Which college should I commit to?

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1

Some background info:
Intended Study: Senior, Female, Intended major: applied mathematics. I want to be able to experience the different fields associated with applied math (computer programming, accounting, engineering, etc) and choose specifically what I want to focus on for grad school. I’m really curious about data analysis and some of the best programs are at NC state, Northwestern, MIT. I am really passionate about math and about the applied math major. I am always planning for the future, so I want what is best for internships, grad school acceptance, and careers.

High School Education: I’m in the top 5% of my class, but I hate the general type of stuck-up, competitive classmate I’ve been with for 12 years. I do like to challenge myself in areas that I like. I’d rather be the smartest person in a class of average people than just average in a class of smart people.

Social: I am NOT preppy, I am sick of going to schools with so many preps. I fit best in a group of guy nerds for some reason (the ones who like to program but also have fun). I play frisbee so I really need a college with a girl’s frisbee team because my teammates will naturally be my ‘family’ and its a nice niche to fall into. I’ll party but I’m not crazy about it, like I don’t need it every day. I like to have fun and hang out. I’m very chill. I also love warmer weather

Colleges I got accepted into:
Penn State- no applied math major, there is a frisbee team, tuition is $17,000/year +room/board
Case Western Reserve- both major and frisbee team, but cold, tuition for me would be around $23,000/year + Room/board
Kent State- has major but no frisbee team, I got a full tuition scholarship there, not as prestigious as I would like
NC State- has major, frisbee team, and is warm. My parents don’t like how far it is (9 hours away) though- I don’t like to make my parents upset, but they are not totally against the college. Tuition is $25,000/year +room/board
VA Tech- Did not get accepted yet, but probably will. does not have applied math major, there is a frisbee team, I think it is a nice middle ground in terms of location for my parents and me. but again, it does not have the major I want. Tuition is $28,000/year + room/board

Paying: My parents are paying for my undergraduate. That doesn’t mean I want to go to a $60,000/year school, I want them to have an easier time paying. If I go somewhere relatively inexpensive, they will pay for grad school. My mom wants me to go to Kent State because of the scholarship, but they don’t have the frisbee team (which is really important to me) and its not exactly the academic environment I want. All of the other colleges are around the same price. I am applying for scholarships but the chances do not look good.

I really want to go somewhere where I will really enjoy the next 4 years. I can make a good time for myself anywhere, but I also want to go somewhere that will fit my interests/wants. You don’t get too many chances to move somewhere, so I want to take the most opportunity I can to change environments.

What college do you think I should commit to? Any advice?

2

If you get accepted to VA Tech, that should be a good choice.

If not, it’s a tie between Case Western or NC State. They both have the Frisbee and the math major but obviously your parents don’t approve of NC State’s distance. Since they’re paying, they should have a strong say in where you go. Doesn’t mean you have to go to Kent State; Case makes a nice compromise.

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BTW, Case is no colder than Penn State or Kent State.

4

penn state has what you want; the school just structures its applied math degrees as ‘options’ within its bs math major. the list of options is fairly long and includes not only applied math but other potentially interesting programs like computational math and systems analysis, as well.

5

It sounds like Case is a good choice. I don’t think Kent State is as good a choice as any of the others. I guess I don’t know that much about it, and the price is right so worth exploring. I like Case for the price and quality and having most features you want. Penn state is good for savings of 24k. I know the math dept has an actuarial track and that is pretty applied so look into that.

Accounting is usually in the business school not in the applied math dept. The types of people sought after for data science are usually people with advanced degrees in statistics or machine learning. My daughter is a data scientist and she has a math/cs undergrad with a cs theory/machine learning grad degree. So the data science institute and the MS degree at NC state is interesting but I’m not totally sure how much you get out of it as an undergrad. You can look at that or other places offering specific grad degrees and there are several more than you mention.

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I’d go with Case or NCSU, unless you get into VTech (they ought to have your major, just listed under “concentration”).
Definitely not Kent State when you have these choices - the level of the classes (pace, content, depth), of your peers (ever been in a discussion where the only 2 people who’ve done the reading are you and the instructor?), the opportunities and resources… simply can’t be compared with your other choices.
Case is no colder than Penn State. The main difference isn’t weather, but rather size (one medium sized, the other very large) and location (college town vs. city).

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Penn State is the coldest school on that list
If I were you, I would choose VTech

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^ I figured Case would be the coldest.

Also, what’s the difference between applied mathematics and mathematics? VTech has a math major: http://www.admiss.vt.edu/majors/index.php/majors/major/MATH

I’m sure since they are formally called Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University that they would have a decent math program.

9

So first of all, let me say that Kent State is a great university and you can get an excellent education there. I don’ think it’s necessarily the kind of place at which you will be the only one doing the reading or where the opportunities and resources are going to be lacking. The Carnegie Foundation ranked Kent State within the top 100 research universities in the U.S., and it’s a top 200 world university according to THE. The students there are average to above-average, and you yourself said that you wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. I don’t think it’s reasonable to say that you should definitely pick one of the other schools over Kent State, because it’s the difference between $0 and $120-160K+ for your parents (and potentially a lot less debt for grad school for you). Besides, if you go to grad school, where you went for undergrad won’t matter anymore.

The biggest problem I see with Kent State is simply that they don’t have a frisbee team.

After Kent State, I think that Penn State is actually the best compromise. It has everything you want (they do have an applied math major - https://www.math.psu.edu/ug/ - plus frisbee. It’s next cheapest school on the list, and it’s also closer to you than NCSU. Penn State has top-ranked departments in mathematics, statistics, computer science, operations research and industrial engineering, plus applied math classes across the university in fields you might not even have thought of (psychology, economics, political science - all of which are also top-ranked), and a top undergraduate school of business where you might be able to take classes. Penn Sate has above-average but not elite students - so a good environment but one where you could still potentially be a big fish - and, in addition to the frisbee team, they have a pretty strong Greek system where you could find a niche and a family of girls if you wanted that.

It’s really an excellent place, but I am super biased (I’m a postdoc here), and I love State College. I will say, though, that it is pretty freaking cold. The weather forecasts for Cleveland and State College are pretty similar for the next 10 days (and we’re the ones with the wind chill warning!)

Also, even if a college really does not have a formal applied mathematics major, it’s pretty easy to make a mathematics major focus on applied topics as long as the requisite courses are there - math majors are usually pretty flexible. Virginia Tech, for example, has plenty of great departments from which you could draw applied classes, even if your major is not explicitly applied math. It seems like the best compromise after Penn State for you and your family, in terms of weather and costs (not significantly more money than NC State or Case Western, but closer than NC State and warmer than Case). It has frisbee and you’ll have tons of techie friends there, too.

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Case has a reputation for being more nerdy. PSU, VTech, and NCSU (and Kent) all are state schools with a good number of kids interested in partying and drinking.

Is VTech all that warmer than Case or PSU? It’s more southern but in the foothills, not by the coast.