On the road again, DS4 college visit help please

I endorse what Jonri posted above.

I would add that with a bright, driven student like your S, you need to make a fundamental decision: Does he want to be in an intellectual environment where he will shine, or does he want to be one of the “pack”? Some kids want/need the former, some are fine with the latter.

But it makes a huge difference. If he attended U of Chicago, for example, he would be in an highly stimulating intellectual environment, but he would be challenged and would be just one of many gifted students. Our neighbors son had perfect grades and perfect test scores, and loves Chicago. His equally gifted younger brother went a different route, and this was entirely on personality, not ability.

If your S attended UT or Trinity University, he would be top of the heap and could be an academic star, likely an Honors Student at UT if he wanted that.

You are blessed financially, so that eliminates those issues entirely.

As a lawyer, I can tell you that the hiring market is just brutal. I can also confirm that undergraduate major is essentially meaningless for law school admissions. Grades and LSAT is everything.

I am not an expert in Med School admissions, but everything we found when we were investigating indicated the same thing: Grades and MCAT’s rule. You obviously need to take many of the science classes that are tested on the MCAT to succeed, but you don’t necessarily have to major in those fields.

In general, it sounds like your S is very well-rounded, which, IMO, screams LAC. Small classes, hands-on attention, and requirements to explore many areas of study. Who knows, he may find some new interest if he is exposed to it in college.

Finally, if money is no consideration, if your S can get into Williams, it rocks. Check out their freshman program where they copy the Cambridge/Oxford model and have your student take a seminar with one other student and a Professor, and take turns making presentations/preparing papers on the topics. Terrific. But, again, he will be one of many very gifted at a school like Williams or Dartmouth or any of the Ivy’s.

Good luck!