Thanks to all who have replied to this thread and this site, especially @microbial40 . We have been connected with several Earlham STEM alumni and potentially some 3/2 alumni. My son will be having some conference calls with them soon.
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OP- your son sounds fantastic and is going to do great things in life.
Just a heads up- I would not describe Columbia engineering as nurturing in any way, shape or form. And given the current disorder at the U with the federal funding itâs anybodyâs guess as to the future. But I know several current Columbia engineering students and recent alums-- and although by the last two years of your sonâs program he no longer needs to worry about weed-outs, itâs not a particularly intimate âget to know your studentâ kind of place. And there is no way to avoid large lecture halls at Columbia. There will be some classes capped at 50 or so (particularly if lab space is required) but if enrollment goes over that, the U finds a bigger space. And finds more grad students to supervise the breakout sections.
So just a caveat. Itâs not a huge flagship U, but in some ways, it acts like one!!! I went to grad school there, and even though it was back in the Dark Ages, the overall vibe has not changed much. You can look at Cooper Union for example- a much more accommodating engineering program in NYC-- to see some of the differences.
Good luck! Agree that Earlham is a very special place for the right kid. And also agree with the comment above that many kids do not know what they donât know, i.e. a kid who wants a PhD today before setting foot on campus may change direction three times before sophomore year is out. Your son may fall in love with the intersection between composite materials and artificial limbs-- and get a great job offer at a device startup after undergrad- and there he goes. Or have a neat internship in sustainability and decide he wants to work developing climate friendly building materials and he pivots to urban planning/civil engineering. And again, no grad school required.
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Thanks! If kiddo does Materials Engineering or Applied Physics at Columbia, as many Earlham 3/2s doâŠthose programs are tiny. They are actually tiny everywhere, including Illinois, but even at Illinois, the freshmen/sophomores all have to do the huge lectures for the first 2 years. The cool stuff doesnât happen until later and those classes are small. Weâll see where kiddo lands. Iâll keep everyone posted.
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The programs are tiny. The universityâs approach to education (kids figure it out eventually) is NOT consistent with the size of a particular major! Depending on the direction your son takes, he may decide he needs more applied math, more programming with advanced languages, a Mech E intro class to further his ability to collaborate with colleagues down the road, etc. His last two years will NOT be a mini-doctoral program with 100% specialization in one narrow area-- he will still be an undergrad getting a degree in engineering, and that may-- at times- put him in the big ocean which is Columbia U! A very bureaucratic, somewhat unyielding administration; some faculty advisors are incredible and others just want to check off a box and get back to work.
Just donât want you to have unrealistic expectations.
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There are other schools options for the 3/2 (RPI and WashU) that are known for good accommodations and support.
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Cool. My niece is a current senior at WashU and her roommate is a ChemE major there. My nieceâs take is that WashU is more for bioengineering majors. My son is definitely interested in RPI as well. I expect he may visit both departments down the line (he has visited Columbia Engineering already) if he goes with 3/2 to decide what might work best.
S23S went to a school where all students needed accommodations (part of admission criteria). They send lots of kids to RPI and they do well there. They tend to steer kids towards programs with a culture of good student support, so thatâs one hurdle he wonât have to worry about.
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Agree. RPI is in the business of training engineers and scientists and they do it very, very well. Its singular focus means itâs not the right environment for a kid who wants a lot of broad exploration, but once youâre there, theyâll do what it takes for you to get what you need!
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We have visited Columbia. Itâs a tiny school versus places like Ohio State or Illinois that have 60,0000+ students. There are twice as many undergraduate engineering students at Illinois (13,500+, that doesnât even include the grad students) than there are at all of Columbia. My son felt Columbia was the right size for him.
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Then youâre done! Congrats to your son.
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For those who might be interested, DS17 committed to Earlham on Sunday night after some great conversations with alumniâŠfound via this site!! Thanks all.
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Thanks for sharing the final decision. Congratulations! Sounds perfect for him.
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Congratulations on reaching a decision! 
All the best for a wonderful future.
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Thanks all. He feels really good about it. Earlham has done a great job staying in touch and making him feel welcome. While several teachers, other parents, and administrators have said âwow, never heard of that school,â several admissions professionals (including one local mom who does admissions remotely for Purdue) said, âWow. Good choice. Your kid must be incredibly smart. He will go very far in life.â She said that graduate programs at Purdue put any Earlham grad at the top of the pile.
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