<p>RPI, WPI, CMU, Case Western, Johns Hopkins, URochester would all be good fits. </p>
<p>From what I have seen, Bucknell would not be a good fit at all and would be more of a socially competitive, beautiful people kind of place that does not seem like the type of atmosphere you are seeking.</p>
<p>Posters are suggesting some schools (MIT, Harvey Mudd) that would be tough for a student with 1400/1600 SAT scores, a 3.7 GPA and 8+ APs to get into, let alone a kid with a 3.4 GPA, a projected 1320 SAT and no APs. Not that there is anything wrong with shooting for a few reaches, but that has to be tempered with some realism, as the OP appears to understand. </p>
<p>I wouldn't necessarily rule out all liberal arts colleges, as some of them emphasize engineering and the sciences and attract a fair share of kids who might be described, for lack of a better word, as "nerdy." Union, Lafayette and Bucknell are three that come to mind. All three have to contend with the baggage of their past as "preppy/party" schools, but this descriptive is now somewhat dated. </p>
<p>A larger school that might be worth looking into is Virginia Tech.</p>
<p>ehhhh....</p>
<p>RIT?</p>
<p>Perhaps Reed or Lewis and Clark in Portland OR.</p>
<p>Stevens Tech in Hoboken, NJ.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stevens.edu%5B/url%5D">http://www.stevens.edu</a></p>
<p>My friend's nerdy son is very happy at Case Western, which he chose because he didn't want to go to a school where people jump off the roof from stress (MIT). Her equally nerdy daughter has just decided to go to U Rochester.</p>
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RPI, WPI, CMU, Case Western, Johns Hopkins, URochester would all be good fits.
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<p>Almost exactly the list I would have produced, though some may be hard to get into with those stats.</p>
<p>@ jetcat- Well another suggestion might be Case Western, it is small and not too difficult to get in. It is certainly geared more towards the math and sciences. </p>
<p>It's difficult to come up with more schools that are not LACs, not all of them are super small and intimate. Another option could be the University of the South Sewanne.</p>
<p>This is so helpful - thank you. Some of the suggested colleges are going to be out of his reach (even if he got in) because of the workload. He's doing as well as he can. I didn't want to say, but he has Asperger Syndrome (as does most of Silicon Valley!) and has high anxiety and a hard time processing huge amounts of writing - though his writing is very good. He is being pushed as hard as possible and has come such a long way in such a short time. His ability to work has never matched his raw intelligence. (His Honors Bio teacher said to him, "[], you're a brilliant kid, but sometimes when your mind wanders, it doesn't come back.") That said, it is important that he be around smart, nerdy kids, as they are the ones who "get" him. It's a conundrum, as the schools where he'd fit in are too high-pressure for him. (I have a math whiz nephew at UChicago and he does 5 hrs.+ work every night.) Hey - any thoughts on if/where you can work less hard in college than in high school? : )</p>
<p>"he has Asperger Syndrome (as does most of Silicon Valley!)" </p>
<p>Ah, so that's why I'm not a CEO here.</p>
<p>UMBC might be a good fit if her wants to stay close to home. It seems to attract a lot of "nerdy" boys.</p>
<p>Look at Evergreen State College in Washington or University of California Santa Cruz. Both have alternative grading systems that use evaluations instead of traditional letter grades. Evaluations give a much more complete view of a student's performance in a class.</p>
<p>Given that your son has Aspergers, I would think that he would do best in a mid-sized school. You don't want him getting lost in a huge student body, but at the same time, if he strains a relationship, you want there to be enough people that he can move on and form new friendships. </p>
<p>Evergreen is running about 4600 students. UCSC has 15,000 but the university is broken down into residential colleges so it feels much, much smaller.</p>
<p>I don't know about Evergreen, but UCSC has great computer science and marine biology programs. Both schools offer close proximity to the computer science Mecca and Medina, San Jose and Seattle.</p>
<p>Finally, the both have the coolest mascots ever. Who wouldn't want to spend 4 years cheering on the Geoducks or the Banana Slugs!</p>
<p>try Washington University in St. Louis</p>
<p>Case Western
Harvey Mudd
Carnegie Mellon
Rose-Hulman
University of Chicago</p>
<p>My son is similar, although he handles school work OK. He is interested in Engineering and CS, so I am looking for small engineering schools. S would like Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Johns Hopkins and Olin, but I would also recommend: WPI, RPI, RIT, University of Rochester, Cal Poly SLO, Case Western Reserve, Virginia Tech, Stevens Insititute, and Rose-Hulman.</p>
<p>I live by Case, it's a pretty good school, you should check it out.</p>
<p>From my experience in finding "nerdy schools," I suggest you look for division 3 schools just because division 3 schools tend to put less emphasis on their athletics, drawing more of an intellectual environment. Consider Googling the "nerdy nine." Its a group of division 3 schools including RIT, UChicago, and Case.</p>
<p>RIT/Case/CMU (although CMU would be really tough to get into with those stats).</p>
<p>I second Virginia Tech. Not impossible to get into. Academically rigorous. Lots of nerds.</p>
<p>Hi,
Given his diagnosis of Asperger's, I would look at disability services offered by the schools. He may need some help with planning and organization, which can be difficult with a college workload. Also, look at the school's distribution requirements, core curriculum requirements. Will he have to take a lot of humanities courses that may be frustrating for him?</p>