<p>My son is a junior. We have been using online searches to try to find colleges that are a good match for him, but would like some real input from real people! He is a math-science kind of guy and has attended CTY (Center for Talented Youth) summer programs for many years, and is now hoping to replicate the "CTY experience in college. He is looking for a college with small classes, lots of hands-on activities, discussions, etc. and of course a challenging academic environment with lots of other bright student. </p>
<p>The Ivy Leagues of course have bright students, but they also seem to have bigger classes, and classes taught by TAs. They also may not be realistic (his math SAT is 700). Any suggestions out there?</p>
<p>I'll assume he's interested in the smaller colleges or universities and my suggestions, off the top of my head, would be Kalamazoo College in MI --- math and science oriented with the K plan that emphasizes study abroad --- and Rhodes College, a small but mighty science powerhouse in Memphis. If you were willing to see him go far from home, I would suggest Occidental College in L.A. as well.</p>
<p>A math SAT of 700 is a tough call for Mudd. If he could raise it to 750+ then thats another thing. </p>
<p>Honestly though, Mudd sounds like a perfect fit given the criteria. But if that doesnt pan out, you could try University of Chicago, Reed, or Rose Hulman.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is much smaller. You're not likely to have any class taught by a TA there and classes are very small (only some of the intro classes are large- at most, maybe 100 people.) </p>
<p>Also, it's definitely possible to get in- it's just not very reliable. I wouldn't say it's a sure bet for anyone, but you can definitely try. I got into Dartmouth with a 760 Math II score and 750 Chem. One doesn't need straight 800's to get in.</p>
<p>beefs – Seiken's point, I believe, is that Harvey Mudd cares far more about the <i>math</i> score than many other schools, and less about Critical Reading. Yes, UChicago is a more competitive school, I don't think anyone's contesting that.</p>
<p>With that SAT score, University of Rochester might be a more realistic choice than Harvey Mudd, Dartmouth, or NU. </p>
<p>UR seems to meet your son's needs: small size, lots of bright students, great student:faculty ratio, no TAs (although there might be an occasional Graduate Teaching Fellow, who would be a PhD candidate interested in teaching at the college level), and a very flexible curriculum. The math department, in particular, offers lots of courses so students can focus in certain areas of math or take a more general approach.</p>
<p>Chicago's admit rate this year: 27.6% (am trying to find where/if they have released score data yet). Edit -- No 2012 data yet, but last year's middle 50% CR+M -- 1350-1510</p>
<p>The point is that Mudd and Chicago are very competitive in terms of stats, but are different in programs and emphasis. And, yes, a 700 would be low for Mudd, unless it's backed up by some serious math courses with excellent grades.</p>
<p>From a post of Mudd admission stats for this year's HS seniors:
Admit rate: 31%
CR+M middle 50% -- 1440-1570</p>
<p>LACs: Reed, Carleton, Grinnell, Williams, Mudd
Small/medium universities: CMU, UChicago (we know someone who was a CTY alum and found his people at Chicago)
Smaller engineering schools -- WPI, RPI, RIT, Olin, Cal Poly, Rose-Hulman</p>
<p>Does your S have some specific interests or school parameters? That might help us give you better suggestions.</p>
<p>Look up posts by Curmudgeon if you are interested in Rhodes. His D is there and haveing a fabulous experience.</p>
<p>I know exactly what you're talking about. My daughter and a couple of her friends have gone to CTY sessions the last two summers and as a senior this year one of her (maybe the main) criteria for a school was that it be "like CTY." Now we've gone through the summer college visits, the narrowing-down to the application list, the admittance decisions, and most recently the admitted students programs.</p>
<p>I've concluded when she said "like CTY" she meant:
1) getting in with a group of kids like her-I'm guessing your son is one of the geeky kids in school, which isn't generally appreciated as a cool thing to be among high school peers. CTY is a place where kids discover there are actually <em>a lot</em> of kids like them. out there; and </p>
<p>2) a place with a real sense of community. CTY camps, I'm sure you've learned, have tons of rituals and customs that create a sense of connectedness.</p>
<p>I found that translates for my daughter and her friends, for college, into smaller rather than larger schools (Caltech, Bryn Mawr, and Olin > MIT and large state universities), maybe (but not absolutely) rather narrowly focused (Mudd > Dartmouth), and liberal but with some diversity in the student body (Carleton, Mudd and the 5C's > Reed, where everyone seems to be different...in exactly the same way!).</p>
<p>I don't think your son needs to get into an extremely rigorous school to find what he's looking for, though. To me, CTY love seems a lot more about finding your tribe than absolute academic intensity. Oh, and PS-my daughter heard loud and clear at Caltech that if you've only gone through AP Calc BC, you don't really know what math is yet. Unless your son dreams in vector calculus, and some kids seem to, approach these schools with eyes wide open.</p>
<p>A math-liking student who is a current junior still has time to apply to math summer programs other than CTY. They will help him meet other students and discuss with them his college goals. Most use an application quiz as a way to screen applicants. The application quizzes are interesting math challenges. </p>
<p>DD2 is also interested in Math in college. I got these from previous posts:
Post 1)
LACs for math from Rugg's:
Bates
Bowdoin
Bucknell
Carleton
Colgate
Dartmouth
Davidson
Dickinson
Harvey Mudd
Holy Cross
Kenyon
Mount Holyoke
Occidental
Pomona
Rice
St Mary's (MD)
St Olaf
Trinity (CT)
Union
Wabash
Wellesley
Wheaton
Whitman
Willamette</p>
<p>Post 2)
Rice<em>, Caltech</em>, Bates, Whitman, Wesleyan, Trinity (CT), Pomona, Bowdoin, Bucknell, Kenyon, Holy Cross, Harvey Mudd, Dickinson, Carleton, Colgate, Reed, Swarthmore, Grinnell, St. Olaf, Bryn Mawr, Union, Lawrence U, and Davidson.</p>
<p>Williams has a fantastic math department and an Oxford-style tutorial program for upper-level classes (two students, one teacher).</p>
<p>If he is interested in combining math with social science study, he might want to consider the Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS) program at Northwestern. I don't have a link but a quick google will reveal it.</p>