Here is the data for Hyde Park. While the crime has fallen and the UChicago campus is pretty safe, the Hyde Park neighborhood still suffers a crime rate about 70 percent higher than average for the country.
@agatha1939 OP, one thing to consider when you are contacting the LGBTQ centers on campus is to look at if they are primarily support focused (ex: events like “LGBTQ Discussion: Exploring Homophobia on Campus”) or if they are more social (ex: “Friday Night Sappho Party! Everyone welcome!”) or a mix of both.
Hello everyone, thanks for the continuous conversation in this thread, every day I get more and more information. As an update, it seems S and I will be able to visit MN next week already, so I should have some news very soon. S is working hard contacting all colleges and programs he’s interested in and he’s very excited about his first college trip.
@PetraMC S has contacted some LGBTQ centers of the schools he thinks he will apply, so far the return has been good. You are right that some clubs are very social and don’t do a lot of work at campus, maybe because they don’t think it’s necessary anymore? So far, S is happy with his findings, although I still worry a lot about the location of some schools, especially if he really decides to attend a small LAC. But so far so good, it’s still the beginning of his search and hopefully once we visit some schools I will feel more comfortable.
@morningside95 this is very good information, I didn’t know about the Macalester consortium. I like this school (on paper at least), and it’s located in the city, perfect for me. I’ll ask S to research more about this.
When you visit Macalester be prepared that while the campus is self-cotained (not spread along a street for example) and the buildings are in good shape, they don’t all match and the campus doesn’t look stereotypically perfect ivy covered with old brick buildings. They are a bit of a mix in terms of era built. There are some stunning new buildings on the interior, particulary the new science building and the new auditorium. There are lots of nice restaurants nearby. Grand Avenue is the best street for that sort of thing all along it’s length toward downtown St. Paul.
@agatha1939 - Best place for a quick and delicious bite to eat close to Macalester. Right on Grand Avenue - Cafe Latte http://www.cafelatte.com/
Oh that’s like a mile away! But you’d get to see Grand Ave. French Meadow is much closer.
@LBowie - Good tip! @agatha1939 - There are some really cute restaurants and shops, right next to the Macalester Campus!
There are a lot of other nice places to the east, along that same street, Grand Avenue, so to check out the overall neighborhood, drive west on Grand, and when you are almost to the end, go north on Dale Ave for a few blocks, continue east again, when you get to Selby Avenue, and the stop for a few minutes to poke your head into the St. Paul Cathedral. It looks very different on the inside than the outside.
From there, head back west s/w, on Summit Avenue, which is “grander” than Grand Avenue, with many 19th century homes, including a row house where F. Scott Fitzgerald once lived: 599 Summit Ave, St Paul, MN 55102. Continue west on Summit and you’ll run into St Thomas University (part of the consortium), west of Macalester.
Grand Avenue and Summit Ave run parallel, a few blocks apart, and area only about 4 miles long, each. Even though I live in Minneapolis, I always take visitors to this area, as it’s one of my favorite parts of the Twin Cities. Of course we’d love it if you could head over to our side of town, to check out the “Lakes” area, southwest of downtown Minneapolis. Check out the walking paths of Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. THEN head south and enjoy your visits to St Olaf and Carleton.
Note: I know you mentioned about coming next week. Macalester’s commencement is this Sunday 5/13 and St. Thomas is Sat 5/20. (I know bc my DH is getting a graduate degree that day!) St Olaf commencement is 5/28 and Carleton is not until June 10th, as they have a trimester schedule. So 3 of these 4 schools will be in session while you visit!
Enjoy your tour of our fair State!
Here’s your other thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1988976-need-lac-suggestions-for-future-nate-silver-kid-p1.html
@doschicos - That’s the original thread, never lost. This is a post-trip follow-up thread which was posted earlier this morning, then disappeared.
Might be better to keep it all together. 
@doshicos I will copy it on my original thread too, it was just an update on where we are now in this search (same place as before haha).
Hello everyone, I’m just copying here my follow-up thread about the trips S and I will start doing now to visit/choose schools for him to apply. Thanks again for everyone who helped me with suggestions and ideas, they really helped a lot!
Hello everyone, my son and I are back from our first very quick trip and I decided to start a new thread. We went to MN and unfortunately did not have time to stop in Chicago on the way back, but we are planning to go there some time during summer/fall.
We flew into Minneapolis and then drove to Northfield, a quiet small town, more rural than I expected. We visited St Olaf in the morning, the campus is beautiful, lots of trees and fields, my son loved it. He talked to a few students and they were all – without exception – very nice and friendly. S talked to a professor who could not have been nicer and accessible, they talked about ways that S could have an interdisciplinary major with math and social sciences. They also discussed the school’s music program and S was very excited about joining an ensemble there. He liked the school but tbh I was expecting him to love it and I don’t think he did.
We went to Carleton in the afternoon and contrary to his impression from online reviews, S liked Carleton. It’s more diverse than St Olaf and it has a beautiful campus. Carleton has a math/statistics track already and is planning a statistics-only major starting in 2019 which my S really liked. He talked to a few students in the math department and they were very nice and S didn’t feel kids would be competitive. He met with a professor who was very attentive and they discussed ID options. He was OK with the music department (thinks St Olaf’s is better), but the academic choices at Carleton offered more variety.
The next day we visited Macalester and U of Minnesota. Macalester was my favourite on paper because of its location, right in the city. The campus is small and very compact, not very pretty but S said having the city close by was an advantage for when he got bored. Academically, I thought it was something between St Olaf and Carleton, although math at St Olaf is probably stronger. S met with a professor in the math department and went through its catalog, he said it was good (they also offer stats). For some reason though, he was not very excited about the school and didn’t even want to visit its music department (which shows he was not too serious about it).
After lunch we went to U of Minnesota. BIG university, lots of students. Middle of the city (not rural) which I like. S visited the stats department and talked to a few grad students, they were very nice and answered his questions. We couldn’t meet with a professor (quite different from the LACs) but S and adm went through the course list and there were many options regardless of the level he would start at, including grad classes if required. There is an ID where he could combine 3 areas of concentration and create a new major (similar to what LACs offer). Later, S went to music department and met a few kids there, they said there are ensembles with and without auditions, so it would be easy to join one if he really wanted.
While S was talking to some students, I met another parent visiting her sophomore son and we talked a little, she mentioned classes were very big during his first year and access to professors was difficult. Also, there was no space enough in some classes so he had to get into wait lists. She mentioned her son was not part of the honors program though, so that may be a difference? (I am assuming my S has a chance to be accepted in Honors). There is also (strong?) Greek life which my S doesn’t like at all (neither do I), but I am not sure how much impact it has on the campus.
So this is where we are now… S liked St Olaf, but preferred Carleton and U of Minnesota (huge surprise). He was a little concerned with Carleton’s small size and location (which he said he wanted before) but was also worried about U of Minnesota big classes, TAs, waiting lists and Greek life. He is still undecided on what kind of school he prefers… sigh.
In any case, this trip helped him to refine a few of his requirements and now he wants:
-stats option (major ideal, but at least minor/concentration). He says this a requirement, he doesn’t want to go to schools that offer math only.
-strong social sciences program (pol, econ, psy, etc) and possibility to have an ID major with stats
-smart and intellectual kids who are not competitive/mean
-cold weather
-no Greek life/small impact on the school. He’s OK with sports (likes to watch games)
So far his list of LACs (heavily revised) has:
-St Olaf and Carleton (visited both, St Olaf is a maybe)
-Macalester (it’s a maybe, S is not very excited about it)
-Amherst (has stats and part of consortium)
-Williams (has stats and tutorials)
-Haverford (doesn’t have stats but it’s part of consortium). S doesn’t want Swarthmore (which could be a good option)
-Mayne colleges (??? - he doesn’t know much about them yet)
-Grinnel and Kenyon (has stats but conservative areas?)
Universities he wants to research more:
-U of Minnesota (visited and liked well enough)
-U of Wisconsin (Greek life? Party school?)
-U of Chicago (to be honest he’s not very excited about it, but it has some pull)
-U of Michigan (likes PPE and Data Science programs)
-CMU (likes the Behavior Economics program, not sure about the students)
-Northwestern University (MMSS) and Dartmouth (QSS): S loves these 2 programs, especially MMSS, but is not really interested in attending either (strong Greek life?)… but we will check NU when visiting U Chicago.
I don’t think any of the above schools can be really considered a match, maybe U of MN? And I don’t see any safeties in this list as well, so he still has a lot of work to do.
Any thoughts?
With respect to fraternities and sororities, big universities can have a big scene in absolute numbers, but only a small percentage of students. For example, University of Minnesota probably has about 1,000 sorority and fraternity members, enough to fill a number of houses, but that only represents 3% of the undergraduate population. University of Wisconsin has a bigger scene, but it is still only about 8-9% of the undergraduate population.
You can check percentages in fraternities and sororities in the campus life tab of the college’s entry on http://www.collegedata.com . However, not all colleges report that, and there may be unrecognized fraternities and sororities at some schools.
Well, at least your son is finding that his impressions while on campus vary from his impressions reading about schools. I think that your trip seemed informative and helpful from several perspectives and will hopefully make your son more open to looking at other schools he might have written off on paper based on something nebulous rather than strengths of academic interest and other areas of potential fit. Sounds like a big step in the right direction!
Beware of nomenclature. My son majored in statistics at MIT but it’s called Applied Mathematics, which is a very common major even at schools which don’t appear to have an official “Statistics” major. At many of these colleges (Brown for example) it is very easy to do interdisciplinary work and there are lots of professors officially attached to the math department who hold dual appointments in the social sciences or in other institutes/centers within the university.
Don’t get caught in the trap of needing a Statistics major if the real interest is in the application of quantitative analysis to political, economic, or social issues- which can be done at virtually any big college.
@blossom That’s a good point, I did see many more schools offering Applied Maths than Stats as a major, not sure if S is aware of this but I will make sure to mention to him as well. Very interesting what you said about Brown professors holding dual appointments in social sciences and math, that sounds something my S would like to know too. Thanks!
Sooo… my first-time trying to post this thread failed for some reason and it disappeared, so I will post it again, hopefully this time it’s fine.
Hello everyone, my son and I are back from our first very quick trip and I decided to start a new thread. We went to MN and unfortunately did not have time to stop in Chicago on the way back, but we are planning to go there some time during summer/fall.
We flew into Minneapolis and then drove to Northfield, a quiet small town, more rural than I expected. We visited St Olaf in the morning, the campus is beautiful, lots of trees and fields, my son loved it. He talked to a few students and they were all – without exception – very nice and friendly. S talked to a professor who could not have been nicer and accessible, they talked about ways that S could have an interdisciplinary major with math and social sciences. They also discussed the school’s music program and S was very excited about joining an ensemble there. He liked the school but tbh I was expecting him to love it and I don’t think he did.
We went to Carleton in the afternoon and contrary to his impression from online reviews, S liked Carleton. It’s more diverse than St Olaf and it has a beautiful campus. Carleton has a math/statistics track already and is planning a statistics-only major starting in 2019 which my S really liked. He talked to a few students in the math department and they were very nice and S didn’t feel kids would be competitive. He met with a professor who was very attentive and they discussed ID options. He was OK with the music department (thinks St Olaf’s is better), but the academic choices at Carleton offered more variety.
The next day we visited Macalester and U of Minnesota. Macalester was my favourite on paper because of its location, right in the city. The campus is small and very compact, not very pretty but S said having the city close by was an advantage for when he got bored. Academically, I thought it was something between St Olaf and Carleton, although math at St Olaf is probably stronger. S met with a professor in the math department and went through its catalog, he said it was good (they also offer stats). For some reason though, he was not very excited about the school and didn’t even want to visit its music department (which shows he was not too serious about it).
After lunch we went to U of Minnesota. BIG university, lots of students. Middle of the city (not rural) which I like. S visited the stats department and talked to a few grad students, they were very nice and answered his questions. We couldn’t meet with a professor (quite different from the LACs) but S and adm went through the course list and there were many options regardless of the level he would start at, including grad classes if required. There is an ID where he could combine 3 areas of concentration and create a new major (similar to what LACs offer). Later, S went to music department and met a few kids there, they said there are ensembles with and without auditions, so it would be easy to join one if he really wanted.
While S was talking to some students, I met another parent visiting her sophomore son and we talked a little, she mentioned classes were very big during his first year and access to professors was difficult. Also, there was no space enough in some classes so he had to get into wait lists. She mentioned her son was not part of the honors program though, so that may be a difference? (I am assuming my S has a chance to be accepted in Honors). There is also (strong?) Greek life which my S doesn’t like at all (neither do I), but I am not sure how much impact it has on the campus.
So this is where we are now… S liked St Olaf, but preferred Carleton and U of Minnesota (huge surprise). He was a little concerned with Carleton’s small size and location (which he said he wanted before) but was also worried about U of Minnesota big classes, TAs, waiting lists and Greek life. He is still undecided on what kind of school he prefers… sigh.
In any case, this trip helped him to refine a few of his requirements and now he wants:
-stats option (major ideal, but at least minor/concentration). He says this a requirement, he doesn’t want to go to schools that offer math only.
-strong social sciences program (pol, econ, psy, etc) and possibility to have an ID major with stats
-smart and intellectual kids who are not competitive/mean
-cold weather
-no Greek life/small impact on the school. He’s OK with sports (likes to watch games)
So far his list of LACs (heavily revised) has:
-St Olaf and Carleton (visited both, St Olaf is a maybe)
-Macalester (it’s a maybe, S is not very excited about it)
-Amherst (has stats and part of consortium)
-Williams (has stats and tutorials)
-Haverford (doesn’t have stats but it’s part of consortium). S doesn’t want Swarthmore (which could be a good option)
-Mayne colleges (??? - he doesn’t know much about them yet)
-Grinnel and Kenyon (has stats but conservative areas?)
Universities he wants to research more:
-U of Minnesota (visited and liked well enough)
-U of Wisconsin (Greek life? Party school?)
-U of Chicago (to be honest he’s not very excited about it, but it has some pull)
-U of Michigan (likes PPE and Data Science programs)
-CMU (likes the Behavior Economics program, not sure about the students)
-Northwestern University (MMSS) and Dartmouth (QSS): S loves these 2 programs, especially MMSS, but is not really interested in attending either (strong Greek life?)… but we will check NU when visiting U Chicago.
I don’t think any of the above schools can be really considered a match, maybe U of MN? And I don’t see any safeties in this list as well, so he still has a lot of work to do.
Any thoughts?
Agatha1939, Haverford has stats. They have a variety of concentrations within math and it looks like a stats minor.
https://www.haverford.edu/academics/mathematics-and-statistics-major-minor-and-concentration
https://www.haverford.edu/mathematics-and-statistics/academic-programs
Here is an almost complete list of centers and institutes at Brown and by my rough count, there are at least 10 of them which could interest your son. Note that these are NOT majors or undergrad courses- but it shows you the wide range of interdisciplinary work being done by faculty-- and virtually all of these centers and institutes require an analytical/quantitative/statistical component:
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Center for Environmental Health and Technology Research
Centers for Epidemiology and Environmental Health
Center for Evidence Synthesis in Health
Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research
Center for Health Equity Research
Center for the Study of Children at Risk
Center for Vision Research
Institute for Brain Science
International Health Institute
Center for Biomedical Engineering
Center for Geometric Computing
Center for Computational Molecular Biology (CCMB)
Center for Fluid Mechanics, Turbulence and Computation
Graphics and Visualization Center
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES)
Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM)
Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation (IMNI)
The Lefschetz Center for Dynamical Systems
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
Center for Contemporary South Asia
Center for Statistical Sciences
Center for Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA)
Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice
The Education Alliance
Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
Initiative in Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences
John Carter Brown Library
Population Studies and Training Center
Social Science Research Institute (SSRI)
Swearer Center for Public Service
Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Center for Language Studies
Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
Cogut Center for the Humanities
John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage
Harriet W. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
Leadership Alliance
Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women
I think I mentioned this before, but Case Western might work for him. It’s adjacent to museums and Cleveland Institute of Music. Fairly diverse for a mid-sized private university, both in race and socioeconomic profile. It ended up being my D’s second choice, and she mostly preferred small town LACs. In classroom visits at Case she found the students to be serious about their studies, but not competitive or snooty. Strong in both STEM and music.