I think a of LACs are community-focused and collaborative. I would add Davidson and the 5Cs to the list if you are looking at LACs.
Davidson has more of a sports culture than most LACs and some fraternities, but overall lot of emphasis on community,character. Brand new amazing science facilities.
5Cs you can find everything but with a SoCal, relaxed vibe.
I agree that a visit to the 5Cs is worthwhile. Among them, Mudd is the most likely for an application, because it has engineering if he decides to go that route.
Dartmouth is pretty relaxed / fun regardless of the major. Franklin W. Olin is a small non-cutthroat engineering school that doesnât get mentioned often. Northwestern and UMich are also a bit more relaxedâŠ
U of Southern Cal, Boston College (STEM offerings & facilities are improving by the minute).
My D and I are became fans of Michigan from when I dropped her off for a summer camp there a couple of years ago. Strong in just about everything as well.
Thanks @moooop,
If we make it out to LA, USC is on the visit list, along with UCLA and Mudd.
âI would prefer he goes to a college with other elite students that enjoy learning, but also have time to enjoy themselves outside of class.â
Iâm pretty sure a student can be successful doing this at any elite institution. Even at the UChicago where âFun comes to dieâ it looks like students still enjoy learning and enjoy themselves outside of class. I think the difference is some kids enjoy pushing themselves and âdrinking from the fire hose.â It sounds like you son may be one of those kids.
I also think if your son is one of those kids, he is going to do that where ever he goes, be it MIT or ITT tech.
Wow, lots of good advice in this thread. I will reiterate the importance of having a good mix of schools on the list. The admissions arena is flat out insane right now and getting worse exponentially. People are ignoring the warning signs and whistling past the graveyard. I donât like how our culture has changed and the impact it is having on our kids. They barely have a childhood now. And, even after all of the sacrifices and hard work, they are still not getting rewarded because the game just gets more and more insane. Many of these kids are being driven into therapy. Not good AT ALL!!!
So, pick a few elites (<15% AR), pick a few second tier schools (15-25% AR), pick a few third tier schools (25-35% AR) and pick a couple of safety schools.
Amherst is great for math. Good friendâs D go there, is majoring in math, and is happy as a clam. I donât think Amherst is overly competitive.
My son, who was looking for a more relaxed atmosphere in a strong academic school, really liked Case Western both times we visited (once for an invited day of activities). They are strong in STEM.
Case cares about demonstrated interest, so I would definitely say visit and also read emails they send and click through to read about programs (apparently that is tracked now by many schools, I donât know about Case specifically).
He was interested in Northwestern, Brown, Michigan, Case, possibly Vandy, William and Mary, and Pitt. He wasnât looking at engineering programs but was looking at math-adjacent programs (Econ and Stats).
He wasnât interested (felt they were too intense in atmosphere) in Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, or Swarthmore, though this was by reputation (but also in self-description by the student body in the various college guides). This is not to say that there couldnât be students there who are enjoying themselves, but that he felt the culture of those schools was more intense.
âIf we make it out to LA, USC is on the visit listâ
Since you mention that your DS is a very strong student, he may want to submit an early [Dec 1] application in order to be considered for one the the full tuition scholarships or1/2 tuition scholarships. Applying early there wont prevent him from applying early SCEA/ ED etc, to other colleges.
USC has a VERY strong engineering college, Liberal Arts college as well as many other programs.
But remember, they want to be âshown the 'loveâ and just sending in an application wont suffice.
âOur schoolâs scatter grams indicate otherwise so farâ
Scattergrams are backward looking. And they dont reflect what is happening to top students from across the country.
As they say in he stock market- âPast performance is not indicative of future resultsâ
Glad you are willing to start looking at LACâs .There are lots that have the programs that he wants.
Swarthmore, RPI are 2 more.
We usually have several going to Case from our HS, and I thought their reputation is pretty tough academically??
My D is CS with premed. With Vandy, she will be able to finish with a math major by the time she finishes her CS degree. Yes, she is still on waitlist for org chem for next year, but she was able to get all her CS classes. One more good things about Vandyâunlimited AP credits for Engineering students, which was a factor D considered over MIT and U Chicago. In her case, while her 48 credits hours from her AP was helpful, she still needs to repeat bio, chem, etc for medical schools. But other kids may be able to finish their Master degree in 4 years.
one more thought about USC, it would be hard to find another U with a top engineering program and as many smart, happy kids [ except for Stanford]
Nothing like being able to wear flip flops and shorts in the warm Calif weather all year round to put a smile on oneâs face.
Thanks for the reminder about USCâs scholarship deadline @menloparkmom. I was going to check if USC still had them, as the top schools seem to be cutting back on them. The real question is whether they will still have them for the HS class of 2020.
oh yeah, they still have them.
the competition , in sheer numbers, is intense- only about 4% of the early 50000 applicants are accepted in Feb and only about 1000 are selected to interview for the scholarships. Any inference in those interviews that the student is not REALLY excited about enrolling at USC, means they probably wont get one of the big scholarships.
Hey @hebegebe , just want to quickly weigh in. The number one criteria for my child when looking for colleges was one that was COLLABORATIVE (and yet provided a top notch education). Overwhelmingly, the two top schools that fostered that kind of environment and attracted strong candidates were Brown and Pomona. I realize your wife knows a couple of âscrew-upâ Brown alumni, but if your child is heading towards STEM, one would hope that their parents could overcome their personal biases and look objectively at the schools today. If your child is sure that they will major in engineering, perhaps Harvey Mudd in lieu of Pomona. We visited many Ivy League and Ivy League caliber campuses. Brown and Pomona both genuinely fostered collaboration over competition. It was palpable in and out of the classrooms. Best of luck!
@hebegebe
two factors that will affect your DS âchancesâ of acceptance to colleges and Uâs that had no bearing on your DDâs success are- 1] heâs a male and 2] heâs interested in STEM, and engineering, which these days, seems to be THE chosen field for the MAJORITY of smart guys, cause thatâs where they perceive the $$ is. Thatâs one reason Stanford is now the most competative U in the US- itâ in Silicon Valley, and near SF, where Google, Facebook, Tesla, and dozens of start ups are located and which pay big $$ to engineers right out of college.
Before the great recession it seemed every smart guy wanted to go to wall street. Now they want a career in STEM.
The competition is fierce, because there are only so many spots in engineering programs for guys.
He should apply to colleges where he DOESNT have to apply to a particular major, or college, or those that make it easy to switch majors once there.
@SincererLove âWe usually have several going to Case from our HS, and I thought their reputation is pretty tough academically??â
Yes, my sense when my son was applying was that it was strong academically, but not as intense in feel as the schools that turned him off. This is probably similar to the above-discussed collaborative v. competitive atmosphere. A school where students work hard, but donât pride themselves on trying to outwork everyone else, donât stress if they take breaks for some fun, etc.
Not a scientific analysis, certainly. But based in part on studentsâ descriptions of the atmosphere at the schools he looked at.
Not âSTEMâ. CS in particular recently became the super-popular college major and career direction. Pre-med / biology and (non-computer) engineering are popular at many schools, but popularity has not exploded recently like it has for CS.