very generous financial aid, and as an Asian, you are a URM in the midwest. </p>
<p>If you check out the “Why Grinnell” thread you’ll get a more complete picture.</p>
<p>Umm I feel like I like the physical sciences the most, I’m taking chem this year and I really like it, can’t say anything about physics since that’s next year. But I know I don’t want to go into the humanities, and the biological sciences never caught my attention. I guess anything along the lines of chem, computer science, statistics, etc and I have been looking into engineering, but my HS doesn’t have any classes on that so I can’t tell if I’ll like it. Ok, so pretty much any science that isn’t biological. Haha wow.</p>
<p>Note the list above is specifically an engineering - not science program - listing.</p>
<p>onecircuit’s earlier post referencing the Reed PhD productivity is probably more appropriate if next year your interests remain more physical science and math/cs based.</p>
<p>If that’s the case, LACs like Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, Reed, Pomona, Wesleyan and Williams offer strong departments. </p>
<p>If engineering remains in the running, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, Rice, and Swarthmore are all small environments with great offerings.</p>
<p>Note the list above is specifically an engineering - not science program - listing.</p>
<p>onecircuit’s earlier post referencing the Reed PhD productivity is probably more appropriate if next year your interests remain more physical science and math/cs based.</p>
<p>If that’s the case, LACs like Carleton, Grinnell, Oberlin, Reed, Pomona, Wesleyan and Williams offer strong departments. </p>
<p>If engineering remains in the running, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, Rice, and Swarthmore are all small environments with great offerings.</p>
<p>Hahah yah I did notice that x) I did a little research on engineering though and I feel like I won’t like it…computer science seems really cool though! I’m taking that next year so lets see how that goes. </p>
<p>Hmm oh! I never knew Williams had a strong science dept…I shall look into that, except Williams is very hard to get into…so if I like it, it’ll definitely be a reach.</p>
<p>You say you don’t want to go into the humanities, but do you want to take classes in the humanities? Most LACs incorporate several humanities components into their curriculum, so be aware of that. </p>
<p>Bryn Mawr might also be a good choice, if you’re looking at women’s colleges. I second Rose Hulman. And if you’re looking for a smaller science/engineering school, take a look at Stevens Tech.</p>
<p>I don’t mind taking classes in the humanities, it would be nice if I had some freedom to choose which humanities classes I want take, but it doesn’t matter too much. (getinin) Ok I’ll look at those :] So far Grinnell has really stolen my attention, I’m also considering Reed but I’m not sure if the atmosphere there is really right for me from what I’ve gathered…don’t know for sure though.</p>
<p>The little I know about Grinell I really like. They have a huge endowment so they can do whatever they like and bring whatever they like to their campus. The remoteness promotes strong campus bonds, but everyone pretty much does a semester or year abroad and they make it easy for you to do that. As an Asian, you might be a catch for them, but I suppose you won’t have a strong Asian presence at the school, if that matters to you. My daughter applied and one of her closest friends and he (asian) got a free ticket to visit. They both got in.</p>
<p>Mudd and Mt Holyoke are really different types of schools and locations, do you undertand the difference? Also what state are you coming from? Urban or rural or suburban?</p>
<p>Smith and Wellesley should be at the top of your list to investigate.</p>
<p>Don’t look at tuition–it is meaningless. Look at Cost of Attendance. Then look at EFC–calculate your family EFC, there is one on this site, also a FAFSA estimator. Then note if the schools you are looking at are need blind for admission. Then look if they pledge to meet full need. That is more the reality. If you are not yet familiar with these concepts, speak up. The more you need the more you get IF the school is wealthy enough to meet need.</p>
<p>“Then note if the schools you are looking at are need blind for admission.”</p>
<p>What does this matter? It affects the chances of admission for a small portion of applicants, but doesn’t affect the desirability of a school at all. The only applicants for whom this should matter are those who don’t qualify for application fee waivers, but yet don’t have enough for the fees, and need to limit the number of apps sent out.</p>
<p>vossron: schools which are not need-blind essentially rank the applicants and start from the top, accepting students one-by-one until they run out of financial aid. After that they only accept students who are full-pay. Schools that are need-blind have enough money for financial aid so that they can accept a full class where everyone needs aid if they have to. I think this does matter to someone who needs financial aid.</p>
<p>That is indeed how it works, but why does it matter to an applicant? Why exactly is a school any less attractive to an applicant just because it’s need-aware?</p>