Bates: Egalitarian founding principles still appear in student culture.
Colby: Classic LAC size. New president has added dynamism. Winter cold suitable for the adventurous.
Colgate: Beautiful campus, charming small village. Beyond its popular social sciences programs, offers interesting course choices in natural sciences and humanities.
Vassar: English major and fine arts veneer laid over a generally intellectual liberal arts college. New science building supports continuing academic ambitions.
Haverford: Egalitarian through both history and current culture. Bi-college arrangement adds academic breadth, but collective gender imbalance potentially creates uneven social relationships.
Williams: Intellectually capable students. Noteworthy athletic presence. Excellent for visual arts. Mountains form backdrop that impressed Thoreau.
Swarthmore: Disproportionately brilliant students appear to have chosen their school for authentic reasons. Lacks academic range to an extent (e.g., no geosciences department), but offers its own engineering program.
Amherst: Strong programs in areas such as literature and government, to name just two. Sufficienty deep to have changed its mascot. Consortium benefits, though with associated gender imbalances.
Hamilton: Legacy of having been two colleges of complementary characteristics and emphases manifests in enhanced academic, social, architectural and spatial dimensions and balance. Beautiful campus with Adirondack feel.