Colleges for Non-Competitive Achievers

[dsultemeier]

My D was also looking into CS and music and she is excited about Carnegie-Mellon. We visited a few weeks ago and everyone was very friendly. The campus is relatively small and enclosed (as far as the buildings facing each other around a green area.)

[memake]

I know an Earlham grad who has described the school to me as being incredibly supportive of developing students' intellectual, moral and ethical potential. The biggest downside is probably that it's very small; also my (totally blind) guess would be that CS is not a strength in their curriculum.

From the way you describe your son, I would guess that he would have a 70-80% chance of admission at all but the top 30-40 colleges in the country - really the problem is narrowing down choices.

Does Case Western look interesting? U of Rochester? Drexel?

[dbwes]

I was going to suggest Carnegie Mellon based on student's interests. I'm not sure small LACs are the way to go for a CS kid. Maybe he can target the computer science programs that excite him and go from there.

[citymom]

It is possible that you overestimate the role of "competitiveness" in college admission. My DD is not particularly competitive and not a leader (at least by CC standards). Just did what interested her. Still, she had no problem getting into pretty strong schools including one Ivy. Rejected only from HYPs (although Harvard waitlisted her, she was at least close). And we think it was her GPA (couple B+) and a common major that lead to HYPs rejections, not "competitiveness/leaderhip".

[Chedva]

Perhaps I'm reading the original post incorrectly, but I thought the question was not so much where the OP's son would get in, but where he might find a supportive, non-competitive environment in which to live and study.

No question that the OP's son is competitive for admissions at most schools, and maybe even for the most "competitive".

OP, can you clarify what information you were seeking?

[mini]

"mini, could you tell me a bit more about why you like Earlham?"

First, the Quaker ethos is still very real there, although only about 9% of the student body are Friends. They take the Friendly testimonies of equality, simplicity, community, and justice very, very seriously. This includes everything from professors being called by their first names, to an all-campus convocation every Wednesday to explore related issues together.

Secondly, there are very unique study abroad options, ranging from border studies to an extraordinary program in Africa, which is usually co-led by a professor of biology (who is a birder) and faculty member who teaches weaving. There is heavy emphasis on cross-cultural exploration.

In my limited experience, the degree of personal attention is virtually unequaled anywhere.

[northeastmom]

Thank you for your opinion, mini. Thank you gadad, and memake too.

[LurkNessMonster]

My daughter was also in the same position as your son: being a noncompetitive kid in a large public high school. Her school was filled with very assertive high-achievers. My daughter is very smart, but she didn't want to play in that arena. She's much more low-key and not much of a joiner. I did get the sense that she got lost in the shuffle in that huge, bustling place. (She loved it there though.)

Consequently, I tried to interest her in attending a LAC where she would get some personalized attention. After touring several good ones, though, she soon realized she wanted a larger school. She also needed a school with a strong Japanese-language program, which filtered out quite a few colleges (as computer science will do for your son). And she didn't want to be "in the middle of nowhere."

She has just finished her freshman year at the University of Pittsburgh, and she loves it there. Her classes were challenging, and she got a chance to shine. The kids were friendly, and a larger school has so many courses to offer. So my bottom-line advice is to follow your son's lead. He will figure out what's important to him. I second the advice of the poster above who said to look at Carnegie Mellon. It's right next to Pitt in a very nice section of Pittsburgh. CMU has one of the top cs programs in the country, if not the top. The kids are super smart and high achieving, but I don't think the atmosphere is cutthroat. Your son could check it out.

[BunsenBurner]

^^Agree. CS major will weed out quite a few LACs.

[chuy]

Really, I think a larger university would be ok if he found a smaller community within it, like the housing communities I was talking about.

[va_catlover]

Great responses! Thanks so much! Yes, I originally wanted to know where he might fit in, but it is also helpful to get a stats read. He is already very, very interested in Carnegie Mellon. He is also interested in U of Rochester, but we haven't visited yet--will do this summer. Other schools of interest are Georgia Tech, William & Mary, James Madison.

[bookmama22]

Hello,

I am usually a lurker -but thought I would second University of Rochester. M younger d has just finished her sophomore year, as a double major in English and Music-one of her friends was computer science-program is well-regarded, challenging and difficult. Music minor easy to accomplish with opportunity to study with Eastman grad students and take advantage of Eastman performances-many music faculty teach on both campuses. Definitely worth a trip to look! My older d is a Brandeis graduate- I would think computer science would be strong and the music dept is well-regarded -plus student discount tickets to the BSO!

[LurkNessMonster]

W&M is a wonderful school for the right kid, and if you're in-state, more the better. My daughter loved W&M but was waitlisted, alas, as OOS. I don't know about the computer science there, though. Your son would have to find out.

[paying3tuitions]

Oberlin College is more community-oriented than cutthroat competitive. It;s a large LAC (2800 students) with interesting history. Love of learning is abundant there.

I know a student from there who majored in CS, got a Goldwater scholarship as an undergraduate, and went on to grad school in CS. He liked the teaching there (no graduate students between him and the profs). He sought out research internships during the summers at larger universities. This was essential to him getting admitted to grad school in CS.

The music opportunity at Oberlin is great because of the presence of the Oberlin Conservatory. If you're in the college, it's harder to find performing opportunities but the opportunity for classes, informal performances, and non-stop concerts by the Conservatory students is great.

You can major in CS at a LAC and know many other students with other majors and interests. The research opportunities aren't there, but the profs should help you connect for summer research at universities. That's essential.

[ll0124]

i think you put way too much pressure on your son.
you talk about him like he's a disappointment.

your son has an amazing gpa, fantastic sat scores, and a good amount of extracurriculars.

'bad extracurriculars' are more along the lines of what i have, i guess. i have a job and one club.

people's lives should not be based around getting into college. your son has done fantastically in high school and you should give him more credit for that. he is a highly competitive student and could easily get into a variety of schools.

the way you speak of him can make a lot of people with worse stats feel kind of stupid. especially the fact that you're freaking out about few extracurriculars he has when he has plenty. you don't need to get into harvard to be successful in life. and i guarantee you he'll get into a very competitive school.