<p>Hi, I live in the Northeast and I'm looking to stay here, but I can't figure out which schools to apply to. I'm looking at all of the NESCACs seriously, but I know I want to major in some sort of science, so could anyone enlighten me on the science programs at these schools? I've heard good things about Bowdoin's science department.</p>
<p>By “northeast” are you including the mid-Atlantic? Have you checked out Swarthmore?</p>
<p>And what do you mean by “science department”? If you had a specific science discipline(s) in mind, people might be able to comment on areas of strength (maybe botany at Connecticut College or astronomy at Haverford), though for the most part LACs will not offer the breadth or depth of specialization you get at larger schools.</p>
<p>Interested in this as well</p>
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You can probably get a very good general science/math education at any NESCAC school, including Bowdoin. However, different schools have larger or smaller science/math programs, depending on school size, school wealth, and level of student interest. There will be differences in the number of fellow science majors, the number of faculty, the variety of elective courses, and the opportunities for research. These differences may or may not be important to you, depending on how specialized you expect your undergraduate study to become. More is not necessarily better (if it was, no one would be considering LACs at all). </p>
<p>The leading NESCAC school overall, in terms of the most majors, tenure-track faculty, course offerings, and resources in science/math, is probably Williams. This does not mean that Williams is automatically the best choice for a prospective science/math major. However, you might consider using Williams as a benchmark if you are looking at the departmental offerings of other schools. Note that some NESCAC schools are smaller than Williams, and that others are larger. </p>
<p>In the Mid-Atlantic area, Swarthmore is probably the top science/math LAC. Swarthmore is smaller than Williams; however, it also has an engineering program. </p>
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Unfortunately, that’s a handicap. In general, college applicants in the Northeast are considered both the most qualified and the most “provincial” in the country; they are the least likely to consider schools outside of their own backyard. However, top schools usually place some value on geographic diversity. Every top school in MA/CT/NJ/NY/PA is deluged with highly qualified applicants from MA/CT/NJ/NY/PA, – but they don’t want to fill their entire class with such applicants. So the competition among northeastern applicants is particularly intense. </p>
<p>In theory, students from the Northeast could turn the geographic diversity factor to their advantage by also applying to top school in other parts of the country; for example, schools like Carleton, Grinnell, or Harvey Mudd would be excellent choices for non-Northeast science/math LACs. In practice, though, they rarely seem to do this.</p>
<p>Oh, I don’t know about that. Wesleyan and Williams appear to have the same number of tenure track faculty:</p>
<p>[Wesleyan</a> University Physics Department](<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/physics/default.html]Wesleyan”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/physics/default.html)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.williams.edu/Physics/[/url]”>http://www.williams.edu/Physics/</a></p>
<p>But, Wesleyan has about half the number of majors. In my book, that translates to a much better faculty/student ratio at Wesleyan.</p>
<p>Oberlin is also well known for its science programs. It’s not in the northeast but attracts a large portion of its student body from the northeast.</p>
<p>Wesleyan and Haverford are probably tops in science for LACs. They represent the extremes in LAC size (Wes 2,800 and Haverford 1,100) but both have excellent programs. I’m fairly certain Wesleyan’s size gives it a course breadth advantage over most, if not all, of the other LACs (including Williams) and will have at least as many faculty as any other LACs in the sciences. </p>
<p>but in general, like you said, all of the NESCAC schools will have good science programs, plus schools like Swarthmore and Haverford. I would also keep in mind other aspects of the school, like location, calendar (semester vs. 4-1-4), and core vs. open curriculum (Amherst and Wesleyan).</p>
<p>Might look at Holy Cross-very good science reputation with new science building. HC has nice campus and is 1 hour from Boston. Holy Cross also has strong pre-med program.</p>
<p>
By my count, Williams actually has slightly more tenure-track science/math faculty than Wesleyan does, even though Wesleyan has about 40% higher enrollment overall. The difference is mostly due to the greater numbers of math and computer science profs at Williams; the science depts have similar faculty numbers. </p>
<p>
Not exactly. In relative terms, it’s true that Wesleyan has a much smaller proportion of math/science majors. Based on 2008-09 Common Data Sets, the percentage of math/sci majors was about 25.2% at Williams, and only 15.2% at Wesleyan. </p>
<p>But Wesleyan has a much larger total enrollment, so the difference in absolute terms is not that great. Based on 2008-09 CDS, I count 145 science/math majors at Wesleyan and 178 at Williams. Most of the difference reflects the higher number of math and computer science majors at Williams. </p>
<p>
No, this does not appear to be the case. Williams has slightly more math/science majors, but also slightly more faculty, so the difference in faculty/student ratio is probably not great. Furthermore, it would likely diminish or disappear if the Wesleyan graduate students in math/science (who also require faculty attention) were added in. </p>
<p>So (while this is admittedly subjective), I would still peg Williams as the leading NESCAC math/science school, in terms of number of faculty, number of majors, and amount of money. Williams is one of the best endowed LACs to begin with, and the science/math departments presumably can lay claim to an unusually high percentage of the budget, because they enroll an unsually high percentage of majors.</p>
<p>Again, this does not mean that Williams is automatically the best choice for math/science majors, or that there aren’t excellent math/science opportunities at Wesleyan or other NESCAC schools. Other factors will affect your undergraduate experience as much or more than the number of faculty or course offerings.</p>
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</p>
<p>Not according to The Washington Monthly:
[Washington</a> Monthly](<a href=“http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings/liberal_arts_rank.php]Washington”>http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/rankings/liberal_arts_rank.php)
According to its 2009 college ranking (based on their decidedly subjective definition of “contribution to society”), Wesleyan spends twice as much as Williams on research, far in excess of what could be explained by any difference in student enrollment.</p>
<p>[BTW, congratulations on the appointment of David Falk, Dean of A&S at JHU, as Williams’ 17th President. Well played!]</p>
<p>Carleton, Grinnell and Mudd are great suggestions if you want to venture west. Grinnell is marginally one of the least selective of the schools mentioned so far, but one of the richest. I don’t hear anyone say anything negative about it except the word “Iowa”. There are a few other good ones out west, too.</p>
<p>You may also want to check out small, LAC-like universities like Dartmouth or William & Mary. All these places should be close enough in quality to safely choose based on personal preferences (not to mention, where you can get in.) Noting the OP’s handle … is ice hockey a factor?</p>
<p>Haverford has an exceptional life sciences program, though it’s not a NESCAC school.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that Williams has the strong math program.</p>
<p>Swarthmore is the only premiere LAC with an engineering program, and it also offers the honors track, if you’re gutsy.</p>
<p>Holy Cross just opened a new $60 million dollar science complex in January 2009.</p>