<p>I was thinking today and I think that I might consider not applying to any ivy schools. I love them, don't get me wrong. But I think that an upper tier LAC would be better. It lacks some of the "oomph" of saying "I'm going to Harvard," but I think I would learn a lot more there. Emphasis on undergrad students is a lot better at these schools. Also, I think it could be a little more financially plausible. I like the close-knit environments of the LACs, and I'm just not sure how present that is at the Ivy schools.</p>
<p>So my plan is:</p>
<p>LAC for undergrad
Ivy for Grad</p>
<p>Schools I'm applying to for sure:
Amherst
Williams
Vassar
Colgate
Tufts</p>
<p>Ivies that I was going to apply to, but now I'm not sure:
Yale
Brown
Princeton
Dartmouth
Cornell</p>
<p>Is it wise to not apply to these schools? I don't really like closing off an option, that's why I'm posting this.</p>
<p>nothing wrong with that. If you prefer a smaller environment...go for it. However, it might be a good idea to visit a larger school to see how you like a larger setting. For example, I thought I wanted a small school....so most of the schools I applied to had a graduating class size of 1000 or less (Union, Colgate, U of R, RPI). I ended up at Cornell, undergrad population 13,000 and absolutley love it.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a smaller LAC type of college, I would recommend you take a look at Dartmouth too! It's the smallest of the ivy league, and, at least to me, feels more like a LAC.</p>
<p>Also, Williams has a really good reputation at least in the northeast....great school.</p>
<p>I have visited Dartmouth. I love the ivies I have mentioned, and visited them all except Cornell. It's just that I think it'd be a more... diverse experience to not go Ivy for undergrad and grad.</p>
<p>Ummm, not really. Ivies are some of the most diverse schools in that they can cherry pick and come up with a very well rounded class. Ivies like Dartmouth and Brown look and feel every inch the LAC and are certainly more diverse than Williams, Colgate or Amherst. There are lots of reasons one might prefer an LAC, the very small communities some have, a great department.....but diversity really can't be the reason.</p>
<p>i'm currently a student at cornell and i love it there, but seeing as how i probably have a biased opinion, you should try checking out <a href="http://www.theu.com%5B/url%5D">www.theu.com</a>. they have videos you can watch on all the country's top schools that include student interviews, stats, etc., and they have a section just on ivy schools. definitely a good resource that helped me out with the college search</p>
<p>That's not what I meant. Not ethnic diversity, but academic diversity. The types of students who attend LACs and the types of students who attend Ivies are different. These things might not be tangible, or maybe I just can't explain what I mean, but there is a substantial difference between an Ivy League education and a LAC education.</p>
<p>Yes and no. It depends on the schools involved. If you went to Dartmouth and then Penn, it would probably be a bigger difference of experience than if you went to Williams and then Dartmouth. But in general, whether it's an elite LAC in the Northeast or an Ivy, there will be a huge overlap in the type of students, professors, townies, political climates, and activities you encounter.</p>
<p>If you really want to have an experience as an undergrad that is significantly different than you'd have at an Ivy grad school, you might want to try an LAC that is not in the Northeast. I'd imagine the experience at Pomona, Davidson, Reed, Colorado College, and Grinnell would be quite a bit different from the Ivies just because the areas around them have a very un-Northeast vibe. But hey, if you were serious about really wanting an experience different from an Ivy, you really want to get a different, try Alaska-Fairbanks, McGill, Nebraska-Lincoln, Marquette, U of Detroit-Mercy, LSU, or Howard.</p>
<p>I think I know what you're getting at in terms of academic intensity or pretense, which would lead one to go to Yale or Princeton instead of Williams or Amherst, not that there's significantly less intelligent students at the latter two, but just a more laid back atmosphere. However, Dartmouth has way more of a LAC feel to it and is more similar to Williams and Colgate than it is to Harvard and Yale. Despite playing in the NESCAC among ten other LACs, Tufts is less of a LAC than Dartmouth and no more of one than Princeton or Brown, which both have a predominant undergrad focus. I think your plan is fine, but might want to throw in Dartmouth and Princeton/Brown into the mix. I wouldn't worry too much about grad school before you've applied to undergrad as so many things will change between now and then. If you end up at Colgate for undergrad and Northwestern for grad and have no association with the Ivy League whatsoever, I promise you all will not be lost. I would say to include some suitable match/saefty schools that you would like since all of the schools you've mentioned have an acceptance rate below 30%.</p>
<p>I definitely know what you mean. Last summer, I had a list of schools thats were all top 25 universities with three different Ivies. As I entered my senior year, I changed my list completely. I applied to all liberal arts colleges and one ivy, just for the hell of it. I felt the same way you do: liberal arts colleges really do have a great focus on undergrad education because that is all that the schools provide. An undergrad education from a top LAC such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore or Pomona brings you many opportunities. If you decide to continue on to graduate school, you can then choose to go to an Ivy as long as you work hard during your undergraduate years. Apply to schools you think you would be comfortable at and try not to pay too much attention to prestige.
Completely different topic, but Tufts is definitely not an LAC.</p>
<p>There is NOTHING wrong with not applying to an Ivy. There are many, many schools out there that will give you just as good of an education without quite as big a price tag.</p>