What's a collaborative, happy yet very rigorous research university that's not Rice?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has the stats for any of the most selective schools but not focused on HYPMS due to unlikely odds. What are top schools that fit description but are more attainable like at U Chicago, Cornell level?

Already considering Rice but the Texas thing makes it not an ED choice.

Notre Dame. Indiana is not Texas, but still might be too conservative for you though. Plus, some of the students are actual Republicans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably not highly ranked enough for you but William and Mary has a lot of similarities to Rice.

Caltech too if your kid is STEM focused.

DC's super nerdy personality may be a fit at Caltech (and she has the stats for it) but assume it's out of reach for someone without national-level competition ECs and it's another where-fun-goes-to-die school, no?

My understanding of Caltech is that undergrads are essentially treated like grad students. So if there's research your kid is already angling to do (or doing), and they want to zero in on that work, and get some guidance from specific experts, then great. But a lot of people get caught up in its prestige and USNWR rank and miss the point that it's a different animal from other undergraduate universities.

[Anonymous]

U Michigan all the way!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

hopkins has ridiculous grade inflation now and students are a lot happier than decades ago

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

hopkins has ridiculous grade inflation now and students are a lot happier than decades ago

Penn and columbia outside of wharton and econ majors is very research focused especially for hard sciences

[Anonymous]

Emory

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northeastern

Be serious, silly unless the student wants to "research" one of their expansion campuses freshman year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

hopkins has ridiculous grade inflation now and students are a lot happier than decades ago

Penn and columbia outside of wharton and econ majors is very research focused especially for hard sciences

Mom of a Columbia Stem undergrad and DC is very happy and engaged in and out of the classroom. Also know similar kids to your description of yours who are very happy at Northwestern.
I'd recommend that she reach out via admissions at some schools of interest to be put in touch with current students in majors of interest. Better yet if kids from her high school are at some of these colleges ask your counselor to put her in touch. Hearing directly from kids at the schools is the best way to test what might fit her best.
As to likelihood, sounds like she has the stats to be in the real consideration bucket, that is all you can really hope for. In my opinion the "why us" and the why your major essays really matter. They want to see passion and curiosity in a way that is unique and connects the kid to the college. Talking with current students might really spark a particular love for one or a few schools for your daughter that will help make this all easier. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would also take a look at Case Western or Rochester. Though these schools rank low, but they are rigorous research institutions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

Hopkins is not at all what it used to be, and is notably easier for ED than any other T10 besides Chicago. They both have multiple ED rounds and generally admit "second tier" (just outside the top10% kids) students from private schools in ED, whereas plenty of top-everything Vals chose Penn, Dartmouth, Duke, Brown in ED.

Penn is no more competitive or preprofessional than any other T15/ivy, in fact less toxic than a couple of them, but is also not really an easier admit than HPYMS. All T10/ivy are "preprofessional"(lots of premeds, Econ/finance, prelaw). It has been like that since DH and I attended different ones then met at another for law school, '98. Even Chicago is preprofessional, no more "life of the mind" esoteric thinkers there than anywhere else.

Columbia from our private has slid to easier than other ivies for ED, though that is likely as it has many issues and a locked campus the past 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

hopkins has ridiculous grade inflation now and students are a lot happier than decades ago

Penn and columbia outside of wharton and econ majors is very research focused especially for hard sciences

agree it is about 80% of stem students who do research in professor's labs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has the stats for any of the most selective schools but not focused on HYPMS due to unlikely odds. What are top schools that fit description but are more attainable like at U Chicago, Cornell level?

Already considering Rice but the Texas thing makes it not an ED choice.

Cornell and Chicago are slightly lower odds, but not by a lot unless your student goes to a significant feeder high school that sends students to these schools from the top20%/1470-1500 range, meaning your top stat kid should be a slam dunk. If you want to increase admission odds a little more and have your kids at a collaborative, rigorous research university choose WashU, Vanderbilt, Emory. Especially for Premed/biology/chemistry interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

Hopkins is not at all what it used to be, and is notably easier for ED than any other T10 besides Chicago. They both have multiple ED rounds and generally admit "second tier" (just outside the top10% kids) students from private schools in ED, whereas plenty of top-everything Vals chose Penn, Dartmouth, Duke, Brown in ED.

Penn is no more competitive or preprofessional than any other T15/ivy, in fact less toxic than a couple of them, but is also not really an easier admit than HPYMS. All T10/ivy are "preprofessional"(lots of premeds, Econ/finance, prelaw). It has been like that since DH and I attended different ones then met at another for law school, '98. Even Chicago is preprofessional, no more "life of the mind" esoteric thinkers there than anywhere else.

Columbia from our private has slid to easier than other ivies for ED, though that is likely as it has many issues and a locked campus the past 2 years.

How is JHU an easier admit in ED round? ED acceptance is around 13% . Comparable to any ivy.

[Anonymous]

Emory- Georgia is more purple than red in more places now, and Atlanta is a giant growing blue dot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hopkins. student life has improved a lot with a ton of research opps.

columbia, penn also come to mind

I thought Hopkins was a grind, Columbia kids are miserable and Penn is pre-professional and competitive?

hopkins has ridiculous grade inflation now and students are a lot happier than decades ago

median in stem classes is usually between B/B+, overall median GPA usually 3.7ish. That is not "ridiculous" inflation, rather the same as almost every other T15 besides the super-inflators Harvard Duke and Brown (overall median 3.85ish). Even traditionally "low" Princeton and Penn are 3.65+ now.