Math/Theoretical CS major: Match schools?

@CrewDad, OP specifically mentioned “If this helps, I think I’d prefer a school on the extreme metropolitan end (NYU, BU) over extreme rural areas, all other factors remaining constant”, so no neither Wesleyan, Vassar nor Bates meet that criteria - it is not a value judgement as they are not on the “extreme metropolitan end”.

In posting #16, OP simply said “not sure about the location”. You were the one that dragged in the partial description of Hamilton from PR. It was only after the the OP qualified her thoughts with the “extreme metropolitan end” that I mentioned that many schools have city locations that aren’t seen by students as amenities; another great one is Notre Dame - I have a niece and nephew that recently graduated and they can attest that no one spent any time in South Bend.

@VaporeonKid, I forgot to add that the author of the * Huffington Post * article is a Hamilton alumna. I’m impressed that she included “Hamilton college is easily the best” in the hyperlink.

Here’s another virtual tour site:
https://www.campustours.com/

@CrewDad Without noticing the URL, even I could notice her carefully placed enthusiasm around Hamilton specifically!

@Alexandre Thanks for the suggestion! I’ve been somewhat looking into UMichigan for some time now, but quite unsure about its size: I (personally) don’t think it’s worth it to pay similar tuition for introductory classes with hundreds of other students in a public school compared to smaller sections of lectures in a LAC/small to medium-sized university. Do you have any experiences/stories that you think might help me place how well I ‘fit in’ at UMich?

@CrewDad, funny article! Here’s the Princeton Review list of Colleges that Pay You Bank - this may be relevant to the OP as well as there are a couple NESCAC schools on the top 50 list. Most importantly, there are schools on the “extreme metropolitan end” that may be a fit for the OP.

Top 50 - Colleges That Pay You Back
These fifty schools received our highest ROI rating, ranked in order.

1 Princeton University

2 Stanford University

3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

4 Harvey Mudd College

5 California Institute of Technology

6 Harvard College

7 Yale University

8 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

9 University of California--Berkeley

10 Amherst College

11 Duke University

12 University of Virginia

13 Rice University

14 Brown University

15 Dartmouth College

16 Vanderbilt University

17 Colgate University

18 Brigham Young University

19 Cornell University

I#20 University of Chicago

21 Hamilton College

22 University of California--Los Angeles

23 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor

24 Columbia University

25 Williams College

26 Haverford College

27 Washington University in St. Louis

28 Carleton College

29 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

30 University of Pennsylvania

31 Tufts University

32 Claremont McKenna College

33 Bowdoin College

34 Swarthmore College

35 Carnegie Mellon University

36 Worcester Polytechnic Institute

37 Pomona College

38 Wabash College

39 Johns Hopkins University

40 Grinnell College

41 Reed College

42 Emory University

43 Lafayette College

44 Case Western Reserve University

45 University of California--Santa Barbara

46 Babson College

47 University of California--San Diego

48 University of Richmond

49 New College of Florida

50 Union College (NY)

@Chembiodad Notre Dame is an interesting suggestion—I’ve always been under the impression that school culture at ND is very jock/athletic-dominated? At least the people I know who choose to go there have seemed that type. Care to elaborate on why you think it might be a good suggestion (outside of the metropolitan location)?

@Chembiodad Funny thing about that list you posted—about 3/4ths of the schools on my list are among those ranks. Guess I can say I’m making somewhat of a smart investment? :smiley:

OP, if you looking for “suburban/small town/borderline city-type areas” then Swarthmore and Haverford/Bryn Mawr would both meet that criteria, as would Boston College and Wellesley…

If you like some features of Michigan but balk at the OOS sticker price, then you might also want to consider Wisconsin (Madison) or Colorado (Boulder). Both are located in vibrant college towns. For a public LAC in a beautiful location, consider New College of Florida, which offers merit scholarships to OOS students (https://www.ncf.edu/admissions/cost-and-aid/scholarships/out-of-state-freshmen/). It seems to be less selective as well as less expensive than many colleges we’ve discussed above (so might make a good low match/safety if you want to go small).

@VaporeonKid, another great choice could be Wash U, an amazing STEM school and stunning campus on the edge of St. Louis - and #27 on the Colleges That Pay You Back so money well spent.

Regarding the other NESCAC schools, Bowdoin has a great math department and is located in a cute town called Brunswick - its not like being in a suburb as its small town USA, but there are restaurants, a coffee shop, etc. Hamilton has a similar small town next door called Clinton, but its much, much smaller. - that said Utica Coffee Company is pretty yummy.

@VaporeonKid, ND is an amazing academic environment that yes has a ton of school spirit, both around the school itself and the highly ranked sports teams - not certain that its jockey as given its a D1 school not that many students are involved in sports; smaller schools have a much larger % of student athletes so may have a more jockey vibe - I know the NESCAC’s are fairly jockey as the conference is one of the strongest in D3. ND is largely Republican and fairly conservative, although neither my niece or nephew are either and they both enjoyed it a lot.

Here’s what students said on Princeton Review about ND - I think it fits:

See what students say:

Academics
Notre Dame has many traditions, including a “devotion to undergraduate education” you might not expect from a school with such an athletic reputation. Professors here are, by all accounts, “wonderful”: “Not only are they invested in their students,” they’re “genuinely passionate about their fields of study,” “enthusiastic and animated in lectures,” and “always willing to meet outside of class to give extra help.” Wary that distance might breed academic disengagement, professors ensure “large lectures are broken down into smaller discussion groups once a week to help with class material and…give the class a personal touch.” For its part, “the administration tries its best to stay on top of the students’ wants and needs.” They make it “extremely easy to get in touch with anyone.” Like the professors, administrators try to make personal connections with students. For example, “our president (a priest), as well as both of our presidents emeritus, make it a point to interact with the students in a variety of ways—teaching a class, saying mass in the dorms, etc.” Overall, “while classes are difficult,” “students are competitive against one another,” and “it’s necessary to study hard and often, [but] there’s also time to do other things.”

Student Body
Undergrads at Notre Dame report “the vast majority” of their peers are “very smart” “white kids from upperto middle-class backgrounds from all over the country, especially the Midwest and Northeast.” The typical student “is a type-A personality that studies a lot, yet is athletic and involved in the community. They are usually the outstanding seniors in their high schools,” the “sort of people who can talk about the BCS rankings and Derrida in the same breath.” Additionally, something like “85 percent of Notre Dame students earned a varsity letter in high school.” “Not all are Catholic” here, though most are, and it seems that most undergrads “have some sort of spirituality present in their daily lives.” “ND is slowly improving in diversity concerning economic backgrounds, with the university’s policy to meet all demonstrated financial need.” As things stand now, those who “don’t tend to fit in with everyone else hang out in their own groups made up by others like them (based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.).”

Campus Life
Life at Notre Dame is centered around two things—“residential life” and “sports.” The “dorms on campus provide the social structure” and supply undergrads with tons of opportunities to get involved and have fun. “During the school week” students “study a lot, but on the weekends everyone seems to make up for the lack of partying during the week.” The school “does not have any fraternities or sororities, but campus is not dry, and drinking/partying is permitted within the residence halls.” The administration reportedly tries “to keep the parties on campus due to the fact that campus is such a safe place and they truly do care about our safety.” In addition to parties the dorms are really competitive in the Interhall Sport System, and “virtually every student plays some kind of sport [in] his/her residence hall.” Intercollegiate sports, to put it mildly, “are huge.” “If someone is not interested in sports upon arrival, he or she will be by the time he or she leaves.” “Everybody goes to the football games, and it’s common to see 1,000 students at a home soccer game.” Beyond residential life and sports, “religious activities,” volunteering, “campus publications, student government, and academic clubs round out the rest of ND life.”

@VaporeonKid, You indicated that you intend to go to graduate school directly after undergrad.
Smith may be of interest. If you plan on touring Amherst, which you should, Smith is a short drive away. Amherst and Smith students can take CS/math at UMass though the 5 college consortium.

Amherst and Northampton are vibrant college towns.
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/06/education/the-big-ten-of-college-towns.html?pagewanted=all

http://cs.smith.edu/BayStateFellowship.php

This analysis, compiled by @ucbalumnus, should help you sort through the CS offerings at smaller colleges:

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/math-computer-science-majors/1814245-computer-science-at-some-smaller-schools-including-liberal-arts-colleges-p2.html

The only notable omission I noticed is that hardware courses may be offered through physics departments, and in some cases will not be included. However, it would also be important to review current course catalogs for recent changes.

Personally, I’ve always thought the working class section of Middletown was one of its biggest draws. In the space of a spring (which arrives early in southern New England) afternoon, sipping coffee in an array of Mom n’ Pop run stores, you are apt to see mothers with baby strollers, Iraq vets, students from the nearby community college, and livery drivers, all stopping to enjoy a glimpse of the sun. It’s a very life affirming experience and a welcome escape from the ivory tower. Not too big; not too small. Here are a few of the places you can visit in the former county seat that are within a stone’s throw of campus:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g33837-Activities-Middletown_Connecticut.html

@circuitrider, understand the emerging vibe of working class Middletown and obviously Wesleyan is a great math/CS school, but I didn’t think that’s what OP clarified she was looking for when she said “suburban/small town/borderline city-type areas”. That said, its a great NESCAC school.

OP, not certain if you access to PR so here’s Wesleyan University https://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1023852/college/wesleyan-university

@Vaporeonkid. The analysis compiled by ucbalumnus is at least two years old. Most LACs have expanded their CS departments in recent years.

Chem - I think the OP is quite capable of speaking for themselves.

@VaporeonKid, Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium (LACS)
With the support of a grant from the Sloan Foundation, nine computer scientists from liberal arts colleges came together in October, 1984 to form the Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium (LACS) and to create a model curriculum appropriate for liberal arts colleges. The initial membership included; Allegheny, Amherst, Bowdoin, Colgate, Denison, Grinnell, Hamilton, Swarthmore, Vassar, Washington & Lee, Williams. Over the years the membership has grown and changed, but the focus has remained on helping to establish and maintain high-quality computer science programs in liberal arts colleges.

@VaporeonKid, if you haven’t already seen, another great place for student feedback is College Niche. When reviewing each school, if you scroll down to the bottom you’ll see reviews on Academics, Campus, Food, Heath & Safety, Overall Experience, Party Scene, Student Life, and Value - our DD’s liked these reviews a lot when searching for schools.