We are in NYC … our “default” tech school will be RPI … slightly better known name than WPI … otherwise similar. Rose is just impractical for us location-wise.
The number of faculty is always relative to the number of students (perhaps all students for intro courses and primarily CS students for more advanced courses).
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@dimkin yes Rose doesn’t have a great location. We’re in the Midwest so will need to factor in distance when looking at WPI/RPI and east coast LACs.
My son says he’s fine with any location, so he says now before visiting 
so does mine … boys will be boys …
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@1NJParent So as an example… Hamilton has 6 faculty (plus one retired?) and Grinnell has 10. They are both small LACs with open curricula. Does this mean Grinnell has an advantage?
I just took a quick look at the CS courses offered by these two schools. Grinnell seems to have the advantage based on the course offerings. There’re other factors to consider, of course.
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You might want to check out Rice if you haven’t already. It’s a tough admit but has a very strong CS department and while it’s not a LAC, it has a similar vibe (smaller, residential college system, etc.).
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Yeah … might as well try Harvard … it’s a tough admit but very strong CS department …
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@1NJParent Thank you! This is very helpful!
@PrdMomto1 Thank you, Rice is a reach, a very reach reach. My son goes to an overachieving top high school. Only 3 kids in the last 5 years have been accepted… the admit rate is lower than Harvard, Princeton, and MIT 
RIT has a great CS department, but might be too large/too much of a safety . They have a great Coop program. Lots of geeky introverted gaming types there.
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Obviously it’s a reach school but he does have a 36 ACT. Many of the LAC’s being mentioned are T20 schools as well.
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In your son’s case, I would definitely submit scores.
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@PrdMomto1 Agree, lots of reachy schools are being discussed. The difference with Rice is that for our high school, it has a 6% acceptance rate, whereas the others are more in the 20% range. (With ED, some of the LACs jump to 40-50%.)
@circuitrider Yep Not to enter into the great testing debate that seems very exciting on CC, but my for my son, scores are an asset.
@sdl0625 Yes he will look at RIT. I’m sure there are many of his kind there! I would put RIT, WPI, RPI, and Case in one category. For the context of my original question, I’m exploring the benefits of more traditional LACs.
I would consider Swarthmore as well. Great math and engineering department complement CS and if he needs more classes cross registration with Penn is possible (close by plus direct rail service from campus to campus is available).
Another possible option is Harvey Mudd’s rival CalTech, technically not a LAC but in some ways such as undergraduate size it could be considered one. Incredibly hard to get in, a 36 ACT is a step in the right direction… A possible issue would be that rumor has it that not all professors are as involved with students as in a typical LAC.
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For a student on this level I recommend you consider schools collectively. For example, Carleton and Grinnell, when considered together (i.e., by sending applications to both), might compose a collective low match.
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@notigering Thank you! Swarthmore looks a little reachy overall, although ED better. Having Penn nearby is a benefit for sure.
I don’t think he’s at level for Uber-competitive schools, as he will be getting to the hardest classes senior year. Many (most?) top kids have a slew of APs under their belts after junior year. He will take Calc BC and Physics C as a senior, which could place him at a disadvantage compared to tippy top applicants.
@merc81 To clarify, how do the odds improve when considering schools collectively? Would he have a greater chance overall if he applied to a batch of LACs? Luck of the draw, one would like him?