<p>I've narrowed down my college search enough to know that I want to go to a good LAC. The four in the title are my current top picks, but I'm undecided between those. I'm also open to any other schools that would be a good fit.</p>
<p>I really want small class sizes and engaged profs, but I think all of those schools will have that.</p>
<p>I'm from Florida, so I don't know how I'll handle the cold, but I don't think it'll be an issue.</p>
<p>I'm not at all a drinker, so I'd like to go to a school that has as little a drinking scene as possible. I know it's college, so there's going to be some; I just want to go somewhere where it isn't extremely prevalent. </p>
<p>An outdoors club is very important to me. It's likely to be one of the largest out-of-class activities that I do.</p>
<p>Lastly, I'd really love to ski when in college. Middlebury obviously has the snow bowl, but is skiing prevalent at Bowdoin and Williams? I know it's not going to be huge at Davidson. I don't even know if it snows at Davidson :)</p>
<p>Swarthmore?
FWIW, I didn’t drink at Bowdoin and found it fine. I’m sure there are students at Williams and Middlebury that are in the same boat as I was at Bowdoin and somehow manage to survive getting their first-class educations at these phenomenal places. My recommendation is to apply to all of them and if you have a choice, then visit.
Good luck!</p>
Skiing is easily accessible within a 1.5-2 hour drive from Davidson. It’s not going to be Colorado, obviously, but you can definitely ski while at Davidson.</p>
<p>I’m immensely fond of Bowdoin and Davidson, so my vote goes for either.</p>
<p>PB - that’s a great point - definitely something I’m going to do. </p>
<p>Warblers - Wow, I didn’t think of that! I suppose North Carolina would be pretty close to mountains and some good snow in the winter.</p>
<p>It seems like Davidson and Bowdoin are very similar, barring their geographical locations.
I know I’ll fit in well at Davidson, given that I’m from the south and that school draws heavily from the southeast. I’m a little concerned about fit at Bowdoin, just because of the (reportedly) heavy northern influence. However, I want to diversify myself in college, so maybe a change in location might be smart.</p>
<p>The drinking culture is very big at Bowdoin, so big that it is tough for a freshman to feel he/she is fitting in if he/she doesn’t drink. My son was so impressed with Bowdoin until he read tha from numerous sources (including a book on colleges written solely by the college students from each school), so he decided not to apply there. He is looking at Williams and several other good LAC’s (Carleton, Wesleyan and a few others).</p>
<p>Is there a reason that you wouldn’t apply to all four? They are all selective and LAC admissions is difficult to predict because it is not as statistics driven as larger schools. Get your admits in hand, review the financial packages (if that’s an issue for you), do some overnights – things will fall into place and your decision will be a lot easier.</p>
<p>If your objective is to choose an ED school, then for sure, visit before you commit. These schools have a lot of overlap, but there are differences too in small points that may be important to you.</p>
<p>I can only speak for Williams, but I assume the same would be true for the others as well. The prevalence of drinking is only a problem is you make it one. There are plenty of non-drinkers and light drinkers on campus and they do just fine.</p>
<p>Swarthmore & Haverford are not know for a partying culture but ver y intelligent students. Doesn’t have the tremendous outdoor wildreness but very pretty suburban neighborhood with lots of options for other entertainment.
Is Davidson still grading on the bell curve? If yes, be forewarned, it’s a brutal system of grade deflation and which can hurt your grad school options. Kids get though it but I think it detracts from a positive learning experience.</p>
<p>oh, I will certainly apply to all of these schools - I’m just choosing the one where I’m going to apply for early decision. </p>
<p>I was looking very closely at Carleton, but I heard it’s so cold in the winter time that students use underground tunnels. That doesn’t sound very appealing to me.</p>
<p>Haverford sounds good - is it in the same league as the other schools?</p>
<p>And as to davidson’s grading bell curve - man, that sounds brutal. I know someone who goes to Davidson, I’ll ask him if it’s still going on, because extreme grade deflation would remove just about any school from my list.</p>
<p>I hope that you’ll have a chance to visit before you make an ED choice. It’s a big decision and the informaiton that you gather second hand may or may not be valid. I know after my son’s visits the school that he thought would be his favorite dropped off his list all together and a last minute add became his ED choice.</p>
<p>I’d put Haverford “in the same league” as the others academically, but it’s quite different in personality.</p>
<p>Hey! (I’m from North Carolina, and “hey” is acceptable here!)
My daughter is a brand new freshman at Davidson, so I can tell you what she and I have learned in the past year, and especially the past two months–
–Davidson has a huge program called “Davidson Outdoors” that engages kids before they even arrive on campus. New freshmen are invited to a summer program called “Odyssey”. There are two Odyssey programs, a primarily community service oriented program, or an outdoor adventure oriented program. The programs are about 7-8 days in length, and are entirely student led. My D did the outdoor adventure program, and over the course of the 8 days, they did team building exercises, white water rafting, kayaking and backpacking on the Appalachian Trail for 3 days. Plus, they did a day of community service at a museum somewhere way up in the mountains. D said it was amazing. Davidson then offers new students the chance to train to lead the next three year’s programs, which she is doing now, in addition to all of her classes. Finally, Davidson Outdoors offers trips EVERY WEEKEND for some kind of outdoor experience, for a nominal cost (usually between $30 and $75, depending on where they are going and what they are going to do) and they provide just about all of the equipment, except for the hiking boots.
Hope this helps, and good luck to you!!
In response to the partying question–D chose Davidson because of the low key party vibe she got during her visits. There is definitely partying there, but it seems to be pretty laid back whether you drink or not. D didn’t party in HS, so she was out of her element during the first few weekends, but she said that no one pushes you to drink, and it’s acceptable to hang out on Patterson Court with soda in your red Solo cup and no one gives her grief about it.
Again, good luck!</p>
<p>In regards to your question about the “bell curve” at Davidson–there is none. You get the grade that you earn, and earning a good grade takes a lot of hard work. D has been there for 5 weeks and is already pulling all-nighters, and she is not alone. Be warned, If you choose to go there you will work your tush off. If you thrive on hard work, you will do well there. Good luck in your search!</p>