Hi, my daughter is considering , Amherst, Carleton, and Swarthmore. Does anyone know how these schools compare with respect to Environmental Studies? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Carleton is the strongest of the 3, in my opinion and based on research I did, for Environmental Studies. Swarthmore only offers a Minor.
Are these schools she’s considering applying to in the coming year or schools she has already been accepted to?
I think Carleton has the vibe that fits best with that major, too (I have a kid who was accepted to Swat & Carleton, and have visited Amherst).
Already been accepted. Thanks–this is what I have read too.
What was it that made you feel Carleton is strongest for ENvironmental? I very much liked what I read of the major and courses–and the “Arb”–are you thinking of other things? Thanks again!
It just has a good rep in that area and in sciences in general. Good range of course offerings and depth in the dept. Many areas to focus on within the major. Carleton is also very strong in geology which is a good foundation for ES.
Nice schools for your daughter all around but Carleton is one of my favorites LACs and I’m not an alum or parent. 
Thank you!
@lchinitz – Pointing out the obvious (one of my many annoying habits, says my wife), there’s a lot more to a college choice besides the strength of one’s proposed major. Even among the kids who are 100% sure of what they want to do/be, there are a lot who go off in a different direction within a year or two. Personally, I don’t know how anyone could expect a 17 or 18 y.o. to know what they want to study or what they want to do once they’re out in the real world.
Amherst’s ‘open curriculum’ frees kids up from gen ed requirements that may prevent them from exploring courses or areas of study that are new, but interesting to them. With the other schools in the consortium she’d have access to more Env Studies courses than at Carleton. She might want to look for the best overall ‘fit’ (classmates, atmosphere/milieu, etc.) and the school that’s strongest academically across the board. Not saying that Amherst is that school, but it certainly could be. In terms of what comes after school I can’t imagine that, especially if internships, etc. are part of the mix, she’d have opportunities after Carleton that wouldn’t be available after Amherst.
Way more opportunity at Amherst, esp. with the consortium, as asleep points out.
Not to be too “CC-ish” but while Carleton is a great school, it isn’t in the same tier as an Amherst/Swat.
I know that’s not everything, but it is a consideration.
In another thread I posted some analysis I did of the baccalaureate origins (where BS was from) of awardees of NSF Graduate Fellowships. This table for the small LACs is here. Note the awardees are not doing their grad work at the LACs; they got their BS there and then got a NSF Graduate Fellowship for their grad work. Scroll to the first page of the thread to see info on the data.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19554928/#Comment_19554928
Here’s your 3 schools. The column heading is the field that the award is in (in which the grad work will be done).
ChemPhysicsMathCompSciLifeSciEnvSciGeoScitotalname
5_7231919055Swarthmore Coll
74221119853Carleton Coll
4212118_836_Amherst Coll