@Publisher Computer languages or foreign languages? Not sure on the first, but he’s currently tackling a shader language to rework some programming he did last summer. He’s very interested in studying abroad, so would pick up whatever new one he needs, in addition to the Spanish he studies currently.
He talks about going on to graduate school. No clear focus or career field yet. He likes it all.
I had assumed those big cohort scholarships focus on volunteer service as well? He doesn’t have much.
Of those southern schools, are there any particularly STEM focused? We have looked at U of SC and U of A and he was open to them. The class sizes in the Honors colleges were a huge plus. Campus culture? They wouldn’t be his first pick. But free or cheap is good.
As to U of W, I’d have to look at finances to see what OOS tuition is, unless there are merit awards. I don’t know how focused he is on computer science as a major. He likes the idea of applying it to harder problems in science, but he’s really still undecided. I assume he’d have to declare a major and apply directly to that program at U of W.
Alabama has Randall Research Scholars Program and residential Blount Lib Arts Program. There was a poster here @momtoaphysicsgeek (I think?) whose son went to UA for RRS in physics and took lots of advanced / grad level classes and now is in a top notch PhD program. Campus culture is moderate due to large OOS presence. Outdoors rec club, lots of club sports.
@CollegeMamb0 I had just discovered those two programs. The Blount scholars one looks like it would really suit. Ditto for the research one. I wonder if it is hard to find a lab to work in otherwise. And curious if you could do both programs. I’ll have to give it another look.
He tells me climate doesn’t matter much, as long as it’s green there. But he’s never been to Alabama in August, or Minnesota in February for that matter.
Middlebury is very green (they went carbon neutral), is liberal, and has one of the best foreign language programs in the country. They have excellent programs in many of the “hard sciences”, but not math. It is very outdoorsy, and it is also a full need met college. However, it’s closest large body of water is Lake Champlain.
Almost all LACs have a strong presence of athletes. It is part of the entire Liberal Arts College philosophy, similar to being outdoorsy.
There are very few scholarships at UVA, Duke, UGa, W&L, etc., and they are almost all aimed at families with demonstrated financial need. A family with a EFC of $35K-$40K is not usually considered to be in that range, unfortunately.
@Zinnia203 The Southern schools will provide excellent financial aid, especially if your kid is a NMF (many will provide full tuition and as much as a full ride for National Merit Finalists). On the other hand, these southern schools tend to be conservative. U Mississippi, U Arkansas, U Alabama, and U S. Carolina have students who tend to be conservative. Not an issue, in general, but they may not be the best places for your kid if he leans more liberal.
For an outdoorsy kid, who is looking for an environmentally friendly college with good aid, the honors colleges of Arizona State and U Arizona are good choices. Your son could attend these for a full tuition + as a National Merit Finalist.
Hi @MWolf. Access to water is negotiable, green is not. I think that rules out any desert states. In this cases, heavily irrigated might not fly.
Good to know about Middlebury and math. He was talking it up to friends that would appreciate the foreign language focus. It dont know if it resonated with his main academic interests though.
Something to think about, regarding those southern schools. We live in a politically mixed place. Leans liberal, but he definitely has classmates wearing their MAGA hats to school. But those schools could be a shock, in a way Athens, Chapel Hill or Charlottesville wouldn’t be.
@Zinnia203 UW-Seattle has a small OOS merit scholarship (Purple & Gold?) that knocks about 10K off the price. Your son would get the top WUE award at WWU, which has an honors program, although I’m not sure about their CS offerings. It’s in a gorgeous physical setting sandwiched between the ocean and the mountains and equidistant between Seattle/Vancouver. Bellingham is very pleasant.
Other PNW options where merit is available and where he might find likeminded souls - U of Puget Sound (Tacoma), Whitman (inland in Walla Walla), Lewis & Clark (Portland, OR) and Willamette (Salem, OR).
He sounds a lot like my older kid who applied a few years ago and we were looking for merit. Not a partier, didn’t care about sports or Greek life, a bit nerdy, intellectual. If lack of a coastline is not a dealbreaker, among the midwestern LACs that we checked out, St Olaf (MN) and Wooster (OH) felt wholesome and kind. Beloit (WI) may be similar - I hear very good things about it. Kenyon (OH) also might appeal, or Grinnell (IA), although I hear mixed things about the party scene at the latter. For foreign languages, check out Dickinson in PA - I believe it offers around a dozen different ones, which is a lot for a small school. If you are OK with full pay, Carleton (MN) might be right up his alley.
With his GPA and test scores, he should have many options!
Your son has the stats to be competitive for Dartmouth, which is the most small LAC like school in the Ivies. Plenty of green and water. Some are turned off by the Greek reputation of Dartmouth, but my best friend’s son just graduated there last year and he found the campus diverse enough that he could find his tribe.
St. Olaf would be a great safety - excellent math program that punches far above its weight, and great financial aid. It is not near any water or significant mountains, but it is one of the moist beautiful campuses I have visited.
@mamaedefamilia Thanks for the PNW rundown. Very helpful, as I’m not too familiar with that part of the country. Carleton and St. Olaf were on our list to look at already, but I will add in the others as well. Having family in the Midwest might help offset the lack of water.
@BKSquared Thanks for the perspective on Dartmouth. Truthfully, I had been turned off by the stories of Greek life. It’s probably worth a closer look. I know he would love the location and access to the outdoors. We did get a mailing from them last week that was a little off putting. It talked about some of the “Humans of Hanover” (students, a few teachers), what they were up to, their background. Even featured a kid who had climbed Everest, 2nd attempt after the earthquake. Which to H and I read: come here, rich donor kids, be with your people who can afford to do that twice. It all seemed “off” to us, but what do we know. We’re probably being judgemental twits. S21 seemed to like the brochure.
@Zinnia203 We got that brochure too and thought it felt like Dartmouth was trying to rebrand away from the beer pong, preppy image but didn’t quite hit the mark. We are also in a WUE state and not served by a major airport so getting to and from Hanover seems like a bit of a chore.
Has your son been to any of the Great Lakes? They are big enough to feel like the ocean.
It’s not a LAC and there is no major body of water, but I think your son would really like Rice. Plus, at 4,000 undergrads, it is closer size-wise to a LAC than to some mid-sized universities. And Rice has no Greek life, but instead has residential colleges. Seems like proximity to water should be less of a factor than school vibe and academics, but I know that water can be important to some. Would also need to tolerate hot weather for some of school year.
@Sunny66 Houston might count as close enough to water, and like I’ve said, this is negotiable. I agree that vibe and academics are the main drivers. And cost. Rice is on his list, but is one school where the NPC disappoints (HMudd and Caltech as well, although Mudd will stack merit and need). Definitely considering, as he loves their residential colleges. He might be eligible for some of their merit awards.
@mamaedefamilia Yes, they slightly missed the mark, but I have a feeling you’re right about their intent. College marketing is a tricky business.
And yes, great lakes would count. He looked at Case Western with me online, when I mentioned the lake. And he loved the visit from UChicago rep at his school last fall.
@Zinnia203 - I will second the recommendation for University of Vermont. Not large like UW and not a LAC - but excellent honors college, good merit money plus water and mountains and lots of outdoor clubs. His stats would = $ and one of the best college town. Their online info sessions was excellent. They admit early action and would be a great safety and would meet your budget.
He sounds like he would also like Grinnell for the vibe - but no water or elevation Carleton is a very pretty campus and feels like an eastcoast LAC with a pond that freezes in the winter for ice skating a large arboretum. No merit at Carleton - merit averages $15-$20K at Grinnell and they love those high stat kids. Carleton is also NOT need blind vs most of the schools in their competitive set.
There is another CC post about Schools my kids visited and crossed off their list - sorry I can’t remember the exact title - but has some good write ups and also silly reasons like “the website” and school “colors”
@MWolf regarding your post #23 above. To my surprise, there are a lot of scholarships.
For example: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill awards 70 full ride (all costs covered for four years) scholarships each year under just one scholarship program. About half (35) are awarded to North Carolina residents. Must be nominated by one’s school for these Morehead-Cain Scholarships. Very easy to do. (Robertson is another scholarship at UNC & Duke.)
Washington & Lee awards 44 full tuition (minimum scholarship is full tuition) scholarships to each class (10% of each incoming class).
The University of Virginia names a lot of Jefferson Scholars each year.
The University of Alabama has less than half (45%) residents & has multiple tiers of scholarships. Awards hundreds each year.
The University of Georgia Honors College & Foundation Fellows number in the hundreds to thousands each year. Sophisticated student body due to number of students from the Atlanta area.
The University of Mississippi Honors College offers & awards hundreds or thousands of scholarships each year. Your son should receive full tuition, fees & housing plus the realistic possibility of more. Has strong relations with Big 4 accounting & with the Federal Government (forensic chemistry FBI, for example).
University of South Carolina Honors College is loaded with students from the Northeast US. Awards hundreds to thousands of scholarships each year.
Duke has the Robertson & other scholarships.
The University of Washington offers merit awards.
Most awards are stats, not service, based. But, scholarship criteria does vary.
@Zinnia203: I disagree with the suggestion regarding ASU & the University of Arizona for one who prefers lush greenery & limitless water views. Ain’t none of that in Arizona–other than at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff.
OP: If your son needs a very liberal environment, then Middlebury College, Haverford College, & Swarthmore College are great options to consider.
The University of Vermont Honors College is another. UVM Honors awards merit scholarships.
No need to fear Southern Universities. Due to massive merit scholarship programs, the student bodies are populated by lots of students from all over the country including large contingents from the NorthEast US.
P.S. For a student with such stellar stats (36 ACT & 4.0 unweighter GPA), there are tremendous scholarship opportunities. No need to pay anything beyond room & board & books & travel, and several opportunities to have almost all of that covered as well based on merit.
I asked about interest in any particular foreign language because there are very substantial scholarship awards for demonstrated interest to master certain foreign languages.
@Zinnia203 I am not sure why a website would be a dealbreaker. S19 is a math major at Bowdoin and his freshman roommate is likely a computer science major. Outdoor club is big there. S19 isn’t a big drinker and runs on the XC and track teams and they run to the ocean many times a week. Outdoor Club is a big deal there - camping, hiking, white water rafting, skiing, biking and more. $10 for the whole year to join and the school has all of the equipment you need. Sponsors trip almost every weekend. Very strong academics. Bright and friendly kids. Easy to get there from Portland airport. Just 30 min drive.
Oh and Bowdoin is green year round! My D21 and I visited S19 in Feb and we couldn’t believe how pretty it was because of the many evergreens. All green. Bowdoin is next to a cute town and also very wooded.
In Chicago, winter is grey and brown. No leaves on most of the trees. Maine’s weather in the winter seems more livable than Chicago’s and it’s way prettier.
Sorry one more thing! S19 took MV as a senior so started with Linear Algebra as a freshman. Depending on what your son takes for math this year, Bowdoin will place him accordingly. No math prior to LA even counts toward the major so I do think they have strong math options. Have him check out the math major section on Bowdoin’s website.
@Publisher why are you suggesting giant state schools? @Zinnia203 is trying to Barlow things down and is looking at LACs. Suggesting public state schools makes no sense.
No, @Publisher, I don’t think there’s an interest in Arabic or Mandarin.
And website is probably not a deal breaker. (I really like Bowdoin, that’s why we were looking at it. Thanks for the good description, @homerdog). Neither is lack of water. Lack of green is, or a dry climate, so no desert schools please.
S21 leans left, but not looking for a very liberal college, just a place where everyone’s opinions are (mostly) tolerated and heard.
The large, cheap state schools make good financial Safeties, which is desirable in times like these. Otherwise, yes, he’d prefer a SLAC. Part of my motivation in starting this thread was to find some of those safety schools/target schools. But none may give as much money as those big state schools.
He will be eligible for some need based financial aid. But I don’t know how that will break down next year given many people’s increased need. He has some larger, high reach, high endowment schools on his list, mostly for their residential colleges (Yale, Rice) or because they are MIT. But he still keeps coming back to that SLAC idea.
Carleton is a very pretty campus and feels like an eastcoast LAC with a pond that freezes in the winter for ice skating a large arboretum. No merit at Carleton - merit averages $15-$20K at Grinnell and they love those high stat kids. Carleton is also NOT need blind vs most of the schools in their competitive set.