Some advice on MidWest schools, please

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So my daughter is a junior and we are starting to look at colleges for campus visits. We live in southern Michigan and she knows she does not want a big school (even an honors college at a big school) so U of M and Michigan State are out. She is undecided as to a major although she has been on a First Robotics team for the past two years and is open to Engineering. She took the ACT in September. Below are her stats and ECs:</p>

<p>ACT 34
GPA 4.0 uw
Class strength - as strong as you can be at our school (we do not offer many AP or College level classes until Senior Year) Currently taking (English, Pre Calc, Physics, Govt/Econ, Band, Theology, and College Chem)</p>

<p>Activities:
Varsity Golf, Drama (leads in the past two performances), Environmental Club (secretary), First Robotics (went to worlds past two years, Field Finalist), CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), Library TAB (Teen Advisory Board), very involved in her church (2 choirs, holiday orchestra, reader, Eucharistic Minister, youth group) and 100+ hours of community volunteering (library, church, etc)</p>

<p>Obviously we were thrilled with her ACT score...to be honest at this point we do not know if we wish to "chase" prestige or merit money. We found with our oldest daughter that fit is the best thing. I'm hoping for a solid, good academic school with Merit. I know my daughter does not want a pile of debt, so some nice merit money would be nice.</p>

<p>D16 doesn't want to go too far away (trying to keep it within 5 hours) and does not want a "party" school. She is a fun and quirky girl -- loves anime, fan fiction writing, and her space. She easily makes friends one-on-one but is not good at all in large groups. She does not want a heavy drinking environment. (so we were thinking no Frats/Sororities) Also, she is not one for a competitive/stressed out environment. She has always been one to get along great with the teachers and has enjoyed being in a small school because she can have a teacher again and keep the relationship going. She would love a traditional Gothic campus - Hogwarts would be her first choice!</p>

<p>So I would love to hear what you think of our list and any help you can do on the "feel" and/or "vibe" of the campus and students would be appreciated. I think she will end up at a LAC but I want her to look at some larger schools (around the 10,000 mark, not 30,000 to 40,000) for comparison purposes.</p>

<p>Universities (trying to find a few of the smaller ones)-
Notre Dame -- we will visit
U of Chicago -- not visiting -- sounds like her kind of student, but the neighborhood and big city scare her off
Northwestern -- ?? -
Washington U, St Louis - ??
Vanderbilt -- ?? a little farther away that she would like
Case Western ??</p>

<p>LACs - in no particular order
Hope College
College of Wooster
Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame
Kalamazoo College
Wheaton College, IL
St Olaf, MN -- a little further, but....</p>

<p>And then my head starts spinning! There are so many options in LACs and since they are smaller it is even more important to find the right fit and people. I'll stop writing my book now, and hopefully things will be clearer for me with your help. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Well, University of Chicago is about as Hogwartsy as you can get. It sounds like a great fit for her academically and socially, too.</p>

3

<p>Vandy has a pretty big Greek culture I believe. Carleton maybe? What does she want to study?</p>

4

<p>Three to consider (although they may be a little farther than your 5 hour range):</p>

<p>Carleton
Univ of Rochester
Carnegie Mellon</p>

<p>Note that we found that once our kids were more than a couple of hours away, distance did not matter (especially if there were flights that made the destination easy to reach). </p>

5

<p>I second Carleton. If she is interested in a LAC with a fun, quirky, and very academic setting she would love Carleton. I gather there isn’t a ton of merit aid available- although if they really want a student I am sure they can find a way to sweeten the pot!</p>

6

<p>+1 on Carleton. Your daughter sounds like a Carleton kid to me: the sweet-natured unpretentious nerd who is genuinely more interested in the subject she’s learning than the impression she’s making on others. One who’d rather be smart than seem smart. I have a friend who went there some years ago who has mentioned that Carleton had a sci-fi interest-oriented housing residence and an anime club. Whether those are still in existence I do not know, but it adds to my impression your D would like it there.</p>

<p>Lawrence U and Ohio Wesleyan are also worth a look. Ohio Wesleyan in particular, on the strength of some very Hogwartsy campus buildings and the Methodist affiliation. (You didn’t state the specific denomination, but on the evidence of her being a “Eucharistic Minister” I am guessing it’s in the Lutheran-Methodist-Episcopal range of the spectrum, any of which should find enough common ground in each other’s typical worship service to feel right at home.)</p>

<p>On the whole, all of your LACs sound like enough of a fit to warrant a visit. I’d be a little concerned that Wheaton may be too conservative for her, However, despite its evangelical roots, it routinely provokes ire from both the left and the right, and from both Christians and non-Christians. There is at times a notable intellectual bravery to how they approach the issues, even those on which I vehemently disagree with them. So I’m inclined to say visit anyway, with eyes open.</p>

7

<p>The University of Toledo is close to you.The campus has a Gothic feel. They are not highly ranked but their engineering programs are very well regarded. Depending on the area in southern Michigan you live in she may be given in state tuition and at least $6500, my guess might be more. </p>

<p>Case Western is an excellent school. They are known to give good merit scholarships and at least for us did a good job meeting our need with university grants and government loans for our D only. It would probably be a good fit.
D did not choose Case. </p>

<p>A smaller school is Ohio Northern University. If she would want to go into Mechanical Engineering they are a private college about an hour or so south of Toledo. They have a very good musical theater department. They are ranked number 2 in regional colleges by US news. Not very Gothic but I believe they would be good with merit aid. They also have no application fee. </p>

<p>You might also consider Rose Hulman in Terre Haute IN. A very good science/engineering school. They also have a good musical theater program. Ranked 2 in the nation for engineering for schools only offering a bachelors degree. Not Gothic and I can’t speak to their financial aid. Being female with a 34 ACT and those extracurriculars would help.</p>

<p>Most of the universities with strong engineering programs in the mid west seem to be the bigger Big 10 schools. Northwestern would fit the bill. They guarantee to meet need with your child borrowing $20,000. Whether or not they are affordable would depend on your circumstances. They are very selective so if she liked it and it was affordable it is a tremendous opportunity but consider it a reach regardless. </p>

<p>Just to throw this in because it really doesn’t meet your need for engineering is the University of Evansville. They have a campus in Harlaxton England that I think would feel very Hogwarts like. Good luck.</p>

8

<p>Northwestern is a great school and is near the beach</p>

9

<p>Few LACs have engineering programs.
Two that do:
Swarthmore College and Smith College.
Both are multi-college consortium members, which expands the number of course offerings.
Both have beautiful campuses in non-scary areas.
Both also are a bit out of your geographic range (and Smith is a women’s college.)</p>

<p>Princeton is a relatively small university (~5300 undergrads) with solid engineering programs and a beautiful campus full of Gothic buildings in a non-scary area. If you can get it. And again, if you’re willing to go outside your geographic area.</p>

<p>For Gothic + engineering + under 10K undergrads + non-urban + midwestern? Sounds like the best fit would be Northwestern.</p>

10

<p>I will jump on the Case bandwagon here…it sounds like it fits just about every aspect of her wants/needs. And, although it does have a fairly large Greek contingent, it is definitely not what you might imagine as stereotypical Greek life. They are more service oriented and you absolutely do not have to belong. There are so many opportunities for STEM majors and they have a very good Theater Dept. The University Circle area is really a pretty area with lots to do. Some intro Engineering/Science classes may be too large for her liking and the workload is rigorous, but she sounds like she can handle that. They are known for good merit money and she will find many robotics kids, theater kids, and volunteer/service organizations. Take a closer look…oh, and no app fee or supplemental essay…what’s to lose?!</p>

11

<p>

</p>

<p>I wouldn’t describe Northwestern’s campus as “Gothic,” although it has a number of buildings in that style. It is not nearly as cohesive as some of the colleges mentioned here. It’s also feels fairly “urban” in terms of diversity, amenities, transportation, etc. (for a kid coming from a small town, anyway) and of course abuts Chicago’s northern border. Other than that, though, I think it is a great suggestion and also has an outstanding theater program.</p>

12

<p>I have two D’s a few years ahead of your two. Eldest is a senior at Rose Hulman in Terre Haute and youngest is a freshman at U Mich, so we visited several schools on your list. D1 wanted a small school and initially was torn between teaching science (LAC) and engineering; D2 wanted a larger school that allowed dual degrees in engineering and music. Between the two we visited Rose, Missouri S&T, Hope, Northwestern, Miami of Ohio, U Mich, WUStL, and Case in the Midwest. We also visited Hopkins, CMU, Colorado School of Mines, Renssalaer and Juniata College. </p>

<p>In our experience, Hope and Case had very good merit aid. We also had good luck at MS&T, Rose, Mines, Renssalaer and U Mich. Nothwestern does not offer merit aid, and it’s pretty limited at WUStL and Hopkins. Neither D ended up applying at most LACs so I can’t comment further on their merit aid. </p>

<p>D1 absolutely loves Rose. Most kids know pretty quickly upon visiting if it’s a good fit - small, fairly nerdy, heavily male, very collaborative, supportive learning environment, incredible access to professors, some Greek life but easy to pass on that, ability to participate in musicals, sports, etc. Job placement by graduation is excellent. And they are actually ranked number one (however tied with Harvey Mudd so listed second alphabetically) for undergrad engineering schools not offering doctorates - sixteenth year in a row. </p>

<p>Let me know if you have any specific questions about Rose or our process.</p>

13

<p>“For Gothic + engineering + under 10K undergrads + non-urban + midwestern? Sounds like the best fit would be Northwestern.”</p>

<p>Examples of the buildings you’ll be spending the most time on campus at Northwestern:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ybp.com/GobiProfile_files/images/nw_library.jpg”>http://www.ybp.com/GobiProfile_files/images/nw_library.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics | Northwestern Engineering”>Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics | Northwestern Engineering;

14

<p>Carleton also sound like a great fit to me. You might also want to take a look at Lawrence for an LAC that is likely to provide her with merit.</p>

15

<p>I second @Glennu about the University of Rochester. Excellent science and engineering. Not too big, not too small. Nice campus. Despite the name, it is a private university.</p>

<p>For Hogwarts, look at Kenyon College in Ohio. Lovely campus. Strong academics. No engineering, however.</p>

16

<p>Grinnell? St. Louis has a much higher crime rate than Chicago, so I don’t know why your daughter would consider Washington U. if she’s leery of University of Chicago. Oberlin and Kenyon ought to fit, with Earlham as a potential safety.</p>

17

<p>^I’m not sure what you say about St. Louis is true, woogzmama. The way St. Louis counts crime is different from most other metropolitan areas, which skews the number higher.</p>

<p><a href=“http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/02/st_louis_named_no_5_most_dange.php”>http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2014/02/st_louis_named_no_5_most_dange.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

18

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, but U of Chicago is also very stressful, which OP says her D does not want. Carleton sounds like a fit, BUT no merit aid there (a pittance for national merit finalists, that is it). </p>

<p>Another vote for Case here. They give merit, too. Have you given any thought to Michigan Tech? Captain of D2’s robotics team is a sophomore there and really likes it.</p>

19

<p>"St. Louis has a much higher crime rate than Chicago, so I don’t know why your daughter would consider Washington U. if she’s leery of University of Chicago. "</p>

<p>This doesn’t make sense. WashU is in a much nicer area than UChicago. WashU is surrounded by affluent Clayton, a Ritz-Carlton, etc. </p>

20

<p>“For Gothic + engineering + under 10K undergrads + non-urban + midwestern? Sounds like the best fit would be Northwestern.”</p>

<p>Examples of the buildings you’ll be spending the most time on campus at Northwestern:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ybp.com/GobiProfile_files/images/nw_library.jpg”>http://www.ybp.com/GobiProfile_files/images/nw_library.jpg&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href="Engineering Sciences & Applied Mathematics | Northwestern Engineering;

<p>Nice try, but you’re clearly not familiar with the campus and are just doing your usual schtick. This is the other part of the library, which is as University gothic as it gets. The southern quads which house major dorms and sororities and the main crescent with the signature buildings are gothic as well. </p>

<p><a href=“Throw Open the Doors - Northwestern Now”>Throw Open the Doors - Northwestern Now;