What colleges did your children seriously consider?

[Elisabet1]

I feel like we need to revamp. Which, this is late in the game to do that.

 

My daughter's SAT scores are high. She has a lot going for her, from excellent ECs to, just a lot.

 

She already got in to Texas A&M. But she is applying ED to Rice. Rice seems perfect for her. But if she does not get in, we have no clue where else to look. She does not know what she wants to major in. 

 

Should she apply to UT Austin? Part me of thinks UT Austin is better saved for a grad school option. Originally, we were looking at schools like Swarthmore, Carleton, Stanford, Harvey Mudd, Pomona, Haverford, etc.  But every time we visit a school far away, she hates it (and so do I). In fact, we through in St Olaf as a bonus place to visit while in MN, but had not been considering it originally. LOVED St Olaf. And St Olaf is not the kind of school daughter was looking at originally. Hated Carleton. Met with the Tufts people twice now (at events Tufts held). Did not like them at all.  We are thinking maybe we want to stay closer to home (Texas, OK and Louisiana and Arkansas are close by). 

 

I just really need feedback and help here. I am running out of time. I will describe my daughter...she is conservative, intellectual, no interest in sports (fencing and such she likes, does not like football, etc). She is very good in all her subjects and works hard and has SAT scores in the 700's, including the SAT2 scores. She plays the viola and loves music. Music is a big part of her life. She is thinking she won't major in it. She is definitely a classic musician. We are very down to Earth people and are tiring of some of the arrogant and rude people we run in to at college talks. (I can explain that more if you want, but we seem to keep running in to those people).

 

Any suggestions? 

[Laura Corin]

Husband went to Plan II at UT Austin.  That was a long time ago, but he really liked the college-within-a-college feel.

 

L

If she has no idea what she wants to major in (besides "not music"), I think it is going to be hard to find a school that's a good match.  Perhaps taking a gap year to figure out what she wants to do would be a good use of time.

[regentrude]

I second GGardner's advice. In order to choose a good fit, she needs to figure out WHY she wants to go to college and what exactly she wants to get out of it.

 

You asked which schools our kids consider:

My DD took the list top universities in her intended major, physics and went from the top down.

She eliminated schools where she disliked location and size of the school.

She eliminated schools that do not have a strong humanities program, since she wants that background and is toying with a double major in English (so some top science and engineering schools are out because of that).

She narrowed the list to 12 or so schools, with a balance between reach and safety schools.

[In The Great White North]

I've read statistics that claimed that over 50% of freshmen had no idea what they wanted to do in life (and checked "Unknown" as their intended major) and something ridiculous like 80-90% switched majors during their college career.  I don't see that as a reason for a gap year.  Most of what's offered as majors has no high school equivalent, so the kid wouldn't know til he got here and tried it.  The key is to take freshman classes that can count for a lot of different majors.  (So you don't end up taking 6-7 years.)

 

Has she looked at USAFA?  She will probably not get the same vibes as she has at "regular" colleges.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Elisabet1]

She knows she wants to do math/physics type degree. Basically, she is narrowed down to math or physics or an engineering that is physics leaning. As in, not chem engineering, or even computer engineering. Currently, she is declared at a Mechanical Engineering major at Texas A&M (already accepted). But aerospace or civil engineering seem to have more physics. And she is interested in a straight physics or math degree. 

[Elisabet1]

Dot....I graduated from from a huge state university that was very similar to Texas A&M. I hated it too. It was huge, impersonal, profs were inaccessible. I really think she wants to do science as an undergrad. I think it is best to save the big universities for grad school. Going to a huge university for undergrad can mean these exact problems. 

[Elisabet1]

Rice was perfect in every way. It has a variety of majors and is easy to switch between majors. Most classes are small. The residential college system is a huge bonus. Even though she is not a music major, she can still take part in limited music classes and orchestra type activities. She spent two days there, attending classes and being in the residential colleges and everything. She LOVED it! She loved the classes, she loved the other students, loved it. It was a perfect fit. It has every single major she is currently considering, as well as being easily accessible to change between the majors. TAMU already told us she has to file paperwork and usually min wait to change majors is one semester, but can be much longer depending on which major you are switching to. The housing system is frustrating there. And they are so overcrowded that they start every year with kids sleeping in bunk beds in the lounges of the dorms.  Meanwhile, my son is at a small private school in Texas and everything has gone GREAT! They do not want to be at the same school. But it might just come to that eventually anyway, I don't know. We will have to see if she gets in to Rice.

 

 

[Elisabet1]

Oh, and her other extra curricular is volunteering at an environmental learning area. She helps maintain the grounds and when there are classes, she helps teach science to the kids. During the summer, this is full time. It is all volunteer now. She is kind of hoping they offer her a paying job after she turns 18. I kind of wonder if when she gets to college, IF she can try out some environmental science type courses, or geology, if she might go that direction. Rice has environmental engineering. They also have a minor in sustainability. Since she was talking about building us some solar panels for our home, maybe she would be interested in environmental engineering. I don't know. But, Rice just has everything she would be interested in. And the way they are set up, she can try out a few different things before she has to declare her major.

[Frances]

Since Rice sounds so perfect for her, it seems like the best use of time would be to find schools similar to Rice. During her visit there, did she talk to students about what other schools they considered? I don't recall the name of it, but one of the standard college guides we used listed similar schools for each college. Besides Stanford and the public state schools  you listed, most of the other schools are considerably smaller and more liberal than Rice. I'm not surprised she liked St. Olaf better than most of them, as it is definitely more conservative and strong in music and math/science.

 

What about honors colleges within bigger schools? Since many smaller schools don't have engineering programs, she may have to go to a larger school to keep that option open. But being part of an honors program can sometimes provide the best of both worlds.

[In The Great White North]

What about Carnegie Mellon?

[Luckymama]

I don't recall the name of it, but one of the standard college guides we used listed similar schools for each college.

It's the Fiske Guide, btw.

[Jen in NY]

We looked at Carnegie, Case Western, Cornell, URochester, Rochester Institute of Tech ... and a couple of others. Case and Cornell were the finalists. All of these schools have Engineering and related majors, but they are up here in the cold, cold north. :)

 

I would at least take a looksee at Cornell... since it is fairly large it has something going on in all of your dd's interests.

[Mama Geek]

Coming from someone who has worked in engineering and dh has a physics degree and an engineering degree, if you are really interested in Rice find out what their reputation is in the engineering world.  Texas A&M has a very good reputation.  I know that Rice has a very good reputation in business, but I haven't heard much them as an engineering school.  

 

I know these schools are farther away, but have you looked at Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Perdue, MIT, and if Aerospace is an interest how about Embry Riddle in Florida.  I have mostly lived on the East and Gulf Coast, I am more familiar with the the schools in this area.  I went to Clemson and they did have a music department.   i have no idea how good it was or is, but I am sure you could get a minor in it without a problem.

 

Also you can get a graduate degree from the same school that you get your undergraduate degree from, so you don't have to cross UT off the list.

 

In the job market it takes a PhD to get a good job in Physics (even though after talking to dh it is a much more rigorous degree than engineering).  You have to take 3 semesters of physics for most of the engineering degrees, but that doesn't mean that physics will be heavily used on a day to day basis on the job.  

[Hoggirl]

What about Trinity University?

[Twigs]

Check out UTDallas and UTArlington

[AngieW in Texas]

My middle dd was considering UT Dallas, Trinity University, and Rice. She decided not to apply to Rice because it was too much of a pressure cooker and all family would be at least 4 hours away. She decided not to apply to Trinity because it seemed too small. She did like that everybody could participate in plays/musicals and not just students majoring in theater.

 

UT Dallas ended up being the one school that she applied to. She loves that there is NO football team and that the big team on campus that everybody talks about is the chess team. There is plenty of opportunity for athletics, if you are so inclined, but it is not a sports-centered school. It is a very geeky campus and she loves that because that makes it a perfect fit for her.

 

I know that you can participate in music and theater on campus without majoring in them.

 

They offer really nice scholarships. They actually have higher average SAT scores than UT Austin. The honors program is very nice there too. Honors students get to register first.

 

All the dorms are new (oldest is just 5-6 years old) and are VERY nice. There are a few lecture hall classes, but not all that many. At UT Austin, your student would be in a lot of lecture hall classes and many of those would be taught by grad students.

[Tamarind]

If your daughter liked St. Olaf, she might also consider Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Luther has outstanding music, great academics, opportunities for environmental work. The atmosphere is very down-to-earth. The college is very committed to environmental sustainability and generates much of its own electricity through solar and wind power. The college is within walking distance of a classic college town with nice shops, restaurants and a natural foods store (all very reasonably priced). There is a river running through town (and across a part of campus). There are opportunities for hiking, fly fishing, and cross country ski. The science facilities are excellent.

 

Although the St. Olaf music program seems to be more widely known than Luther's, I was really impressed with Luther's music program. Luther College music has a very high standards.

 

Although Decorah, Iowa, is a bit off the beaten track, the college runs an extensive bus and shuttle system to nearby towns at the opening and closing of the semesters, as well as during Fall and Spring breaks. Shuttle service is avaiable to Minneapolis, MN,  Chicago, IL, and Madison, WI, as well as to many cities in Iowa.

[flyingiguana]

University of St Thomas in Minneapolis has an engineering degree (I forget what fields, exactly).  It's not too big, but I know they've got a number of kids there doing internships and there's a fair amount of research on campus.  That's definitely something to check into if going to a small college for an engineering degree. The music program is decent, although not so highly regarded as the one at St Olaf or Luther.  It's an urban area, but it's definitely not a downtown city feel.  More small college town, with a big city just next door on the bus line.

 

I'm guessing it also has a more conservative student body and administration than St Olaf.  Although the faculty at UST are another matter. The kids I know who have gone to St Olaf have been fairly liberal.  The ones I know who go to (and stay) at St Thomas are more conservative.  (I've known a couple liberal kids who started out there who transferred out.)

 

But people I've known who went to St Olaf and Luther all really liked them, without exception.  Carleton... I don't know, it takes a certain type.  Some kids thrive there and love it.  Others just drop out.

 

If music is really her thing, though, St Olaf or Luther are good bets in this area of the country.  (I also know kids doing non music majors at places like the Univ of MN who are also very involved in the music programs there.  I know there are a lot of highly regarded music teachers assoc with the UM.  Haven't heard too much about their music program otherwise, but I'm guessing they have a lot of good players, given the size of the population.  Same may true of many large universities.)

 

Most highly ranked engineering programs are probably going to be at big universities.  They will also be the ones with the most diversity of engineering degrees. 

 

If she decides to do physics or math instead, that will open up more small colleges for consideration.  And any science/math undergrad degree will be likely to cover most of the courses she'd need to be considered for a master's engineering program, although she should be sure she covers everything she needs as an undergrad.  Some physics degrees don't require chem, a math degree may not require the science courses, etc.  (Although even missing a course or two probably won't knock her out of the running for grad school.)

 

My daughter did a summer internship thing at University of MD which she enjoyed.  They have a lot of resources there.  Although, my daughter was a bit taken aback by the fact that there wasn't just a shop room where there were tools and things.  Or, if there was one, no one she was in contact with had any idea where it was.  Perhaps this is a difference between big and small schools?  When she needed tools and scraps of things to experiment with putting things together before buying the parts she needed, she discovered they only had a shop that would build things FOR her, for money.  That wasn't quite what she had in mind for her own engineering project.

 

There are a LOT of colleges out there.  And there's something to be said for staying close to home.  My kids drew a circle of a certain radius and just didn't consider anything outside that range.  But we have a lot of colleges close by to choose from -- of all sizes and types.

 

With high SAT scores, she will likely get decent aid at a smaller college.  Full rides are hard to come by, but I would guess she'll get a few offers that will at least match in state tuition at your local university.  A lot of small colleges have ACT and SAT cut offs -- everyone above a certain percentile gets X amount of aid as a minimum.  At one point I ran into some sites that showed this for a couple colleges, but I can't find them right now.

 

My kids also got plied with loan offers, but I fail to see how that's actually aid.  Necessary, perhaps, but it doesn't actually reduce the sticker price.

 

 

eta: also -- looks like UST is now sending out T shirts to admitted students.  You don't even have to commit to going.  It's not really a UST shirt like the type you might buy in their bookstore.  It has "I'm IN!" emblazoned on it with a small UST logo.  And the admittance letter comes with confetti. 

[Teachin'Mine]

Have you looked at Olin or Rose-Hulman?  Both are small and great for engineering, but I don't know about their physics depts specifically or their music departments.

[MrsDarcy]

How about Rhodes college, its in the area you're describing, just across the bridge from Arkansas (Memphis).  It's a small, intimate-feeling ,prestigious liberal arts college. My dd toured there and really enjoyed it.  

[raptor_dad]

If she likes Rice she might also like Washington U in St Louis. It is also very strong and more conservative than a coastal school. However, its probably about as competitive so no help there.

 

Duke also has an excellent engineering school embedded in a liberal arts university. However it is liberal, far from home, and just as competitive as schools you are already looking at.

 

It sound like TAMU is a safety at best. Do they or UT have honors colleges or other smaller learning communities that could partially simulate the the smaller, more elite schools?