He’ll get excellent merit at Skidmore. As I understand it, they treat the superstars very well.
I second U of R. Also can’t go wrong with RPI. Don’t let the city of Troy throw you off. It grows on you and RPI graduates do very, very well.
By sheer virtue of being a boy, he’s got a hook at many LACs and those are great environments for premeds.
Engineering is not conducive to a high GPA, which is essential for med school admissions.
Tufts comes to mind although the acceptance rate is too low to be a slam dunk. But if you are touring, check it out. I like a lot of the suggestions above.
Union looks like a solid fit, including a combined MD degree, and on paper, your athletic son looks like he’d be happy there, but there is a big Greek scene. The school has created a lot of alternatives to it, and they don’t have houses, but you should check it out for yourself.
Did you say what his UW GPA is?
A target college would have a 30%+ acceptance rate at least. Due to being a boy he can aim for LACs with 20-30% acceptance rates as high matches but overall like all high stats kids he should be careful about acceptance rates because his stats are going to make a lot of colleges look like matches if you don’t enter the acceptance rate variable.
UW 3.85?
weighted 5.16
SATII bio 730 chem 800
AP bio 5 chem 4 stat 5
I’ll second Wesleyan. It’s a liberal LAC on the outside, but, if you drill down a little deeper it has an unusual investment in research science; a commitment to recruiting military veterans; very competitive sports teams (some say, too competitive!). And, for someone with an interest in engineering, it has been making noises lately around the idea of a minor in “design” which may be right in your boy’s wheelhouse:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/engineering/
Go visit University of Rochester and RIT back to back - this will help solidify if the small university/LAC route is more for him than the more technical university route.
Then steer to similar schools in that direction
Rochester, RIT, RPI, Union College, WPI, and Holy Cross are all just a little off I-90, five hours or so from Rochester to Worcester
myos1634…How?Why ? does LAC’s favor males…and in more detail how what advantages does LAC’s provide for pre-med or pre-grad research? If talking LAC’s any thoughts on Swarthmore in regards to needs, is it a target or reach?
Fewer males apply to LACs. It’s just a numbers game. And Swarthmore is a reach for everyone. But your S is in the range. If he likes it, ED would provide the best chance of admission to Swat.
Yes, LACs, especially New England/Mid-Atlantic ones, favor boys. It’s like a hook.
Selective LACs don’t weedout (meaning the they don’t deliberately discourage their many freshmen from continuing with their premed aspirations through arbitrary grade cut offs - it does NOT mean there’s no attrition.) In part it’s due to the fact the weedout took place before the student was admitted. Once the students are in, there’s a commitment to their success. Due to the focus on undergrads, there’s no competition with grad students for a position in a lab - professors aren’t just hired for their excellent research, but also for their ability to integrate undergraduate student to that research.
Swarthmore is reach for everyone due to its acceptance rate. (Below ~10% Rd, higher ED).
Swarthmore students ‘compete’ for the title of most overworked students. 
It’s a fantastic college but make sure he visits, just as he should visit as many colleges as possible and perhaps have an overnight to see what vibe is his best fit.
Finally, don’t forget to run the NPC and establish your budget, making it clear to your child.
Thats fascinating that LAC’s draw more female applicants than males! Any thoughts Why? We never strongly considered them.
What other Lac’s besides Wesleyan that have strong STEM offerings?
Really appreciate allthe replys, making me think!!
The % of all US college students who are female is in the mid to high 50s. Some state flagships, especially those with big-time sports, are more male or are pretty balanced, and STEM schools like RPI and RIT tend to be heavily male. Most of the rest have large female majorities, often approaching 60%, or higher, at LACs. I know of one outstanding national university that works hard to keep the % of male students at 43-45%. Many more females apply, and it is definitely easier to be accepted as a male.
As someone noted, WPI has worked very hard the other way–taking a heavily male student body (well over 60%) and making it much more balanced. Anecdotally, the school has partially done it by being more generous with financial aid to accepted female students. The school’s president is also female, and seems to be doing a terrific job.
You can get at excellent science education at many LACs. There can be a bit of a tradeoff–smaller classes, closer interaction with professors v. the greater research opportunities at a major research university (Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, etc.). So a student’s personality, learning style, etc. can come into play on that. Are they someone who will thrive in a small class? Are they someone who’s fine with large lecture classes and would love to spend lots of time in a lab?
Personally, I feel like some of the mid-size national universities like Rochester, Tufts, and William and Mary are in a sweet spot in that regard. And STEM schools like WPI, RIT, and RPI can be great for all-in STEM students. Case Western and Lehigh are maybe combos of these???
Look in to BU, they have a very highly ranked BME program and a great med school. he has the option of applying to 8 year program. he may qualify for honros college too which comes with lots of perks and Boston is great for medical research. U of R has similar options but location is a challenge. Drexel has 8 year medical program so does Sophie Davis in NY l these progams eliminate a lot of headache of reapplying to med school.
There is speculation that when men choose colleges, they are more likely than women to value (1) Division I college sports, and (2) engineering. In general, these are not strong points for LACs.
It’s true that there are some DI LACs, and some with engineering programs. However, the schools with the biggest national reputations in both areas tend to be large universities.
Schools with the letters “T-E-C-H” in their name are typically in the opposite situation of LACs; they tend to attract more significantly more male applicants than females.