Northeastern right across the bridge.

Closest to MIT among the Boston area schools, BU, BC, Tufts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking for a school for a student who particularly excels at STEM but also wants a strong academic experience all around.

Here’s a list of around 30 schools (including MIT) with “best undergraduate education” from a survey of college counselors.

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/the-experts-choice-the-best-undergraduate-education/658/

One could cross reference that list with this one from the same site of top 10 undergrad origins of students who where go on to get science and engineering PhDs.

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/where-science-and-engineering-phds-received-their-undergraduate-degrees/160/

Anonymous wrote:Looking for a school for a student who particularly excels at STEM but also wants a strong academic experience all around.

Here’s a list of around 30 schools (including MIT) with “best undergraduate education” from a survey of college counselors.

https://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/the-experts-choice-the-best-undergraduate-education/658/

Anonymous wrote:If you would like to consider survey-based information on students' appreciation for their science lab facilities, the Princeton Review offers this site, in which schools such as Rice, Caltech, Hamilton and Carnegie Mellon appear:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/?rankings=best-science-lab-facilities

As perhaps the most general of the Princeton Review survey-based rankings, "Their Students Love These Colleges" may be worth viewing as well:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/?rankings=their-students-love-these-colleges

Anonymous wrote:Looking for a school for a student who particularly excels at STEM but also wants a strong academic experience all around. Loves learning, loves a challenge, and possibly wants to go to grad school for academic research so undergrad research opportunities are important. She would love to be around other students who are enthusiastic and passionate about science. So far she has all A's, 1520 PSAT, will be maxed out on math/science courses at her school. Very involved in music oriented extracurriculars and would want to continue these in college for fun. If she could pick the school of her dreams, it would be MIT for sure, but she not have national/international level recognition or research experience. I am hoping to steer her towards schools with a similar "spirit" but which are less selective and more achievable. Any suggestions for schools to focus our search? We will likely be full pay. I think the school community and academic strength would be top priority for her rather than the setting of the school.

I would pay attention to BU — their engineering program is on the rise.

You'll also find excellent research opportunities, and students have the chance to cross-register or participate in events with nearby schools, including MIT.
Additionally, BU offers strong programs and has a solid reputation across a variety of majors, including fine arts, and arts and sciences. Moreover, BU’s recognition is stronger internationally compared to within the U.S.

Enjoying a wide range of clubs and taking advantage of Boston’s strong infrastructure are added bonuses.

Anonymous wrote:I think students applying to MIT tend to also be interested in Stanford, Rice, Georgia Tech, Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, and Cornell. Not easy schools, but slightly less impossible.

+1

I think students applying to MIT tend to also be interested in Stanford, Rice, Georgia Tech, Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, and Cornell. Not easy schools, but slightly less impossible.

Carleton, Pomona, Swarthmore.

If you would like to consider survey-based information on students' appreciation for their science lab facilities, the Princeton Review offers this site, in which schools such as Rice, Caltech, Hamilton and Carnegie Mellon appear:

https://www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/?rankings=best-science-lab-facilities

Haven’t read all the comments, but I haven’t seen anyone mention Rice. That may be a good fit.

Anonymous wrote:Add Carleton to the list above.

+1

Has one of the highest rates of majoring in STEM among LACs.

Add Carleton to the list above.

I'd add Brown for its open curriculum, and keep Amherst and Hamilton for the same reason.

Rice might make a good addition as well.

Regarding RIT, I believe it's often suggested in cases in which URochester would make a better choice.

OP back again. Here is a list of places suggested by others throughout the thread, organized by type of university, in case other STEM kid parents find it helpful. I may have missed some but feel free to add.

State Universities
UC Berkeley
UCSD (University of California, San Diego)
University of Michigan
SUNY Stony Brook
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Colorado School of Mines
UVA

Strongly STEM-Focused Private Colleges
Harvey Mudd College
Olin College of Engineering
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Cooper Union

Liberal Arts Colleges
Williams
Hamilton
Swarthmore
Reed
Macalester
Amherst
Middlebury
Bowdoin
Wesleyan
Mount Holyoke
Davidson
Haverford
Colby
Wellesley

Private R1 Research Universities
Caltech (Equally impossible, but why not dream)
Carnegie Mellon
Johns Hopkins
Cornell
Washington University in St. Louis
Tufts
Case Western Reserve University
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
Stevens Institute of Technology

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This analysis placed Georgia Tech's overall selectivity at 41st nationally:

https://wallethub.com/edu/e/college-rankings/40750

For perspective, this placed it between U.Va., at #40, and Colgate, at #42.

wallethub. You are kidding right. lol. C'mon GT is a Top Engineering school. UVA and Colgate can't touch them for that. Take a break.

For those who know colleges, WalletHub's Selectivity Ranks generally align with intuition — Caltech at #1, MIT at #2, Harvard at #3, etc. The site also has the advantage of being an objective source. Nonetheless, no one should expect the analysis to be flawless. That noted, the "lol" crowd generally isn't receptive to perspectives with which they are unfamiliar, so it would be difficult to help you here.

I'll be sure to check them out next time I'm in the market for a credit card or an app to monitor my credit score. I will go elsewhere for college ranking analysis.