<p>Your help with this is much appreciated. Just want to make sure I’m not missing some gems as I help this student with her school list. She has stats that will put her in line for any top school–and she is applying to several. However, she needs significant $$, and is stuck in the middle class doughnut hole. Were it not for $$, she would probably ED Brown. That’s the profile with regard to atmosphere, location (urban), STEM program, etc. that she hopes to find–but with more money than she expects Brown will be able to provide. </p>
<p>She is looking for a school that will challenge her (she excels in every academic area at a very competitive HS that sends 15-30 kids to top schools every year), but she is tired of the highly-competitive atmosphere, and is looking for a school with a more laid-back, less competitive/cutthroat attitude. She is also particularly interested in schools with high grad school acceptance rates. And, finally, she has not ruled out rural schools, but prefers a more urban setting. To summarize, schools with:</p>
<ol>
<li>Merit money for super-high stats</li>
<li>Strong STEM program with good grad school placement rates</li>
<li>Prefers urban/mid-size city environment</li>
<li>Laid-back, less-“competitive” environment</li>
<li>Not “label-chasing”–is looking at STAMPS schools, LACs/publics with full-ride honors programs, etc.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>If she could ED Brown, she should be a shoo-in for most of the top LACs. I’d just look at the US News rankings and go down the list. Maybe Swarthmore?</p>
<p>No one is a shoo in at Swarthmore (not that it wouldn’t be good to apply there although I had always heard that the vibe is pretty intense rather than laid back)</p>
<p>She is considering Swarthmore, though it is a smaller town than what she might prefer. Wesleyan is on her list–surrounding town a bit larger than for Swarthmore. </p>
<p>What about women’s colleges? Smith? Mt. Holyoke?</p>
<p>Mt. Holyoke is on her list. She is also looking at 3-2 schools–we have that list. She is open to women’s colleges, though Smith and Wellesley didn’t feel like good fits for her. I know little about Barnard, but have suggested she consider it because of its location and relationship with Columbia.</p>
<p>@momofzag , my impression of Swat was similar to yours. </p>
<p>The number one thing she is looking for is merit $$ or significant FA, and I don’t have the impression that they expect much from the tippy-top LACs. That’s why I’m asking about Merit money. If the schools that come to mind for you have merit programs (especially if they require separate applications), if you could point that out, that would be helpful. </p>
<p>We have the list of STAMPS schools, and the list of 3-2s, and the lists of schools with high grad-school placement. It’s just a matter of making sure we haven’t missed a school with a great full-ride merit program (for instance, the Johnson at W & L). </p>
<p>Have you gone through these lists, including automatic and competitive full ride merit scholarships and National Merit scholarships?</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html</a></p>
<p>“STEM” is a broad range of subjects. Is she looking at engineering in particular? Be aware that 3+2 students only rarely transfer – admission to, and financial aid at, the “2” school can be uncertain, since many are public (poor out-of-state financial aid) or are worse for transfer student financial aid (e.g. Columbia).</p>
<p>Ah, I was just searching for that when your notification popped up. Wasn’t sure if it had been updated recently. Thanks so much, @ucbalumnus .</p>
<p><<
She is also particularly interested in schools with high grad school acceptance rates.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>I am not sure that info is gathered/published…or if that info is meaningful (likely NOT meaningful). Individual depts may know rough ideas, but may not track. </p>
<p>Grad school acceptances really have to do with the STUDENT, not the school. High stats students get accepted to grad school. Undergrads do not “place” students into grad schools. </p>
<p>A school shouldn’t get dinged because some 3.0 student applies to grad school and gets rejected. If an undergrad has 100 students applying to grad school (some worthy, some not worthy), then HOW does the “acceptance rate” reveal ANYTHING about the school. Explain that to her. </p>
<p>An excellent student with a high GPA and high GRE is very likely going to get accepted to grad school.</p>
<p>If the family needs merit, what is the point of applying to Swat?</p>
<p>We need more info…how much can the family spend each year? That will determine how much merit she needs to chase.</p>
<p>For instance, if the family can contribute $15k-17k per year, then that would cover room, board, books, fees, travel, and personal expenses…Sooo…the student would need a full tuition merit scholarship to cover tuition.</p>
<p>What is her major and career goal? What area of STEM? Engineering? Which discipline?</p>
<p><<<
the list of 3-2s</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Not sure how viable 3-2’s are for a student that needs merit. The merit would be for the 3 years…so how will those last 2 years get paid???</p>
<p>Hi @mom2collegekids , the lists she found are most useful for finding schools that were not at all on her radar previously. She is not using the list as a bible. Just another resource for finding schools that she had not heard of/considered previously. She is a very strong student–academics come easily for her–and you are right. She is aware that she will most likely get into grad school, no matter where she does undergrad. She IS interested in the less-well-known schools that have high grad school acceptances, though, simply because some of them are “hidden gems” that she was not familiar with previously.</p>
<p>What is her STEM major and career goal??</p>
<p>How much will the family pay?</p>
<p>(where are these lists?)</p>
<p>Sorry, we have some cross-posts and I’m just now catching up. </p>
<p>First, I’m being purposefully vague because I don’t want to give out too much identifying info here. For what we are looking for, the personal stuff isn’t really needed, IMO. We are specifically looking for schools–public or private-- that have competitive merit $$ available or that are very generous (HYP-level generous) with FA for middle income families to attract top students. </p>
<p>Second, she will major in the Physical Sciences, but don’t want to be more specific than that. BS/MD programs are of interest, though she isn’t positive about med school at this time.</p>
<p>Third, the financial implications of a 3-2 program are, definitely, of interest to her. One of the things that made Mt. Holyoke interesting to her was their 3-2. I explained to her that there are hundreds of schools with 3-2 programs. She was not aware of that previously. I will send her the list today, along with the very helpful reminder on the financial front. Definitely an important consideration. Thank you!</p>
<p>As for the lists of schools that send high numbers of undergrads to PhD programs, I am not sure exactly which lists she was looking at, but my guess is that it is the NSF/Carnegie one I saw here on CC somewhere in the last week. She found Reed on it, among others that are lesser known than Reed, so I am guessing that’s the one she saw.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids , I can’t believe how FAST you are with your responses! Impressive! </p>
<p>New College of Florida does not have some of the facilities that she might like, but it offers a great financial package, and has one of the best grad-school admission rates in the country. It wouldn’t be a good choice for Engineering, but they have excellent Life Sciences and they are trying to improve their Computer Science program. They are in a medium-size city, which has a surprisingly strong arts and cultural scene. Like other parts of Florida, though, the population is not youthful once you get off-campus. The Tampa-St. Pete region is within an hour from Sarasota, and there’s lots going on there. If she happens to be a baseball fan (or if other family members are), the Sarasota-Bradenton area is accessible to many pre-season games. </p>
<p>Tulane is known for showing a lot of love to high-stats applicants, although it might not be the atmosphere she’d prefer. Pitt and Temple offer many of the features you’re looking for, with generous aid packages for qualified out-of-state students, but they might be larger campuses than you’d like. I’d suggest Fordham-Lincoln Center, except it is not good for STEM. The main campus might be good.</p>
<p>Has she looked at the Claremont Consortium? Pomona or Harvey Mudd might meet your need. Pitzer didn’t meet ours, but its pockets aren’t as deep. </p>
<p>@woogzmama , ya’ know, New College is an interesting idea. I will mention it to her. Tulane is on her list. I know she is familiar with the Claremont Consortium, but unsure whether any are in consideration. I could see Pomona being a great option for her. Was unaware that they had generous FA. Will add it to the list. Thanks!</p>
<p>Bard College offers a full tuition scholarship: The Distinguished Scientist Scholarship. Bard’s atmosphere is very similar to Brown in many ways. The science departments are small and the course offerings are limited, but the professors are passionate, and the students are too. There are always options for one on one tutorials in a particular area of interest. And there are research offerings, as well as a connection with Rockefeller in New York City. I would look seriously at it as filling your daughter’s requirements.</p>
<p>Distinguished Scientist Scholarship (DSS)</p>
<p>Each year, four-year scholarships covering up to full tuition are available for academically outstanding high school seniors who are committed to majoring in biology, chemistry, physics, computer science, or mathematics as an undergraduate. Additional financial aid to cover remaining costs, such as room and board, may be applied for and will be awarded on the basis of need. Additional assistance will take the form of a loan or campus employment. Scholarship recipients are also eligible for a $1,500 stipend for summer research projects following their sophomore and junior years.</p>
<p>In the Bard-Rockefeller Semester in Science, selected Upper College science students spend a semester in New York City working in the lab with Rockefeller faculty; taking specially designed classes at Rockefeller and in the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program; and working on an original research project. </p>
<p>Engineering is going to be a tough major everywhere, so I don’t know if “laid back” is an appropriate description. But there are some place where students report that they get an excellent STEM education without undue stress.
These schools have also been known to toss a few dollars to high achieving applicants. By the way, forget about 3/2 programs.</p>
<p>U of Tulsa
Saint Louis University
Illinois Institute of Technology
U of Rochester
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University
Case Western Reserve University
U of Portland
Northeastern University
Vanderbilt University</p>
<p>George Mason University
U Alabama Birmingham
U of South Carolina
U of Maryland-Baltimore County</p>
<p>No Engineering school but very good sciences at:
Ohio Wesleyan University
Lewis & Clark College</p>
<p>Great info and suggestions, @SpiritManager and @LakeWashington . Thanks!</p>