Looking for a unicorn school with the following characteristics. Whatya got?
• Strong in math/CS/physics (especially math!)
• Located in New England, Mid-Atlantic, or Ohio.
• Willing to look at academically excellent candidates with average extracurriculars.
• LAC or small/mid university (i.e. good advising, classes not taught by grad students).
• Sharp nerdy students but not too intense/competative.
• Not dominated by fraternities or athletics, not particularly religious.
• Cost not a huge consideration; merit aid would be welcome.
College of Wooster rises to the top of my list of schools to look into. Also check out Clark University, Hampshire College in (if still around?), Wentworth Institute of Technology. All of those colleges are so different from each other, yet similar in that they share a much less selective admissions profile than the typical (more well known) names suggested on this forum.
Your search is difficult because smaller schools often have smaller departments that may not be able to offer a large set of upper level courses.
Math and physics departments’ capacity is often needed for service courses for other majors.
CS’ popularity boom means that many CS departments have trouble with overflowing classes, and hiring CS faculty is difficult (note that industry competes for faculty candidates).
You can manipulate all of the IPEDS data in a spreadsheet Michelle Kretzschmar made and piece together a lot of candidates. It’s one of, if not the best search tool we purchased. IPEDS is free, but it’s VERY arduous to search. This spreadsheet unlocks its full potential. Good luck.
U Rochester isn’t small, but it fits all of your other aspects. You might find you like it because it doesn’t feel large when you’re there. It’s worth a consideration at least.
Some good suggestions so far, but some are below 25% acceptance rate. Adding (all above 25% acceptance rate): Oberlin, Skidmore, Allegheny, Brandeis, Dickinson, Kenyon, Ursinus, Elizabethtown, Muhlenburg, Quinnipiac. If small tech schools appeal…Stevens and WPI.
Edited to add: sharing your stats would be helpful. For example, some 25%+ acceptance rate schools could still be reaches for you.
Wesleyan is on the list and could be a great fit… I know it has a math phd program but it’s not clear to me how good/respected it is in math. Also not sure how to reconcile the “strong in stem” reputation with the fact that only 16% of grads end up in stem fields. Any insights?
Thanks for the suggestions & I welcome more. General stats – 4.3 weighted GPA in an HS with lots of grade inflation, 8 AP courses getting a mix of 4’s and 5’s, 3 community college courses in math/cs, top 3% of class.
Thanks, I’ll check out Union. We looked at WPI and incredibly it does not have a mathematics major, only a minor! (you can major in ‘mathematical studies’, which seems to be some sort of applied math).
