<p>ttparent & RacinReaver’s recommended CMU. I’ve heard that CMU is very strong in both science & arts, & will do some more reading about it & whether you can take classes in both science & arts. Also, do you all know if they have 1st year programs, residential dorms, or other programs that help foster student connections socially?</p>
<p>Need2, Small and medium colleges with strong academics and good studio art: Williams, Wesleyan, Hamilton, Haverford, Conn College, Skidmore, Vassar, Smith. Among the ivy league: Yale & Brown. Farther afield: Kenyon & Oberlin.</p>
<p>My son graduated from Williams with a degree in Art History/Art Studio. He looked at most of the schools on the above list plus a few others. He was really really pleased with his experience at Williams and would do it again in a heartbeat. After Williams (to which he applied ED) he liked Wesleyan, Hamilton, Kenyon, Brown. He liked Amherst, but felt that the art program was lacking.</p>
<p>Please let me know if I can answer any specific questions on Williams.</p>
<p>OP: Based on what you’ve described, it does sound like your D would benefit from an LAC atmosphere.</p>
<p>My S1 ended up at Tufts and he loves it so far, however we also looked at and considered CMU and URochester, among others. Even though Rochester may not be “ranked” as high as some other schools, we really felt a strong connection. I know they are strong in Science but do not know what they have for fine arts. It may be worth a look. They are unique (like Brown) in that they have clusters of programs rather than specific core requirements. We talked to professors at length, talked to many students, sat in on classes (my S did, not us), and ate in the dining halls and got a very positive sense about the school and the kids that go there. So…these schools are not LAC’s but mid-size research unis. with @5,000 or so kids per school.</p>
<p>Imo, though, it sounds like an LAC would be the way for your D to go, as long as she thinks she may not get bored with such a small amount of kids on campus.</p>
<p>MomWonders’s suggestion of Bard is a possibility that I’m reading about. </p>
<p>Love that they’ve been developing a stronger science program. Love that it’s not preppy & “isn’t a school for jocks”. </p>
<p>Concerned about their distribution requirements in areas such as “Literary Texts & Linguistics”, & what requirements they have with their writing program. </p>
<p>If their science has become very strong, it may work. Thanks for the idea.</p>
<p>Bard’s current course listings in science appear to be rather limited:</p>
<p>[Bard</a> College Course List–Fall 2011](<a href=“http://inside.bard.edu/academic/courses/current/]Bard”>http://inside.bard.edu/academic/courses/current/)</p>
<p>My daughter is at Wellesley and your daughter should definitely consider it.</p>
<p>Wellesley has strong course offerings as well as the added benefit of being close to Boston rather than in a remote town or village.</p>
<p>In addition, I do think Wellesley provides social opportunities for a broad range of students, including those who are quieter and more introverted.</p>
<p>It has been a couple of years since I visited CMU. My S did not decide to go there but I vaguely remember there were themed houses for dorms and some strange quirks and rituals with a painted fence. Overall, I can only refer you to the school information pages below:</p>
<p>[Residential</a> Life/House Communities - Student Life - Carnegie Mellon University](<a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-life/residential/index.html]Residential”>http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/student-life/residential/index.html)</p>
<p>We were interested in Engineering but after the tour, we got a very strong impression on how important the arts program was to the community. The main thing that stuck with me was a walking bridge they were building to connect the new CompSci building (donated by Bill Gates) to the Arts Center that signifies their cherished connection between Arts and Science.</p>
<p>Thanks, ucbalumnus, for checking Bard’s actual course offerings. Very helpful to have real data & appreciate your taking the time to check. </p>
<p>Momrath’s list of strong schools with good studio art is very helpful—Thanks. I’ve started reading about those schools & they are some excellent options for us to visit on your list.</p>
<p>Thanks, too, chocchipcookie, for your thoughts. My gut feeling is also that my dau would flourish in a smaller LAC school. </p>
<p>And, fendrock, appreciate you mentioning Wellesley. I keep thinking about Wellesley & Smith, & believe that we can easily visit them on this trip. </p>
<p>And, we can also easily add Wesleyan to our visits, too.</p>
<p>Have to think about whether to add a few extra days to visit CMU, Haverford, Swarthmore & Bryn Mor…</p>
<p>My daughter attended Brandeis as initially a double major in bio and studio art as both are very strong depts. She ultimately graduated with a double major in studio art and art history and continued at Brandeis for their highly regarded post-bac program in studio art, which prepares the studio major for graduate school She recently completed her MFA from one of the top graduate programs in painting. Brandeis offered many fine and supportive programs including study abroad as well as funding for additional summer study.</p>
<p>CMU is strong in both arts and sciences and Pittsburgh is a really nice place to live to boot. You’ll need to do your homework, but my impression is that the art school is a pretty serious place and it may be hard to combine it with science. But it may not be, from the alumni magazine I read an article recently where a professor was saying he found that it was actually easier to connect across departments than it had been at Brown. But that’s a prof talking not a student. My son was a comp sci major and total math geek, he didn’t taking anything outside his interests, but I know a number of comp sci majors are interested in graphics and have used the required minor to make those connections.</p>
<p>*I believe that Harvard & Yale’s academics & residential housing would be a good fit but am not sure if my dau would “fit” with their students & flourish in their social & campus environments. *</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore at H and I’m also exactly the quiet, behind-the-scene type of person you described your daughter to be. A good percentage of student body here is indeed super outgoing and charismatic, but as the more introverted type I definitely never had problem finding my own company or fitting in with the social and academic atmosphere. As long as your D is confident in her own abilities she’ll feel comfortable and well engaged in a school at Harvard. The school is also in New England, has small average class sizes, and very strong in both science and humanities. Combining science and fine arts is also very possible.</p>
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<p>One of my good friends there got a BS in both in engineering and music performance. It took a lot of work, but he was able to get it done. I also had a bunch of friends that minored in more artsy fields such as design and photography along with their engineering degree.</p>
<p>There’s not any sort of “house” culture here, though there are fraternities and sororities of all different characters. There’s also tons of activities to get involved in (like most other schools), so even if you’re not “officially” involved in the arts, there’s still things like theater, dance, concert bands, and the Kiltie Band (our marching band that, well, wears kilts).</p>
<p>My D is a first-year at Wellesley along with fendrock’s D and I second the suggestion for your daughter. Certainly explore Smith as well, but be aware that there’s more of a quirky vibe there. (NTTAWWT - just that you didn’t describe your D that way)</p>
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<p>I don’t think she would have a problem fitting in once there, but she may have a problem getting in, despite stellar stats. H&Y admissions seem to favor “super-outgoing and charismatic” types, as noted above. Kids who radiate “I’m so special” and have no problem telling people about it–if asked–are more their style than introverted intellectuals with a sardonic streak. Despite that, I think she should consider applying to both, if she likes them. It’s not as if <em>everyone</em> who gets in to those schools has an ego the size of Gibraltar, and she sounds like a confident type. :)</p>
<p>BTW, when you say she is interested in fine arts, so you mean studio art, performing arts, art history, or some combination of the above?</p>
<p>Regarding Bard’s limited science offerings - one will often find in any small school a limited number of courses each semester. It’s one reason many students often prefer larger research universities because there is more breadth of courses. </p>
<p>But more important, I believe, will be the quality of the actual course, and the choices one will have over the four (or, in my son’s double degree case - five) years that they’re at the college. After all, one usually only needs one or two courses in one’s field per semester. I have seen in the three years my son has been at Bard that they are continually ramping up their science offerings, and hiring more professors, and offering more research opportunities. In addition, Bard offers tutorials for upper division students - which can be developed between the student and the professor to explore in depth areas specific to the student’s interests.</p>
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<p>However, even if you assume that fall and spring semesters will have completely different course offerings, doubling the number of unique courses, the science offerings at Bard are still very limited, particularly beyond the freshman and sophomore level courses that may be taken for breadth or pre-med purposes.</p>
<p>I have a son at CMU combining fine arts and robotics. If your daughter is a strong student she can easily do a combo degree with any of the natural sciences and, although a little tougher, can also do a dual with comp sci, engineering, etc. CMU works very hard to facilitate the cross field fertilization of both faculty and students and that is why my son chose it. A girl with an interest in science or engineering is going to get a lot of attention because CMU is still, overall, more guys than gals (not in arts, however). My son absolutely is in heaven…a wonderful mix of bright people…he lives with a biochem major and 3 engineers and they like having someone with the arts interest (and classes with girls). My HS junior daughter (a very girly-girl, outgoing) stayed over last weekend and just loved the atmosphere with the actors/comp sci geeks/artists and engineers all mixed up together–she found them smart but funny and quirky. The reputation of foreign students and gamers living 24/7 in their rooms is just not accurate. If D were more science oriented she would definitely consider it. Please visit or find out more. Their dual science/arts degree programs are really quite amazing and are unique.</p>
<p>So happy to read your post fineartsmom… I have a 10th grader who is very involved with theatre but his other passion is physics. He is a little unusual as he is VERY creative but is also NOT the engineer type… he is more the theatre geek. He doesn’t really like video gaming, but loves the outgoing quirky theatre type kids. I have been thinking of CMU for him as he would love to combine arts and science. I was one of those people that thought you couldn’t cross over at CMU…</p>
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That’s because they are hanging out at the Linux cluster instead. Actually one of the best things about CMU is that there are good outlets for the computer geeks.</p>
<p>OP, check out Amherst before you invest in a visit there. I was under the impression that their science facilities have not been updated very recently. Problems with the economy took hold before they were able to build. I have one son currently in college who is a science/theater guy and we did not look at Amherst because of what I had read about their science facilities.</p>