<p>Will admit bias up front, am a Missouri-Rolla, now Missiouri Science & Tech 2nd gen alum. Great small school for nerds. That said, S1 applied but would not even consider attending, too much family history, but is total nerd (badge of honor for him) and he is very happy at Case Western. He applied MIT and Rose-Hulman. Could not see himself at MIT, too uber intellectual and quirky, not just nerdy. Liked RH until an unpleasant overnight experience. He didn't think he was as nerdy as the RH kids. Sometimes you just know where you fit.....</p>
<p>quote: He has no extracurriculars because school is so stressful. </p>
<p>I think this could be a HUGE problem for applications -- He needs some ECs</p>
<p>Also, with school being stressfule, he also should have some outlets.</p>
<p>Unless he is a complete couch potato, you should re-evaluate what is an EC. An EC does not have to be a school sponsored sport or club. List out everything he does in a typical week and you may be surprised to learn that he may very well have ECs.</p>
<p>Hi i'm new to this site and i know this question doesn't fit in this category but I didn't have the best gpa in high school and didn't get the cal grant because of it. Now I am in my second quarter of college and have a gpa of 3.98 will the school use this one to send to the cal grant gpa verification or will they still go by my high school one because its so early on? If anyone knows please let me know i'm in desperate need of financial aid.</p>
<p>ucsd (10char)</p>
<p>College of William and Mary. Full of friendly dorks. :) The focus is definitely on liberal arts, though, from what I've been told.</p>
<p>If he's looking for sheer nerdiness in the culture as well, I'd recommend WPI over Rose-Hulman. Both are fantastic schools, don't get me wrong, but Rose kids are more... "normal," as some would put it, than WPI kids. WPI is more nurturing to the budding nerd than Rose, but both have fantastic science programs, and you can't go wrong with either.</p>
<p>Rose, however, does tend to stay warmer longer than Worcester, Mass. And their dorms are awesome--almost all freshmen have air-conditioning and all have weekly maid service.</p>
<p>Your son can't go wrong with applying to either, and I think his GPA is decent enough to get in. However, it would be helpful if (correct me if I've missed something) you could provide us with SAT or ACT scores; some places, like Rose, have minimum scores for applicants.</p>
<p>university of chicago. it's known for having students who really love to learn. and although it is hard to get into--not many apply because of its extreme (and when I say extreme, I mean EXTREME) academics. So I'm sure your son has a shot. It is the school where "the fun goes to die."</p>
<p>University of Rochester?</p>
<p>Every good college is a "nerd" college. It if its not, then its more like "13th grade" which means its not one of the best.</p>
<p>I say apply to colleges from all areas of the spectrum--rough, moderate and easy. If he gets into a top-tier college (which is quite possible as GPA isn't everything to them, contrary to popular belief), it would be unwise not to go. He will adjust, and be highly successful after graduating. I suggest Columbia's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) or Stanford's engineering program. MIT definitely has its share of nerds who were probably in the same situation as your son. Have faith in him, I'm sure he'll rise to the occasion.</p>
<p>Cal Poly SLO is also a good match; not super competitive but still well-respected, warm weather (5 minutes from Pismo Beach), inexpensive.</p>
<p>Rice University in Houston.</p>
<p>A nice safety might be Wentworth in Boston. Not too hard to get into, but with strong techie stuff. A kid I know who is not unlike the original poster's son did very well going there (although not without struggles). I would not waste time/effort on MIT, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, etc, unless there would be something to really get their attention. Last thing this kid needs is a lot of extra work and a pile of rejections.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the suggestions. Most [!] have been very helpful, informed and kind. We're just starting out and will consider a range of choices. S is neither the typical Aspergers kid (was in an AS program and we pulled him out because he was way ahead of the kids socially/cognitively) nor ready for a super-rigorous (read: lots of writing) environment. (It takes him 2 hours to write something you write in an hour, though the result is good.) Generally, he aces the content of a course but the written workload does him in.
Thanx for your advice he work on EC. He has been wanting to get back into martial arts (earned a black belt a few years ago, but school meant no time to practice). He'll also take a subject test in biology.
Teachers always report his wealth of background knowledge, interest in the subject/reading and class participation. But grades aren't based on that. (AP, soph. year, was more about huge amounts of rote copying than anything else.) His class rank wont be tip-top because he goes to one of the most competitive public HS in the country (Top100,Intel/AP/Ivy, etc.)
I am neither delusional about my son nor underestimating his potential in college. He's a warm funny kid with a promising future. Every college regardless of size has [undiagnosed] people like him, but Im more interested in - for ONCE in his life his being in the social environment where he fits in best, but where he can do the work, and is sufficiently challenged by the teachers and other students. Thanx!!!!!</p>
<p>Look at Carnegie Mellon University. It is academically very challenging .It has probably one of the best under-graduate Computer Science programs in the country.</p>
<p>Check out the honors programs of state universities in your home state (Virginia or Maryland) as they definitely can be a nurturing haven for nerdy kids. For example, one respondent already spoke highly of UMCP in general (i.e., not honors). Go visit a couple honors programs - Virginia Tech, James Madison, George Mason, etc. - with your son in either Virginia or Maryland and get a sense of the atmosphere and fit. It may not only be a good fit but could also save you buckets of money versus an excellent private college.</p>
<p>Haven't read this whole thread but Case Western might be a fit.</p>
<p>@ lonstr:</p>
<p>Honors programs are not havens for nerds. I didn't find the kids in my honors program freshmen year at my decent state school to be any more nerdy than the general public. They were assuredly smarter and more academically motivated. But out of the 75 I met, I don't recall even one who was a stereotypical nerd. I saw a couple nerds on the pictures page (prior to facebook), but they surely were a small minority.</p>
<p>I don't think state schools and small liberal arts colleges are going to be right for a nerd. I say either the very best schools (but the OP's son doesn't have the grades or scores) or small, less well known engineering colleges.</p>
<p>I haven't read this whole thread, but it sure brings back memories. Between junior and senior year my son did Operation Catapult at Rose-Hulman (the Rube Goldberg drawing on the pamphlet appealed to him) and had a great experience doing research and socializing with other kids who shared his interests (as opposed to at his upper-class suburban D.C. high school), your son might want to look into it. He seriously considered Rose-Hulman, RPI, Virginia Tech and Carnegie Mellon (all schools I saw mentioned), but ended up at the University of Rochester because of the more diverse curriculum and student body, among other reasons. I think he would have been happy at any of these schools, but the summer at Rose-Hulman really helped him figure out what he wanted and also got him more excited about the prospect of college. Good luck to your son sorting things out.</p>
<p>OP -</p>
<p>I think the way you are thinking about the issue of your son and college is right on track. You seem to understand that he will benefit immensely from an environment where he </p>
<ol>
<li><p>has the greatest odds of developing lifelong friendships, and </p></li>
<li><p>will have an academic workload which will be condusive to a balanced life.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Going to a college with a population of kids which is the most like him will give him more socializing opportunities, and therefore more chances to experience the successes that build confidence. As adults, we DO choose to hang out where we feel most comfortable, and to work where the culture feels "right", etc. Why should any child, especially one who may have some Asperger's traits, have to once again spend years in an environment which is like high school all over again? We all can find places in this big world where we fit, and the earlier we get a feel for where that is the better.</p>
<p>What about schools in Silicon Valley and Seattle? In Seattle, people who are NOT Asperger's stand out. :)</p>