$60K is a lot of table money. Have you actually run a net price calculator for any of these pure need-based colleges?
Seconding St Olaf, especially due to the math/music combination. There are music scholarships (you need to participate in a band/choir but donât have to major in it) as well as academic scholarships.
Another idea: Case Western Reserve. They are very strong in STEM, good music opportunities, and have a âwhole collegeâ philosophy meaning that if youâre admitted you can add or switch majors without restrictions (most public universities have restrictions to switching majors or being admitted to the major if it wasnât the one on the application or require students to meet specific criteria.)
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Presumably, you mean without restrictions based on capacity limitations, since changing into a major in the 5th semester after not having taken its lower level prerequisites is unlikely to work out at any college.
And thereâs the cost issue. They certainly could come in with merit - but the OP still needs to find âassuredâ schools at $60K. But first they need to decide if spending $240K makes sense when theyâll have options from $0K (assured at Tulsa) to maybe $30K max total if that over four years via some of the NMFs - and at Bama, that would include a Masters if they desired.
Iâd start there b4 moving up the cost market - assuming theyâd rather retain that money.
Good luck to OP.
The University of Rochester ticks all boxes except weather. And experiencing a different region of the country (incl. weather) can be a good thing!
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I would take 3 big schools ranked 50-100 and 3 LACs ranked 50-90 within 2-6 hours drive and visit. Then you will have better understanding what he likes and fit.
I probably would go with bigger schools that have more options to explore and add multiple minors. But many bigger schools maybe more limited with merit.
Oops, I meant @mathKids
I agree Applied Math sounds like something worth checking out. Not that he has to commit now, but it might be nice to know it is an option.
A lot of times Applied Math is going to be like a concentration (or just some electives) in a Math major, but I thought it worth mentioning that Stony Brook actually has a legendary Applied Math department (#13 on that Top 50 list, for example), and it is not reachy but still an excellent college:
I believe their full cost OOS is within budget, and then they sometimes toss in some merit.
Another public worth considering would be Pitt. Great location in a fun city, very good Applied Math program, starts just barely on budget but might offer some merit:
I agree Rochester seems worth looking into, but youâll need some significant merit to get on budget. Still, they do have merit!
Similarly I agree St Olaf might be worth considering as it has a lot of merit and a strong Math program. They are a good example of Applied Math being something you can concentrate on within their Math major (they have something called an Individualized Mathematics Program, and you can make Applied Math an area of emphasis):
https://wp.stolaf.edu/math/the-mathematics-major/
FYI, they are in a smallish college town they share with Carleton, Northfield, but the Twin Cities are only about 45 minutes away.
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MSU - Advanced Math Major, an amazing small program within a large university
https://admissions.msu.edu/academics/majors-degrees-programs/mathematics-advanced
- The math department offers quite a few advanced honors classes (analysis, abstract algebra, etc) which are usually attended by fewer than 20 students
- Students can take up to 2 grad level classes each semester
- Top incoming students are offered a Professional Assistantship, a paid research position for the first 2 years
Professorial Assistantship (PA) Program - MSU Honors College - There are spring research programs open to everyone (as part of their Discover America exchange program)
- Starting their sophomore year, students can work as Undergraduate Learning Assistants (undergraduate equivalent of TAs) and tutors at the Math Learning Center
- The math department has offered a summer Topology School for the last two summers
- The faculty is very accessible
On top of his PA research, my son was invited to do research in his freshman year and has been part of the group since then. He has also proofread and provided exercise solutions and feedback for a book one of his professors is working on. With all his APs and DE, he is pretty much taking math classes only, half of which are graduate level classes. He has been a recitation leader since the fall of his sophomore year. There is much more but I would like to keep it âcollege confidentialâ
MSU offers lots of automatic scholarships for OOS in addition to their competitive scholarships. There are also additional scholarships for NMF.
UTK honors program is another program, your son may be interested in.
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