<p>GPA: 4.1 W and 3.75 UW (freshman year brought me down A LOT, but for my sophomore and junior years I've maintained a 4.27 W, 4.00 UW)</p>
<p>I've taken 6 honors classes, but **no AP classes<a href="my%20school%20offers%2017%20APs%20-%20it's%20one%20of%20the%20best%20public%20high%20schools%20in%20the%20state">/b</a>. Senior year I'm taking 2 AP classes (Econ and Chem) and 2 honors classes.</p>
<p>SAT: 1990 superscored</p>
<p>ECs:
Tech Crew for plays - 12 hours a week - 17 weeks a year (Sophomore and Junior)
Science Club - 1 hour a week all school year (Sophomore and Junior)
*Next year I'll be VP of the Science Club
Some math tutoring as a part of Mu Alpha Theta - only like 8 hours total though (Junior)</p>
<p>Honors/Awards:
Mu Alpha Theta
National Science Honors Society</p>
<p>REQUIREMENTS:
- Small (under 6,000), preferably a LAC
- Strong-ish in math/science
- Great financial aid for someone with my stats
- Liberal student body</p>
<p>For example, I'm looking into Bennington as a safety.</p>
<p>These are my match/reach schools:
1. Mount Holyoke College (dream school)
2. Bryn Mawr College
3. Occidental College
4. Trinity College
5. Dickinson College</p>
<p>You will probably want a rural or suburban school that is relatively close to a police station and is in a good neighborhood, those schools are characteristically safer than a more urban school.</p>
<p>I agree I would say WPI is a match and RPI is a high match (maybe I’m overqualifying you because math science schools usually want a higher sat than yours) but I can’t help you because I don’t know much about LAC’s.</p>
<p>However, I’m curious why go to a LAC instead of a place like RPI or WPI if you want to do something in math and science?</p>
<p>@Ana729 I just really love the vibe/people of LACs. I actually visited WPI and couldn’t stand the kids there. The quarter system, the campus, the academics - all amazing. I just couldn’t get over the fact that 40% of the kids there were in frats (which definitely showed during my visit), and that it’s 70% guys. If I went to WPI or RPI I’d be really miserable.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong I completely agree with you. The people who go into LAC’s are usually brilliant and wonderful people who are engaging and interesting. However, I won’t be applying to any because I need a degree that will get me a good paying job when I graduate colleges. I personally would hate to go to a party school with little academic focus (I’ve lived in NYC my whole life…I have met way too many guidos than someone with an IQ over 100 ever should meet (that might have been harsh lol.))</p>
<p>Also, you have good stats you should at least apply to one private university or very good state school where the guys aren’t all frat boys and they are academically focused. I doubt it’s like that at RPI, WPI I could see that.</p>
<p>I think you will have a good shot at the schools on your list. Be sure to show interest in the schools by visiting/interviewing (either on campus or with an alumni close to home) etc.</p>
<p>For a couple of somewhat less competitive but still strong LACs where I know people have got good merit packages in past years, you could look at Goucher and Muhlenberg.</p>
<p>Most of the “tech” schools are a safety because you are a female with high stats. Top liberal arts colleges are a reach or high match because they need more males rather than females.</p>
<p>RIT (ultra safety), WPI, IIT etc are safety.
RPI, CMU, Gtech etc are matches. </p>
<p>“Small (under 6,000)”
Is this limit set in stone ? I was gonna recommend Boston College, Northeastern and Boston U.</p>
<p>What you may want to do is look up schedules and catalogs of various schools to check their course offerings in the majors you are interested in. LACs often have specific strengths and weaknesses in terms of subjects; “math and science” may be a bit too general, since a given LAC may be strong in one of those subjects but weak in another.</p>
<p>LACs with convenient cross-registration access to a big university may avoid the types of limitations associated with small course catalogs and limited schedulings. Some examples include Barnard -> Columbia, Smith / Mount Holyoke / Amherst -> University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Others include Bryn Mawr / Swarthmore / Haverford -> University of Pennsylvania, and Wellesley -> MIT, but commuting distances may be less convenient in those cases.</p>
<p>Some public LACs have relatively low cost to begin with, so even if they do not give much financial aid, they may still be relatively inexpensive compared to other schools:</p>
<p>Truman State
University of Minnesota - Morris
SUNY - Geneseo
UNC - Asheville</p>
<p>One potential issue with LACs and other small schools as safeties is that they may have too few students of similar ability and motivation as a top student. In contrast, a big but not very selective state flagship may still have enough top students mingling with the less strong students that you may be more likely to find a peer group there than at a “safety” LAC. Whether or not this peer group issue is important to you is something you need to decide for yourself.</p>
<p>@happy1 Thanks! I’m definitely going to be doing interviews with most/all of those five schools. Goucher looks really awesome, I’ll check it out.</p>
<p>@XtremePower CMU as a match? Are you sure? I actually did look at Northeastern, but it’s just too big for me. Boston College is too conservative, and Boston U is huge and had a god awful campus.</p>
<p>In the end though, I just really want to go to a small school. If you really think RPI is a match, and Ana729 thinks it’s not as fratty as WPI, then I’ll look into it again.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah, the issue is I’m not too sure what exactly I’m interested in. I’m stuck between bio, chem, and CS as majors.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This is actually something I noticed while visiting Hampshire College, and it’s something I’m really afraid of. If I don’t get into any of my top five schools with some reasonable financial aid, you’re right, I may just end up going to my state flagship (UConn) for this exact reason. There are worse things, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.</p>
<p>Biology is a common major; small schools often have enough biology courses, but not always in all of the many subareas; if you have specific subareas of interest, check the catalogs and schedules for courses in those subareas. Chemistry is common enough; look for ACS approval ( <a href=“American Chemical Society”>American Chemical Society; ), which is fairly common.</p>
<p>algorithms and complexity
theory of computation
operating systems
compilers
networks
databases
security and cryptography
software engineering
hardware courses like computer architecture
electives like graphics, artificial intelligence, etc.</p>
<p>Note that the four LACs near University of Massachusetts - Amherst have cross registration access to it (and its well respected computer science department), so the limitations of their computer science offerings may be less of an issue than at LACs with limited computer science offerings but no cross registration access.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus So if I receive a CS degree from a LAC like Mount Holyoke (which doesn’t have ABET accreditation) how would employers view that? Would it still be respected? Or would you recommend I just stick to the physical sciences at an LAC like that?</p>
<p>How about Rhodes?Look at Scripps - women’s college, you have the consortium right there, and it’s right in the mix. Also, look at Whittier - very good merit aid and “safer” than Oxy.</p>
<p>If you attend Mount Holyoke, you may want to supplement your CS course selection with courses at University of Massachusetts - Amherst.</p>
<p>In terms of seeking first jobs and internships, you may have to be more aggressive at looking for and applying to employers, since employers are more likely to recruit at larger schools with better known CS majors. It does look like there is some provision for Mount Holyoke students to register at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst career center, which may be helpful:</p>
<p>@sakacar I think Scripps would be a reach for me, though it really is such an amazing school. Whittier looks a bit below the range I was really looking at; it’s like a super safety. I’ll look into Rhodes, but it would definitely be more of a match/high match for me.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus Taking CS classes at UMass as well sounds like a great idea.</p>
<p>I’m not too worried about whether a lot of recruiters will come to my school or not (don’t they rarely come to small LACs?), but if employers will see it as comparable to an accredited CS degree. Given the extra courses I’d take at UMASS, am I wrong to believe that I’d be seen as just as qualified?</p>
<p>Where are you from? Scripps might be a reach if you’re from CA, but not if you’re from the NE (which is what I guessed from your other picks). Geographic diversity can really help with aid offers at schools that trend to be more regional. Scripps offered my d a full ride, while Oxy only offered 25k a year. Whittier was also full, and Rhodes and Smith. Her stats were a little better than yours, but her geography was worse for CA schools than if she’d come from the northeast. The CTCL schools are good for aid, although they might not be entirely safe. As mom of 2 suggested, it is best to have a true admissions and financial safety in your back pocket. (My d was rejected at a school she applied to as a pure safety, so you just never really know for sure). :-)</p>
<p>If Mount Holyoke is a good match for you, I wouldn’t dismiss it even though their CS offerings are limited compared to a STEM-school. The school is highly regarded and employers are always looking for intelligent young women to recruit. Take advantage of internships and research opportunities etc. and you will be fine.</p>