<p>Goucher, at the edge of Baltimore is worth a look. Maybe Wheaton (in Mass).</p>
<p>My son is at Haverford and loves it. I thought Bates was like Haverford in many ways and is slightly less selective. Neighbor goes to Muhlenberg and loves it.</p>
<p>Bumping this thread to ask: Out of all the excellent alternatives cited here, which ones have the strongest math departments? (Would be great if they had theater and dance departments too.)</p>
<p>S loved everything about Haverford except its ridiculously close proximity to our home.</p>
<p>Oberlin, Macalester and Grinnell were already on our list, and Earlham sounds like a great safety. His HS counselor recommended Connecticut, Trinity College, Colby and Bates as well. </p>
<p>Davidson sounds as hard to get into as Haverford, but maybe they want some males from PA? Hendrix and Rhodes sound like great places too.</p>
<p>S also really liked Lafayette College; it sounds more like him on paper than Trinity, but the fact that both have ABET-accredited engineering make them pretty appealing. S is a very strong math student, but isn’t sure about engineering. Even if he does opt to go that route, he’d like to be in a more LAC-oriented environment.</p>
<p>One last question: Is Reed more like Haverford or Swarthmore atmosphere-wise? While they’re often lumped together, they have markedly different vibes, and S much preferred Haverford’s. Trying to decide if it’s worth our flying out to Portland to check Reed out.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1414683-prestige-versus-cost-7.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1414683-prestige-versus-cost-7.html</a>
Read poster b@rium’s comments on choosing a school for undergrad math. She received her BS in math from Bryn Mawr, and was accepted to a top 5 math grad school. According to her, the only reason that happened was because she took classes at UPenn. Had she not gone to a consortium college, she would not be where she is today, and hence doesn’t recommend LACs for students serious about majoring in math.</p>
<p>I’d add Lafayette to the list. It’s a good LAC and also adds the option to focus on engineering as well as traditional LA stuff.</p>
<p>whenwhen, thanks. I have read b@rium’s posts, but she feels like an outlier to me. If I’m recalling correctly, she was set on earning a PhD in math from only the most selective universities. I also wonder if she was experiencing some discrimination because she is a woman. </p>
<p>Swarthmore and Penn are likely beyond my son with his scores/stats, and Haverford is a reach, but not as big as the others. Would he be better off majoring in math at Penn State than studying math at a place like Macalester, where he could possibly take classes at the University of Minnesota, if necessary? </p>
<p>I don’t think, at this point, he’s thinking PhD in math anyway. While I didn’t get the sense that a lot of students at Haverford double major, he might very well choose to at some of the schools we’re considering. He’s also interested in linguistics and psychology. </p>
<p>He doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life, which is why the LACs hold such great appeal.</p>
<p>LakeClouds, yes, Lafayette is definitely in the mix! Do you have any thoughts on how it compares with Trinity or Union (for a kid who LOVES the vibe at Haverford). I thought it was pretty interesting that Haverford’s new president is coming from Lafayette; hoping the new Lafayette president will bring some of Middlebury’s less fratty vibe with her.</p>
<p>
Absolutely b@rium is an outlier. There are very very few people who a) major in math, b) take the course progression she did, and c) go on to a top 5 phD program. From what I understand from my uncle, a UCLA math phD, only a relatively limited number of schools offer funded math phD programs which means that the competition for them is fierce. Generally speaking, if it’s not funded, it’s not worth it. Also while I have no doubt that b@rium experienced gender discrimination (my friend’s experiences as a geophysics major, comp sci minor would indicate that heavily male fields do discriminate against women), she also received some assistance precisely because she was a women. To be fair, I’ve had a math professor who did her undergrad at Bryn Mawr and phD at Yale so perhaps her experiences in getting into a top phD program aren’t extraordinarily unusual. </p>
<p>I’m not a math major or in a related field (what’s up geology?!), so I truly have no idea about what schools could be good fits. I believe you should look at what level of math your son is at, assume that he stays a math major, and look at the course progression he’d undertake. Check to see how regularly classes are offered. If you think he’d exhaust the undergrad math offerings by the time he’s an upperclassman, then your best bet is probably a larger research university. </p>
<p>I’ve heard St. Olaf and Lawrence are good “math” liberal arts colleges, as is Harvey Mudd. Beyond that, I can’t help.</p>
<p>whenwhen, thanks! Yes, we’re hoping to visit St. Olaf if we make it out to Minnesota to see Macalester. </p>
<p>Lawrence sounds like a great school; I didn’t realize they were particularly strong in math, so I’ll add them to the list. </p>
<p>Harvey Mudd, I think, would be too big a reach and is likely to techie for him. I’d love for him to go to a Claremont school, but the one that seems like the best fit (Pomona) is beyond him I’m afraid.</p>
<p>Colby Colby Colby</p>
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<p>I like the location of Lafayette better. It’s in Easton but up the hill from the main downtown. They also fixed up the campus a bit recently. Trinity I have concerns with being right in Hartford and Union to some extent with Schenectady. I think they are all pretty similar so they’re worth checking out.</p>
<p>Definitely put Willamette in Salem, OR on your list…we loved it but it ended up being a bit too small for my D’s taste. They give decent $$ too.</p>
<p>LakeClouds, how would you say Lafayette compares with Bucknell? They’re always lumped together, along with Trinity and Union, for strong liberal arts plus engineering. Could you rate them from least fratty to most fratty? S’s fine with fraternities, but he’s not looking for a hard-partying, Greek-dominated scene. (Which is why he loved Haverford so much.)</p>
<p>Yes, Colby is definitely getting a look. Are Colby and Bates on par with each other for math/statistics?</p>
<p>Willamette sounds like a great school too, but we’d only check it out if we thought Reed were worth visiting.</p>