College suggestions for a nerdy girl
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Anonymous
I was going to echo this. It’s possible to find what you are looking for at a larger school but there might be the first step of applying for a living learning community LLC, or finding a club that is active, social, and of interest to them that has science and/or music nerds. |
Anonymous
+ 1 |
Anonymous
Not sure about budget but W&M out of state is almost 64K in direct costs. In terms of how many schools to apply toI also applied to 4 colleges back in my day, 1 safety, 2 targets, and 1 reach - but acceptance rates for those schools are far different today. May safety today has a 41% acceptance and it’s probably even lower than that if you look at Regular Decision. My reach is in single digit acceptance rate today. My kids applied to 9-10 schools. They had 3 safeties/likely schools, 3-4 target schools, and 3-4 reaches. They had to apply to two in-state options and one had to be a safety/likely school. They had one rolling or near rolling admission school that they applied to EA and had a decision before Thanksgiving. I could see going more than 10 if it is reach heavy or you need merit/need base financial aid so it’s both getting in and getting money. On thing I will say about the process though is if your kid is busy in the fall with activities and demanding class work, unless they are a naturally gifted writer, it’s tough turning out quality supplemental essays and finding time to learn more about the school/showing interest with the virtual webinars etc. |
Anonymous
| Can someone explain more specifically why W&M is a good fit for a "nerdy" student? Is it just because the population tends to be highly studious? Or are there other factors? |
Anonymous
Educational psychology consultant here, with insight into many top schools over the yrs. All 9s means she is likely 98th%ile or above IQ(133+), so likely will be 1450+ onSAT without much prep. IF she ends up 1530+ first try, all 5s Stem APs, etc-- ie true >99.9th%ile/145+IQ as far as smarts, send her to an ivy+ /ie T10 uni. They all have nerd culture, are excellent for STEM, and have tons of females that fit your description, and she will need to be with a large similarly smart cohort to push her to her potential. Nerds fit in at these schools, and the grad school/research connections for UG are obviously world class. 98-99th%ile /1480-1510 may need the T10 environment too, but in the STEM fields they can be overwhelmed at schools with a large %of true geniuses and could end up having a huge confidence blow if they are well below the test means stem classes. Particularly as very bright females at all levels tend to have more self esteem issues/risk for imposter syndrome. |
Anonymous
It is a combination of very bright students plus a love for learning and an intellectually vibrant culture: it is "cool" to like your classes and want to learn. It is cool to study, cool to be involved in research or on-campus intellectual clubs. It is called the quintessential public ivy for a reason: lots of small seminar classes where students participate, engaged approachable professors, intellectual vitality prominent in the culture, etc: just like the ivies. But with slightly less selective admissions. The general personality of the majority of WM students overlaps highly with the personalities at the Uchicago and most ivies: ie nerd-forward but fun too. |
Anonymous
I was going to say same thing. I am sure she has great stats and all, but with 25+% acceptance rates, it's not a safety for most kids. Here is this year (class of 2028, admitted students stats), https://www.macalester.edu/admissions/admitted-students/class-profile/ SAT Median (for those who opted in) Math – 750 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing – 740 ACT Median (for those who opted in) 33 |
Anonymous
Also MIT. The other lists seemed heavy on the SLACs which boosters try to say are great for STEM, but they're not BUT MY CHILD GOT A JOB AT GOOGLE aside. |
Anonymous
To apply for, for instance, the Hypatia LLC requires ideological commitment. Read their application. First, you are required to identify your gender (male/female/non-binary/other - where "other" means you have to specify what you identify as - it's a required question so you can't refuse to answer it). Second, it asks Why do you want to be part of Hypatia? What unique perspective, background, or set of experiences will you bring to the Hypatia community? Hypatia has long recognized the importance of building a diverse community. How will your life experiences enable you to contribute to the Hypatia community? Essay must be at least 300 words in length but no more than 500 words. So basically your kid will have to start their professional life with a DEI statement. |
Anonymous
| I had a DD who sounds quite similar to yours. She ended up applying early to Northwestern, and got in last year. She LOVES it so far. |
Anonymous
| DD is bright (NMCS) but didn’t want to go to a college that was cut-throat or too competitive. She also didn’t want to be the smartest one there. Didn’t care about US News rankings or sports. Ended up at Oberlin with merit and it is an absolute perfect fit. And there is music everywhere you turn! |
Anonymous
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More broadly, at some universities, an LLC might be called by various other names (e.g., residential college). Some universities (e.g., Yale, U.Chicago) have “house” systems for all students, and those have similar properties to an LLC or Residential College.
By whichever name, these are great options for those students who want to live on campus all 4 years. |
Anonymous
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Purdue University
University of Tulsa |
Anonymous
| My science and music son applied to Carleton, Macalester, St Olaf, Lawrence along with UVA and W&M. He is at W&M and having a great experience with science and extracurricular music and has made close friends. |
Anonymous
Dear OP, Unfortunately, the number of schools to which people typically apply these days (if they are interested in attending the most competitive schools, broadly speaking) is closer to 15-20. However, that number can be trimmed depending upon rolling admission and EA offers (more about strategy below). In any case, given what you've said above, below is what I'd recommend: Oberlin: This school is known for high Ph.D. production amongst its graduates, including in many in STEM areas; it also has a top-notch music conservatory. Wesleyan [b]: This school also has high Ph.D. production amongst its graduates. It also has strong music offerings [b]St. Olaf: This school is less selective than Oberlin, but it has a particularly good math program--many majors go on to earn Ph.D.s--and also a good music program. It also produces a lot of graduates who earn Ph.Ds. St. Olaf has non-binding EA and its EA acceptance rate for the Class of 2027 was 66.8% [b]Carnegie Mellon[b]: This school has one of the best Comp Sci programs in the country and is also known for its music programs. [b]Bard College[b]: This school offers a solid liberal arts program and also has a music conservatory. As you likely know, STEM is heavily male dominated; attending a women's college with strong STEM programs prepares women academically and socially to thrive in such environments. Below are schools that fit this criteria: [b]Mount Holyoke[b]: This school is known for its science programs. [b]Bryn Mawr[b]: See above. [b]Wellesley[b]: Wellesley has strong STEM programs; CS is one of the most popular majors; and it has exchange programs with MIT and Olin and also a dual degree program with MIT |