SAT Score: 1520 ( 760 v, 760 m) Will retake and bring up scores in Sept
List your HS coursework
English: 4 years including H 10th, AP Lang, AP Lit (planned)
Math: 4 years including H Pre-Calc, AP Calc BC , Multivariable (DE), ODE (DE), linear algebra (planned), discrete (planned)
Science: 4 years including Bio, H Chem, AP Chem, AP Physics C: Mech (planned)
History and social studies: 3 years including AP Euro, APUSH, Gov (DE), Macro Econ (DE)
Language other than English: 5 years including H Span 4 and AP Spanish (planned)
Visual or performing arts: Band, Orchestra, Graphic Design, AP Drawing (planned)
Other academic courses: Comp Sci (DE at UCLA)
Awards: UPenn Book Award, Director’s and Outstanding Performer Awards (band)
Extracurriculars
Drum captain, front ensemble lead and center marimba for both Marching Band and Indoor Drumline (2 years, 4 years participating), Concert Band (4 years, 3 in honors), Orchestra (3 years), President of Math Club (1 year, 4 years participating), Rotary Solo Competition (2nd Place), AwesomeMath Camp, AMC10 and AMC12, tutoring math student with special needs 45+ hours, Scholar Quiz
Essays/LORs/Other
He’s working on the essays now, so I’m not sure how strong they will be. He is getting help from a recommended local professional. Strong LOR’s from AP Chem and AP Lang teachers. Has LOR’s from Calc BC teacher and percussion director as needed.
DS is interested in doing pure math research as an undergrad, program is his number one consideration after weather (he does not tolerate the heat)
Schools
Assured (100% chance of admission and affordability): U Minnesota (ea)
Extremely Likely: St. Olaf (ea), UMD (ea)
Likely:
Toss-up: Mc Gill, Reed (ea)
Lower Probability: Carleton, Grinnell, Haverford
Low Probability: Cornell, Swarthmore, Brown, Princeton, MIT (ea), U of Chicago (ea), Harvard
Has he considered Carnegie Mellon? Top-notch for math, yet getting in for math is not as tough as getting in for CS. This means that switching into CS later isn’t typically an option, and this deters some applicants, but it doesn’t sound as if your DS cares about keeping the CS option open. CMU is need-blind and meets full documented need; might be worth running the NPC to see how the $ aspect would look. (And Pittsburgh runs a little cooler than Philadelphia, so if the weather is okay at Swarthmore and Haverford, CMU should pass that filter too.) Plus, music is top-tier here too, and there are decent opportunities for non-majors. (Also a relatively-low-commitment marching band, The Kiltie Band, whose tagline is The Band Without Pants. Is this a draw? YMMV, lol.)
Wesleyan could be worth a look too. They even have a PhD program in pure math, so there’s plenty of depth there.
UCSB CCS is a fantastic option, if the beachy weather would work for him. When you run NPC’s, do the UC’s cost less than the full-need-met privates, or more?
Anyway, looks like you have a well-balanced list. For the LAC’s, make sure there’s enough advanced coursework, offered frequently enough, since your DS will be coming in with a lot of lower-division classes already completed. (Hence the Wesleyan suggestion, where this wouldn’t be a concern.)
The OOS state public schools (Minnesota and UMD)will likely be unaffordable. He needs an affordable safety option as Minnesota will likely cost around $55k/year.
I am ignoring finances as I don’t know your NPCs/Financial Aid picture. I will leave that to you. Certainly, with that GPA and scores merit is feasible at schools with merit too…excellent rigor and wide course selection too I see no weakness there:)
I think McGill is much better odds than Toss-up unless I am missing something on their requirements for math. I would say better than even odds for sure… I would put in likely… Kids with this profile at my local high schools would be extremely likely to get in, honestly.
Agree CMU would be a good add-on (and maybe a better match than Cornell or Princeton vibe-wise with the rest of the list).
If you wanted another (I think likely if being generous or toss-up if being harsh) I might add U of Rochester (though I don’t know much about the math program, but they offer a PhD) but it’s cold, size is right, and the atmosphere seems to match what a kid is looking for…. solid STEM and liberal-artsy. Also lots of music!
Will your family be able to contribute anything out of annual earnings toward college, or is your son’s budget $20k/year?
Do you qualify for any of the California grant programs? @Gumbymom can hopefully share more, but if you don’t, I’m not sure if the UCs will be affordable.
I’m also going to page @Twoin18 who can probably provide some great advice for you.
And as one option to consider, think about the U. of Utah. It’s a WUE school, but it also allows students to get in-state residency if they stay for 12 consecutive months (so stay for a summer in addition to the school year). That could end up making it an affordable option to consider.
Do the net price calculators on each college web site indicate affordability?
Given how advanced in math the student is, be sure to check the upper level and graduate level offerings in math that math majors can take at each college. Colleges with small math departments, including many LACs, may be limiting in this respect.
We’re in the process of running the NPC’s on the list. It looks like full-need-met privates will cost less than UC’s. He’ll have to see if he gets money from any UC’s and make that decision.
If merit scholarships are needed for affordability, then the chance estimate should be based on getting the large enough merit scholarship, not admission. It seems unlikely that either of them has assured or extremely likely large enough merit scholarships for your student’s situation (out-of-state needing a net price of <$20k/year).
The maximum merit award for OOS at Minnesota is $15k. It is competitive so difficult to get this much. The average OOS award is $5,500.
Maryland does have a full tuition award, but it is very competitive. The average award is much lower. Possibly enough to make it affordable for you, but unlikely.
You can check each school’s website to see possible merit awards. I think the numbers I mentioned here are still accurate.
I agree… one might even go as far as to call it a safety with those stats, because admission is very stats based. However, I believe that the Major Entrance Scholarships at McGill are limited to $10,000 (CAD) for international students, so finances would probably be a stretch. Entrance scholarships for future undergraduates - McGill University
@CatFam there are other Canadian universities that have bigger top awards for internationals, if you are interested in exploring more. For example U of T has the Pearson. (Not very likely to get, but at least they have it.)
I don’t know much about Minnesota, but yes, it’s a long shot at UMD because it’s a popular school that attracts many strong applicants, so it doesn’t award much merit aid.
Aside from the Banneker-Key full-ride scholarships, which are very competitive as @Momofthree24 mentioned, the highest merit award you’re likely to receive is around $12–$15,000 per year (and, occasionally, as much as $18–$20,000). Even with the highest award (which is quite rare) the cost would still exceed $45k per year.
Also, I wouldn’t consider an out-of-state university with an acceptance rate below 50% that practices holistic admissions to be “extremely likely.”