For west coast, look at Santa Clara University. It’s a Jesuit school and everyone takes core courses required in multiple fields. Engineering program is very good. Beautiful campus and location. But it’s expensive.
You could check Cal Poly SLO. You won’t get need based aid there but their OOS coat is not too horrible.
You only get 8 private schools, so you want to pick wisely, assessing not just the programs and fit but your likelihood of admittance.
I don’t know the various programs you listed for your summers. Are they highly selective ones that colleges know? As you probably know, highly selective colleges were inundated with applications this year due to test optional, and that may be the case next cycle. You need more than good grades, rigor, and test scores for these schools. Is there something unique about you that stands out? Do you have a compelling story to tell through your application? Assessing this will help you choose your 8 private’s. Does your school have naviance? Is it a feeder to Yale, Stanford, etc.?
If you/your counselor assess you have a good shot at a tippy top school, you should check out Stanford. Obviously excellent for engineering plus.
We just went through this process with our S, also Jewish. He isn’t 100% sure of engineering, so wanted a program where he’d figure out quickly if it was for him and which offered maximum flexibility. We also wanted a Jewish population. We assessed that his likelihood of admission at Stanford (the only tippy top he liked) wasn’t good. And, given what he wanted, decided ED would give him the best possibility of getting in. You may want to consider this approach.
At any rate, I would suggest looking at Columbia and see if you like the smaller core for Fu students, and whether it gives you the flexibility you desire. I echo Northwestern, given the quarter system plus its whole brain engineering (where you delve into hands on projects and design immediately). Engineers can double major there (though be prepared to work!). Also look at Duke, which has a top biomedengineering program and a first year experience where you immediately get hands on experience. Duke also provides flexibility in taking classes in Trinity and has various certificate programs in different areas. Penn has some interesting engineering programs and you can take classes at any of their schools. JHU, could also be a great choice; it has a first year course that covers a variety of engineering disciplines. Wash U is also flexible, and has a variety of interdiscilinary majors, and it has a large Jewish population. There’s also Brown, with its open curriculum.
Case Western and U Rochester are both fabulous for their engineering and flexibility. These were liklies for our S based on where we live, but may be targets for you, again, look at your Naviance/school experience.
Just be aware that the entire Swarthmore engineering program has 44 students, across all years. And according to their slides, they offer a “general engineering major”. I’ve never heard of, or hired, a “general engineer”. It also says 2/3 of graduates go to grad schools and “many alums in “non engineering disciplines”.
It sounds very different than any traditional engineering program. Great if you’re looking for something unique, just be aware.
Case Western Reserve University.
CWRU was created from the merger of a ** LAC + STEM **school in 1969. So you get people majoring in the liberal arts, nursing, business, as well as engineering. Unlike some engineering schools, you get more of a male female balance.
Case also has a ** Single Door admissions** policy…once you are admitted you can major in whatever you want…no applying to the engineering or business school or whatever…so you can also easily change majors (obviously you need to meet the requirements)
Case is in the University Circle, Home to world-renowned museums, prestigious universities, nationally recognized hospitals, Cleveland Orchestra, eclectic restaurants, beautiful parks, and cozy spaces.
https://www.universitycircle.org/
Case is minutes from downtown Cleveland and you get a free RTA pass
[Cleveland - Case Western Reserve University - College Confidential Forums ](Cleveland - Case Western Reserve University - College Confidential Forums
Case is affiliated with the ** Cleveland Institute of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Art.**
All art programs are considerably enhanced by close cooperation with and access to the facilities of cultural institutions located in University Circle, in particular The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Institute of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.
The Department of Music at CWRU offers undergraduate students a wide range of opportunities for musical study and participation, many of which take advantage of our Joint Music Program with the Cleveland Institute of Music. https://music.case.edu/prospective-undergraduate-students/general-information/
Practicing professional engineer here with 25+ years in the industry, here, and dad of daughters interested in engineering. If you plan on actually practicing engineering, I can advise a couple things. 1. You must attend an ABET accredited university in order to become licensed to practice engineering. This is required for you to do most consulting work and offer services to the public, but not always needed to work in research or industry. 2. ABET accreditation has many minimum distribution requirements to get an engineering degree, so check out any college’s suggested course of study to see what spare space is available in your schedule, and 3. Engineering employers don’t care where you went to school, except perhaps for where they focus recruiting efforts for your first job. All engineering curricula are rigorous, and there are plenty of “top” engineering grads working for engineers from Whatsamatta U. 4. Larger engineering programs will have more diversity in engineering coursework, whereas programs with a small number of engineering grads will have limited opportunities to pursue your interests, as well as potentially fewer on campus recruiters.
All that being said, look for a school you can afford without loans that offers activities and coursework that interest you.
The OP says she definitely prefers east coast schools, maybe west coast and not in NYC, wouldn’t that eliminate CWRU, Michigan Columbia etc.?
OP: Since you have a safety in the SUNYs, use your eight private to reaches and matches on these, as others have also suggested:
Swarthmore, CMU, JHU, Stanford reaches
RPI, U of Rochester, Santa Clara, Tufts matches
I don’t think of a Rochester as being on the east coast…
Still, it might be good for this student to at least explore some of these other options. Sometimes folks don’t even think of the great programs located in flyover country.
I went to grad school in the midwest, so it’s not anything like not knowing about fly-over country. If we’re trying to reduce the college list to eight private, per the high school, and OP indicates a geo preference, that might a good list. The private midwest colleges mentioned so far, NU, CWRU, WashU, are excellent. I grew up a few years in upstate NY so yeah Rochester not exactly a coastal city, unless you consider it being near a great lake!
I think the hidden gem is Colorado School of Mines. Kids are nerdy but they seem to enjoy a lot. Looks to be very collaborative. Not too hard to get in, but academics seem excellent.
It’s a small state school. 20min from Denver.
Worth to check out. Potential earning after graduation is very high and near top.
I don’t think there is a way for an OOS student to get the cost of Mines down to $20k a year.