SMU has a minor in Japanese, flexible with double majors and minors with computer engineering and offers strong merit. Lyle school has extra money on top of university awards.
https://www.smu.edu/dedman/Academics/Departments/World-Languages/Undergraduate/Japanese
Another thing to consider when taking your tours is how your son(?) will get from your home in Nevada to the college he chooses - and how much that will cost. Are you close to airport? Is the college? Are there bus/train routes to the airport? Schools like UTK, U of SC, NC State, Georgia Tech are near airports with transportation readily available. Some colleges offer transportation to nearby airports for major holiday breaks, others don’t. My daughter is within driving distance to her university, but the airports are not close for those who need to fly. Just something additional to consider and ask questions about on your tours.
Re the “sometimes less stringent COVID rules” currently UNC Chapel Hill and the town of Chapel Hill have indoor mask mandates in public spaces. UNC does not require vaccination (mainly because the state appointed University of North Carolina Board of Governors made it impossible to do), but unvaccinated individuals on the UNC campus are required to participate in weekly testing. You can read more about it at https://carolinatogether.unc.edu .
BTW, the city of Atlanta has a mask mandate too.
Furman and Wofford might be worth a look for smaller universities. Greenville, SC is very mask free. Traveled through there on a college trip to Atlanta recently.
Hopefully by the time your S23 goes to college COVID will be under control and masks will no longer be needed, but this is the current lay of the land here in the Southeast.
Clemson has been very open, masks aren’t really enforced, no vaccine mandate but everyone tests once a week regardless of vaccine status. They have a quarantine hotel. The students need to test this week at home and then on campus before classes start. I’m hoping everything stays the same this semester.
As some of the other posters have noted, UTK is relatively easy to get to: not only is there a nearby airport, but Knoxville lies at the intersection of I-40 and I-75. If you get to campus, you might want to consider staying at “The Graduate”, https://www.graduatehotels.com/knoxville/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAt8WOBhDbARIsANQLp963PavdJj0krUFvZasyvxzTY1CgMkLrV8Nc5pDSZNyfLyHEG6n8JiQaAsPAEALw_wcB, which is a hotel on the outskirts of the campus. (Graduate Hotels, where you can find them, are usually located near a campus and have decor and other themes that are particular to the nearby university.)
A few general notes, not directly related to travel: If you haven’t done so already, you might want to look at the Common Data Sets for the schools you are targeting. Section C7 tells you how the different academic and non-academic admissions criteria are weighted by each school; Sections C9-C11 given ranges of standardized test scores and GPA for matriculating students. To get significant merit awards (to the extent that a school offers them), your son likely will need to be in the 75th percentile or above for test scores/GPA.
Some comments on a few of the schools that you mention, in the event that you need to prioritze your travel destinations: UNC and NCSU have caps of 18% on OOS students in entering freshman class (although I don’t know whether NCSU has ever hit that ceiling; UNC typically does). Georgia Tech is a tough nut to crack for OOS students, especially those wanting to major in computer science or engineering. Geographic diversity could be a hook for your son, however, at all the southeastern schools that you mention.
Purdue is excellent for computer science, and also offers Japanese as a major. Purdue’s president, Mitch Daniels, has kept tuition costs frozen for the past 11 years, and housing costs frozen for the past 10 years; I have a child at Purdue, and my wife and I usually pay about $46K per academic year. As with some of the other schools you mention, however, significant merit money is hard to come by. Here is a link to Purdue’s data digest: https://www.purdue.edu/datadigest/; some of the links can give useful information regarding admissions and student enrollment.
Although not on your current list of “loser to home” schools, Willamette University in Salem, Oregon offers both computer science and Japanese studies as majors and minors.
Here is what I’ve come up with eliminating places that did not meet the academic program criteria (E-school and Japanese minor) he’s looking for or were going to be too reachy (GT, Vanderbilt).
Will skip Virginia for now and any school requiring boosters. Common Data Sets are pure gold…thank you @gandalf78. Merit may not come through so also looking for value and I think this list provides that.
Closer to home we have WUE schools nearby: U of Utah, Montana State Univ., and ASU. We might visit AZ, FL and TX later.
As for smaller schools, I’m not really seeing any that fit the criteria except maybe Furman. W&L requires boosters.
As for ease of travel, yes, it is a concern. We are 60 miles from Reno and most places are 2 flights away. If they are 3 flights plus a drive, it’s too much.
Not listed in any order. Probably 3 trips (flying from Reno). What do you guys think about this college visit plan? Should I break up the SE trip?
fly to Raleigh, dive to Tuscaloosa → fly out of Birmingham
Fly to Chicago, drive or fly to:
RENO Drive to
SLC/Bozeman: Fly to SLC then BZN
If your son is interested in engineering, and you are looking at Alabama, I would definitely include UAH (Huntsville). My understanding is that it is a very good engineering school (especially due to NASA having a headquarters in Huntsville) and it also offers a lot of merit to good students.
For merit you need to replace Clemson with U of SC. U of SC also has the top Honors College in the country. They are aggressive merit wise. Or at least add as another stop. It’s also near an airport. Clemson is a good ways away although I’m sure easily accessible from Greenville. Plus tons of Atlantans go there.
If you are driving from Knoxville to Tuscaloosa, add a stop at UAH - which is a mid size school and offers a certificate in Japanese. Huntsville is heavy Tech oriented. It will be a quieter school than the big publics. Wonderful for engineering…Huntsville is loaded with aerospace and autos (new Mazda/Toyota plant) if those industries excite.
Edit - I see @MMRose said the same. Didn’t see the comment as I started writing.
I still think I’d add IU. Purdue will be a tough get. IU will be better for language and much easier for admissions. . Can do both. But for IU Indianapolis or Louisville will be closer. If you have time, since you added Tennessee how about Kentucky and / or Miami of Ohio. Just trying to show you lower prices / higher merit. All would be in range on that trip. Wisconsin likely no merit by the way. Similar to NC State.
From Reno you’ll be two flights to all these schools - shouldn’t be an issue. The bigger thing will be is your son comfortable at a school like UTK or NC State where most will be somewhat local, go home for Thanksgiving or even weekends and he’s really far away.
As for the booster that’s a personal decision of course. But you are 20 months away. A lot could happen between now and then. Covid could pass. It could get worse and others may require it. Or the Supreme Court could back a federal mandate. It’s already turned down Indiana Students appeals and workplace appeals so it is a possibility.
What I’m saying is - I would not personally base 4 years of my life on a total unknown. That’s me. Obviously it’s an individual decision.
Good luck.
Furman is a great school, but they are being very cautious with Covid and are requiring vaccines and boosters. This may not meet their needs.
Sounds like a plan!
I am sending you a PM.
Baylor would be a good option for merit aid
@roycroftmom I’d love to hear more about about Baylor.
Yes I meant to add U of SC and I couldn’t figure out how to edit the post. I will also add IU and look at UAH and Miami of OH ( a very popular go-to from where I went to HS in suburban chicago).
Yes there is the question of being the lone Yank among southerners lol. This pretty much describes my experience at UVA, contrasted with then attending U of Illinois for grad school. However, everything is far away from Reno except UNR. Nothing is really a less than a days drive when not considering CA. We do have family in JAX and Dallas. It is a good question and something he’ll have to consider if he really wants to be “as far away as possible.”
Some will disagree but for me all these schools hopping on the booster bandwagon is disappointing on many levels. I see your point regarding unknowns of the future. However universities that pay homage to the mandate overlords tells me something about their leadership and thinking (or lack thereof) at the policy level. Not meant to draw ire. Just how I see it. Do I want to support that policy with my dollars? No. And most importantly, do I want him to fall in love with a school that would kick him out for not complying with the latest mandate whim? Feels a bit like a bait and switch. So just trying to preempt a potential disaster. I really feel for the kids in this position currently and it’s one that I want to avoid if it all possible.
Thank you.
Several friends’ children attend Baylor and like it. There at least used to be an online calculator for gpa and sat score and it would tell you how much aid you would get. They were generous in merit aid
I think more schools than you want would like mandates but their state legislatures block them.
Also last August the U of SC won a case over the mask mandate in the state Supreme Court. As you can imagine the next day all the state publics put in a mandate.
Also likely, if covid is still here, where your son interns or works, will most likely have a vax requirement. Today it’s very difficult to find a company that will hire you without. Some, like my company, people who are not vaccinated by a certain date….for us tomorrow… r gone (except in Florida). It’s just the reality of where we are…not taking a political stance.
Truth is most colleges and employers want it. They’ll deflect blame to the feds because it’s easy. But they know the best chance of resuming normal operations is the vaccine. That’s why most large employers, even if they don’t yet require it of their employees, require of new ones. And as the feds have been losing lower level court cases, companies like the airlines are still requiring and saying they’re going to follow federal law regardless.
Again, just sharing the reality…not playing to politics…but eventually ( if it’s still with us) most everyone employed in white collar jobs will be vaxed or they’ll be under/unemployed. That’s my belief from looking at the landscape.
Even the Florida colleges outright clearly want mandate based on their words but the governor has put in laws to block it. If the Supreme Court blocks federal laws, that will remain. If not, you’ll see most every college go this way. But perhaps you should look closest at UF, FSU, UCF, and USF. You might be most comfortable there if the mandates bother you. Just know they want them too but instead can only strongly encourage etc. My employer also cannot fire anyone there due to lack of vax although we can choose not hire there if not vaxed.
Not starting a political argument. Just letting you know the reality of the situation your son is going to face as we march forward.
Think of the MMR and other required for school. I needed a tetanus or whatever for grad school. This one has everyone up in arms (pardon the pun) but we already have mandates in our schools prior to covid.
I’d hate for your son to lose out on opprtunities…in school and employment. I hope you give him the option.
I don’t see how a young person today will be able to avoid them quite honestly unless perhaps they do their own gig vs working for another.
Good points. Thanks for your perspective.
You cannot predict the future regarding anything Covid mandate related. Maybe having this as a college criteria just isn’t going to stand the test of time.
That’s what I was trying to say. Thanks.
And the job thing. It’s interesting I had some colleagues planning to leave. Ultimately they got the shot. Why ? Every competitor they looked to, every linkedin description…new company required vaccination.
The future is unknown but if we still have a pandemic we probably won’t have many personal choices in regards to this…if we want to earn a living that is…
But again no one knows. Just bringing up the possibility.
I just hope it goes away so everyone can stop fighting !!
I hear you. Let me clarify: I’m not really talking about vaccines here. Yes Covid is a nasty disease and vaccines sometimes make sense. But boosters in college age kids? And now 5-11 year olds…Not so much logic here. (You’ll have to look into this yourself if you are interested, but go back and listen to the FDA advisory committee meeting discussing boosters and the vote 16-2 for a start.)
I am sending my kid to university, among other reasons, learn to think logically. But the covid policies some that some universities have adopted are complete head-shakers very likely to cause more harm than good. So what else can you do? And even if things do change, a lack of critical thought emanating from certain ivory towers has put me off my vittles. I probably wouldn’t shop there ever again regardless.
I get it. It’s certainly your right. And I’m not trying to be political at all.
I’m just pointing out what’s likely to happen. What I’m seeing happening.
And what employment may look like as we already see the snapshot.
I’d hate for your son to lose out for the right fit. Nowhere is perfect and whether it’s right or wrong medically I haven’t a clue. I have no doubt my company will require a booster and then another. We just finished our monthly lottery for the vaccinated. I lost all 5 they held…for $5k. Never will I have such good odds again!!
Well you have a good strategy in chasing merit. Well I think with some fine tuning. But u may look at all the Florida publics. All are affordable. The big 4 have his major/minor and if any where protects you for your desires, it’ll be there 
they have other publics too.
Excited to hear what you find on your trips (likes/dislikes) and to see where he lands next year. Good luck