Please match my trans daughter for chem/CS and languages

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics

  • US born
  • Residency: WI
  • Type of high school: competitive public school
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity: white trans woman
  • Other factors: She’s on the spectrum

**Intended Major(s): chemistry and/or CS; also wants to study Japanese & German

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.75
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): unsure
  • Class Rank: top 7%
  • ACT: 35
    *SAT: 1540

Coursework
AP Chem: 5
AP Calc AB: 5
first 2 HS years of history classes in Spanish (bilingual strand)
Other courses include creative writing, China area studies, math physics, etc.
Did two chem courses, including intro to organic chem, at state university.
In senior year, will take AP German, AP Calc BC

Awards
German Honor Society, can’t think of any others

Extracurriculars
Robotics (3 years)
LGBTQ+ leadership training (2 years)
Summer language camps in German (2 years) and Japanese (1 year)
2 years of private tutoring in Japanese (twice a week)
Summer science camps (e.g. neuroscience, chem) (3 years)
2 years in capoeira and judo

Essays/LORs/Other
not yet completed

Cost Constraints / Budget
family has some savings to cover approx. 75% of cost

Schools
Recommendations welcome. Would love to find a place that is LGBTQ welcoming/celebratory, nerdy, not overwhelming. Would esp. appreciate suggestions for liberal arts schools with strong sciences. Thank you for your help.

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Some of the liberal arts colleges included here may be of interest:

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75% of the cost of an expensive private school ($80k per year) or 75% of the cost of an in-state public ($28k per year resident, $17k per year commuter)?

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It’s a great question. We can cover full cost of public. We have ed savings for $30K per year, so we will need to get creative about the rest.

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For colleges more expensive than $30k per year, have you run net price calculators on their web sites to get estimates of what financial aid may look like at those colleges?

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Thank you for sharing this. It’s hard to know how to evaluate the chem or CS areas in these schools, though. Any suggestions?

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Yes, and it will require sacrifice at most privates. I do think that smaller would be significantly better for this kid. Just not sure how to estimate the STEM areas, and whether it’s worth the sacrifice that it will require

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Macalaster.

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For CS, check for upper level courses in the following areas and their frequency of offering:

algorithms and complexity
theory of computation, languages, automata
operating systems
compilers
databases
networks
security and cryptography
software engineering
artificial intelligence
graphics
hardware courses

Also check if the CS major is limited-access due to capacity constraints, or if CS courses are rationed for CS majors, or if it is difficult for students to start the CS major because there is not enough space in the introductory courses.

For chemistry, check if the program is approved by the American Chemical Society: Data & Reports - American Chemical Society

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There are likely more than those 19* schools that are sufficiently friendly and accepting.

However, be aware that, in many social (and political) contexts, acceptance of T lags behind acceptance of LGB.

*Not counting Mills, which is closing.

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That’s exactly what I’m worried about.
Thank you for taking the time to share ideas with me.

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Are women’s colleges under consideration?

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yes, @merc81, if they accept trans women

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One thing to watch out for is (actual or proposed) state laws that are trans-unfriendly that may force colleges to be trans-unfriendly (in situations like gendered sports or bathrooms) even if the colleges do not want to be trans-unfriendly.

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Schools such as Bryn Mawr, Reed, Wellesley and Macalester offer top-notch chemistry programs. For breadth across sciences, including CS, Wesleyan and Mount Holyoke would be excellent schools to consider.

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I would definitely say look at women’s colleges! I don’t attend one but one of my close friends does and finds they’re very accepting of every identity. Mount Holyoke and Hollins are two that I’ve heard great things about.

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Take a look at Barnard and Columbia. Both are very accommodating for LGBTQ. Financial aid will probably be better at Columbia, but also a lot harder to get in.

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While true, CS is not s strength at Barnard, and many of the more desired courses will be at Columbia. That said, Barnard is definitely a strong colleges that is very trans-friendly.

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Many schools are very LGBTQ friendly but I would suggest talking to your D about what she needs to be comfortable in a school. Does she feel more comfortable with other trans students or not? Large public schools with excellent honors colleges and merit aid that this group typically recommend for CS may not have any (or very few) trans students in those groups so the more expensive smaller LAC with larger numbers of trans women and men and non binary students may make for a more comfortable and successful time.

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Since you mention languages (German, Japanese, and Spanish specifically), another thing to look for academically is where she stands in her skill level in each language, and whether each college has sufficient more advanced courses for her interests. Note that Japanese tends to be considered a more difficult language for English users, so it may require reaching a higher level course than Spanish or German to reach an equivalent level of skill.

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