@srk2017 Do they really offer an undergraduate major in computational bio/chemistry? I would expect it to be a graduate school program. Maybe I am old. For Computational Bio work/career, it would be better to major in Chemistry or Biochemistry or Biophysics or Math or Computer Science (high performance computing/supercomputing) - in one of domain sciences - rather than in biology or computational biology. I expect the field will undergo many significant transformations with advances in technology. Having a strong foundation in one of the domain sciences is better than learning how to use today’s toolkits of running blast or small molecule simulations using today’s software on today’s hardware which will look like dinosaurs in 10 years.
@payn4ward _ I believe few schools offer Computational Biology undergrad major and others have it as part of Biomedical engineering (BME) departments. I do agree that having strong foundation in Biology or Chem is key. He is not planning to do graduate program in that, He is more interested in Medicine. I haven’t prepared the lists yet. That shall start in a week or so 
@CT1417 I knew this SAT II score delay since forever (February?) and I complained about it in many threads on CC.
CollegeBoard replied “for improved reporting blah blah the score will not be available sooner blah blah.”
Yes this sucks. Poor 2017ers.
@srk2017 If he goes to one of the schools with a big computational bio group, which include many universities, he may be able to do a little undergraduate research as a chem/biochem/biophysics/math/CS major. It is definitely fun stuff. Or do an REU or SULI (DOE).
@payn4ward - Chemistry and Biology are his strong interest and also likes CS. No strong interest in Phyics and Math .I have to look up on REU or SULI (not familiar with those words)
CWRU has a Systems Bio major that looks interesting. I was looking at it just today. Pitt has Mathematical Biology. I do agree, it sounds like a Grad focus.
Those are paid undergraduate summer research programs, which are Super duper for right kids.
Echoing @payn4ward. Ds leaves for a physics REU next week. He is super excited about it. They are competitive, so they need to plan on applying to several.
I’m thinking of adding another school to the list… Anyone have experience with scholarships at University of Arizona for OOS? Their scholarship website says: “Incoming Fall 2016 Freshmen who meet the following minimum unweighted, 6th semester high school grade point average and CR & M SAT or ACT test scores automatically qualify for the awards listed below, with the potential to receive higher merit offers.” It’s the “with the potential to receive higher merit offers” part that I want to get a better idea about. $13,000 per year isn’t even close to what D will need for it to be affordable.
@2muchquan - We are thinking abouve CWRU PPSP (Medicine). Will ask DS to look into Systems Biology. Are you considering CWRU?
@srk2017 CWRU is in the top 5 right now. It’s the weather that will be a factor. CogSci or CogNeuroSci is what we’re looking at there. Not going for Med, howerver. D wants to do a PhD track in BioMed Research…for now.
@2muchquan …without pants? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
“I will give you everything. I will give you what you’ve been looking for for 50 years."
“I’m the only one.”
Can he give fully paid Ivy League admission?
@WhereIsMyKindle I know, right? Right now one of her safeties has it beat by a good margin. Time will tell! Distance vs. Weather is what it might come down to…
I somehow missed the question of the day yesterday ----
In creating your (i.e., your child’s) college list, what compromises are you having to make when deciding which schools stay and which don’t?
Our biggest compromise that we have had to make is distance from home/travel. From our home in PA, a 6 hour driving radius gets us to many hundreds of beautiful, outstanding colleges and universities. I had never imagined our children “going away” to college to a different region of the US. I went away to school (only about 4 hours) and came home to work in my hometown. We live 2 hours from where my husband grew up. All of our siblings are close (3 in our town and our kids all go to school together) and the others within an hour drive. Many/Most of my high school and college friends are within a 2-4 hour drive (PA, VA, MD,DC, NJ, NY, CT). We are lucky to live in such a great area where people find jobs and build careers - we just don’t know anyone who has moved away.
D’s favorite schools are 16+ hours away driving - or a several hour flight + driving. I never imagined that she wouldn’t be a quick car ride away in the event she needed us (or us her). It will be difficult – and the thought that she may settle in another region of the country after graduation makes me sick to my stomach - also irrational but real. She found out about her first choice reading here on CC - and then shared with me. She is excited, smart, and is going in with eyes wide open so we need to support her.
I would be saying that we were compromising on $, but D is very logical and has only looked at schools within the budget that we gave her. Sitting through all of her AP economics lectures has her thinking a lot about ROI and true costs of her education - we are the ones who keep adding schools where she might win the highest merit awards but more likely sit at the top of her budget (or slightly over). We keep adding to the list and searching because of the distance - if it weren’t for that, she would be finished with the college search.
@novicemom23kids It’s not irrational at all! My D (only child) is most likely going to college far away and dreams of moving to NYC after college. I’m already having separation anxiety. lol I’m taking comfort in my belief that she just needs to spread her wings for awhile, but will ultimately move close to home and family.
I am keeping myself going by living in the fantasy world that after 4 years she will come home to the mid-atlantic area. I keep thinking of it like an extended vacation or a study abroad type experience and it seems so exciting. When I look at the reality that it is likely that she meets someone and/or gets a job and decides to stay faraway I get so sad 
@novicemom23kids When our oldest was a freshman in college, we moved 10 hrs away. After he graduated and took his first job, he was only 6 hrs away. Then we moved 14 hrs away. He and his wife came to visit us in our new area, fell in love with it, and moved here a yr later and now only live 10 mins away. I absolutely love it! My grandkids come over and visit all the time and my 5 yr old granddaughter is my 6 yr old’s best friend. (Though this weekend my sweet little 2 yr old grandson wasn’t feeling well while he was here and we all felt sorry for him and were carrying him around, loving on him. Within 24 hrs every single person in this house was flat on their backs sick as a dog. So, beware of sweet little guys carrying torture behind their pititul pouts!)
@Mom2aphysicsgeek Sorry about the virus. Hope everyone recovers soon.
George Mason–Just in the past few years they have made a lot of strides towards having more kids live on campus and even though the number of commuters is still larger than many colleges the commuters seem to mostly live pretty close to campus and don;'t just check out immediately after class. UGA-my kids had the same too much partying impression and not enough rigor even with honors Carnegie Mellon was the biggest number 1 to drop off the radar for both my kids. Too much for us to pay for and too little grant aid for our income level. Same for NYU. Why pay full freight there when Columbia is so much better in my kids areas of study (if one can get accepted).