<p>ps........if your S decides to go to Tufts and wants to audition for a capella, have him contact both the Beelzebubs (all male) and the Amalgamates (co-ed). There are several other groups, but these are the top 2. Also, have him check out their websites. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful. Its good to see that students and alumni from each of these fine institutions are quite spirited and have much pride! (I'm serious) S will be visiting Tufts and Colgate very soon for overnights with friends from his HS, now freshmen, so that should really help him gage the environments of each college. Don't know if he will make an April visit to Skidmore yet.</p>
<p>lolabelle-- be careful when quoting Princeton Review -- a lot of the published info is student opinion and not actual facts.</p>
<p>Also if Tufts has such a great academic base why is it only rated 27th by USNRW. The kids are very bright -- CDS shows the average SAT to be 1400+. With students that bright, why are schools like JHU, Emory, and Vanderbilt considered better even though their student profile scores are lower. Maybe Tufts doesn't develop the students as well as others schools. </p>
<p>Rabbitrun</p>
<p>These are all great schools with a different feel. I think we are splitting hairs when we compare the academics at Colgate and Tufts. Skidmore may be rated a little lower. However your son would probably be at the top of the entering class and this may offer additional opportunities.</p>
<p>We visited two of the schools -- ultimately my son the capitalist, athlete, and
independent drummer (as his coach refers to him) chose a NESCAC LAC. These thoughts may be way off (seen through the eyes of a 17 year-old) but I'll just mention them as fuel for thought.</p>
<p>Here was his take -- Skidmore, didn't like that artsy feel. Didn't like Conn College either. Both colleges have large female populations and I think this can be discerned when you walk across the campus. For him, it felt like it was too much a girl's school.</p>
<p>Tufts -- Did not want to be displaced by large grad population -- fearful of research opportunities for undergrads. Liked being close to Boston and the kids were very nice. Got the same feel at CMU. He thought the kids were more intellectual than balanced. (Oh God, this will create havoc). </p>
<p>Colgate -- Chose not to visit. Wanted to play sport but did not want to compete at the D1 level. It probably would have been his favorite.</p>
<p>Maybe it will help when he revisits since it's several months later from when he applied. My son sounds very 'much' different from yours. That said I am sure they could both flourish at any of these schools. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>"Also if Tufts has such a great academic base why is it only rated 27th by USNRW. The kids are very bright -- CDS shows the average SAT to be 1400+. With students that bright, why are schools like JHU, Emory, and Vanderbilt considered better even though their student profile scores are lower. Maybe Tufts doesn't develop the students as well as others schools."</p>
<p>Or maybe because the ranking is meaningless for a school that for so long has sat in H.'s shadow, and because the so-called peers, even when they come to Boston, wouldn't even know which tram to take.</p>
<p>Haha, I second what Mini said. </p>
<p>And I also have to say (to Mnozzi) that though Princeton Review takes students' opinions into consideration when compiling such lists as "Best Food" or "Happiest Students" or "Biggest Party Schools", they do not take students opinions when putting together stats like average SAT score, etc. Those come from admissions offices. </p>
<p>Additionally, it's too bad your son was put off by what he feared would be more "research opportunities" for grads than undergrads... Tufts is known for investing a lot of faculty time and money into research for undergrads. Also, most of Tufts' grad schools are on different campuses (ie. Vet school in Grafton; Med/Public Health schools in Boston, etc.)</p>
<p>rabbit, I recently heard about Skidmore from a friend of my son's whose brother chose Skidmore because of his interest in creative writing and music. This kid, who is creative, a little "offbeat", socially outgoing and outdoorsy is really, really happy at Skidmore.</p>
<p>I would say that Skidmore DOES fit the description of a "beautiful campus immediately adjoined by a bustling village." Even for a young dinosaur like me :) the walk from campus to downtown Saratoga Springs was fairly effortless and I understand that there's a lot of interaction between the college and the town.</p>
<p>Although I think Tufts is the best choice academically among the three, if you don't want to be in the suburbs, you don't want to be in the suburbs. I've never been to Colgate so I can't comment directly on the environment, but if its insular-ness is anything like Williams', then I'd say that it really depends on the kid: some love it, some hate it (my son being one who chose the isolated but active campus in a profoundly beautiful setting and would do it again in a heartbeat.)</p>
<p>Good luck and let us know how he does.</p>
<p>I know some of the English faculty at Skidmore, including probably the leading "creative translator" of south Indian poetry into English in the U.S.. They are very, very strong on the creative side of things, far stronger I think than either of the other two schools. Don't know if that counts for your son, but, for certain things, I wouldn't necessarily automatically assume that the academics are stronger elsewhere. You have to "kick the tires".</p>
<p>Nice to have choices! :)</p>
<p>thank you again mini, lolabelle, momrath & everyone else...yes, it is nice to have choices....as we were in "selling mode" for so long, I don't think I ever considered how challenging it would be to be in "buying mode" (even if it is brief compared to "selling mode") with some great choices no less.</p>
<p>"Also if Tufts has such a great academic base why is it only rated 27th by USNRW."</p>
<p><em>Only</em> 27? Considering there are 3000 +/- colleges in the US, I think a ranking of 27th is pretty darn good.</p>
<p>....son has decided on Colgate.....he has really liked the people he has met or chatted with, and he finally made up his mind that the Colgate campus environment would be best for him. Was a tough decision.</p>
<p>Good choice, that's what I would have chosen. </p>
<p>Lolabelle, give the trolling a rest.</p>
<p>Both my husband and I went to Colgate. Daughter is going to Tufts because of location. We loved our experience at Colgate, but it would have been too isolated for our daughter. She will probably spend a lot of time in Boston. She felt perfectly comfortable riding the tube by herself last weekend when we visited Tufts - we stayed in Boston, while she commuted between Tufts and Copley Square. </p>
<p>Good luck at Colgate. It's a great school. He will be pampered at Colgate - nice dorms, food,etc. Yes, he will also get a great education. No campus is as beautiful as Colgate, Tufts included.</p>
<p>Suze - Lolabelle has been very helpful to people that are interested in Tufts.</p>
<p>Assuming money isn't unlimited in your family,which one produced the lowest cost net of scholarship and other grant aid? What was the differential?</p>
<p>D would have picked Colgate, and almost did.</p>
<p>taxguy- we sought no financial aid being in that not-so-comfortable spot (at least in regard to paying an "extra" 45k/year) just north of "well-off" but well south of "we just won't take a vacation this year"...so I can't give you any numbers. I will say that a fleeting thought I had was that my son might spend less out of pocket going to Colgate over Tufts or Skidmore due to there being less off-campus activity potential (e.g., pub crawls in Boston or Saratoga)..that's purely theoretical conjecture though.</p>
<p>Congrats, rabbitrun!! We seem to share similar financial geography, possibly being a little further "south" since we have been paying for 4 years of private HS, plus helping S1 with grad school and law school. S will be working this summer, and saving to cover out-of-pocket costs, but thankfully, he is not into expensive entertainment or clothes, and there is little shopping or high-cost entertainment to tempt him in Hamilton anyway, as you note!! </p>
<p>Curm, I am sorry your daughter did not choose Colgate, since you are one of the posters who first got me hooked on CC. I loved reading about your merit aid odyssey. As former small business owners, we too suffered through the inconsistent "need" formulas with S1 seven years ago, when there was no CC to illuminate us. Like your D, S1 took the merit aid route, and succeeded splendidly. Now we have regular salaries, and didn't bother applying for need-based aid, but at least we have a reasonable expectation of the amount we have to work with from month to month. I am glad your daughter made a choice that seems so right for her.</p>
<p>Go 'Gate! </p>
<p>D is also going and as far as I can tell, has never waivered on her decision. Per her checklist of an ideal college, Colgate (and the surrounding area) pretty much has it all. She wanted rural, she's getting rural! If all goes as planned, she'll be too busy to find much trouble anyway. </p>
<p>I will also confess I'm looking forward to a good reason to spend a little time in NE.</p>
<p>“Lolabelle, give the trolling a rest.”</p>
<p>Suze, if you had taken the time to look at past posts, you would have realized Lollabelle is very accomplished Tufts senior that has helped a plethora of prospective students and their parents. It’s a shame more colleges don’t have selfless students, such as Lollabelle, willing to take time out of their busy schedule to help others and answer questions, no matter how silly. Lolabelle, because of her assistance on CC, helps alleviate the number of emails and phone calls the Tufts admission office is barraged with on a daily basis. And for that, you can be rest assured there are few thankful admission employees ;)</p>
<p>
Colgate admissions and FA were top notch. The campus was beautiful, the town fun looking and clean. The students were the friendliest D came across anywhere. The "greeting" tradition lives. ;) Our FA package from Colgate was by far the best that D received from any non-merit aid school and better than all but 3 merit aid schools. It was very tempting to my D.</p>
<p>I, too, wish to thank Lolabelle for her posts re: Tufts. As a parent of a freshman there, her insights have been VERY helpful. She is not "trolling" but presenting the perspective of a student who loves her school. Suze....not very nice of you.</p>