<p>Thank you , marite. The information is very helpful. My son is very hands-on, but he also has a very wide range of interests. It will be interesting to see how things develop.</p>
<p>I don't know how hands on my kid is, though he did put together his own computer. But he's not really interested in theory and he's results oriented. However the sort of model building they do in the more engineering classes is not really his thing. He did Robot Ramble his first year in Science Olympiad and said never again. He did go to the info session for MIT and liked what he saw.</p>
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We don't have a favorite 'famous' undergrad school--unless it's an architecture school.
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<p>And which would be your favorite there?</p>
<p>We've heard the "I bet DS is going to apply to A or B," too. A is not on his list at all, B is on the list, but DS is not sure B's necessarily the best fit for undergrad (echoing some of the hands-on vs. theoretical issues others have been discussing). DS also is starting to hear from teachers/mentors that he should seriously consider A or B, which may tilt his thinking a bit. We'll see. We have been tossing around names of places for a couple of years, mainly in the context of other folks we know who are going to X, Y, or Z (as well as A, B, C and D) and what kinds of opportunities might be there.</p>
<p>On the other hand, DS has come up with C and D, which are both excellent fits for his interests and inclinations. (Wish we could find more of them!) What has surprised me in this process is that DS is moving more towards very strong science/math schools that emphasize the liberal arts/humanities. Never would have expected that one!</p>
<p>We've visited six schools so far, mainly on family vacations. We are trying to get a handle on a Spring Break trip to visit schools that will provide interesting data points -- i.e., not that he may necessarily apply to, but that will help him clarify what it is he DOES want.</p>
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I have been fond of telling my sons, "You are free to go to any college you would like, but I am only paying for <em>C</em>." Does that seem like I'm giving off a vibe?
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<p>LOL. Yep, I would call that giving off a vibe. </p>
<p>In my local case, a guy two weeks ago told me that he thought I expected by son to apply to MIT (A, the first college everyone guesses about my preferences for my son) or Stanford (B). I think it is rather likely that he will apply to both of those colleges. But I think I think most often about Harvard (C), and indeed I think I post more messages on the Harvard college-specific forum than on any other college-specific forum on CC. I have no idea if my son will even apply there and I confess I was relieved that most other parents who know me didn't seem to think I was especially focused on Harvard--I do think it is my son's choice, and I don't want him to feel pressured to apply where he doesn't desire to attend. </p>
<p>Affordability is a whole 'nother issue. My wife and I are part of the minority of American parents who would rather spend on our children's higher education than on our own retirement, but that's just us. We hear of local kids with similar profiles to our son's getting full rides at the state university honors program, and it is a great relief to hear that news, as I think my son will be willing to apply there.</p>
<p>Tokenadult:</p>
<p>Colleges that S's mathy friends are happily attending: Harvard; MIT; Caltech; Duke; Princeton; Harvey Mudd; Chicago. Some of these give very nice merit aid.<br>
NB: This is not a comprehensive list of colleges with good math departments, by any means!</p>
<p>Just like Marite's son, DS#2 after being admitted EA to MIT last May decided that it was not for him. He too had the same thought process about whom he wanted his peers to be, opted to attend a school that was where "mathy" people attend but are not in the majority. His list of schools also included the ones Marite posted, MIT, CalTech, Duke, Princeton & Chicago, he was accepted to all but ended up at P'ton and seems to be enjoying himself very much!</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>ps Son did not decide until after he visited most of the schools near the top of his list.</p>
<p>Indeed, for the student who is admitted to more than one college (my son should be so lucky, as some parents say), then campus visits will be a crucial part of making the decision. My son sees the U of Minnesota at least once a week during the school year, so I guess he has some idea what that is like. Off-hand, I don't think he has seen very many other college campuses, except for summer programs that have never been farther northeast than central Pennsylvania, and never farther west than Colorado. </p>
<p>Best wishes to all of you parents who are in the "cone of silence" right now awaiting results.</p>
<p>Through my apprenticeship in NYC and days of owning a firm in the NYC and beyond, I really enjoyed working with Cornell and Cooper grads. Cooper grads especially, elevated my sensibility about materials, enhancing my practice. I used to con Cooper grads into coming out to work in my non-NYC office. They only lasted a few months but it was worth it.</p>
<p>I wish Cooper had been on my radar. We had good critques from their professors when I was at Columbia. I don't think I've met any Cornell grads. The three undergrad schools that seemed to produce the most impressive students at Columbia were USC, UWSL, and UVa.</p>
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I have been fond of telling my sons, "You are free to go to any college you would like, but I am only paying for <em>C</em>." Does that seem like I'm giving off a vibe?
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<p>That's not a vibe--that's a shock wave!</p>
<p>TokenAdult: From your posts, I would have guessed Harvard and then Stanford or MIT.</p>
<p>tokenadult. I would have guessed Harvard for sure.</p>
<p>Yeah, I post in the Harvard Forum because several of the young people on the math team I coach look like they could have a shot at getting into Harvard, but so far none have applied. (Our in-state university's honors program and merit scholarship plan has so far nabbed up all the alumni of our math team.) </p>
<p>I asked my son Sunday evening the question posed by this thread: what does he think I think are the other colleges he would be well advised to put on his application list. At first he said, "I don't know," seeming to be genuinely puzzled by the question, and then he said, "MIT and Caltech?" So I guess I can hide my thoughts pretty well from him every once in a while. I told him that I've been asking other adults about what they think I think since one friend in town told me what he thinks I think two weeks ago. Most of my local acquaintances don't know what CC forums I post in the most, and that is APPROXIMATELY weighted by which colleges I think would be most of interest to my son or to his math team teammates. (I probably post less on the Stanford or Princeton forums than my level of interest would warrant, for instance). But, yeah, looking at my CC posting record and applying the "action speaks louder than words" principle, I'm plainly very curious about Harvard.</p>
<p>Tokenadult,
I would have figured you for Harvard and MIT, followed by Princeton or Caltech.</p>
<p>Early on in the process, I wanted my S to get turned on to Carnegie-Mellon. We have more legacy connections there than you can believe.... BUT, we visited, he was not interested, and that was that.</p>
<p>But that turned out to be good news in two ways. First, I could not have afforded CMU. And second, he found a much better fit in terms of program and campus.</p>
<p>But even before he decided, I had done a lot of research (you would have thought it was <em>me</em> attending) and I had one picked out that I thought had the best program for him and best finances for me. I was pretty ecstatic when he chose that one as <em>his</em> favorite as well.</p>
<p>I pushed Emory for both my Ds. One looked and was interested but more interested in other schools. The other refused to look at any school in Atlanta. Both chose schools in the NE. It would have been nice for me if I could drive to their schools.</p>