Creating a College List for undecided STEM [physics, chemistry, ME, EE, math] / Languages [linguistics, Chinese, Arabic] [4.0 GPA in home school, 36 ACT, 1550 SAT]

College Search & Lists
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Would appreciate help generating a college list, especially for non-reach (mid tier and safety) schools (but would appreciate perspectives on reach schools, too).

Details:
Homeschooled
GPA 5.0 Weighted / 4.0 Unweighted
SAT 1550
ACT 36
AP Chem 5
AP Chinese 5
AP Calc BC 5
AP Physics C Mech + E/M 5’s
Dual Enrollment or College level: 10 courses (History, Arabic x 5 semesters, Korean, Diff EQ, Multivariable Calc, Physics Light and Heat)

Other commendations (not sure colleges really care about these?):
NSLIY summer alum
NACLO top 20
State debate top 16
John Locke Global Essay prize: very high commendation (philosophy)
John Locke Global Essay prize: high commendation (law)

Other activities / interests:
TA (AP Calc, Honors Algebra) for her Diff EQ prof
Active in community service
Amateur radio
Math tutor
Debate

Student is undecided on major but interested in: Physics or Chem, Mech E or EE (I don’t think they really know much about engineering, though), OR Applied Math

Student is considering a minor in: linguistics
Would like robust options for studying languages at an advanced level (Chinese, Arabic or other)

Also likes philosophy.

Campus: Does not like campuses where there is no clear delineation between campus and city. For instance, they did not like UT Austin where the campus kind of merges with the city. They would like a defined campus space.

Open to anywhere in the US, though prefers to avoid super hot and humid places.

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What’s the budget?

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Assume no budgetary constraints.

Student is not a party type, likes meaningful conversation, discussing / debating substantive ideas, classic literature and philosophy.

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My first reaction is “Liberal Arts College” The math makes me think that some place like Carleton would be good, and the languages suggest Middlebury. Then expand from there to include colleges with different acceptance rates and different atmospheres.

Almost all LACs have clearly delineated campuses, even those in urban areas (like Macalester), and the majority are in the NE and Midwest.

@InfoRGA - is your student interested in a larger or smaller college?

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They don’t have strong feelings on size of school.

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Wesleyan - 16% acceptance rate (according to Kickstart); small classes; suburban setting; Math, Physics and Chem courses through the Ph.D. level.

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I assume you’re referencing Wesleyan U in CT, not Wesleyan College in GA?

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William and Mary might be another good option for a student who is looking for a more intellectual environment and a beautiful delineated campus. It is a midsize public research university that really functions more like a private liberal arts college. There is an emphasis on undergraduate teaching and research. The physics and chemistry departments are phenomenal with opportunities to take graduate level classes. I don’t have first hand experience with the linguistics department - you would have to look at their course offerings as well as those in the Chinese and Arabic departments to see if they would suit your student’s needs. They accept a lot of AP and dual enrollment credit which makes it very easy to double major in subjects that don’t have a lot of course work on common. I hesitate to call it a safety for an out of state student, but it most certainly falls in the match category.

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Congratulations to your kid on building such a strong profile in high school!

With interests in Chinese and Arabic, that is one of the most limiting factors when looking for a college (particularly when combined with a college that offers ABET-accredited engineering…which should be an option if your kid is seriously considering majoring in engineering). Thus, the vast majority of the schools I will list below tend to be large state schools, which will also usually have the benefit of extensive grad offerings in physics, chemistry, and math, as it seems possible that your kid may well exceed the typical offerings of a bachelor’s degree in those fields. Additionally, almost all of them will have honors colleges which your child will have an excellent chance of being invited to participate in which will generally offer smaller classes and oftentimes priority registration, special dorms, or other perks (it depends on each honors college).

I sorted the schools based on my guesses as to your kid’s chances for admission, but I readily acknowledge that I am viewed as a conservative guesser. For UW, one’s admission chances is highly dependent on the major selected and since your kid is so undecided on a major, it’s not one that I would strongly recommend. Additionally, the schools in the low probability category all have admit rates well below 20%. When that is the case, that is generally where I will list the school, although your kid’s profile might make admission to one of them likelier than that.

Extremely Likely (80-99+%)

  • Arizona State: About 65k undergrads. Might want to check school year temps to see if your kid would find the weather here comfortable.

  • Drexel (PA ): About 14k undergrads; there is a big focus on co-ops at this school

  • Michigan State: About 40k undergrads

  • Temple (PA ): About 22k undergrads

  • U. of Connecticut: About 19k undergrads

  • U. of Mississippi : About 19k undergrads (hot and humid)

  • U. of Oklahoma: About 22k undergrads

  • U. of Utah: About 27k undergrads

Likely (60-79%)

  • Binghamton (NY): About 14k undergrads

  • George Washington (D.C.): About 11k undergrads; only likely if your kid shows a lot of interest

  • Ohio State: About 46k undergrads

  • U. of Georgia: About 32k undergrads. Perhaps might be getting too humid here?

  • U. of Maryland – College Park: About 31k undergrads

  • U. of Pittsburgh (PA ): About 25k undergrads

Toss-Up (40-59%)

  • U. of Washington – Seattle: About 40k undergrads. This school is test blind, so it won’t see your kids’ excellent scores. Also, a very large number of its majors are capacity-constrained, meaning that there may be competitive admissions to enter the major beyond meeting certain prereqs.

Lower Probability (20-39%)

  • U. of Texas – Austin : About 42k undergrads. Texas students that graduate in the top 5% of their class get auto admission to UT, which makes it very competitive for students who do not get auto admission. I suspect your kid’s chances would be greater than most others’ however. (Student did not like the campus)

Low Probability (less than 20%)

  • Boston U. (MA): About 19k undergrads

  • Dartmouth (NH): About 4400 undergrads

  • Harvard (MA): About 9100 undergrads

  • Northwestern (IL): About 9200 undergrads

  • Tufts (MA): About 6900 undergrads

  • U. of Notre Dame (IN): About 9k undergrads

  • U. of Pennsylvania: About 12k undergrads

  • Washington U. (MO): About 8300 undergrads

  • Yale (CT): About 6800 undergrads

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State of residence? It sounds as if there would be no constraints on travel for school within the U.S.?

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I would just note that Dartmouth expects all its engineering undergraduates to complete two degrees: one a Bachelor of Arts (AB) in engineering studies and the other a B.E.. Only the B.E. is ABET approved. Many students complete both in four years, but a significant number do it in five. The five-year sequencing of courses is also available as a dual-degree program for participating LACs:
Partner School Dual-Degree Program | Dartmouth Engineering

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CA
So we’re also looking at UCs and CSUs

Since the student is undecided on major, it is less desirable to go to a school where you have to declare a major right away. I imagine many larger state schools are like the UCs/CSUs in this way.

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If Ivies are on the table, Brown has an open curriculum which would allow him to be flexible in his major and course choice.

Another option is OU HTC: Engineering/Physics | Ohio University - this seems to be a good center of mass between physics and his engineering interests.

If accepted, he will have pretty much no general education requirements, allowing him greater flexibility in taking chemistry and linguistics classes. Plus, OU HTC students do not have to fill prerequisites, allowing him to jump in to the more interesting upper level or graduate classes if he so chooses: Academics | Ohio University

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My first thought is Swarthmore, ABET engineering program and very intellectual vibe. Our tour guide joked about kids studying at the library on Friday nights before they went to parties. The thing that sold my kid was a flier in the student center for German Club, playing Settlers of Catan- in German. Just a perfect mix of nerdy, nice kids. Beautiful campus but not far from Philly. My kid is at Brown, which would also be a great match- Swat was his other favorite school, lots of similarities between them.

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Oh- forgot to mention, Brown has a phenomenal Applied Math program, all of the APMA and math classes my kid has taken have fantastic.

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It very much depends. U. of Washington, mentioned upthread, is like this. Ohio State for engineering is like this. I’m unsure about Georgia, Maryland, and Pitt, but definitely don’t think they’re as difficult to change majors as it can be at the popular UCs. But as far as the rest of the schools I listed above, I think students can change pretty readily from one major to another.

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I’ll add some Liberal Arts colleges. All have small classes.

All of these are low probability (admission rates under 20%)

Middlebury (VT) - around 2,600 undergrads, but some 500 are usually somewhere else. Great linguistics program. It is very rural in the hills of Vermont.

Carleton - (MN) - around 2,100 students. It has an excellent math program and a great linguistics program. Rural in Minnesota’s farming country

Harvey Mudd College (CA) - around 900 students. It’s a unique place, a Liberal Arts college which is focused on Engineering and physical sciences. It’s part of the Claremont Colleges, so they have access to classes at the other colleges. It is suburban in Claremont, CA.

Swarthmore (РA) - around 1,700 students. Has excellent linguistics and physical sciences. It is suburban.

Haverford (РA) - 1,400 students. has great math and linguistics programs. It’s suburban.

@circuitrider has already presented Wesleyan

Lower probability (20%-39%)

Reed College (OR) - around 1,400 students. Has a top level linguistics program.

I’ll add more, or other people can do so.

Some of the benefits of Liberal arts colleges are that that classes are all small, and the teaching is a lot more interactive. It also requires a lot more work - essays, long answer exams, etc. It isn’t easy for a kid who does not like to write, but LAC graduates know how to write well.

Every person I know who graduated a LAC has absolutely loved their time there.

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I did not attend a liberal arts college, but I love the idea of them and definitely encourage others to consider them.

I think it will really depend on what kind of options OP’s kid wants.

Getting appropriate depth in all of those fields of interest (particularly Mech E or EE, and to a lesser degree Arabic AND Chinese) at a liberal arts college is going to be the challenge.

@InfoRGA, has your kid attended any engineering camps? I don’t know if it’s too late, but it could be really useful for your kid to see if it’s of interest. I know that Purdue and Rose-Hulman have programs and @goldbug’s kid attended one last summer at WPI and found it really instructive. I don’t know what the deadlines are to apply for any programs, but I would urge your family to look into one for this summer to know how important it is for a college to have engineering as one of the options.

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Beloit offers self designed majors: Self-Designed Majors • Interdisciplinary Studies • Beloit College

And they’re homeschool-friendly: Homeschooled Applicants • Admissions • Beloit College

It I’m not really sure what sort of custom major would integrate those interests, and if he wants engineering, he would take an extra year or two by transferring to RPI or WUSTL after junior year: 3-2 and 4-2 Engineering Programs • Engineering • Beloit College

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My student hasn’t attended any engineering camps - they were involved in a Maker Club that was very hands on, but I don’t know how well that experience translates. Thank you for the tip - I will check those programs out.

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