Vanity: Need help, I'm in search of a college for my son

[Eccl 10:2]

My son is a graduating high school senior, and we are in search of a college for him. Perhaps the point is also that we would like to know which colleges NOT to send him to.

He has been homeschooled, and we are very conservative politically. Not to brag, but he is among the elite of the elite in both math and IT. On the list so far are MIT and Caltech, possibly Stanford and Duke. We consider Harvard and Princeton to be out of the question because of the liberal atmosphere there, but are not sure that the other places I've mentioned are any better.

His weakness academically is humanities. I don't want him going somewhere where a drumbeat of hyper-liberal electives is going to discourage him. If he could just take math and science courses, that would be great, but I realize that is unrealistic, unless he went right to grad school. Is that a viable option?

Anyway, I know there is a lot of wisdom and experience out there among you, and I would deeply appreciate any comments you may have.

[RJCogburn]

Where does he think he'd like to go?

[Mr. Mojo]

possibly Stanford and Duke. We consider Harvard and Princeton to be out of the question because of the liberal atmosphere there

Stanford is every bit as liberal as the Ivies you mentioned.

[jocon307]

How about Georgia Tech? Any tech school might be good. My daughter is graduating this year too. I had hopes she might be Tech school material, but like most females she just didn't keep the math chops to be a contender.

We visited James Madison U. in Harrisonberg, Va last weekend. Looked wonderful. Stick with the South in terms of colleges I'd advise, and I'm a proud Yankee for many years.

Good Luck!

[mseltzer]

Keep him away from Penn. Are you interested in any particular region of the country?

[thiscouldbemoreconfusing]

He has been homeschooled, and we are very conservative politically

Bob Jones University.

[StatesEnemy]

Why not have him go to West Point?

He can serve his country and get an education.

[sauropod]

The key is not to insulate him from liberal ideas, but to enable him to be able to reason around them.

BTW, I don;t know how long its been since you have been to college, but some disciplines are difficult no matter the innate "math" aptitude. I hold two engineering degrees for example. The ability to translate the physical world to laws and formulae is invaluable and (at least in my case) not easily learned.

Also, the competition will be much tougher than what he has faced before.

[FreedomCalls]

Go get a copy of the latest "The Atlantic Monthly" magazine. It is required reading for you.

[Paleoguy]

I have heard (but you should verify this with someone who has first-hand experience) that Vanderbilt is a pretty conservative school.

Other than that, Grove City College in PA and Hillsdale College in Michigan are both good schools that are philsophically conservative (though neither has the national reputation that Vanderbilt has).

Duke is a big no-no....it has long since been overrun with political correctness. The Ivy League is pretty much hopeless.

[KriegerGeist]

Hillsdale College

Link to Hillsdale College

Or Patrick Henry College

Link to Patrick Henry College

[Cindy]

LINKS OF INTEREST:

CSRnet-Christian School Resource Net (K-College)

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

Net Ministries: List of Links: Christian Colleges and Universities

Boundless.org (Webzine)

The College Briefing

Campus-Watch

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

No Indoctrination.org

UNIVERSITY SECRETS: Your Guide to Surviving A College Education

THE SHADOW UNIVERSITY: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses

[NonValueAdded]

Take a look at Florida Tech in Melbourne, Florida if he is interested in an IT major. The University of Central Florida is worth a look, too, although MIT is your #1 choice.

[Aggie Diller]

TEXAS A&M and be damn sure he gets in the Corps of Cadets.

[FreedomCalls]

The Citadel.
Virginia Military Institute.
West Point.

Choose no other.

[SubMareener]

Hillsdale College is a really good choice. It is one of the few, manbe the only, College that is free of Federal Government control, because it accepts no Federal Government money, in any way.

[Knute]

Have you looked at Harvey Mudd in Claremont?
Excellent engineering school, and with only 600 students, the atmosphere is almost like family. Our daughter is a '00 grad (Computer Science)

[fiscally_right]

"Bob Jones University."

I'd stick to accredited schools..

[birdsman]

Hilldale College in Michigan. They wont allow any students that receive federal funding to attend, so they're not under federal regulations. In order to offset the lack of federal funding, they don't waste money, which allows them to keep tuition lower. They also have very generous scholorship funds available. The website is www.hilsdale.edu

[RJCogburn]

Dartmouth is liberal like most coleges but has a ratheractive conservative student group.

You might also check out http://www.thefire.org (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education)which is a wonderful group fighting against restrictions on free speech on campus.