Physics for a quirky kid

[Anonymous]

My quirky physics kid who ended up at UMD liked these three places a LOT. Good luck!!!

[Anonymous]

Maybe Chylung College. It’s in upstate NY. Great physics program. Small class sizes. Pretty introverted student body. Lots of merit aid. Average SAT is 1460 and acceptance rate of 18%.

[Anonymous]

I know you said not big, but I was recently at a physics department event at Virginia Tech and it was basically all you asked for. They were quirky physics kids and the math/physics classes are not large. He could be in the science LLC to give it that community vibe. It’s a really great and supportive department. Might be worth visiting at least. We have a close friend who is deeply on the spectrum and can not have a roommate and he has navigated VT well and they have supported giving him a single room to accommodate his needs. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Anonymous]

Case Western?

[Anonymous]

University of Rochester

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know you said not big, but I was recently at a physics department event at Virginia Tech and it was basically all you asked for. They were quirky physics kids and the math/physics classes are not large. He could be in the science LLC to give it that community vibe. It’s a really great and supportive department. Might be worth visiting at least. We have a close friend who is deeply on the spectrum and can not have a roommate and he has navigated VT well and they have supported giving him a single room to accommodate his needs. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I love the Science Learning Community! The broad gen ed requirements maybe a bit too much.

[Anonymous]

Rice? Stony Brook? Buffalo?

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about the honors program at UMd? Excellent physics department, smaller classes in the program and also a very large department.

Another option that turns out excellent physicists is Haverford. Much smaller but have a look.

[Anonymous]

Drexel? Might be too expensive. But they have kids who sound like him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know you said not big, but I was recently at a physics department event at Virginia Tech and it was basically all you asked for. They were quirky physics kids and the math/physics classes are not large. He could be in the science LLC to give it that community vibe. It’s a really great and supportive department. Might be worth visiting at least. We have a close friend who is deeply on the spectrum and can not have a roommate and he has navigated VT well and they have supported giving him a single room to accommodate his needs. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I love the Science Learning Community! The broad gen ed requirements maybe a bit too much.

My kid did get out of many gen ed requirements because of all her APs. She’s taken one random pathway course, that she chose because it looked interesting, about concussions. Other than that I think a writing class was her only non math/physics class and she’s a sophomore at VT. There’s great suggestions here. You can visit a few to get the vibe and hopefully connect with their physics department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starting to look at schools for my ADHD/ASD/Anxiety kid. He has been to sleep away camp for the last 5 years for the full summer and is able to handle living in a dorm with a roommate and wants to live on campus. From an academic perspective, he will not need learning support. He could use some social support though. This is what I'm looking for:

--Strong Physics department--my research tells me to focus on schools with large departments so he can explore the various sub specialities in physics

--he will go to grad school

--city vs rural vs suburban doesn't really matter

--needs small classes and would like direct access to professors. This maybe in conflict with the large physics department requirement.

--smaller campus is better than large campus

--athletics and sports culture are not important

--greek culture is not important

--would like a program that does not require a large number of humanities core curriculum courses

---not looking at UMD as it just seems too large. Not looking at Princeton as it seems too competitive. It obviously is for admission but also the type of student that it attracts would need to be someone who is competitive and excels under pressure.

--He has decent grades (4.0 U/W) and a 1580 on his SAT. However, he has no EC and no interest in participating in school activities. Will be sitting for AP exams next month.

Consider Ohio University HTC - he will get to take courses every semester as tutorials (one on one or two on one) with a professor, no gen eds other than some writing ones, and it's at a small college. What's his physics background, OP? Has done any independent studying?

[Anonymous]

Rensselaer
Rose Hulman
RIT
Case Western

[Anonymous]

Cornell

[Anonymous]

For that profile, a large Physics Dept will mean higher chance DC will be a number not a name - and not get the support needed if they need any. Caveat Emptor.

[Anonymous]

Rose-Hulman is smaller but very strong in STEM. Would be a good option.