<p>by Lauren Pope. What do you think of this college guide? The author claims that these small LACs give as solid an education to less-accomplished students as the elites do to their academic stars. Bunch of schools I have never heard from: Western Maryland, Hiram, Goucher.</p>
<p>You'll have more success asking about this on the Parents' Forum; it has been discussed quite a bit. I think you must have an older edition as Western Maryland now goes by McDaniel College. What each of these colleges offers is a lot of personal attention and opportunities to flourish. These are solid LACs that are worth a look.</p>
<p>Goucher used to be the "sister" school of Johns Hopkins when Hopkins was all-male (and Goucher was all-female). Rather than merging with Hopkins (as Radcliffe did with Harvard), it struck out on its own, becoming co-ed and creating its own identity (as Vassar did with Yale). It's a good school and one of the few LACs in an semi-urban environment.</p>
<p>i'm going to beloit!</p>
<p>In my eyes, small LACs have a way higher potential to change lives, just because of the environment they provide. Small classes, accomplished (accessible) professors, etc. I don't think graduates are any less successful than graduates from big prestigious universities, and they often go on to graduate studies at ivies. So I don't think it would be accurate to call them "less-accomplished". Mainstream prestige is not desirable for everyone.</p>