Our D is looking for LACs with a strong STEM-focus, but wants to pursue R&D (think: developing new polymers) and not at all interested in pre-med. She’s also a very unpreppy, nonathelete. A number of midwest schools seem to fit the bill and have the right “be-yourself” vibe (Knox, Beloit, Earlham, Kalamazoo). But we live in MD (and yes, we’re looking at St. Mary’s), and since PA has a zillion LACs we think we should consider some of them them. What are the most Beloit-ish or Kalamazoo-ish LACS with strong STEM in Pennsylania. Not looking for super selective ones (e.g. Swarthmore). We are looking at Lafayette, given their chemical engineering program.
Not going to say I’m going to get this one right - but I listed all the PA LACs.
Based on what I’ve heard people say, i’ll say Allegheny, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Dickinson and Ursinus. You might look further out from PA though - Oberlin, Whitman, St. Olaf and Rhodes as examples. PS - it seems like most every STEM kid (minus physics) - is pre-med. They’re not - but they start off with that dream!!!
PA LACs
Allegheny
Bryn Mawr
Bucknell
Dickinson
Elizabethtown
Franklin & Marshall
Gettsyburg
Haverford
Juniata
Lafayette
Lycoming
Moravian
Muhlenberg
St. Vincent
Susquehama
Swarthmore
Ursinus
Washington & Jefferson
Thanks! Swarthmore would be a big reach, but may apply. Bryn Mawr is out (can’t convince her to look at Women’s colleges). Any idea what the vibe is at Dickenson? Though focused on STEM our D is in a studio art program and hangs more with the kids with pink hair and multiple piercings. I sense Allegheny and Juniata might have more the right vibe, but they’re further from us (esp. Allegheny.)
Two more - then i’ll shut up - it’s Ohio - but i think Wooster would fit well. Further - but you’re there day after day, for years - so what’s a few hour extra drive a few times a year.
And the “right” school in my opinion is likely Eckerd, in St. Pete, Fl which has many kids like her. But that’s not PA either.
Agree that Wooster sounds like a great fit. And speaking of that geographic vicinity, she should have her eye on this summer REU once in college: REU Summer Internships : The University of Akron, Ohio U of Akron isn’t an LAC so probably not a fit for her entire four years of college (although it could make a great safety if polymer science/engineering is a particularly passion, as that’s what it’s most known for), but definitely a target destination for summer research. Wooster is about 30 miles outside of Akron, and their website mentions placing students at the Akron REU.
I also agree with Wooster if you’re willing to look at Ohio schools. It was my very favorite school when my son and I were touring. In the end, he chose Haverford, but I wished I had known about Wooster when I was a high school student.
I think that Lafayette and Swarthmore are the closest to what you’re looking for in PA. (I know, not interested in Swat.for good reasons.) Bucknell has what you want academically, but it’s probably bigger than what you’re thinking of although still a smaller college than most (3700 undergrad enrollment).
Looking beyond those 3, Jeffr1 suggested Juniata, which I second as an alternative. It has more depth in their Chem Dept than most LACs, classes are small, and professors are accessible. Not a lot going on in the town of Hunterdon but the campus culture is accepting of individual differences and seems like a good fit for a quirky kid.
Gettysburg is the other college that has some of what you’re looking for in terms of size, location, and academics. Chem Dept Chair Tim Funk is a Gettysburg alum who went on to get his doctorate at Cal Tech and then came back to his Alma Mater to teach. He has an interest in polymers. The negatives are that Greek life is big on a campus that doesn’t have the reputation of being very accepting of differences. Probably more conservative than what you’re looking for. You may want to check into it just in case the stereotype is wrong because it dies have some good things going for it otherwise.
About an hour east of Lafayette in the small town of Madison, NJ and just outside the northern NJ suburban sprawl is Drew University, which takes its sciences more seriously than a LAC of 1500 students has a right to. They have an ACS approved Chem major with fairly extensive course offerings and an Engineering Physics major. And it’s a campus that has a reputation for being accepting of differences and it has more than its share of theater kids. It’s a little farther away than you’re looking for, but while you’re up visiting Lafayette, you wouldn’t have to go a lot further to see Drew, which by the way has a beautiful campus. It just might be worth a look.
Dickinson has a great studio art space that was completed about 5 years back or so? Maybe worth checking out. It feels like a school that has a mix of all different kinds of students.
I second the recommendation for Wooster and possibly Oberlin (strong in STEM, art, performing arts and probably the kind of vibe your kid is seeking). Both offer decently sized merit scholarships - up to 30K, maybe slightly more.
If women’s colleges were on the table, I’d recommend Bryn Mawr - its close integration with Haverford means that there will be some guys around. Great for STEM, accepts optional art portfolios as part of the application, and also offers merit money.
I don’t know if upstate New York is a possibility but Union really fits the bill academically. It has a very strong STEM focus. The stats I found have 37% of the kids in STEM majors. It was a real point of emphasis when we visited there several years ago.
My take on Dickinson and Juniata was that the Dickinson kids were a little more “worldly” for lack of better word than Juniata. (We heard many say “lots of boarding school kids” there). We had a great couple of visits there and really liked the school. Juniata was more the piercing, pink haired kids from what we saw (not that everyone there was). Very inclusive school. Genuinely nice, down to earth staff and students on our couple of visits there.