Small Schools With Strong STEM Programs And Stats-Driven Admissions

[WalknOnEggShells]

@ucbalumnus

As a parent, probably your biggest priority now is to figure out your college budget for her, and be able to tell her what the cost limits are before she makes her application list.

This is definitely my top priority, and this is the thing I’m hoping does change between now and the time she’s a senior. Three years is a long time, and with two people working, there’s definitely the possibility of a promotion. Our financial situation is pretty bad, but I’m hoping it will be very different in 3 years, so I’m casting a wide net as far as schools go.

@BrownParent

You do not need to be picking schools for a freshman. I say back off, give the kid time to enjoy high school.

I’m not discussing specific schools with her at all. She has no idea where she wants to go. Actually, she has asked me about a few schools, but I’m making a list completely independent of her. If she were a junior now, I’d be panicking. I definitely don’t feel like it’s too early to be learning about what schools are out there, and what they’re like.

@Cheeringsection‌

If Rose-huhlman is a possibility, check out Valparsiso.

Thanks for the tip @Cheeringsection‌, I haven’t looked at Valpariso. I’ll check it out.

@PurpleTitan

It’s also too soon to ascertain that she would do better in stats-focused admissions.

I’m not resigning myself to the fact that she’ll definitely have weak EC’s, but so far she’s showing no signs of any kind of motivation or passion for EC’s, outside of Track, and some tutoring that she’s doing. I’m just trying to prepare for the worst, but at the same time I’m talking to her about what she might want to do as far as EC’s go.

@intparent

Why do you care about stats-driven admission? Encourage some ECs that interest her (math competitions, FIRST robotics, quiz bowl, etc). If she isn’t applying to top schools like Mudd, a couple of things like that are fine. Why not Bucknell or Lehigh? I am confused…

As I said above, I’m curious about stats-driven admissions because I’m just not seeing much motivation for EC’s in her. She’s not against it, but I think if I left it up to her, she wouldn’t do anything. I mentioned First Robotics to her, and she actually made a face I don’t think she’s interested in hardware at all. I’m hoping that she might change her mind, and that she could be a team member who works on the software part only. Do you know if this is possible? I’ve never heard of Quiz Bowl, but I’ll check it out. Thanks.

I would love to see her apply to Bucknell and Lehigh. They both sound like great schools to me. But I know a kid who had very good stats who got rejected by both of them, and received merit aid from RPI. That made me worried that they might weigh EC’s very heavily. He had lots of sports, and I think he had other EC’s too, but I’m not sure. I think he did trail off in senior year academically.

@austinmshauri

Are you worried about her chances of getting admitted or the possibility of getting grants? If you need financial aid, look into the NYS STEM scholarship.

Yes, I’m worried about both, but mostly about her getting admitted. I’ve pretty much given up on the idea of getting aid, unless she gets some merit aid. Unless there’s a significant change in our finances, I think the STEM Incentive program may be in our future, if she keeps her grades up. I would love to give her the small college experience, and that’s why I created this thread. Unfortunately, the schools with the good STEM programs in the SUNY system are all big.

@ucbalumnus and @dadinator‌, thanks for the info about researching class sizes. I’ll use both methods. Do either of you know if the Common Data Sets are available in a central place that’s accurate? I’ve been using a website that I mentioned here before, and the name was starred out by the moderators. I don’t want to mention it again, but could one of you PM me if you know of a web site that has current information about colleges’ Common Data Sets. Thanks.