S/o- recommendations for small colleges with good engineering programs- near skiing..

[gatorsmom]

I thought I’d run this by you ladies (and gents) since you are an excellent network. Ds1 will be visiting colleges in the next few months. He’s not 100% sure but he’s very interested in engineering for a major. It makes sense- there are a ton of engineers in dh’s family. Ds is good at and enjoys math, science and problem solving. His gpa is a 3.8 right now (a 4.0 is the highest our school goes to) and has great extracurriculars (Eagle Scout, founder and head of high school ski club, involved in auto club for 5 years, head alterboy for local Catholic Bishop, etc). But he has some confidence problems due to his dyslexia and dysgraphia. He thinks (and I agree) that a small college would be best for him. He won’t do well in a big, weed-them-out university. And he said he’d feel more comfortable in a smaller university setting. He’d also like some place that is close to downhill skiing. He has a passion for it. He could have a car at college if he wants to take one.

Here is the last factor that makes this a needle in the haystack search. He’s a devout Catholic. And he’d like to attend a school either with a strong Catholic campus presence or a strong Catholic parish near the campus. God bless my ILs. They drive me insane sometimes (a LOT) but they have overfunded our kids’ college funds without telling us until just recently. Plus we had been saving too. So money won’t be an issue. Any thoughts or recommendations for a college DS might consider?

Our high school is small and doesn’t have much in the way of college counseling. They have been great, however, about naturally accommodating DS1 throughout his school career so that his learning disorders don’t make him stand out amongst his classmates. Any suggestions are welcome!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Define small.
Also, don’t rule out big schools with regards to supports. Big schools shrink down within majors. And, mine just got through a weed out class. Didn’t crush it but it’s done. I wouldn’t steer him away from that challenge.
He needs to visit campuses. Mine immediately ruled out the 1000-2000 size schools. Just an immediate gut feeling. That surprised me because I thought he’d really love that environment.
I worry that, from your past posts, that your kiddo won’t find a Catholic university to be as “Catholic” as you would like or expect. I attended one for a year and behaviors certainly weren’t very religious. With the occasional appearance at church, you wouldn’t know people were religious at all. Public schools often have great on campus religious centers for kids to find like minded people so it’s good that you said you aren’t limiting things to just Catholic schools.
Take a look at the schools in upstate NY like Colgate and Hamilton.
Do you have any guide books yet? If not, buy the Fiske one. Then look on Niche for more info.


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

[KpbS]

Seems like Villanova would be a good fit

[bcafe]

Are you not considering Marquette or MSOE? North of MKE there are several small ski hills.

[Philly Mom]

Lehigh
Harvey Mudd
Case Western
Lafayette
Bucknell

I agree that catholic schools may not seem catholic enough for him. A strong local parish with on campus group may be better.

[gatorsmom]

Are you not considering Marquette or MSOE? North of MKE there are several small ski hills.

I think he wants mountains. Our annual trip to Colorado has given him a taste for bigger ski hills.

[SASM]

Not sure what you’d consider small but Clarkson University might tick your boxes. Not sure if it’s too competitive once there? My friend’s son is in his 2nd year snd seems to enjoy it. I’ve linked their ski club and you can research the university from there. They also have a ski team. They have a Catholic club...I’ve linked that as well. Good luck!

https://knightlife.clarkson.edu/organization/cusc

http://www.newmanconnection.com/locations/detail/clarkson-university/newman-club

[Mom to Brandon and 2 cats]

Colorado School of Mines
Harvey Mudd (very hard to get into, but a very good engineering school, and very small) --EDIT, sorry, this one is not near skiing...

[StantonHyde]

We are looking at Jesuit schools for DS--around 3-6K students. You have to get to about the 5K mark for a school to have a decent engineering program, from what I have seen--unless it's a tech only school and we don't want that. Those schools all have engineering. But they aren't near skiing. If he really wants to ski, then he needs to be in Bozeman, Salt Lake City, somewhere outside of Denver/closer to ski slopes. Or Vancouver--near Whistler. It's easy to get connected to a good parish. The student parish connected to the University of Utah is awesome and has lots of community folks who attend as well. They get involved with teaching religion/leading retreats for the local Catholic HS. If SLC has this, I am sure other places do as well. And don't rule out Honors Colleges through large universities. A lot of local kids here go to the U but get into the Honors Colleges. You get more attention, better housing, etc. I had 2 cousins who did this at West Virginia University and one got accepted into the PhD History program at Harvard. Had her dissertation published as a book, etc.

[gatorsmom]

Lehigh
Harvey Mudd
Case Western
Lafayette
Bucknell

I agree that catholic schools may not seem catholic enough for him. A strong local parish with on campus group may be better.

Would these be too hard for him? I know that several of those are highly selective schools and the competition in the classes would be significant. I worry about his dyslexia slowing him down or him falling behind. I worry because he struggles with depression.