I am interested in a STEM major most likely something in physics/engineering/math, but I want to explore my options before I decide on a major. I am looking for some good target schools in New England. There are so many schools in the area I am having trouble narrowing down my search. Ideally I would like a smaller school - I’m not really into the vibe I get at schools like BU or NU. Cost is certainly a concern, so decent merit aid or affordability is a plus. I live in MA so I am already planning to apply to one of the umass schools (either Amherst or Lowell).
My stats:
Current junior
GPA(w): 4.9
GPA(u): 4.1
SAT: 1530
Waiting on SAT subject scores.
AP: APUSH, bio, chem, eng lang& comp. planning to take: physics, French, calculus and possibly stats or English
Awards include academic excellence in biology and english.
Quick run down of ECs:
Music: jazz band, marching band, other ensembles. Have been recognized for leadership in a few of these groups.
Make sure the engineering major is one you can transfer into once you are at the university. At many universities, it’s better to start in engineering and change to another major than the other way around. The course sequence for engineering is pretty structured and many engineering programs have limited capacity.
Congratulations on your hard work and success! We loved WPI. Mid-size (4400 undergrads), beautiful campus in a nice area of Worcester, unique hands-on, project-oriented approach, relative gender balance for a STEM school. RPI is also a good suggestion.
If you’re willing to travel a little more, you might also look at Clarkson in NY and Case Western in Cleveland. Case is also mid-size with terrific STEM classes. It offers generous merit aid. It’s right off I-90, so not a ridiculous drive from lots of MA. We’ve done that trip several times. Good luck!
U of Rochester isn’t quite New England, but sounds perfect for you in terms of size, top tier STEM, open curriculum with flexibility of major choice, and strong music culture. There’s also RIT in Rochester if you prefer a more hands-on and coop-oriented STEM school.
Clarkson gives very generous merit $ and would be a safety for you. See too if your school would nominate you of the Rensselaer medal scholarship (one per high school).
Here’s the link to the Rensselaer Medal. I’m not sure why all high schools don’t participate in this program. It always seemed to me a win-win-win idea. RPI is darn close to MA and VT. Clarkson is in upstate NY, but farther up there.
Bucknell and Lafayette are two of the handful of LACs that offer engineering. Union, which @tk21769 mentioned above, is another.
Lehigh is a slightly larger option with merit aid up to full tuition.
Tufts and the Ivies don’t offer merit aid, something to keep in mind if you won’t qualify for financial aid. Run the EFC calculator at each college to see how much you’d be expected to pay.
Thank you to everyone who replied. Some of the schools were on my radar and some are not. At least now I have a good starting point. I will look into your suggestions!
If you were to choose between Amherst and Lowell, based on what I have heard, Amherst is a great choice. One of my friends greatly enjoys their Mechanical Engineering program, and their Computer Science program is apparently quite esteemed.