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Parent Cafe
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<p>(Hey, DT123 - I just copied your post, then modified it, because my DS's list looks so like your daughter's!)
I'm not sure he'll apply to any of the out-of-state school, since he seems to want to stay close to home. His list is still in flux.</p>

<p>Major Criteria: D1 sports/football to watch. Nice weather. Not a lot of writing/liberal arts requirements, Non-LAC, good department reputation, good coop/internship possibilities. balanced gender ratio, laidback, non-preppy, financially affordable, no student loans needed. Merit aid a PLUS and may influence final choice.</p>

<p>Reach: Rice
Financial Aid Reaches (Admission Matches): USoCal, UMiami, U of Ark, U. southern carolina, u of pitt,<br>
Safeties: UT-Austin, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (automatic admits, in-state tuition. He would be perfectly happy going to UT-Austin, so that is a true safety. Like Tech - though not the town, and preferred it to A&M)</p>

<p>Possible majors to start: Chemistry, mech or chem engineering..
Stats: rank 6/470 at decent urban public, SAT scores CR690 (weak link) M800 /W 730 (one attempt, will retake in October). SATll, Chem 800 / Math llC 780. APUSH 4, APCHEM 5. Hardest courseload, very modest EC's: a recreational sport, now a job bagging groceries. Very nice kid w/ a good work ethic- a little introverted.</p>

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<p>hi mombot</p>

<p>I really haven't really looked at the math department as a standalone department but I have found that math and engineering excellence tend to go hand in hand. Computer Science is a bit different than computer engineering.</p>

<p>Best Engineering Programs Where the Highest Degree is a Doctorate (US News ranking for Univ of Washington)</p>

<p>Engineering program rank: 22
Aerospace rank: 12
Biomedical rank: 11
Civil rank: 19
Computer rank: 10
Electrical rank: 19
Environmental rank: 16</p>

<p>I am comfortable with my kids going there with those numbers that is for sure. Given that they like the size of the school and feel it is a fit for them. I avoid the private is always better discussions ;) They don't seem to hold water in the engineering fields.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I avoid the private is always better discussions They don't seem to hold water in the engineering fields.

[/quote]
Agreed! Which is why DS may end up in our backyard. UT-Austin is just so well-considered in engineering fields. :)</p>

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<p>OK, I'll give it a shot as testing is over and D is working on essays.</p>

<p>The List (a couple may be dropped after fall visits and a couple might be added after early returns are in):</p>

<p>High reach: Yale EA, Brown, Princeton
Reach: Rice, WUSTL, UC Berkeley, Amherst
Match: U Michigan, Emory
Safety: U Wisconsin</p>

<p>GPA: uw 4.0; shared 1/ca 350
SAT's: 2370 (800cr800m770w); 800 USHistory, 780 Bio(M), 730 Math 2C
AP's: 5's in Bio, USHistory & Calc AB; Eng, Chem, Phys & Spanish senior year</p>

<p>Academic interests: neuroscience (pre-med) and romance languages</p>

<p>EC's, etc.: volunteer & translator in low income clinic, student rep on County health advisory committee, percussion, mountaineering, 8-week summer research internship, Grinnell Summer Honor Scholars Program (scholarship), NMSF & National Hispanic Recognition Scholar.</p>

<p>I'm hoping this is a reasonable list that takes into account her preferences and interests and covers the range of selectivity. Although she has her favorites, she really likes something about all of these schools and would look forward to attending any of them. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.<br>
EM</p>

<p>P.S. I know this list is heavy on the reaches but she really likes her matches and safety, what do you think about this strategy? Also, rolling apps for Michigan and Wisconsin will go out in September.</p>

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<p>Looks great! She looks like a talented kid. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks anxious, your son looks great too! Has he had a chance to visit Rice? It's one of the top on my D's list, she plans to apply interum decision. She'll only be able to visit next spring if accepted. At the beginning of the college search I doubt she would have believed she'd end up wanting to go to a school in Texas! It's been an interesting trip so far, hope all of the hard work pays off with some nice choices for everyone next year.</p>

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<p>Hey back, anxious. </p>

<p>Lack of biomed cuts out TTech for us. </p>

<p>I think you should consider Clemson instead of South Car., or if you know something, let me know. </p>

<p>Ark is off our list because the weather is too cold, but I am not too sure it would be on our list anyway. Too much like Louisiana and Mississippi if you get my drift. See we can be snobby even if we are not considering designer schools. </p>

<p>I have to warn you about Rice, they are awash with applications like your son's, high-scoring bright well-rounded Male kids from Texas. Females and not-from-Texas kids have a much smaller field of competition. It's a really long shot. His chances would be better at a similar school, like Emory, not in TX. But no Eng. at Emory.</p>

<p>Would your son like to meet my daughter?</p>

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<p>Mombot, I think I've seen you around before ;) I'm also a rising senior and have similar interests to your daughter. I'll be a non-matriculated student at UW this year full-time but applying to my "dream" colleges, too. To me, UW is a great school but I've wanted to go to MIT forever. Thus, I'm also for the all reaches + safety strategy.</p>

<p>UW has an excellent math program. If you search the boards for "drbott," I think you'll find some very valuable posts. If I remember correctly, he's an early entrance student and majoring in math at UW. From what I've read in his posts, the math (and applied math, too) is top-notch. Lots of funding, nice teachers, opportunities for research, etc.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Has he had a chance to visit Rice? It's one of the top on my D's list, she plans to apply interim decision.

[/quote]
Hi Entomom and Dt123! Actually my rising college junior D is at Rice (actually in Chile now, studying abroad), and loves it. It's a great school. DS knows that it is a reach, because, although his stats are within range, Rice likes energy, drive, and passion/involvement, and he's kind of slim in that area. (He just woke up and got off the couch recently...) But he will visit and interview, and who knows? He may get lucky.
I got scared off of Clemson reading student reviews and other info - seems a little too remote and conservative and physically hard to get to for my son. (Isn't it out in the boonies somewhere??? Far from an airport?) Please correct me if I am wrong! And I got turned off from Emory after reading about how racially self-segregated it is; and I never went back to look at other info from them again (And my son just isn't very interterested in the whole college search process - he's busy living in the now, so I haven't had much input from him about any of the colleges) I'll take a look at it again, although since he thinks he wants engineering :( :)</p>

<p>My DS would probably love to meet your DD. Maybe he already did. Did she attend the UT honor colloquium a few weeks ago? (I hear that 600+ kids attended!!!!)</p>

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<p>DT123: I just remembered - I believe (man, what a drag it is to get old! memories don't stay very long), I think Tech is adding a biomed program next year... We talked with a very nice female student in the engineering department who had a friend who managed to put a biomed major together - and the advisor, (I believe) said that they planned to have a major in place soon. We really liked Tech, though not the town so much. It's worth a trip to see. :)</p>

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<p>EM,
Is D taking a math class Sr year? Or is Calc AB the hardest math class available? Recommend she take 4 years of math if she can in order for any of the Hi Reaches to be a possibility. Remember that tip-top colleges want to know if students have taken the most challenging courses available.</p>

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<p>hi menlo,
Yes, she'll be going to the local university and taking multivariate and vector calc senior year. The HS is supposed to pay for the classes since several of the kids have maxed out on the math they offer. I'm just hoping the schedueling works out. </p>

<p>My D really laments the lack of offerings at her school, but unfortunately it's pretty typical for an Oregon public. A couple of years ago Doonesbury ran a series of comic strips about some Oregon HS's cutting out almost a month of classes due to budget constraints.</p>