<p>Hi. My son is a sophomore and I'm looking for college suggestions. Our in-state safety is fine (Purdue). He (and we) would prefer a smaller school, so he'll be applying to other schools also. Here's what we're looking for:</p>
<p>Medium size (or small)
Good Math program (he wants to get a PhD and be a college prof someday)
Student body - smart and quirky sums it up. Definitely not looking for a place where students are real interested in wearing just the right clothes or being cliquish.
Not religious
Not a 'party' school (doesn't have to be uptight, just the ability to have a social life that doesn't revolve around partying)
Not socially conservative (doesn't have to be a real politically active student body, but basic vibe should be more Jon Stewart than Rush Limbaugh...more civil rights than AK47 rights...more gays-are-people than ban-gay-marriage)
Good financial aid is a necessity - either a place that will give good merit money for his stats (see below), or a place that does a real good job of meeting EFC
Not real picky about large city, small city, location.<br>
Must be coed
Having a sailing program would be a nice bonus, but not necessary</p>
<p>I don't think he'll apply to the top schools (Ivy, top LAC's), so even though they have need based great aid, I don't think that's his answer.</p>
<p>I think his stats will be something like:
GPA: 3.5-3.6 UW 4.2-ish weighted
SAT: M790 CR 700 W700 (educated guess based in 8th SAT scores and sophomore PSAT scores - he'll prob do better in the two verbal sections, I guessed conservatively)
NMF (guessing - he qualified easily for NMSF his sophomore year, and his high school says just about every NMSF they've had became a finalist)
SAT II's - let's assume they'll be great in math & physics and good in a humanities category</p>
<p>EC's - not the president of the whatever club type, but an interesting and involved kid. He'll have some unusual activities that colleges will like, and some sports. A nice mix of sports, non-school activities, math geek stuff, social justice stuff, and environmental stuff.</p>
<p>Hi mom2collegekids - thanks for the reply! I know both the schools you mentioned are terrific schools, but I don’t think he will get into the most selective schools - I think we need to look at schools that are a little bit easier to get into. We probably will find at least one “dream reach” to apply to, and I will keep these in mind. </p>
<p>And yes, money is a concern, so he’ll need either strong merit somewhere, or a school that truly matches EFC (some don’t even pretend to come close!).</p>
<p>NYU may not be medium-sized, but it fits all the other criteria. The Courant Institute is renowned for its applied mathematics program, check it out.</p>
<p>UChicago, Harvey Mudd, Caltech. He sounds a lot like me! If he easily got NMSF sophomore year, he’ll get higher SATs than that, I think. Yes, he’ll need safeties, but he certainly has a chance at the top schools. If his essays are good, he’ll have an excellent chance anywhere. Rose Hulman is a bit easier to get into, but is supposed to be excellent. RPI and Williams would be good to look at. I wouldn’t worry about him not getting accepted. If he writes good essays, as in, writes so his personality comes through, he should be fine. A lot of those schools meet EFC, although for higher income students they usually include loans, and for some he has a good chance at nice merit aid.</p>
<p>If money is a concern, then he needs to target a few different types of schools.</p>
<p>1) Some schools that give assured BIG merit for stats (so that you’ll know that at a minimum he’ll have that financial help.)</p>
<p>2) Some schools that give assured BIG merit for NMF status.</p>
<p>3) Some schools that have “competitive” scholarships for stats and/or NMF status. Don’t apply to too many of these. They can be a pain and disappointing. They often require a student to travel (often at your expense) for interview weekends with only a small chance of winning. Some of these schools are ridiculous…they’ll invite a few hundred smart kid to “interview weekend” and only award 3 -10 scholarships. It’s just a way for a school to get a lot of top students on campus so that they can “sell” their school at minimal cost to themselves. Ugh!</p>
<p>4) Some schools that meet need without big loans. These tend to be the reach and “high reach” schools. Keep in mind that most of these schools use CSS Profile or their own forms, so your expected contribution from those schools may be higher than your FAFSA EFC. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that most OOS publics cannot meet need and most privates can’t meet need, either. Some can give big scholarships, but can’t give big financial aid. (FA is different from merit scholarships).</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that EFC is not the maximum a family has to pay. It’s a federal number and schools and states are not controlled by that. </p>
<p>*
NYU may not be medium-sized, but it fits all the other criteria.* </p>
<p>NYU doesn’t fit the criteria of needing aid. NYU is awful with aid and doesn’t come close to meeting need. They put huge Plus loans in nearly every package.</p>
<p>how accelerated is he in terms of the math classes he will have taken by the time he enrolls in college? </p>
<p>because as great as liberal arts colleges are, one thing few of them handle well is the highly or even moderately accelerated mathematics student. the curricular opportunities are rarely there, particularly if the student isnt interested in taking every upper-level math elective regardless of topic.</p>
<p>The University of Chicago meets many of your criteria.</p>
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<p>Admissions is very selective but less so than most of the Ivies (especially, I think, when it comes to sports and other ECs.) Their unusual essays are a distinctive feature.</p>
<p>Other schools to consider: Harvard, Brown, Wesleyan University. All of these should have decent sailing opportunities. Harvard for sure, especially if you’d be satisfied with their little girlie-man Charles River putt putt sailing. No merit scholarships at these schools, but probably better need-based aid than Chicago. Johns Hopkins does offer merit scholarships and puts you close to Chesapeake Bay sailing (perhaps the best in America unless you’re into serious ocean sailing).</p>
<p>mom2collegekids- thanks for all the great info. I’m not a newbie to financial aid - my oldest is a HS senior right now, and our experiences matched much of what your advice says. He applied to many schools with the hope of striking oil at one of them. Luckily he did, but for a EFC of about $6,500, his financial aid awards left him (us) responsible for between $13,000 and $35,000 per year (that would be Northeastern - LOL!)</p>
<p>ericatbucknell - he’s not out of this world advanced like some kids are. he’ll have AP Calc BC junior year, and then I think multivariable Calc senior year? As much as I love small schools, that often means LAC, and that’s why I’m asking about math programs. He’s not specifically looking for an LAC, but he does want small to medium (I’d call that 1,500-7,000).</p>
<p>tk21769 - U of Chicago sounds great. i guess I have that in my mind as a reach/dream for admission, but he will definitely apply to a couple far reaches. That one will be on the list to be considered.</p>
<p>Since you have a low EFC I would also look at Carleton and Reed. Both have good FA and have a high “geek factor” as DD2 put it.</p>
<p>And you know that the PSAT score as a sophomore doesn’t count for NMSF, right? It is a good indicator of how he’ll do in the fall for the real one, though.</p>
<p>Thanks JA12 - I will check into Lehigh. I’ve heard of it, but don’t know anything about it.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad - LOL “geek factor” - love it. I’ve heard of Carleton, and will check it out - it sounds like a good possibility. Reed has been recommended to me as well, and I’m very interested in it. Thanks for the good ideas!</p>
<p>And yes, i know sophomore PSAT doesn’t count, but that coupled with his 8th grade actual SAT scores, I think it’s likely he’ll score high enough to qualify when he takes it for real. Thanks for clarifying that important detail.</p>
<p>It’s refreshing to see posts by parents of smart kids who try to be realistic. I do think Chicago is a realistic reach. Harvard of course is more of a shoot the moon reach. </p>
<p>Carleton and Reed are excellent, though neither offers much if any merit aid. Another good one that many people will overlook is Rice University. Like Chicago, it graduates relatively many future math PhDs. Of all universities in the US News top 20, Rice has perhaps the most generous merit scholarship program. </p>
<p>What state are you in? St. Mary’s College of Maryland is a public LAC with a beautiful campus at the junction of the St. Mary’s River and Potomac River near the Chesapeake Bay. It is Maryland’s public honors college. SMCM has a very strong sailing program with a boathouse and docks right on the edge of campus (I mean, you could sail between classes it’s so convenient). Academics are good, too. So this might be an excellent safety school for your son (with respect to admissions, if not aid).</p>
<p>*And yes, i know sophomore PSAT doesn’t count, but that coupled with his 8th grade actual SAT scores, I think it’s likely he’ll score high enough to qualify when he takes it for real. Thanks for clarifying that important detail. *</p>
<p>A lighthearted tip…</p>
<p>During the weeks going up to the junior year PSAT…have your child take Vitamin C, drink OJ, get plenty of rest, etc. I’ve known a few students who did super on the PSAT for soph year, but weren’t feeling their best for their junior year PSAT test…so, their scores dropped enough that they didn’t make it. </p>
<p>Of course, anyone who is sick on PSAT day can contact NMCorp and make other arrangements.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I will check out Rice, St. Mary’s, Oberlin, Carleton, Reed, U of Rochester, and the ‘reachier’ ones too. It is great to hear from all of you with good ideas - my middle son is a completely different person than my oldest, so I am starting from scratch as far as compiling a list goes. Rice is one I need to check out - I’ve heard good things, but don’t know much about it.</p>
<p>We’re in Indiana by the way. And yes, there are sailors here - ha!</p>
<p>And wow - the sailing at St. Mary’s sound great!</p>