<p>Amherst
Bates
Bowdoin
Carleton
Colby
Hamilton
Haverford
Pomona
Swarthmore
Trinity College (CT)
Vassar
Washington & Lee
Wesleyan U.
Whitman
Williams</p>
<p>I took the top 25 CC LACs and narrowed it down slightly. I have no idea how to pick a college from my new list now. I would like some advice, personal experience, etc in order to aid me in choosing just a few of these colleges to apply to.</p>
<p>Some helpful advice... (ideas for advice)
-quality of the location (ex: what does the town offer?)
-attitude of the professors and students
-description of the student body
-stress of the school/courseload
-acceptance rates for medical school
-potential for an enjoyable experience
-which school you would NOT recommend
-the list goes on...</p>
<p>Haverford is great for pre-med. The current President is an M.D. and it has a really highly acceptance rate for medical school – over 90%, I think. </p>
<p>It’s located in an affluent suburb. Philadelphia has a lot to offer and is just a 20-minute train ride away. It’s a strong academic environment, the workload is heavy but it’s not a cutthroat. The student body and faculty are very friendly and supportive. If you can, go visit.</p>
<p>Amherst- to me (from NYC) rather rural, although there is a town with things to do a short bus ride away, yet nothing to be excited about. However, very new englandish, and if you’re into new england beauty, you will love it. From my perception, the students are pretty nice, and the professors all try to get to know each student individually ( i’ve heard countless stories of kids babysitting for the professor’s kids). Good acceptance rates across the board, yet very rigorous course load, however, entirely open curriculum (no required classes except one freshman writing one). People I talked to have mixed feelings, most students comment that they love it or that its good/alright. Some are indifferent. </p>
<p>Pomona- Great location and weather, about 50 minutes from LA, located in claremont, one of the richest neighborhoods. Right next to the campus is claremont village, which you will get bored of eventually, but has all teh shopping and eating essentials. Students are extremely friendly and outgoing ( even walked me to my next class and talked to me a lot about their experience). Also incredibly rigorous workload, but teachers are all very personable and get to know their students on a personal level. Is located in a consortium (like Amherst… but theirs requires buses and is very under utilized from my understanding), where the campuses are literally connected and within walking distance. Medical acceptance rates are phenomenal, are as other grad programs. 98% retention rate, everyone seems to Love it (and hopefully i will too next year).</p>
<p>What type of weather?
Conservative vs Liberal?
Learn for Sake of Learning or Learn What is Necessary to do what you want?
Big City vs Small Town?
Partier (yes or no)?
Preppy or more Hipster?</p>
<p>My favorite schools on your list are Bates, Bowdoin, Carleton, and Pomona. I was admitted to both Bates and Bowdoin, so I know a fair amount about those two, and I’ve just heard really awesome things about Carleton and Pomona. </p>
<p>As for the others:
Hamilton and Whitman are, IMO, less prestigious</p>
<p>Vassar is a former all-women’s school and is very liberal</p>
<p>Haverford is a really really good school, but I personally don’t like that it is so close to other colleges in Pennsylvania and that the students cross-register for classes at Bryn Mawr and Penn and Swarthmore…</p>
<p>Washington and Lee has a southern feel to it </p>
<p>If you are looking for an awesome quality of life (in terms of campus beauty, happiness of the students, good food, nice dorms) then your top two choices should be Bowdoin and Pomona.</p>
<p>This is very helpful. Thanks for all who have posted so far!</p>
<p>Yeah, I have been leaning toward Bowdoin and Pomona lately. Since I am a Minnesotan, Carleton has always been a school I have been looking at as well. Do you have more information about Bates?</p>
<p>Whitman is not as prestigious? That’s too bad. I wish it were more prestigious because I think it would be very cool to go to school in SE Washington.</p>
<p>I know a fair amount about Bowdoin, Carleton, Pomona, and Whitman. I wish I knew a little bit more about Bates, Haverford, Vassar, and Washington & Lee. The big thing is that I don’t want a school that has a cutthroat and stressful atmosphere. I want a school that I can challenge myself, yet enjoy myself along the way. I want to know which school has faculty that actually cares about its students. </p>
<p>Ideally, from the list below, I want to choose my top three schools. This does not include Carleton because I already know that I am applying there.</p>
<p>I’ve now eliminated Hamilton:
Bates
Bowdoin
Carleton (I know for sure that I am applying here)
Haverford
Pomona
Vassar
Washington & Lee
Whitman</p>
<p>My impression is that Bates and Whitman will be a little more laid back than the others but that is not based on anything particular. None of the listed schools are going to be cut throat. Study groups will form and you will do problem sets collaboratively. </p>
<p>How much do transportation costs and ease of transportation matter to you? Run some sample Thanksgiving fares on a travel engine to find out how much it costs plus how many hours it will take. On a old Whitman thread there was a discussion of transportation and its relative difficulty.</p>
<p>My daughter’s final choice came down to Bowdoin vs Pomona. One of the factors in choosing Pomona was that it was more dissimilar to Minnesota than Maine and she wanted to sample a different part of the country. She actually prefers cold weather.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with any of those colleges. Whitman offers merit money and is already cheaper than Bowdoin and Pomona. I’ve heard that Carleton offers a very little. I don’t know about W&L or Bates.</p>
<p>What do you want to know about Bates? Unfortunately, I never visited the campus (although I visited Bowdoin and Colby), but I did go to a reception in my hometown where I met some of the admissions staff and a bunch of alums. I can even give you the email addresses of some current students, if you want. </p>
<p>Basically, my impression of Bates was that it was a cozy, friendly, laid-back LAC with brighter-than-average students. It seems to be a little less athletic than Bowdoin/Colby, and there are probably more “quirky” or alternative people. The town - Lewiston - does not have a great reputation, but the people at Bates insist that it’s a nice place. Lewiston is supposedly an old, run-down industrial place… and I don’t think the college’s campus is that great either. (BUT I haven’t actually been there!)
Once you apply, the college is very nice to you and has students call you constantly just to see if you “have any questions” or to remind you to file the FAFSA. </p>
<p>Tight-knit community? yes. Does the administration/professors care about students? absolutely. Also note that a lot of people go abroad at some point.</p>
<p>One other thing - Bates is not need-blind, so they will know if you apply for FA and it may affect their decision to admit/reject you. The admissions officer I met also said that interviews are very important. Frankly, I’m surprised I got in, considering that I did not do an interview and needed a lot of FA. Bates gave me a better FA package than most other schools, FWIW.</p>
<p>Yeah, the transportation issue at Whitman would be a problem for me. That’s interesting to know about Bates. The thing is, I need to look for schools with merit scholarships rather than need-based… but that isn’t the basis in which I am going to make my decision.</p>
<p>I also need to know the med. school acceptance rate out of each college so I know that I will be attending the college that will benefit me in the future. Yikes, what a process.</p>
<p>I know these as a fact so far:</p>
<p>Bowdoin- 86%
Carleton- 70%</p>
<p>These of course are based off the students who had a certain GPA and MCAT score and higher. Someone mentioned what they thought Haverford was, but they were not 100% certain.</p>
<p>of the remaining nine on your list, be aware that Washington and Lee is pretty different from the rest. Is is more conservative, has the whole fraternity scene; almost the opposite of say Pomona.</p>
<p>Well I go to Pomona and my best friend goes to Whitman. She’s one of the smartest people I know and finds it to be very challenging and loves it there. I would imagine that the education you receive at Whitman is right up there with most top tier liberal arts colleges. As for Pomona I absolutely love it, and I would be happy to answer any specific questions you have about it!</p>
<p>What’s not to like about that? It’s an opportunity, not a requirement, to cross-register. Or are you worried that it might draw students off campus too much, making it less cohesive?</p>
<p>Agree that W&L is VERY different from the other schools on your list. It, along with Davidson, are probably the best LACs in the South. It’s a good school, but very different socially and physically from all the other schools on your list, so unless you can provide a compelling reason for wanting to go there I’d drop it.</p>
<p>What are your stats? Bates and Whitman are easier to get into than the other schools on your list, so if you really like Carleton and a few other schools that are harder to get into (like Pomona and Haverford) Whitman would be an excellent choice. Its location is gorgeous, students are happy and friendly (very outdoorsy and athletic (not preppy, frat-loving athletic, but just like sports)), and it offers merit aid, which Bates does not.</p>
<p>Honestly, Whitman isn’t perceived as strong a school as, say, Carleton, but it’s a very strong school nonetheless. I would certainly not push it off your list just because it’s not too well-known on CC. It’s a great, happy place, and it would be at the top of my list if it weren’t quite so far away from the East Coast and athletic.</p>
<p>Okay. I was asked how I began to narrow my list. (I just took Carleton out because I do not need more info about the school)</p>
<p>Bates
Bowdoin
Haverford
Pomona
Vassar
Washington & Lee
Whitman </p>
<p>I searched all over the internet, read descriptions in books, and read some forum comments on the schools. There are certain bits of information that flat out told me that I would not want to enter a certain school. For example, I read quite a bit about Williams college being tough with grades. I feel that would be an unnecessary strain. I’d rather go to a school with equal rigour and come out with a gratifying “A” because I spent hours upon hours working on a paper. A lot of these schools may be this way, but I found the information about Williams to emphasize this point.</p>
<p>I found some information about Amherst and saw that it was in a very rural area. It did not look too interesting, and if I were to go to school in the NE, I would like the area to be exciting. I know that Whitman is in a rural-type area, but the fact that I would be in the NW changes everything. A school like Bowdoin, for example, is located in a small town, but I often read the description of the town as being modern and “hip.” The location isn’t leading me 100% to make my decision, but it influences me. I also know that Amherst is very strong in its English program. I know that many Amherst students choose that major. One important thing to know about me is that… well… English isn’t my strong point. I would rather be stuck in an introductory English class with a bunch of science majors rather than English wizzes. I know, I know. This is probably not the most valid point, and there will be counter-arguments that most LACs have strong students in every area… but it will not change the fact that Amherst does not interest me. The English majors had about a 1% influence in my elimination of Amherst.</p>
<p>This is just an example of my elimination process… there were a lot of other considerations to go along with it.</p>
<p>Vassar- Is Poughkeepsie, NY, an interesting area? (ex: coffee shops, boutiques, etc) Is this a good undergraduate school for pre med?</p>
<p>Washington and Lee- Someone mentioned earlier that it was highly conservative. Does this conservative attitude mean prejudice? Will certain professors treat me with a lower regard just because I am female? I am a northern Minnesotan, so I am very unfamiliar with the south…</p>
<p>Thanks… yeah I am thinking of dropping W&L from my list now. I think it would be far too different for me. Bates does not offer merit aid!? Uh oh… I better remove that from my list if that is true.</p>
<p>I do not like to list my stats all the time. I see it very often where people try to discourage people from entering somewhere when their stats fit very well into a school. So, I am just going to say that I have looked into the stats of all of these colleges and that my stats fit right in.</p>