<p>whats your best LACs list n y</p>
<p>Depends, I'd say:</p>
<h1>1 - Amherst College (when factor in the Five College System), there is no LAC that comes close in resources. Next closest would be Pomona.</h1>
<p>Cre8tive1</p>
<p>Both colleges are on S's list. Why did you also list Pomona?</p>
<p>We have it on there because it is in CA (and we live in CA), it is part of the Claremont Consortium and it is ranked high, but S doesn't seem to really "love" it. I know we need to do more research.</p>
<p>Thanks,
FresnoMom</p>
<p>Amherst or Williams is like Yale or Harvard?? Pick one, and you can't go wrong. I can realistically say that we visited both with our daughter, and Amherst was a clear winner! Of course, for us, Williams was an extra hour and a half drive. I can say that when we toured Williams, there just wasn't a sense of belonging and closeness on campus. Before all of you "Eph" lovers out there yell at me, it is all in the eye of the tour taker. It appeared to be a great school for smart jocks. We didn't feel the same way at Amherst. We loved the Amherst and Northampton community, the five college consotium, and the campus is outstanding. They had spent alot of money on upkeep of buildings, and had just refurbished two freshmen dorms. I say that the visit is critical, as I'm sure that others may tell you very different things about Williams. It depends on the individual, your likes and dislikes, and where "YOU" feel comfortable. Both are great schools, no doubt. We just happened to like Amherst better!</p>
<p>
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whats your best LACs list
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<p>Best for what?</p>
<p>LACs tend to have different campus cultures and, therefore, what would be "best" for one student probably wouldn't be "best" for another.</p>
<p>When it comes to Amherst and Williams, it basically a plus balance system. People say they go hand in hand, but most give Amherst the upperhand b/c of the Five College Program.</p>
<p>At Williams, foreign languages course are limited and weak as I have come to find, but at Amherst, through the Five Colleges, I can learn any of over five dozen languages.</p>
<p>You could not study International Relations or have nearly as solid education in the field of government at Williams as you would at Amherst through the Five Colleges. both are fines school but Williams does not boast nearly as many resources and benefits that Amherst does.</p>
<p>That why I say that Amherst is more comprable to Pomona and the Claremont Consortium, then Williams, both resource wise and social life.</p>
<p>so where does swarthmore fall into this? right behind williams and amherst? or far behind?</p>
<p>Prachi, listing a best list without having a clue to criteria is limited in value. For example, I might list Colgate, because it matches my desire to be in central New York, and it provides a decent education.</p>
<p>Someone else might say, Reed, because they like the feel of Portland and the offerrings of Reed. With the right financial aid someone else might think that Swarthmore, or Wellesley or Smith was best...clearly many people think the school they go to is the best for them.</p>
<p>If you are looking for prestige, you can look at college rankings as published by numerous sources. If you are looking for a best school for you, you should know yourself, and then list your desires and then look for a match.</p>
<p>yeah mr. b u made a lot of sense...
i started this thread to know which LAcs are more prestigious..
the hitch in seeing US news rankin is that a place liek carleton at no.5 doesnot have very good placements according to my counsellor..
being an intl. i wanted to know which colleges generally are supposed 2 b prestigious..
i cant make up my mind on my college choice for ED.. i have an option btw carleton, middlebury and colgate and these are the only good colleges(acc. to my counsellor)(for a lib. arts and sciences course) in the US which will give aid to a student of my calibre..</p>
<p>Hmmph... Williams is need blind for internationals</p>
<p>"the five college consotium"-whats that?</p>
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so where does swarthmore fall into this? right behind williams and amherst? or far behind?
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<p>Williams, Amherst, and Swarthmore have swapped the #1 spot on the USNEWS rankings back and forth since they started publishing 25 years ago, including each taking turns at the top spot within the last five years. It all varies with the year to year changes in the ranking formula that USNEWS throws in to shake things up (how much they weight grad rates, how much they weight alumni giving, how much they weight faculty resources, etc.).</p>
<p>It's irrelevant. The three schools, and many more top LACs, have different characteristics which would appeal to different students. The key is to consider the characteristics of each school on many different levels (academic, social scene, diversity, athletics, social awareness, typical career paths, dorm life, location, etc.) and then think about what kind of school would best suit your personality.</p>
<p>Trying to determine a "best" LAC is about like trying to determine whether Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, or Stanford is the "best" university. Rather pointless.</p>
<p>Prachi, I am going to suggest a different question, and a method for answering it. What Graduate schools accept which students? You can search out where Harvard gets its law school students, where John Hopkins gets its med students....and work backwards toward the ideal school for the profession you are thinking of. The above posts list some excellent LACs, your list of three very good colleges would be ideal for some students... Check out the weather, distance to cities, activities that will interest you in and about campus. Good Luck</p>
<p>As far as I know, every LAC discussed so far in this thread provides financial aid to international students. Swarthmore, for example, provides financial aid to 80% of its international students and I would expect similar percentages at Williams, Amherst, and elsewhere.</p>
<p>But....and this is an important but....getting into any of these colleges as an international is anything but easy. I suspect that you should cast a wider net and hope that you have choices to make based on acceptance letters and financial aid packages. Swarthmore, for example, accepted four students from India this year. I doubt that any of these schools accepted more than six.</p>
<p>Pomona, Swarthmore, Carleton, Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Haverford, Claremont McKenna, Wellesley, Barnard, Reed, Wesleyan, Kenyon, and Oberlin are some of the nation's highly-ranked LACs, but not necessarily the best-fit school for everyone.</p>
<p>what if the only criteria a person has is good faculty but more importantly good placements..
being an intl. student i dont see how climate, social life(since it can be different from the indian one), etc can make a difference..
i mean anyone would go to an awesome college notwithstanding the fact that it has the coldest winters or the people there are a bit rude because in that case ultimately you are the one deciding how you want your life and friends to turn out</p>
<p>so then how can one decide between a college form no. 5 -15 ranked LAcs(since only there I have a chance of gettin aid..) with no sort of criteria but placements????</p>
<p>How do you not see fit as in issue? Where you will do best at the program you want to study because you will be happy there? Ask questions about social life, and think about what you want. They do make a difference, because someone might love Swarthmore and hate Williams, or the other way around, even if both are great schools. </p>
<p>Also, why do you think that you only have a chance of getting aid in the top 15? Perhaps some slightly lower ranked school that you could get into more easily does offers aid. You also might do better at this lower ranked school, and the best students at lower schools can do what the medium students at top schools can't do- get into top programs. Don't limit your list without that sort of knowledge.</p>
<p>well but how do i know if i fit in williams or swarthmpre wihtout even having gone there?
plus im finding to find it tough to make a list of colleges i like since they all look the same!!!</p>
<p>It is understandable. They all seem to be saying the same things at times, and many LACs are like many other LACs, and Unis like Unis, and LACs at times like Unis.</p>
<p>There are so many threads, either active or not, about "Williams vs Swarthmore vs Amherst bs Pomona" and that kind of idea. Ask about the similarities and differences between the schools that have strong programs which you are interested in. Search firt, but if something isn't there, ask.</p>
<p>Do you want to be in a city? Far away? Near one? In the cold? Not? Big or small? There are many factors. Really, there are.</p>