D1 is a STEM type whose strongest suit is her GPA and class rank (salutatorian/400). Her SAT scores, however, baffle us:: W740, M650, CR660. Last year, her favorite school was JHU. Many college visits and hours of research later, JHU has been dropped from her list, and not just b/c her scores wouldn’t cut it. We’re solidly in the LAC camp now and to my delight, she is now embracing women’s colleges like my alma mater, Wellesley.
In my heart, though, I wonder if Wellesley is the best environment for her. Though she’s a workhorse with the discipline and stamina to excel in her studies and clubs, she’s also more highly strung than, say, D2. We think this is another reason why the board scores have not been commensurate with her grades.
Her creative outlet is not violin, which she’s taken for more than a decade, but coding. I’m hoping that her strong writing score and her love for her IB English class point to an untapped mine of creativity, and I’m nudging her to look at schools that might not jive with her personality now - Wes, Oberlin, Pitzer (which she loved when visiting). More Smith than Wellesley.
Another clue - some years ago we looked at Midland, a wonderful boarding school in the Condor League. The director pointed out that D1 would benefit from stress reduction techniques that his wife taught. Midland couldn’t offer us the FA we needed to attend, but as I write this, I realize subconsciously I’ve been looking for a college edition of Midland ever since.
The upshot - seek the descriptive good fit, or the “prescriptive” good fit?
How about you just let your daughter decide for yourself which schools she likes/could see herself liking for herself? She probably knows herself well enough to be able to tell which environment would be best for her.
It’s best to do good fit now. There’s a small chance your daughter will change rapidly from junior to senior year, so anticipating for the future won’t benefit a whole lot. Honestly, when your daughter visits the campus, she’ll know. When she interacts with the students, talks with professors, maybe sits in on a class etc., it will sink in like a rock in water. For now (and most likely for the next nine months) she will flit back and forth. It’s good to have her investigate numerous options and explore them, but let her figure it out.
How right you are. I could use the stress reduction techniques myself, as well as a reminder to stop over-thinking. D1 says she likes the idea of artsier schools like Wes and Oberlin that are strong in science. We shall see. Meanwhile, D2, a rising sophomore, went from dance to considering engineering!
Maybe you’re lucky she didn’t fetch a 2300 because your sights might not have moved from research unis and STEM. You could be on to something about her scores re stress (and the pressure to attain high scores).
The best solution is probably in the middle ground with a LAC strong in science or a small research university with a less vocational student body, if such a place exists. She needs to be able to expand in both directions due to the uncertainty of fit.
I’m curious, when did she become interested in STEM, and why? It’s the “why” you need to pin down. Was it a natural, personality-driven move? Or maybe she was persuaded (bombarded?) by the practicality of STEM and displaced her more creative self?
Sorry to get all Freudian, but if you have good reason to believe that STEM is a great fit with her personality and that she identifies more with the Wellesley “type” of pre-professional practicality, going too far in the direction of the “artsy” LAC could be a mistake.
Agreed that that best thing would be to find a school that can embrace both her STEM interest and her creative nature. For example, my D is at Lafayette College and is a science major, a theater minor (taking theater classes and very involved in shows on campus), and she also plays in the college orchestra and takes upper level music classes. Her roommate is an engineering major and an art minor. It is not so unusual for students to want to explore both their creative and the STEM side as an undergrad.
@Dunboyne - I appreciate your take on this. She lucked into great math/science teachers from elementary school on, and these classes just clicked with her learning style. I’m afraid I scared her away from reading by piling on the books (and accumulating a small library’s worth from Goodwill, used bookshops, Amazon. Her self-described OCD tendency finds book-lined walls cluttered and oppressive). She likes order - not such a fan of ambiguity - so yes, her interest in STEM is more organic than not.
By chance, we found a summer camp run by the Santa Fe Institute on complexity studies, which turned her on to programming and modeling, and steered her away from the purely pre-med track to public health. But to circle back to more creative pursuits, she loves the local theater and improv groups we follow obsessively. She’s more emotionally reserved than D2 and myself, and unbidden has expressed a longing to delve more deeply into that side of her. But sure, an in your face culture might turn her off.
@happy - We’ll take a look at Lafayette, as these are her interests exactly!
@winnvanmeter I’m sure that Lafayette is one of many schools where she could pursue all of her interests but feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the school. My D is extremely happy there.