Many years ago, I lived in the American south and a classmate of ours (the smartest boy I ever met) was admitted to MIT. People were polite if a bit confused when they heard but several asked, “Is there no way you could get into something a bit closer to home?”
Oh, and about the US News thingie. As much as I think those rankings are silly (USN does not care about what actually happens in the classroom (are students learning? are classes rigorous? are professors passionate about teaching?)), I do believe that it would be confusing to mix universities and LACs. Where would one even begin? Again, the rankings are already suspect, but now USN is supposed to figure out where Swarthmore or Mount Holyoke or Gettysburg or Juniata or Lake Forest (I am trying to give a full spread of schools across the spectrum of the LAC rankings) belong alongside Princeton or UC Berkeley or Michigan State or U of Central FL. Yikes!
My advice is to ignore the lack of LAC name recognition. If anything, be proud that you are part of the 3% who will graduate from a small liberal arts school. Be confident in the knowledge that you took a different path. The solution is not to wish that USN would mix in the name of your school with larger universities so that others will see your school in a different light. The solution is to have the confidence to say, “Let such people stay in the dark.”
When we mention that Bowdoin is a liberal arts college, we get comments like “well, it’s great to learn to write and everything but how will that get him a job” and “why would you send him half way across the country when he could go to a place like IU Kelley and get the same job?”
People have a lot of opinions. This is why I kept our S’s college search fairly private locally and spent a lot of time discussing it on CC!
Wesleyan - Fifty years ago it was known as the richest college per capita in the country. Today, it is known as the place where Lin-Manuel Miranda `02 wrote, “In the Heights”.
Across the past 30 years, all of which I have spent in the New York metropolitan area, I have found that people fall into two camps in terms of their knowledge of Williams College, which is just like the other colleges you named.
They either react, “Wow! What a great school!” or they smile politely and say one of these:
-“Where is that?”
-“You mean William and Mary?”
-“You mean Roger Williams?”
If they know it, they know it is great. Anyone who recognizes the name is impressed. But more people do not recognize the name than do.
I do not think anyone should choose Williams or Amherst or their ilk if you will mind that people won’t know the name. It’s just the reality.
Their names will be known at graduate schools and on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. But your aunt and your grocery store cashier won’t have heard of it.
I don’t see any reason to brag. If someone asks where it is, I just say, “It’s in northwest Massachusetts, near the borders of Vermont and New York, in the Berkshire Mountains.”
If they ask why you chose it, then you can describe the qualities that attracted you.
I remember when I was a camp counselor one summer during college. Everyone was impressed that one counselor was going to Yale. Only one person was impressed that I was going to Williams: the counselor who was going to Yale!
If someone wants college name recognition by the masses, then they should go to an Ivy, or a university that has a well-known name in sports, or any other college whose name they hear around their town.
It may be a trade-off. The particular type and quality of educational environment you feel is a “fit” for you— or a name that the average person in your town will instantly recognize.
@homerdog My lord, what were those people thinking? IU Kelley isn’t considered that amazing in the Bay. It’s easier to get into than most UCs. Maybe that’s because my neck of the woods privileges “hard” degrees over business, with Finance being a possible exception. Besides, I’m surprised that IU was the school they brought up, especially considering the elephant in Hyde Park.
@circuitrider I was actually considering Wes but it seems like its strengths are primarily in the fine arts and economics, while I’m a CS+Humanities applicant. It’s a great place either way, but from what I’ve heard about the atmosphere, it’s not for me. LMM is awesome tho!
@deneuralyzer lots of Big Ten business majors around here. And, yes of course, U of C is a choice for the top kids but it was NU that was the real shocker since he’s a double legacy and didn’t even apply. He really stuck to his LAC guns and you should as well if you know that’s what you want.
All of these posts tell the same story. There are local opinions about schools and limited knowledge about schools outside the region!
There are several that do not separate LACs from Research Us:
https://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/rankings/united-states/2019#survey-answer
https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-best-college-values-college-finder/index.php#Tile
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2019college-guide/affordable-elites
https://www.collegefactual.com/rankings/best-colleges/
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/cnbc-make-it-the-top-50-us-colleges-that-pay-off-the-most-2019.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/cnbc-make-it-the-top-50-us-colleges-that-pay-off-the-most-2019.html
…etc.
I’ve never quite understood why USNews breaks them out. They say
https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/rankings-faq#5-2
Yea it’s weird. HMC for example is huge for engineering but they don’t get ranked because they don’t offer Masters degrees. Consequently the applicant pool is heavily in-state (not really a good thing, since we’re so competitive).
I promise that few on the other side of the country would recognize Harvey Mudd or Rose-Hulman. Doesn’t make them any less of what they are.
We are in the east coast and Harvey Mudd draws blank stares. Even my friends in LA who do not have kids in HS don’t know about HMC.
@makemesmart Really? In LA? In the Bay, Harvey Mudd is known as an LAC on par with Berkeley and Caltech. It’s extremely difficult to get into (~15% last time I checked). Not many people here have heard of Rose-Hulman or Olin, but the fact that they’re engineering schools garners respect.
@homerdog Double legacy, wow! I applaud your son’s resolve. He knew what he wanted and didn’t settle. I think Bowdoin is a tougher admit than NU this year tho (8.9% vs 10%). I’d never get into either anyways.
While you named Amherst in your thread title just to make your point, it really hit home–one of my daughter’s worries (before ultimately applying ED there, knock on wood) was the lower name recognition than, say, Brown. But as others have pointed out, those who matter have heard of these schools and greatly respect them.
My feeling is that if you are a viable candidate for these schools, chances are you’re going to get a job in a big city–so why not have a wholly unique experience when you have the opportunity?
Incidentally, when I was a student at the University of Rochester in the 80s, there was discussion about changing the school’s name because too many people were confusing it with (gasp!) a public SUNY. The administration eventually abandoned that idea. Can’t worry what others think.
@OHMomof2 The year she accepted, it was all the talk on campus and social media that it scored the #1 slot over Williams 
But I like that Harvard comparison and may have to use that!
@RayManta funny you should mention Rochester! It’s been on my list for a long time as a university that provides a very small LAC experience, and in spite of its being tied with Tufts and UNC on this year’s rankings, it still garners the “where’s that?” pretty frequently.
@Meddy, since my Amherst daughter married a Williams guy I now have to bite my tongue. Im surprised it is still intact.
Interesting line in the sand, considering these are LACs. Not quite where I would have drawn it. :neutral:
Dave Barry (the comedian, not the college counselor) on his alma mater:
Can I steal this? I’m stealing this.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: @deneuralyzer Well, a lot of people took time to answer your question. Please avoid such “figures of speech” in the future. Don’t waste users’ time.