<p>thats the problem i dont care which part of the country i am in.. whom i am with, how hot/cold it is out there..
i want 1
1) aid for a
2)good lib. arts and sc. course.
and they all boast of that..<em>tearing my hair</em></p>
<p>then get ready to fill out 25 applications and best of luck. Apply to the best and the next tier down, as they may more likely accept you and give you more money. What kind of answer do you want? If you have no preference but prestige or perceived quality, and you don't have any particularly programs, size, location, atmosphere, or anything else in mind, what can anyone tell you? I suggest you think about these things, but if you still have no idea, go with what sounds best.</p>
<p>"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>Your counsellor is wrong. (Though I am a bit confused about what is meant by "placements" - grad school acceptances?) In the same category as the schools you name are two schools that are quite generous to internationals - Grinnell and Macalester - and as other posters have noted, most all of the top 50 or so liberal arts schools are going to give good aid packages to some international students.</p>
<p>If graduate school in the US is part of your academic path, you can safely widen your search to 50+ US LACs.</p>
<p>My favorite LAC is Grinnell. I don't know why, I just love it. Of course, Grinnell is not the "best" LAC, but it is one of the top 10 or 15 LACs in the nation. I also really like Bowdoin and Haverford.</p>
<p>I go to Amherst and I had the choice between the perpetual top 3 but I liked it more here. Even today I could see myself a student at all 3 schools but I feel I made the right choice.</p>
<p>Drab:heh i guess you re right ..i have no other choice do i..
reidm: by placemnts i mean.. ob placements.</p>
<p>There's been in the past several comparitive examples which put an LAC with an Ivy; these always lead to discussions, but it is offered here FWIW:</p>
<p>Brown - Wesleyan
Columbia - Bowdoin
Cornell - Colgate
Dartmouth - Middlebury
Harvard - Amherst
Penn - Haverford
Princeton - Swarthmore
Yale - Williams</p>
<p>Other comparisons:</p>
<p>MIT - Harvey Mudd
Stanford - Pomona</p>
<p>Other Top Tier LACs:
Carleton
Davidson
Grinnell
Vassar
Washington & Lee</p>
<p>These make up the Top 15 LACs in US, IMHO.</p>
<p>wow thats really helpful.</p>
<p>Prachi, you may say that you just care about financial aid and job placements, but you really need to do some more research on these LAC's for two important reasons.
1) People have already touched on this briefly, but the differences in atmosphere at these schools can be substantial. If you are happy and engaged, you are more likely to do well and to be able to benefit from those job placements, as well as continue to recieve financial aid.
2) Something that hasn't been mentioned--and that is admission. All LAC's see themselves as different---why would thay want to take a chance and offer substantial aid to someone who basically sees the schools as interchangeable? You need to know enough about these schools (and yourself) to be able to articulate why you (above all others) would be a perfect fit for them, and why you would add to the student body. You need to show yourself as an individual (with actual likes and dislikes!) and also to see the schools as special. This individualism is uniquely American, I know, but it's important to many of the schools mentioned.</p>
<p>Take some of the advice mentioned here and do a search of many of the comparison threads. Surely something will jump out at you that either discourages or appeals to you about a school. If you still don't care, then you may as well do as DRab says, and get prepared to pay for many applications and hope for the best. Every single person applying to college wants good financial aid and a job when they've finished--if it were that easy, then CC sure wouldn't be here! Good luck.</p>
<p>Not sure, that Colgate is top15 LAC as Wellesley, Smith are just 2 more that are ranked higher. Colgate is a very good LAC but its location is very remote and extremely long winters. Don't seemuch difference between Colgate, Colby, Bates, Bucknell, Holy Cross,or Lafayette either. Bucknell, HC, Colgate,and Lafayette are all in the highly respected Patriot League.</p>
<p>ch121s - the five college consortium is made up of mount holyoke, hampshire, smith, amherst, and umass amherst. they're all located in amherst/south hadley, massachusetts. basically, if you go to any one of them, you can take courses at the four other schools. there's a bus that frequently runs between all the campuses.</p>