Hey I got into some great schools!! Here are my top 3:
Smith (50k FA)
UMass–Amherst (Honors + CS) (net cost about 30k/yr, in-state)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) (47k merit)
I was also accepted into RIT, UMaine–Orono, Northeastern (barely affordable though), Colorado College (and waitlisted by Wellesley)
I am on the fence about CC and may not be able to go to the accepted student’s open house, which really sucks because I haven’t actually been able to visit the campus. Also, the Block Plan scares me: I have been struggling a lot in AP Physics Mech and am worried that if I can’t handle that in a semester then I would flunk out of it in a month at CC.
I plan on majoring in CS and minoring in English, Spanish, or Sociology
Thoughts:
-I really like the female empowerment, open curriculum, small college/campus & sense of community @ Smith. The 5-col consortium is also really cool, and of course, Smith is an academically strong school. The only thing I am worried about is that I plan to major in CS but Smith isn’t a school that is super well-known for CS. I think it will be fine though?
-I am fine with going to UMass: great food, great CS program, my sister goes there. I don’t want to pass up any other great opportunities though, especially because if for some reason I hate UMass and want to transfer, getting FA will probably be harder and I have so many great FA packages right now. I don’t feel particularly connected to this school but I think I could grow to love it. There are so many options/classes to take, which is great because while I am majoring in CS, I would love to explore and take lots of different classes.
-WPI is also alright. They gave me a lot of consistent aid, guaranteed for 4 yrs. Which is great! Also, they have a pretty good game design program so that’s cool. The study abroad/project-based learning opportunities are also a plus, especially because I’ve heard it’s hard for CS/Engineering majors to study abroad. The low amount of women at this school worries me, though.
-Again CC is great (awesome co-curricular opportunities, inclusive body & staff, location, strong humanities in case I want to double major, pretty strong natural sciences) but I am not sure if I want to go there.
Thoughts???
Also I wanted to note that when I applied to CC I was stoked about the Block Plan but my thoughts on it changed as my physics class got harder and harder.
If you attend Smith, you could supplement your CS courses through cross registration with UMass for areas of CS that Smith does not offer courses in.
It sounds like Smith would be an excellent fit for you. It is a smaller college, and will be more supportive.
It is arguably the second most famous women’s college in the country.
Smith actually has a solid general engineering program, so I don’t think you will exhaust technical electives.
And then there is the 5 college consortium… you can take courses at UMass as well.
UMASS is great for your major, affordable, in a great college town, and just about everyone who goes there loves it. You can’t go wrong there. You can be practical and still enjoy your college years.
Looks like its between Smith and UMA ? Can’t figure out COA, are you saying UMA would cost $30K and you got $50K at Smith, leaving how much ??? If that is the case, I’d go to Smith. You can transfer out to UMA but most likely won’t get that kind of merit/scholarship transferring from UMA into Smith. And, if that is the merit you received, your COA is likely less than $20K ?
Smith-- because of the reasons above. You get the benefit of the f5-colleges plus the smaller community feel of Smith. Also Smith isn’t a party school, which means you have a better chance of concentrating on your studies.
Also try to remember that Mt. H, Amherst, and hampshire are part of this mix. Hampshire offers genetics-focused CS course (if I"m remembering correctly).
I would never say that Smith is the “second-most famous” women’s college – although it’s a great school, terrific in fact. Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Vassar (though co-ed now), Mt. H – the 7 sisters all famous You’d get the benefits of being part of the seven sisters.
One of my kids disliked UMass and transferred out after 1 year (to a LAC).
YMMV, but especially if UMass is ~$10K/year more than Smith, I’d recommend Smith. The biggest UMass advantage is greater course selection, but you should be able to take advantage of that through the consortium. Many college students change majors; keep that in mind especially if you don’t clearly understand what CS (vs. programming) is all about.
Colorado College is wonderful, too.
In theory, a semester of blocks shouldn’t be more work than a semester at a conventional, peer college.
You might be lost more easily in a large weed-out lecture course at UMass than you would in a challenging 20-student class with a supportive professor. Anyway, you’re unlikely to flunk out; first year retention is 96%. The block plan is great for arranging off-campus field work and for the long weekends you get between blocks. If you consider yourself an outdoorsy work hard play hard person (or would like to be one), and if the net costs are similar to Smith’s, then try to get out for the accepted student events. Maybe ask the school to cover your travel? Otherwise, Smith seems like a great choice (esp. if you’d just as soon not have guys around all the time for 4 years or would prefer a small town to a mid-sized city).
I have a D at Smith. Shes an engineering major. The CS department isnt as highly regarded as the engineering program, but my D loved her CS intro class, but then the prof moved on to Princeton. The CS isnt bad, its just that the engineering program is better. My D may do CS in grad school but shes sticking with engineering. And she LOVES Smith.
And as far as social life at Smith goes, its more around how involved you are with your interests/passions. My D has a great group of friends, but they tend to do smaller parties, drink wine, go out to concerts or dinner. Its more of a grown up feel, not a rowdy frat party lifestyle. Although plenty of kids do head to UMass or Amherst for parties. My D loves it there.
And lastly, go visit Northampton if you havent. It really is a wonderful small college town. Restaurants and shopping galore. Great place.
Regarding WPI:
1. Women representation jumped 10% from 2016 to 2017, hit 43% and they are still pushing for 50% in this entering class;
2. You can minor or major in psychology, but not Sociology, see https://www.wpi.edu/academics/departments/psychological-science;
3. You can minor in English, see https://www.wpi.edu/academics/study/english-minor;
4. You can minor in Spanish and do overseas project work in Spanish speaking areas at no additional cost, see https://www.wpi.edu/project-based-learning/global-project-program.
As you were concerned about the CC Block Plan, you should be aware that the seven week terms at WPI are also a little different from most systems. At WPI you would be taking only three courses per term for a total workload equivalent to 9 semester hours. By the end of two seven week terms, you will have completed 18 traditional semester hours of work in 1/2 of your college year. This is a common workload in most STEM programs across the country. Both WPI and CC believe immersion to be a positive force in your education as you are not spreading yourself between five or more courses simultaneously. WPI’s immersion focus is somewhere between the traditional semester system and the CC block program.
Believe it or not, the women actually outnumber the men in Biology and Biomedical Engineering by a good margin, but not in CS. They are 50/50 in the math department. This data is taken from October of 2017.
Whatever you decide, your support group counts! We do have a WPI president, managerial staff and sizeable female STEM faculty which is focused on women in this ever changing STEM world. You might find these two websites helpful at https://www.wpi.edu/student-experience/resources/womens-programs and https://www.wpi.edu/student-experience/resources
Smith’s entire history is about supporting women.
I am a WPI Alumnus.
Absolutely.
I believe you’ll be impressed if you research the companies that employ Smith CS graduates.
D11 works in game design at Activision Blizzard. Although she majored in CS at Vassar, I have no doubt that Smith would have served her equally as well. And as others have said, being able to take CS courses at the consortium colleges is a significant benefit.
fwiw-D1 is a Smith alumna and loved her 4 years.
I’m also a huge fan of WPI. Can you visit and do an overnight?
maybe the WPI people can comment on this, but one significant difference between the two schools is Greek life. WPI has substantial Greek life while Smith does not.
A second difference is the community. WPI is in Worcester which I understand is going through a sort of renaissance. Smith is in Northampton which many consider a “dream” college tonw (while others find it not as appealing.)
Third, Smith has that consortium which allows students to have multiple perspectives on college cultures and teaching perspectives. They can branch out as they feel the need. WPI is a single campus, but maybe that’s enough.
@NEPatsGirl Uhh net cost for Smith & WPI is around 20k/year for me. The numbers I listed in my original post was the aid awarded to me. Sorry for the confusion!! Smith gave me FA and WPI gave me all merit aid. The only issue is that family circumstances have changed so my coa for Smith may go up…I’m planning on contacting the FA office ASAP to sort that out. If Smith’s coa increases for some reason past 30k I wouldn’t consider it, just because my family wouldn’t be able to afford that…
@CrewDad I am doing an overnight at WPI + accepted students day. Thanks for your insight!
@Dustyfeathers My sister goes to UMass Amherst and is in the honors college. She doesn’t drink/party at all, and is able to do fine & found her niche group of friends (Umass is known to be a party school). So if she can do it, I can too. At Smith there doesn’t seem to be a huge party scene so that’s good for me. As for WPI I’m not sure. Honestly, the party scene isn’t going to deter me from going to a college, I’ll be able to find friends wherever I go and that’s all that really matters to me.
When you mentioned substantial greek life I assumed you were hinting at the parties involved w/ greek life, if that’s not what you were getting at then sorry my bad! Thanks for your thoughts though!
@retiredfarmer Hi, thanks for the links, I will check them out.
Also, in general, are open houses worth going to? I am thinking about attending open houses for Smith & some others schools but am worried about missing lots of school days, especially with 4 AP’s and physics kicking my butt at the moment.