Schools can have good departments in a number of different areas.
Our second kid wasn’t positive what she wanted to major in (did engineering and added a biology major). She chose a college with a strong core curriculum. This gave her some exposure to things she might not otherwise have taken…and she really liked her core courses. Her college had about 5000 undergrads…and strong sciences…but other good programs as well.
Our first kid went to a larger private university that also had an 8 course core curriculum. This kid never wavered from his chosen major (music) but he could have as his School was strong in lots of things.
You are at the very beginning of this search. Lots could change including your daughter’s main interests.
@MinnesotaDadof3 – thanks for confirming that Carleton offers some merit based scholarships. I don’t recall that a name was attached to the scholarship but the amount my son was offered was also $10K. He was also offered (and accepted) a nominal $1K in national merit scholarship at UChicago. But he was offered much more substantial amounts from UMich and MSU (in the latter case an Alumni Distinguished Scholarship, which was based on a special exam).
@1Lotus – another small midwestern college that might be worth checking out is Beloit, which (from my direct observation) seems to turn out a disproportionate number of future academics (which means they went on to earn doctorates). As an academic social scientist (with BA from Reed, PhD from UWis) I’ve run into many others who came out of small schools. My son wanted a college in a “major league city,” by which he meant it had major league sports teams. Chicago was an excellent fit for him. He majored in economics. My daughter wanted to attend college in a “real city in the east.” She ended up attending RISD in Providence, RI.
You are lucky to have two excellent flagship options. UW and U of M are great. Do not be worried about the size. The top Wisconsin residents I knew fell into two camps- those who loved MN and those in love with UW. Many make use of reciprocity, sometimes getting into one and not the other school.
Do not worry about them being large schools. All large schools, like large cities, are made up of many neighborhoods. I know UW-Madison. One can live in low rise dorms on the lakeshore or more urban high rise dorms. Science academics are superb, as is the Honors Program. One gets to know peers in one’s classes, often the same students take the same classes. Have them on your/her list for top tier academics at the most affordable price.
UW is a runner’s dream school. Son was a HS CC runner and was able to join the club CC/track team (there is another club for runners as well). They had so many long distance, safe running routes. They could compete in meets- some included D2 or 3 college s and some also had HS teams in the meets. They traveled in UW vehicles and paid their own expenses to go to nearby states. Your D would enjoy Madison.
Beloit is nowhere near the place Madison or Minneapolis are. No reason to limit her to a small college in a smaller town. You can’t just look at percentages. When there are 100 math grads there can be more peers than when only ten and so many grad level classes with varying professors (son’s honors major- he added CS). I know the UW Chemistry department (continue getting my Badger Chemist) and I see how there are many science opportunities. I know of students who likewise enjoyed U of M.
Do not be swayed by those who think private schools are better than public. The states you can choose from have elite public options, unlike the many east coasters on this forum who do not.
addenda. Son was able to use indoor running facilities- good for cold weather. He chose not to take the nonmajors orchestra class. Many opportunities for students who are not elite in music or a sport to continue with them at large schools.
@wis75-thank you. A friend of mine went to Madison and I’ll chat more with her about that option. D will be interested in hearing about all the great running options. As Mom, I am always nervous about running safety and I’d like to see her run in a group on trails that are cleared well. H went to U of MN-TC so most of Ds experiences there are during homecoming when things are probably at their rowdiest. The campuses just seem so BIG to a former farm girl like me
As for your question, as you are in MN, you might want to look at St Olaf, which is strong in the sciences and has a great grad school/med school placement track record. Merit can cover up to half of cost of attendance. Same town as Carleton. Case Western in Cleveland might be an option depending on eventual test scores. Merit scholarships up to about 30K (maybe 32?) are available. It’s increasingly unpredictable and competitive regarding admissions - demonstrated interest is important.
Macalester in St Paul has an indoor running track for the winter! Merit of up to around 20K
Beloit was already mentioned. Maybe check out Lawrence?
Grinnell? Also getting more competitive. Great small school.
TBH, U MN and Wisconsin are also great schools. Admission to an honors program can make a large school feel smaller.
Lawrence is NOT for runners- back in son’s day they did WCATY summer camp there and it was too small a campus for his running (there’s yet another teen son tale there…).
OP- one of my UW college dorm roommates was a transfer from a center system (two year) campus- she was from a dairy farm. Learned what ABS stood for via a book on her shelf (for nonfarm folk, it is American Breeding Service, as in cows). She was an Ag journalism major. The Short Course Ag school two dorms are on the lakeshore. Ag school academic buildings nearby and the nearest library to study in is the Ag library.
