<p>how selective are top LACs such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Haverford and Wesleyan University compared to "research unis" such as Brown, Columbia, Upenn, Dartmouth, Cornell, Georgetown, Duke, JHU, Chicago, Cornell?</p>
<p>are they harder to get into? easier? as difficult as HYP (which i presume are more difficult to get into than the other unis i listed).</p>
<p>im currently trying to narrow down a list of Unis id like to apply to (2008) and i havent talked to my schools Uni adviser yet so im a bit in the dark.</p>
<p>sorry if it sounds a bit stupid, but hey...most people in UK have only probably heard of Harvard and Yale...maybe princeton, stanford and MIT if youre lucky :D</p>
<p>ps i know there are % statistics on Wiki etc but somehow i doubt they are really representative of what i am actually looking for.</p>
<p>You might go to the Common Data Set thread at the top of this page. Each school posts admissions numbers (applications, accepted, test score ranges, etc.)</p>
<p>I know quite a few students who got into schools such as Cornell and Wesleyan who did not get into the more select LACs but that is not statistics just a noticing.</p>
<p>Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore are very comparable in selectivity to Brown, Duke, Penn, and Dartmouth, probably slightly less selective than Columbia, slightly more selective than Cornell, Georgetown, JHU, Chicago.</p>
<p>I'll admit that I am not very familiar with Haverford...so no, overall, I don't think top LACs are as difficult to gain entrance to as most top ivies, simply because they seem to be more self-selective. Many people don't even know what LACs are!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore are very comparable in selectivity to Brown, Duke, Penn, and Dartmouth, probably slightly less selective than Columbia, slightly more selective than Cornell, Georgetown, JHU, Chicago.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I would agree with that. Of course, it's a general overall assessment. The odds for an individual student would, of course, be better or worse at specific schools.</p>
<p>Because the LACs are so small, an applicant who can communicate a specific good fit probably has a better chance of improving the odds at a small LAC. Conversely, a student who has the stats to get into a Dartmouth or a Swarthmore would hurt his or her chances at Swarthmore by ineffectively communicating fit.</p>
<p>
[quote]
and absolutely no way that Duke is harder than Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore..I love Duke, but..no
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'd say that Duke is just as hard as AWS. Depending on the student, Duke might be harder or one of the LACs might be harder. Every school has little things they are looking for and the key is to match up what you offer with what they want.</p>
<p>
[quote]
do you think top lacs and top unis look for the same type of people?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Sure. But, even more specifically than that, you can find pairs of schools (one uni and one LAC) that look for the same thing and pairs that look for something a little different.</p>
<p>
[quote]
would someone accepted at harvard be accepted at all the lacs?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not necessarily. There are usually a couple of students each year who are accepted at Harvard or Stanford or MIT but not at Swarthmore. There was a girl here on CC two years ago accepted to Harvard, Yale, and Stanford -- waitlisted at Swarthmore. Same thing last year with a guy accepted to MIT, but not Swarthmore. I don't think anyone could explain why. With only 375 places in the freshman class and a lot of various slots to fill, sometimes it's just a numbers thing. Early decision is a big insurance policy for a highly qualified applicant at AWS.</p>
<p>But, in general, if you can get into Harvard or Yale or Stanford, you would probably get into AWS (although perhaps not all three).</p>
<p>DDonskoy, Acceptance rates are readily available and will give you a general sense of percentage accepted versus percentage applied. There are however several other factors that greatly influence an individual chance of acceptance and it's silly to quibble over a 2% difference. </p>
<p>I think what Interested Dad said is worth repeating: Fit and interest are very important elements in LAC admissions, moreso than at large universities. The key point is to convince the admissions committee that you really want to attend and that your personality and learning style would be a good fit with the college.</p>
<p>Some other points of influence:</p>
<p>First, are you a UK citizen? E.g., will you be applying as an international? If yes, then you need to look at international acceptance rates which are not the same as US rates.</p>
<p>Second, are you an "under-represented minority"? That is, would your race, ethnic status, or religion be of interest to the college from a diversity standpoint? </p>
<p>Third, do you have any special skills that would appeal to the college, like sports, arts, music? </p>
<p>Fourth, would you be interested in applying early decision? In those schools that offer ED, the chance of admission increases.</p>
<p>first of all thank you for the replies people! please continue :)</p>
<p>i will have dual nationality when i apply: UK and Russian (Orthodox) - parents are: Russian-Ukranian (mum) and Armenian-Georgian (dad).</p>
<p>i will not be applying for financial aid (id rather but w/e...im more intrested in getting in :))</p>
<p>@momrath...whilst im no CC-super child american (some amazing things i see here which ive never known anyone in UK do) i think ill be a v.good candidate (atleast compared to the other people in my school who applied this year) if everything goes as planned...im v.active in school activity (got awards for it), play the piano grd 8, participate in a fair number of sporting activities inside and outside of school (but more as a thing that i enjoy doing and have done for ages rather than a competition thing)...</p>
<p>anyway..im planning on majoring in Economics (which is a real passion of mine and most if not all my clubs/activities etc are somewhat related to economics or economics related issues ) and ive been told that Chicago is the best place for that (along with Columbia) so how much would chances improve if i applied to either of these ED?</p>
<p>btw intresting to see JHU being more selective than Chicago...looks like i wont be applying there (since its prob bottom of my list)</p>
<p>DDonskoy, Your ethnic background may be of interest to many colleges. Be sure to incorporate something personal into your essays that will indicate that you could contribute to diversity on campus. In other words, they don't just want to know that you ARE Russian/Ukrainian/Armenian/Georgian; they want to know how your background will make you a more valuable member of the campus community.</p>
<p>Extracurriculars are especially appealing to the smaller colleges as they need to admit musicians, actors, artists, athletes (even on a club level) etc. Many colleges will encourage you to submit a recording of your musical ability. This is a plus even if you do not intend to major in music. The possibility that you will participate in musical activities is important, again more for the smaller colleges than the larger ones.</p>
<p>The fact that you can pay is also a big plus. Very few selective colleges will give merit aid to internationals. </p>
<p>Many of the colleges on your list have good economics departments. Chicago and Columbia certainly do but so do Penn, Dartmouth, Williams, Swarthmore and several others. I wouldn't choose a school for early decision based solely on the strength of the economics department but rather on the fit for you as an individual.</p>
<p>Chicago, by the way, is an early action school, so you can apply there early without obligation to attend.</p>