Less selective schools “similar” to MIT

[Anonymous]

Rice -- kids are ambitious and eager to learn, but also friendly and collaborative. My DC is a recent grad and loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DC is able to weed through data to find schools that check the boxes for majors etc and trying to get a good range of selectivity. She is having a hard time trying to find schools that match the vibe she is looking for which is why I posted.

We already visited Georgia Tech - currently not considering it. She thought the Georgia Tech kids all looked somber - it was a nice day when we visited and there was almost no one outside enjoying themselves. That stood out. For state schools we have Penn state, UMD & Virginia Tech on the list to look at.

Her current school is a pressure cooker and not collaborative and she does not want a repeat in college. It has become toxic and she is coming to us for help in finding more collaborative college options. She likes working on groups/bouncing ideas off others. Guidance counselor at HS is not helpful. Very different HS experience than my other DC who is at a different high school.

Your daughter sounds very rigid and difficult to please. My hunch is that she is not going to be happy wherever she ends up. If I were you, I'd work harder to calm her down and dissuade her from the notion that she's looking for a marriage partner. She isn't. It's just college. There's more than one perfect fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe MIT is all that collaborative despite what impression you got on your tour.

This. MIT has been a lottery for decades. And “kind” is not an adjective ascribed to their students ever, I think.

Do either of you know anyone who went to MIT? OP is absolutely correct. It is a very collaborative, cooperative school. ~ Parent of two undergrads

[Anonymous]

I would look at Berkeley, UCLA and Michigan. They are all strong in STEM with great research opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GaTech maybe?

Yes, no maybe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DC is able to weed through data to find schools that check the boxes for majors etc and trying to get a good range of selectivity. She is having a hard time trying to find schools that match the vibe she is looking for which is why I posted.

We already visited Georgia Tech - currently not considering it. She thought the Georgia Tech kids all looked somber - it was a nice day when we visited and there was almost no one outside enjoying themselves. That stood out. For state schools we have Penn state, UMD & Virginia Tech on the list to look at.

Her current school is a pressure cooker and not collaborative and she does not want a repeat in college. It has become toxic and she is coming to us for help in finding more collaborative college options. She likes working on groups/bouncing ideas off others. Guidance counselor at HS is not helpful. Very different HS experience than my other DC who is at a different high school.

Your daughter sounds very rigid and difficult to please. My hunch is that she is not going to be happy wherever she ends up. If I were you, I'd work harder to calm her down and dissuade her from the notion that she's looking for a marriage partner. She isn't. It's just college. There's more than one perfect fit.

Maybe you need to do a reality check. Seems that she has been in a cut throat pressure cooker and can handle the academics and is looking for something different for college. How is that being rigid? I see that as being a positive that she is not willing to go to a school just to get prestige but wants to go to one where she will thrive. Wish my parents helped me like this when I was looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hard to believe MIT is all that collaborative despite what impression you got on your tour.

This. MIT has been a lottery for decades. And “kind” is not an adjective ascribed to their students ever, I think.

Do either of you know anyone who went to MIT? OP is absolutely correct. It is a very collaborative, cooperative school. ~ Parent of two undergrads

I think many are surprised at how collaborative it really is. The MIT grads I have met were incredibly smart - and humble.

Maybe look into some Jesuit school options -you don’t have to be catholic. The ones I toured tended to have a more collaborative feel to them / kids overall looked happier on campus.

[Anonymous]

Rice
Carnegie Mellon
WPI
Harvey Mudd
RIT
Hopkins
Chicago

Good luck- your kid sounds amazing.

[Anonymous]

Rose Hulman

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DC is able to weed through data to find schools that check the boxes for majors etc and trying to get a good range of selectivity. She is having a hard time trying to find schools that match the vibe she is looking for which is why I posted.

We already visited Georgia Tech - currently not considering it. She thought the Georgia Tech kids all looked somber - it was a nice day when we visited and there was almost no one outside enjoying themselves. That stood out. For state schools we have Penn state, UMD & Virginia Tech on the list to look at.

Her current school is a pressure cooker and not collaborative and she does not want a repeat in college. It has become toxic and she is coming to us for help in finding more collaborative college options. She likes working on groups/bouncing ideas off others. Guidance counselor at HS is not helpful. Very different HS experience than my other DC who is at a different high school.

My decided not to apply to GA Tech for the same reason- no one seems happy to be there!

VA tech is a yes for my STEM kid also reaching for MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice is a good recommendation look into. What about Purdue? My parents didn't take me on college tours so I literally have no idea what schools are like personality wise.

My physics professor at Purdue locked his door during office hours because, "Students who need office hours need to fail." Not a supportive culture!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would look at Berkeley, UCLA and Michigan. They are all strong in STEM with great research opportunities.

Michigan for sure. You actually would have a chance to matriculate to a top ten engineering program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why no-one recommends Georgia Tech? Georgia Tech is right on target for the toptic - less selective school similar to MIT with a strong engineering focus.

I did, on page 2 of this thread. You don’t know what others said, unless, you know, you read the other replies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DC is able to weed through data to find schools that check the boxes for majors etc and trying to get a good range of selectivity. She is having a hard time trying to find schools that match the vibe she is looking for which is why I posted.

We already visited Georgia Tech - currently not considering it. She thought the Georgia Tech kids all looked somber - it was a nice day when we visited and there was almost no one outside enjoying themselves. That stood out. For state schools we have Penn state, UMD & Virginia Tech on the list to look at.

Her current school is a pressure cooker and not collaborative and she does not want a repeat in college. It has become toxic and she is coming to us for help in finding more collaborative college options. She likes working on groups/bouncing ideas off others. Guidance counselor at HS is not helpful. Very different HS experience than my other DC who is at a different high school.

My decided not to apply to GA Tech for the same reason- no one seems happy to be there!

VA tech is a yes for my STEM kid also reaching for MIT.

We had a totally different vibe at GaTech, kids looked happy and campus was buzzing with activity. And we were there on a rainy day. My student thought it had a lot more energy than Emory which we visited the same day.


Op, I think you may be putting too much weight on the campus visits which I rarely say. I lived in Boston and MIT a rather large suicide problem at the time. My child has freshman friends there now who are considering tramferrimf because of lack of social scene.

[Anonymous]

While MIT is a small/medium tech school and there are some tech schools of varying selectivity that are worth a look (WPI, RPI, RIT, Olin, Rose Hulman, Mines, Harvey Mudd and others mentioned here), it might also be worth looking at the engineering schools of a larger university. That could potentially offer your kid the stem/nerdy environment (which I assume is a draw) along with the more relaxed students in other majors. Cal Poly SLO as mentioned above might be one of these. Or Pitt. Or Oregon State. Or any number of flagships or larger universities that are known for having a less stressful community.