College suggestions for a nerdy girl

[Anonymous]

Davidson and Scripps are wonderful options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech. My kid is a total quiet nerd and she found her other nerds in the LLC at tech. She loves the community, the fact that they go hiking and are excited to talk math/physics all the time. She also has found out how much fun life can be when you all dress in orange and yell for your football team. It’s her people and she loves it and we totally thought she’d be a W&M kid or a SLAC kid, but we were wrong.

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.

Any living group around a theme/common interest will want to know why you are interested, that you will be involved and contribute, and that you can get along with others and it will be a comfortable environment for all the members. I’ve seen this with other living learning communities , sustainable living theme house, co-op housing, and sorority housing. Are you equally offended that other OPTIONAL living situations would ask questions?

Also, nothing about that statement requires anything beyond what makes an applicant unique, and what they could contribute to the community. It’s a pretty big leap to turn that into a “required DEI statement.” It’s like PP is searching for ways to be outraged.

An applicant’s statement might say that both their parents were high-powered professionals who never had time to cook, so the kid learned to cook for themselves at an early age, thus they would make kickass meals on their night to cook the communal dinner. Or they have really good conflict-resolution skills because they’re one of eight kids. Or their life experience could be that they’re an only child and have always craved a big family.

I don’t know why anyone would think an application like this is some sort of veiled socio-political trap. If it was an LLC for a specific affinity group like Black STEM majors or LGBTQ+ students in the sciences, they’d come right out and say that. This sounds more like an assurance that everyone should feel comfortable applying, regardless of their background, and that they’re not looking to create a homogeneous group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Carleton College in Minnesota might be a fit for your daughter.

As a parent of a Carleton kid, I would agree and recommend you look into it.

If Minnesota is an option, Carleton and Macalester would be a good fit. St Olaf is an excellent safety pick.

[Anonymous]

Is your kid quirky?

[Anonymous]

Just the other day I gave some unsolicited advice to a nerdy girl to strongly consider Carleton. Davidson would be excellent too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dear DCUM College Admissions Fantasy League participants, please help us by suggesting school for us to consider/visit this coming year. Many of you have now visited many places and know more than we do. Maybe you have a similar kid or know of similar kids and where they are happy. We are looking for a nice balance of reach, target, and safety schools. Also wondering how many schools people typically apply to these days. Back in my day I applied to 4.

DD is:
-Broadly interested in science, cs, and math and will likely major in one of these
-Will likely want to go to grad school to become a researcher, so would like research opportunities in labs as an undergrad
-Makes friends easily with other nerds, but is not very into the party scene. Not an outspoken leader type, but not shy either
-Has not taken the SAT or PSAT yet, but generally tests well (had all 9's on ISEE entering upper school, for those of you familiar with private school tests)
-Extracurriculars, besides some STEM clubs, are mostly music related and would like to continue with music in college, but not as a major course of study
-not an athlete, not URM
-Interested in local schools such as UMD but open to going far if the fit is right

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 : This school also has high Ph.D. production amongst its graduates. It also has strong music offerings
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%
Carnegie Mellon: This school has one of the best Comp Sci programs in the country and is also known for its music programs.
Bard College: 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:
Mount Holyoke: This school is known for its science programs.
Bryn Mawr: See above.
Wellesley: 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

Thanks for pointing out PhD production. Where did you ind this info? Also, I had no idea CMU had good music programs.

One issue is that "STEM" is broad. For example, DD does not seem interested in medicine at this point. Many posters have suggested SLAC. I think many SLAC would be ideal for solid courses in science to prepare one for med school, but I worry about SLAC having enough lab opportunities for undergrads who want solid basic research experience for grad school apps in basic sciences.

Thanks to everyone who suggested all women's colleges also. We are not sure how she feels about that, but we will explore. DD attends a private girls school now, but we always assumed she would attend a coed place for college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your kid quirky?

I'm not sure I know what this means. I'm thinking of the old SNL skit about bein' quirky, so no, I guess she is not quirky. Just a basic nerd.

[Anonymous]

“Quirky” is a euphemism for autistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech. My kid is a total quiet nerd and she found her other nerds in the LLC at tech. She loves the community, the fact that they go hiking and are excited to talk math/physics all the time. She also has found out how much fun life can be when you all dress in orange and yell for your football team. It’s her people and she loves it and we totally thought she’d be a W&M kid or a SLAC kid, but we were wrong.

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.

Any living group around a theme/common interest will want to know why you are interested, that you will be involved and contribute, and that you can get along with others and it will be a comfortable environment for all the members. I’ve seen this with other living learning communities , sustainable living theme house, co-op housing, and sorority housing. Are you equally offended that other OPTIONAL living situations would ask questions?

Also, nothing about that statement requires anything beyond what makes an applicant unique, and what they could contribute to the community. It’s a pretty big leap to turn that into a “required DEI statement.” It’s like PP is searching for ways to be outraged.

An applicant’s statement might say that both their parents were high-powered professionals who never had time to cook, so the kid learned to cook for themselves at an early age, thus they would make kickass meals on their night to cook the communal dinner. Or they have really good conflict-resolution skills because they’re one of eight kids. Or their life experience could be that they’re an only child and have always craved a big family.

I don’t know why anyone would think an application like this is some sort of veiled socio-political trap. If it was an LLC for a specific affinity group like Black STEM majors or LGBTQ+ students in the sciences, they’d come right out and say that. This sounds more like an assurance that everyone should feel comfortable applying, regardless of their background, and that they’re not looking to create a homogeneous group.

OP here. I agree this question sounds very generic, and it makes sense for a school to ask what unique perspective the student can contribute to the broader community. I would guess some form of this question comes up quite often in college admissions.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for W&M. My nerdy, theater/chorus DD absolutely loved it and all the tour guides we met. She applied ED late in the season after not feeling strongly about anywhere else enough to apply ED. She was WL and planning to attend through the Spring Pathway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another vote for W&M. My nerdy, theater/chorus DD absolutely loved it and all the tour guides we met. She applied ED late in the season after not feeling strongly about anywhere else enough to apply ED. She was WL and planning to attend through the Spring Pathway.

Welcome to the Tribe!

[Anonymous]

Randolph College in Lynchburg

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Davidson and Scripps are wonderful options.

Is Davidson like W&L?

[Anonymous]

Scripps is great. And can cross register at all schools in Claremont. Is Davidson not super southern and preppy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Scripps is great. And can cross register at all schools in Claremont. Is Davidson not super southern and preppy?

It is. Also, it’s one of the few SLACs with D1 athletics, so that’s big on campus (my kid was very turned off by how much they focused on the D1 athletics and all it brings to campus during on campus events. Great school. Not one of the first 20 that comes to mind for what Op wants.