<p>He would like to do sports in college at the club/intramural level, but is realistic about his chances of making the varsity, especially at big places. A school with an active sports scene for regular students, not just recruited athletes, would be key, I think.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention Haverford. Any thoughts on that?</p>
<p>Consolation, I’d suggest that your son take a look at Williams for a balance of academics + sports + music. There are excellent departments across humanities/social studies/sciences and disparate academic combinations are common, i.e, dual, even triple majors. There are many music performance opportunities even for non-majors. Athletics are a big part of the culture, again, not necessarily for team sports but for just getting out there and doing something, like running or frisbe.</p>
<p>I just spent a few days with four Williams seniors (my son being one) and their backgrounds were very similar to your son’s: Trekkers, musicians, environmentalists, philosophers, artists – all decent seriously intellectual kids and profoundly good conversationalists on topics as diverse as the world is wide. They were on a Spring Break adventure and culture trip and their energy and enthusiasm was heartening.</p>
<p>The financial aid question is a good one, however. If you’re going to need merit aid, his list will not include many of the superselectives.</p>
<p>Edit: I just read your comments in #17 and see that Williams and Amherst are on the shortlist. Hamilton might be a good match.</p>
<p>He might be interested in Reed, but frankly I haven't encouraged it or any other west coast school because of the distance and associated cost. I really could not see him at Notre Dame. Pro sports and priests, not his thing! <g></g></p>
<p>Re merit aid: luckily or unluckily, we are currently poor enough to qualify for a lot of need-based aid...if a school has it to give. Momrath, that is my impression of Williams also, and why I think it--and Amherst--would likely be good fits for him. Better than Columbia, for example.</p>
<p>Menloparkmom, what other schools did your son consider? How about you, Corranged?</p>
<p>RE: U of C and Columbia--the overlap in apps for those two colleges is huge. I don't think you can really characterize the two colleges so differently.</p>
<p>Consolation, Your son sounds like a Williams kid to me, but the visit will be the deciding feature -- they usually either love it or hate it. :) </p>
<p>My son was initially interested in urban schools including Columbia but mid-way through the process felt the pull of the rural, self contained campus. He did like Yale a lot, though and Brown. I'd also strongly recommend Weslyean.</p>
<p>Williams just had everthing he wanted and after almost four years he and his friends all said they'd do it again in a heartbeat. You can see these kids are set to take on the world, intellectually and socially.</p>
<p>Amherst and Williams have a lot of overlap in personality -- though they're quite different in environment. I'd give Williams the edge in music and theater performance opportunities. Amherst can draw on the consortium's resources but Williams arts are campus and community specific.</p>
<p>Kenyon is another match/safety that I'd recommend. A little farther afield geographically, but similar in ambience.</p>
<p>S read Wittgenstein rather than Doestoevsky in high school, but otherwise sounds very much like yours. Went in thinking he might major in philosophy, ended up doing something more quantitative, but really was attracted by the idea of a core curriculum and an intellectual atmosphere. He liked U of C better than Harvard when he visited, and chose not to apply to Princeton because of the eating club scene. He ultimately chose Columbia -- at least partly because of its intellectual atmosphere -- where he's just finishing up the core. His adjective for his core experience there: "great". Columbia's core is different in several important ways from Chicago, so I do encourage you to really check it out.</p>
<p>We loved U of C when we visited, by the way. And would have been equally happy if he had ultimately chosen it.</p>
<p>I applied to the University of Chicago, Notre Dame (my father's alma mater and not a good fit for me, though I adore the school and really love their Great Books program), University of Michigan (the Residential College), Columbia, Hopkins, Penn, and Harvard. I really wish I had looked at Yale, but I never did. Briefly considered Reed, Oberlin, and Carleton; Reed and Oberlin were too universally liberal for my tastes, and Carleton a little small and isolated (and I only considered it five days before the deadline). Williams was too isolated for me. I'm in MA and didn't look at the state schools. My stats weren't spectacular, but I think I had good applications overall.</p>
<p>I thought of Yale too-because of the 'quiet' comment and their residential system. Be wary of the money potential though. PM curmudgeon to get the full story. A CC rule of thumb is that candidates who need aid cannot take full advantage of the EA/ED track. That track is meant for full frieght candidates.</p>
<p>There is a palpable difference between Gtown SFS and G'town College. SFS is a school within a school--and no--atheism wouldn't be a problem at SFS--or at G'town. The Jebbies love an intellectual. Again, PM tlaktan for more info on SFS--and the post-grad opportunities.</p>
<p>Grinnell is very stimulating, intellectual and has great merit aid.
Plus, great basketball in particular!</p>
<p>"A CC rule of thumb is that candidates who need aid cannot take full advantage of the EA/ED track."</p>
<p>This statement is incorrect. (At least the EA part.) Yale was prepared with full aid; D was an EA acceptee, but went elsewhere for reasons unrelated to aid.</p>
<p>I may have missed something, since most (not all) posters are focusing on universities rather than LACs. But Middlebury and Bates occurred to me for this student.</p>
<p>I thought Chicago, Swarthmore and Reed too. But also any of the Ivies that appealed. He'd be a shoe-in at St. Johns if he liked their quirky curriculum.</p>
<p>Thanks epiphany. I stand corrected. I was thinking of EvilRobot's story and curmudgeon's daughter's story--not enough aid bestowed to attend the school of their dreams--Yale.</p>
<p>Maybe Grinnell? He might like the atmosphere and they can be generous from what I have heard---</p>
<p>Your son sounds a lot like mine. He decided to attend William & Mary & major in math. W&M also has excellent history, english & language departments. He had many interests entering school & after taking several courses in the required core curriculum he changed his mind & decided to major in neuroscience & art history. W&M is a very intellectual environment, has a strict honor code, & overall has been a wonderful experience for him. He has become a RA & recently joined a fraternity, the last thing I would have expected him to do. It turns out they are an acedemically based fraternity & very community service oriented. Don't rule out W&M, it's a wonderful place.</p>
<p>I think he would really enjoy Yale and Williams. UChicago would certaintly fulfill his intellectual needs but I'm not sure if he would be satisfied with it socially. Also, if he is serious about languages, he should consider Midd, which has arguably the best language program in the nation.</p>
<p>The social situation at Chicago has "improved" (depending on your opinion) dramatically in the past few years. Every entering class is more typically social than the last, all while retaining the intellectual drive and atmosphere that the school is famous for. I was a very typical kid in high school (close group of girl friends, went out on weekends, played sports, etc.), and I fit in fine.</p>
<p>Sounds like a very cool kid!</p>
<p>Amherst
Brown
Carleton
Carnegie Mellon
Chicago
Columbia
Grinnell
Haverford
Middlebury
MIT
Reed
Swarthmore
Tufts
Wesleyan
Yale</p>