<p>Hi,
My son has recently started focussing on Computer Science/Engineering for his area of study in college. I think he would thrive in the small class/lots of discussion atmosphere of a LAC. He has a 3.75 uw GPA with a 36 ACT; ranked about 11/480. He is a senior this year.
He also has a strong interest in History which might make school that requires a well-rounded course load good for him.</p>
<p>Any suggestions? Thanks very much!</p>
<p>Possibly Grinnell. Or Harvey Mudd/Pomona. I’m interested in responses because I have a rising junior interested in Comp Sci and languages (among other things).</p>
<p>Swarthmore would appear to fit the bill in terms of academic offerings and the basic stats you posted look like your son would be a plausible applicant.</p>
<p>[ul][li]A *Computer Science *department offering a major, a minor, an honors major, or an honor minor.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]An ABET-accredited Engineering department offering a BS in Engineering with an option for elective concentration in computer engineering.</p>[/li]
<p>[li]A lively History department with one of the school’s most popular professors who blogs about computer games, among other things.[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>There’s also a minor in Cognitive Science and an excellent Linguistics department, both of which can crossover with computer science. The links on the left side of the home page will take you to the various departments you asked about.</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> College :: Home](<a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu%5DSwarthmore”>http://www.swarthmore.edu)</p>
<p>Here are direct links to podcasts of several faculty lectures given by Swarthmore computer science profs (you can download or subscribe to the series in iTunes if you like):</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> College Faculty Lectures Blog Archive Creating a Curious Robot](<a href=“Faculty & Alumni Lectures :: News & Events :: Swarthmore College”>http://media.swarthmore.edu/faculty_lectures/?p=93)</p>
<p>[Swarthmore</a> College Faculty Lectures Blog Archive Induction of Multilingual Morphology with Minimal Supervision](<a href=“Faculty & Alumni Lectures :: News & Events :: Swarthmore College”>http://media.swarthmore.edu/faculty_lectures/?p=49)</p>
<p>Here’s the index to the gaming entries on History Professor Tim Burke’s blog:</p>
<p>[Easily</a> Distracted Games and Gaming](<a href=“Easily Distracted | Culture, Politics, Academia and Other Shiny Objects”>Easily Distracted | Culture, Politics, Academia and Other Shiny Objects)</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the great information, interesteddad. We will definitely take a closer look at Swarthmore, and I will pass those links onto my S.
Thanks again!</p>
<p>I thought your son might enjoy a taste of what these wild and crazy college professors are like. The podcast on creating a curious robot is pretty interesting.</p>
<p>And, Tim Burke (whom my daughter calls scary brilliant in the classroom) has blogs on World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, and Grand Theft Auto IV. Should be right up the alley of any red-blooded aspiring comp sci geek.</p>
<p>Here’s one more link:
[Bathtub</a> Debates](<a href=“http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6604225517800885058]Bathtub”>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6604225517800885058)</p>
<p>This is video of The Bathtub Debates. A debate among Swarthmore Professors (computer engineering, history, and economics) about whether if the world were ending, and only one could be saved, would a science, humanities, or social science professor be better to pass along all of human knowledge. Kind of gets at the heart of a learning across disciplines and it’s funny as heck. About 10% of the student body showed up and asked questions.</p>